Best Friends Forever

By Charlotte Comely

Melanie is so lucky, new house, new school, new best friend. And if others find her new friend, Stephanie, a little abrasive and strange. It doesn't matter to Melanie, who finds Stephanie exciting. But when Stephanie's bizarre games, become increasingly sinister and dangerous, Melanie realises that Stephanie is hiding a dark secret explaining her behaviour. A secret that no one would be willing to believe and no one has lived to tell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spinetinglers
• Release date: Jan 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781906755959

Book preview

Best Friends Forever

Charlotte Comley

Best Friends Forever

By Charlotte Comley

eISBN - 978-1-906755-84-3

Spinetinglers Publishing

22 Vestry Road

Co. Down

BT23 6HJ

UK

www.spinetinglerspublishing.com

This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events and situations are the product of the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events is purely coincidental.

© 2014 Charlotte Comley. All rights reserved.

No part of this e-book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or, transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

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Spinetinglers Publishing

UK

PART ONE

Chapter One

Sometimes I enjoy giving people my address. I like to watch how they react. You see around here Mellar Place is more famous than number ten Downing Street. I watch as they carefully write down my address and wait to see if they are brave enough to ask.

What was it like living next door to a murderer?

Of course other days I absolutely hate it. Today is one of those days. All I want to do is get my cinema pass and go to see the film.

I look at her name tag. Yes. Kristy. I say, emphasising her name. Stephanie was always doing things like that, even to adults. She would have approved and that makes me feel warm inside.

Isn't that where those murders took place? Kristy oozed.

Yes. Look, is this going to take long? Because I would like to see a film tonight.

I couldn't read everything in the papers about it. It turned my stomach. I bet you knew him ‘n' all?

This one will take all night, the persistent ones always do. I tried to think about Stephanie and how she would handle this. I lean forward so I am close enough to see the spots hidden under Kristy’s foundation.

Yes, I knew him. I knew the whole family rather well actually. I often went round. I even ate there. But right now I want you to fill in the form, give me my cinema pass and leave me alone. And before you tell me you were only asking I want you to do it in silence.

Kristy is at least four years older than me. I can tell she is shocked. She is not used to being spoken to like this by anyone, especially someone who has just left school. I don't break eye contact or back down. She starts to copy out my bank details and I know I’ve won.

You have to stand in front of the webcam for your picture. Kristy says coolly, but I can see how uncomfortable she is.

Here's your receipt so you can get in today. Your card will come through the post in three to five days. Kristy says, busying herself tidying up papers on the desk. I grab some sweets and line up for a drink, standing in the queue I feel lonelier than ever. Not because I am at the cinema alone, after the arrest I had to get used to spending time alone. I miss Stephanie; I miss how we would have burst out laughing as we walked away.

Stephanie, who was quick and clever and could mimic anyone even if she had just met them minutes before. Stephanie, who would have bought some sweets and then pretended to eat them, except I knew she was dropping them on the floor, waiting until I ate all mine, so that I could then finish hers. I buy the sweets, but not a drink and head for home. Suddenly I don't feel like a film anymore.

I let the sweet dissolve slowly, hoping it will take some of the bitterness away. It is quite bizarre that I love living at Mellar Place. I have always been happy there. It was where I met my first real friend. Of course I didn't enjoy it when the police were digging up bodies and the press was around all the time. That was awful.

Chapter Two

When my family moved to Mellar Place it was supposed to be a clean break, a fresh start. In reality it was more like an explosion of biblical proportion. This was mostly due to my rather formidable Grandmother. Like most landlords and managers, the pub was Gran’s personal universe and she was the sun in its centre.

When I was born, my Mother and Father wanted to call me Poppy. My full name would have been Poppy Ann Fennell. I just love that name, it sounds so sweet and cute. All the midwives loved it. Poppy is a small, thin girl's name. Then my Gran came to the hospital and wanted to know why in God's name my parents had chosen such a stupid name. Gran wanted to call me Melanie Joanne. Mum protested, of course. After all it was her daughter, hadn't she spent six hours in labour, she was going to choose. That was what my mother said, but in the end, I was christened Melanie Joanne Fennell. When the vicar poured the water over my head, he sealed my fate forever as a big fat plain girl from Fulsbeck.

We use to live in a terrace house on Casters Road five doors down from Gran and across the road from Aunty Cathy. Gran was always proud of the fact that she had paid the deposit for both Mum and Aunty Cathy’s houses. So proud in fact, that she reminded them of it every single day. Sometimes Dad would add with unhidden bitterness that she also chose the houses too. Of course he never said it to Gran's face. Anyone that brave would immediately be snapped up to be some sort of suicidal fighter pilot.

Mum had a hard time working at the pub. I thought Cathy was supposed to be opening up this morning and doing the cleaning. She would say.

Well, Cathy had a hard night with the twins. Gran would reply.

But I am working the lunch shift and doing all the meals.

We’re family and we stand by each other. That’s what we do. Cathy would do the same for you if you needed help.

"Yes, I’m sure. That’s why