Where Shadow’s Hide

The Perfect Morning

Chapter One The Perfect Morning

One Week Earlier............

Scarlett woke before the alarm, she always did and for a few seconds she lay perfectly still, just listening, the apartment was silent, no footsteps, no one calling her, just the soft hum of the refrigerator from the kitchen. She closed her eyes again, letting herself pretend, just for a minute, that this was an ordinary morning and her life was different, Scarlett rolled onto her side and winced.

A dull ache spread through her side, along her shoulder and down her arm, she pulled up her pyjama top, the bruises had darkened overnight. She stared at it for only a second before pulling her top back down. "It would fade", she sighed, they always did, she noticed the other side of the bed was empty, a tight knot loosened in her chest before she remembered he'd slept in the spare room, she had no idea whether he'd been awake for five minutes or an hour.

That uncertainty was almost worse. Scarlett sat up slowly, the clock on the bedside table read 6:30 a.m, she had exactly ten minutes if Adrian walked into the kitchen before the coffee was ready... She didn't let herself finish the thought.

Barefoot, she walked to the bedroom door, pausing only when the floor gave its familiar creak, She froze. Her heartbeat filled the silence, nothing. Slowly, she let out the breath she'd been holding and stepped into the hallway...She stood there for another second, listening, still nothing, Scarlett released a slow breath and padded quietly towards the kitchen, careful to avoid the familiar loose floorboard outside the spare room. The apartment was still cloaked in the pale blue light of dawn.

Everything looked peaceful, the framed photographs on the wall, the neatly folded blanket draped over the couch and the small pot plant sitting on the windowsill. Anyone walking through the front door would have thought the two people who lived here loved each other very much, but she knew better.

The coffee machine sat waiting on the kitchen bench as Scarlett reached for the tin of coffee she winced in pain but still managed to measure out two generous scoops into the filter. Adrian liked it strong. Too weak and he complained it tasted like dirty water. Too strong and she'd "obviously done it on purpose." She learned very quickly that there wasn't always a right answer, sometimes there wasn't an answer at all. But there was always a right way to do things, Adrian's way.

The machine hummed to life, filling the apartment with the rich smell of fresh coffee, for a moment, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the aroma, she used to love that smell, not so much anymore as it became her morning ritual. She fantasized for a minute about what life was like before this, before every day started with wondering which version of Adrian would walk into the room. The affectionate one, the critical one, or the one she feared most... The one who smiled, not the friendly warm one, no, the one that says wait until we are alone.

A noise came from somewhere behind her, Scarlett spun around so quickly she knocked the sugar bowl with her elbow, it wobbled, she lunged for it, catching it just before it tipped over the edge of the bench, her heart hammered against her ribs. "Easy," she whispered to herself, placing it back exactly where it had been, she glanced around, nothing, just the old house settling.

She let out a nervous laugh that vanished almost as quickly as it came, she reached for a mug, then stopped, no not that one, Adrian hated it when she used the blue mug for his coffee, she rolled her eyes and swapped it for the plain black one, she poured the coffees and grabbed the milk from the fridge.

Adrian appeared in the doorway wearing grey sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt, drying his hair with a towel, he smiled the moment he saw her, "you better not be rolling your eyes over the mugs again" he asked, but it wasn't a question she dared to answer. "Good Morning," he said. Scarlett forced herself to smile back. " "Good morning." He walked towards her, stopping just close enough that she caught the scent of his soap, he kissed her head and smiled, the kind of smile that made strangers trust him and her fear him.

Anyone watching them now would have seen a couple sharing a quiet morning together. Adrian reached past her, picked up his coffee, and took a sip, his expression didn't change, Scarlett held her breath anyway. After a long moment, he smiled. "You remembered." Relief flooded through her so suddenly her knees almost gave way. "Of course." she said. He brushed an invisible speck of dust from her shoulder with surprising tenderness. "You've been trying very hard lately." The words sounded like praise. But somehow... She knew they were a warning. A knock at the front door shattered the silence, Scarlett looked towards the door, Adrian didn't move he simply watched her, still smiling. "Are you expecting someone?" she asked quietly. "No." he chuckled. "I wonder," he murmured, setting his mug on the bench, "who's looking for us this early."