That restless feeling like he just wanted to be moving all the time never left him alone and he found himself pacing around his flat, unable to sit still. But the worst thing was the flashbacks. Usually he had a lie-in on a Saturday. But today he couldn’t stay in bed. The closer it got to the time he was due at Suzy’s for Bethany’s sleepover, the harder it was to ward off the images that flashed relentlessly through his mind. Hair that smelled of apples, peach-soft skin. Heart beating like a baby bird. No. No. No. He couldn’t, wouldn’t think of it. Today was different. Emily was different. It wouldn’t end up the same way. He hadn’t meant to hurt anyone. That’s why he’d written ‘SORRY’. Because he was. And afterwards he’d been so careful. Gloves. Black waterproof nylon jacket. Plastic sheeting in his car. Yet still he’d found blood on his best trousers and something sticky and disgusting behind his ear.Focus on something else. Fifty more push-ups. Twenty-five pull-ups on the bar hooked over the living-room door.But when he approached Suzy’s house, it felt as if all his nerve-endings were jangling.
