Installment number 8

I woke with a start. I had turned to put my arm around Kelly, thinking it was her in bed with me, and when my fingertips touched Janet's skin, it was like a jolt of electricity had gone through me.

"Shit!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, sorry about that. Reflex."
"What?"
"If someone's attacking me, I shock them."
"I wasn't attacking you!"
"I know, love. It was just an automatic reaction. I didn't mean to. Are you hurt?"
"No, no, no. Just a shock. You automatically give electric shocks to people who touch you?"
"Not always. Like, if I'm scared or anxious, or if I'm asleep and someone might be trying to attack me."
"Why would anyone want to attack you?"
She giggled, "I can't imagine at all."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Hmmmph..." I hunched my shoulders and turned away, "I'm going to have a shower."

After showering, I spent as much time as I could faffing about in the bathroom, trying to delay going out to speak to Janet again. I couldn't quite say why, but I was really thrown by the electric shock, and about her suggestion that she had people out there wanting to hurt her. Eventually, I dressed and wandered out into the room. Janet wasn't there, but she'd left a note.

"Fi,
I think it's probably time to leave Cardiff and get back on the road again. I will meet you in reception at midday.
Janet."

I didn't really like being bossed about like that, so stomped around the room for a while, then packed my bags and went downstairs to check out. I was informed that my room had been paid for and that my companion was waiting in the car. I handed over my keycard and decided not to worry about quite how Janet would get into my car.

Sure enough, she was sat inside the car. She at least had the decency to take the passenger seat. I tried the door and found it to be locked. I unlocked it.

"Why did you lock the door again?"
"I never unlocked it."
"Then how did you?.... Never mind..."

I put the key in the ignition and started up the car, put on my seatbelt and set off out of the car park.

"So, where are we headed?"
"Keep going west."
"Ok," I headed onto the motorway, west and further into Wales, with the stereo blaring out some random pop tunes from the radio. I bopped my head along to the meaningless lyrics sung by autotuned voices over backing performed by under-paid musicians or computers and lost myself in the moment, almost forgetting Janet was there.

"Take the next exit," she said, and brought me out of my dream.

I did so, and drove on smaller roads following Janet's directions until we pulled up outside a B&B in Ogmore-by-Sea. We wandered in and the man behind the reception greeted Janet with a hug and kiss on the cheek and me with contempt.

"Same room as usual, love?" he asked.
"Yes, please."

He led us through a maze of corridors that didn't seem like they should fit inside the building we had entered and opened the door to a big airy bedroom with a brautiful sea view. He handed Janet the key and then left us alone.

"Wow," I said.
"Worth the drive?"
"Totally!" It hadn't been a particularly long or bad drive, but I didn't question why she had implied it to be so.
"We'll be safe here."
"Safe?" I asked, wondering just how much I had divulged to her about my situation.
"Oh, don't be so surprised. I read your file. You killed your girlfriend. It was an accident, but you can't go to the police because you'd meant to kill her lover instead, and attempted murder isn't much better than murder in their eyes. You decided to go on the run instead. You met me and your life just got a hell of a lot easier than it could have been."
"Right... Ok... I guess. So, you bring all the girls here?" I was trying to be playful, to ease the tension a little.
She nodded, "The guys too. It's safe here. People don't look in Ogmore-by-Sea."
I slumped down on one of the twin beds, "Because it's a shithole?"
"Really? You think that? Look out the window, Fi."
I did so. It really was idyllic.
"That's why I come here, but the reason people don't look in Ogmore-by-Sea is that I put a charm on the town so that people don't think to look in Ogmore-by-Sea. It just doesn't occur to them."
I was still not sure why I so readily believed what Janet told me. Maybe she had put a charm on me too, but that involved what she told me being true, "So, no-one comes here at all?"
"Yeah, people come here. People come here because it's lovely and because they want to relax and take in the sea air and go for long walks on the beach. No-one thinks to come here if their motives are negative or aggressive."
"Wow, but you could be found here by someone who's looking for you for nice reasons?"
"Hmmmm... yeah, I guess so. I'd never really thought about it."

***

I slept well that night. After a long walk along the coast in the afternoon, we had dinner delivered to our room, then Janet went off to speak to the man from reception and I fell asleep. I dreamt about Kelly again, but she wasn't talking to me this time. It was less vivid. I could just feel her in bed beside me - warm and comforting. It made me happy. I was happy for the first time in many, many months.