Half Life by Heather Atkinson

country lane out of town.
      “ It ’ s a surprise, ” was all he ’ d say, a smile fixed to his face.
      “ Come on, tell me.  You ’ re making me nervous. ”
      “ You trust me, don ’ t you? ”
      “ Yeah, course. ”
      He took my hand and pressed it to his lips.  “ Then relax. ”
      The car stopped outside the cemetery.
      “ Why have you brought me here? ”
      “ There ’ s something I want to show you. ”
      “ What? ”
      “ I told you, it ’ s a surprise.  Please don ’ t spoil it. ”
      He got out of the car, walked round to my side and pulled the door open but I refused to get out.
      “ I ’ m not going in there.  You wouldn ’ t get me in a graveyard during the day, never mind at night. ”
      “ There ’ s nothing to be afraid of. ”
      “ I ‘ m not afraid.  Anyway, I couldn ’ t walk through there in these heels. ”
      His expression darkened.  “ Get out of the car now. ”
      “ I said I don ’ t want to.  Please Alex just take me home. ”
      He thrust his head into the car aggressively.  “ If you don ’ t get out I ’ ll drag you out. ”
      I just stared at him, unable to believe what was happening for this was a side of him I ’ d never seen before.  “ And if you don ’ t take me home right now I ’ ll scream my head off. ”
      As there were some houses nearby this seemed to have the desired effect.  He slammed my door shut angrily then got back in the driver ’ s seat, slamming his own door.  We drove home in silence and when I got out he didn ’ t say a word.
     
      “ Your stubbornness may have saved your life, ” said Paige.
      “ I think so.  I didn ’ t hear from him for a few days after that.  I knew he was sulking but there was no way I was going to apologise.  Then he turned up at my flat with a bunch of flowers and an apology, which I accepted.  I thought it was just a stupid joke that got out of hand. ”
      “ How were things between you after that? ”
      “ Fine.  We did normal stuff together; the cinema, meals, that sort of thing.  I ’ d almost forgotten about the cemetery incident.  Then one night he was driving me home after a party when the car suddenly broke down. ”
      “ Another ruse? ”
      “ Yes, although I didn ’ t realise it at first.  He said the battery had run flat and he didn ’ t have his mobile on him to call anyone.  We ’ d broken down by this big old abandoned house.  The Charming ’ s house. ”
      “ The site of the multiple murders? ”
      “ Yeah.  I thought it looked familiar at the time but it was only once we were inside that it struck me where we were.  I wanted to leave immediately, I was freaked out but he said we had no choice.  We were stuck in the middle of nowhere at night.  He said he ’ d walk to the nearest village at first light to find a phone, so I agreed to stay.  What else could I do? ”
      Paige nodded in agreement.
      “ It was like the house had some weird effect on him.  He walked through the rooms where the murders happened.  Do you know the story? ”
      “ It was a bit before my time but I ‘ ve heard the legend.  In the nineteen seventies the owner, Doctor Charming stabbed his wife and parents-in-law to death before cutting his own wrists.  No one knew why.  The house has been derelict ever since. ”
      “ Well Alex knew every detail of those murders. ”
     
      “ Mrs Charming, Alice her name was, died in here, ” he said, leading me into the kitchen.  “ Dr Charming really went to town on her.  The police report said it looked like she ’ d been attacked by a wild animal. ”
      I felt sick at the eagerness on his face and followed him reluctantly into the large desolate living room.
      “ He got his father-in-law in here.  He was watching TV on the couch and they think when he heard his daughter ’ s screams he got up to investigate.  Dr Charming came through from the kitchen covered in