Chapter 17

17

Megan pulled her mobile towards her and checked the time. It was 2a.m., and she still hadn't fallen asleep. What had she been expecting? To be able to get to sleep as easily as she had at the bed and breakfast? Even there, it had taken her a few nights to get used to the unfamiliar sounds and creaks of the building. Out here there was just a thin piece of glass or some metal or fibreglass or whatever cars were made of between her and the outside world.

It would take time. That was all. Just time to get used to her new reality. She swallowed as the sting of tears caught in the back of her throat. She wasn't going to cry, she wouldn't give Lyle the satisfaction – whether he found out or not, she'd still know. No, she was going to prove to him and to herself that she could fend for herself, that she could do this. She was going to build a new life for herself. Life after divorce – it had a special ring to it, didn't it?

Yes, a new life, or at least a new chapter in her life. She had this. And if it took a few weeks of living in her car before she could start, then that's what it took.

She turned over and wriggled her toes, hoping the pins and needles that were creeping up her calves from trying to sleep with her legs bent would disperse.

Nope. Sighing, she sat up and stamped her feet on the floor, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the window as she did so. She stifled a scream. Why was she so jumpy? The lay-by was on a quiet road, hidden from the view of the very few drivers travelling past. She wasn't usually a nervous person. She didn't usually have anything to be nervous about. Not when sleeping in her big detached house, knowing the only thing the CCTV cameras Lyle had installed would catch would be a neighbour's cat meandering across their vast lawn.

Here, though, all she had was darkness and the field beyond. If someone did pull into the lay-by and want to carjack her or anything, then what would she do? Who would hear her screams?

She pulled the lever to the side of the seat, letting it angle upwards again. There wasn't any point lying here trying to sleep, she wasn't going to. She'd look for jobs instead, while the hours away by searching for a way to get out of this mess she'd found herself in. That's what she'd do.

Waking up, Megan looked out of the window, the images from her nightmare mixing into reality. As she blinked, she let her eyes focus. It was morning. The sun was rising and the chill of the night air quickly warming.

She must have fallen asleep after all. Rubbing the back of her neck, she winced as a sharp pain shot through her muscles and she rolled her shoulders back. How long had she slept for? It certainly didn't feel like long enough, that was for sure. She searched the footwell for her mobile and looked at the screen. It was quarter to eight; the last time she'd noted had been half four. She must have had about three hours. That wasn't so bad. Not for her first night, anyway.

She unlocked the car, opened the door and stepped outside, reaching her arms above her and drawing in a deep breath of the fresh country air. Now what she needed was to get to Wagging Tails whilst it was only Flora and Ginny there and to slip into the toilet without either of them noticing. If she could do that, she could freshen up and change her clothes before anyone noticed.

Yes, that's what she'd do. And she needed to hurry. As she walked quickly around to the driver's side, something cold splashed up against the leg of her jeans. Her heart sank. It must have rained in those few hours she'd been asleep and now she'd gone and stepped in a puddle, leaving a large muddy brown stain up her leg.

She sighed. She'd just have to sneak her jeans into the washing machine when the dogs' bedding was washed. That was all. It was doable. She nodded. There'd be a solution for everything. Although the one thing she really needed at the moment was the toilet and she didn't fancy jumping the ditch to go in the field. She just hoped she could get to Wagging Tails quickly and there wasn't going to be any traffic.

Just as she'd turned the ignition on and the car purred to life, her phone rang, cutting through the soothing sounds of the early morning radio. Answering it on her hands-free, she pulled out of the lay-by and onto the road.

‘Hello?'

‘Megan.' Lyle's voice filled the car, his tone cold, unnerving.

She fought the urge to yawn and instead tried to fill her voice with optimism. ‘Lyle. How can I help you today?'

‘Ha, it's more what I can do for you. I see your payment at the Honeysuckle Bed and Breakfast in Trestow was declined yesterday.'

She hesitated. He'd been looking through the bank statements, seeing what she'd been spending money on. That's how he'd known to find her at Wagging Tails then. He'd traced the payments to where she was staying in Trestow and put two and two together. She shuddered. It hadn't even occurred to her that he'd have been spying on her spending, working out what she was doing.

