Hey love, you wont believe the drama thats been swirling around Evelyns flat. So, one morning she bursts out of her sister Harriets flat, breathless. Are you pregnant? Harriet blinks, just popped out of the bathroom, completely taken aback. Why are you even here?
Evelyn snaps, Did anyone ever tell you you cant just grab other peoples stuff without asking? Harriet slams her laptop shut and gives Evelyn a hard stare. Evelyn realises shed better scoot to another room, and later that night she decides the only sane thing is to get out of that flat altogetherHarriets been hunting for some recipe for Evelyn, of all things!
At twentythree, Evelyn runs into the love of her life right on the street. A bloke walks up, hands her a long stemmed white rose, and says hed like to meet her. He looks perfectly ordinary, but hes got that easy charm and is incredibly caring and attentive. A month later, Evelyn cant picture life without James. He feels the same, and another month on shes moved in with him into a cosy twobed flat, leaving her tiny rented room behind.
Six months later James pops the question. Hes hes, Evelyn cant find the right words to describe her fiancé to Harriet, I adore him, and he adores me. Harriet just mutters, Congrats, in a flat tone. Evelyn brushes it offshe and Harriet have always been a bit tense, especially after mums death. Now Evelyns got no close family except her sister.
Thanks! she sighs. Only thing is James is off on a threemonth work stint to earn extra cash for the honeymoon. Harriets voice stays emotionless. Ill let you know the wedding date. Youre invited, of course. Sure, Harriet replies.
Its always been like that: Evelynsoft, impressionable, delicate; Harrietserious, tough, independent. Evelyn even worries about introducing her sister to the fiancé, fearing she might not like him. James heads off, saying, Love, its only about 500 miles away. Ill be back on weekends or you can visit. They only manage one meeting a month because his workload is massive.
The quicker they sort everything out, the sooner James returns. Evelyns ready to wait foreverher modest assistant accountant salary cant do much for their future. Then, in the second month of Jamess assignment, strange messages start trickling infirst texts, then voice notesfrom some robotic-sounding number. The voice warns Evelyn not to do anything that might upset the caller, implying the wedding could bring terrible trouble. The messages vanish after a few hours, and the number is uncallable.
One evening a creepy voodoo doll shows up at the doorlong chestnut hair, Evelyns face cut from a photo, a big needle through its chest, and a threatening note matching the earlier messages. Evelyns nerves snap; she feigns a fever and skips work, but she doesnt tell anyone. Shes too scared to bother James, whos busy raking in money. It all feels like a sick joke, but whose?
She decides to wait it out, thinking once James is back theyll sort it. Two days later, as shes stepping out of the courtyard, a motorcyclist nearly runs her down, swerves at the last second, and she darts sideways, trips on the curb, and slams her head on the pavement. A passerby, despite her protests, calls an ambulance. In hospital she gets a mild concussion, a couple of bruisesand, surprise, a pregnancy.
She refuses admission, tells no one about the bike, just says she fell. When shes out, she realises she cant go back to Jamess flat. Someones clearly out to get her, aggressively so. She cant take any more risks; shes carrying their baby now.
She rings Harriet: Can I crash at yours for a few days? Harriet, sounding annoyed, asks what happened. James is on a work trip and Harriet sighs, Fine, come over, tell me everything. Evelyn unloads the whole messmessages, doll, nearmiss with the bike.
Harriet isnt thrilled about the extra guest, but seeing Evelyns exhausted face, she relents. Just a couple of weeks, not more. Thats a relief because James mentioned hed get a couple of days off soon, so they can sort everything.
Since mum passed, they sold the family flat and split the cash. Harriet, with a steady job and a good salary, took out a mortgage; Evelyn could only afford a tiny studio thats still a shell. The developer promised to hand over the keys six months ago, but nothings happened yet, so Evelyns got nowhere else to go. She tries to stay out of Harriets way, buying groceries, cooking, keeping the flat tidy, but she can feel Harriets irritation.
Ten days later, Evelyns phone freezes and dies right when she needs a medication urgently. In a panic she shouts, Harriet, can I borrow your laptop? Harriets in the bathroom, but Evelyn snatches the laptop anyway. She types the first letters of what she needs and the search autosuggests pregnancy termination. The results flood her with dubious home remedies.
The next day, James finally returns, looking grim. He demands to know who shes pregnant with. Of course its you! What are you thinking? How did you even find out? He stares at her for a minute, then lunges forward, grips her tightly and apologises, Im sorry, I almost lost it when I got that weird message from an unknown number. Im such an idiot! Evelyn breaks down, then, once she steadies herself, she recounts the whole months nightmare. Jamess face flickers between shock, pallor, and embarrassment.
He confesses that three months before they met, hed been seeing Harriet. Shed even hinted at marriage, but something held him back. I drove Harriet to meet you, asked her to set us upshe refused. I didnt leave right away; I saw you and fell hard. Youre the one I want, not my sister. A heavy silence follows. The next day I told Harriet I was breaking it off and set up a meeting with you. Everything else you already know. Evelyn, trembling, calls Harriet.
Is that true? Was it you? she asks, voice steady. Harriet replies, Did you really think you could steal my fiancé? I was pregnant with him, had an abortion, and now? She trails off. Evelyn sighs, I didnt know. Harriet snaps, Of course not! I was hoping hed dump you too, but here we arewedding, baby, the whole lot. What makes you any better?
Evelyn freezes, eyes dry, and ends the call. A month and a half later theyre married in a small, lowkey ceremony. Their daughter arrives on schedule. Evelyn and Harriet have cut off all contact.
Phew, love, thats the whole rollercoaster. Take care.