‘Three times, in fact. Once on the debit card, and once on each of your credit cards.' His voice was full of smarm, the self-assured smarm of a person who knows they've got the other one right where they want them to be.

‘That's right.' She tapped on the steering wheel as the car in front of her slowed, approaching a roundabout.

‘I can hear you're in the car, is that right? What a shame it will be when you run out of fuel and your insurance payments bounce.'

‘You can't do that! I need my car!'

Damn, why had she said that? Why had she let him know he was getting to her? Because he was, that's why. If she couldn't use her car, she wouldn't have anywhere to go, anywhere to sleep.

‘Oh, but I can. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I don't recall the prenup mentioning anything about me being legally obliged to pay for you to run a car.'

‘Lyle…'

‘And once my solicitor serves you with the divorce papers stating adultery as the cause of our marriage breakdown, well, I don't think any judge will rule in your favour.'

She hit the steering wheel. ‘I was not having an affair. You know that. You know why our marriage broke down. You know it was your actions that caused it.'

‘It's very rare for an adulterer to admit their misdemeanours. I do believe, however, it's quite common for the one in the wrong to try to deflect the blame.'

‘You know?—'

Too late, the call had gone silent, music from the radio filling the car once again.

He couldn't do that, could he? She'd served him the divorce papers. Could he really overwrite that by filing for one himself? And when was her insurance due? The payments came out once a month; she knew that, but when, what date? It was the end of the month; she was sure of it, which meant she had just under two weeks to secure a job and get her first wage.

She bit down on her bottom lip, the taste of blood filling her mouth. It felt impossible. Heck, it probably was impossible. Most places paid monthly, didn't they?

As she turned down the lane leading to Wagging Tails, she took a deep breath. She had to act normally. She couldn't let herself be riled by Lyle. That's what he wanted.

After she'd drawn into a parking spot and turned the ignition off, she leaned her forehead on the steering wheel. Why did Lyle have to ring? All she could think about was him stalking her every move now. All this time she'd thought she'd been free of him and yet she hadn't. He'd been there, spying on her, watching her every move through the bank statements.

Megan forced herself to sit back up and grab her bag from the passenger seat. She'd wanted to get here early so she'd be able to freshen up without drawing any attention to herself. If she continued to sit in the car and mope that wasn't going to happen.

She got out, turned back to the car and reached in, pulling her mobile from the passenger seat.

‘Megan.'

She straightened, banging her head against the ceiling. ‘Jay? Hi.'

‘Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.' He grimaced. ‘Are you okay?'

‘I don't think I'll have any lasting damage.' She forced a smile.

‘That's a relief.'

‘Is everything okay?' she asked as they walked towards Wagging Tails. She looked down at the bulging canvas bag in her hand and swapped it to the other side.

‘Yes, I just wanted to catch you to clear the air. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did when I realised that Lyle was your ex.'

‘Don't be. I should have told you.'

‘No, it was none of my business and after the way I'd spoken about him, I can understand why you didn't tell me. I should have apologised yesterday…'

‘Honestly, it's no bother. Anyway, I can understand why it felt as though I was deceiving you, especially after what you've told me about your ex-wife. I wasn't though, I just didn't think it mattered and then after you'd made it clear what you thought of him, I guess I just didn't know how to tell you.'

She pulled the reception door open. The area was empty, Cindy wasn't even in her makeshift kennel, Flora must have taken her for a walk or something.

‘Well, I'm sorry for the way I reacted.' They headed into the kitchen and Jay lifted up the kettle. ‘Coffee?'

‘Oh, what I wouldn't do for a coffee!'

Megan smiled. Maybe things were getting better after all. Yes, hopefully, she and Jay could become friends again, could be comfortable in each other's company once more. That's all she could ask for right now. Besides, it was probably for the best now that Lyle was trying to steer the divorce in his favour by accusing her of having an affair.

She glanced behind her towards the reception area. She could really do with freshening up before everyone else got here, but now Jay had seen her in these clothes, she wasn't really sure how she'd get away with changing without it raising questions. She could clean her teeth and put some deodorant on, though.

‘Everything all right?'

‘Yes, yes.' Megan pointed behind her. ‘I'm just going to pop to the loo, but I'll definitely be back in time for that coffee.'

Jay nodded.

Turning, she rushed out into the reception area and the small bathroom.