Every Little Breath: A Tense Psychological Thriller Full of Twists
Every Little Breath: Then – Chapter 6

Two Years Later

Gareth Noakes sat on the beach and stared out at the sea. It was a calm evening and unseasonably warm for the start of April; the sky clear and the moon almost full, casting a silvery sparkle over the gently rolling waves.

It hadn’t been his choice to move here and he had protested bitterly when his mother and his uncle had decided to up sticks and move Gareth, Ethan and their cousins, who were now their stepbrothers, Kelvin and Rod, down to the tiny fishing hamlet of Sizewell.

They needed a fresh start Julie Noakes had said, away from the gossip and the accusations.

Gareth knew it had been tough for his mother. It had been for all of them. A lot of people found it difficult to believe that she hadn’t known what her husband was up to. Had she just been stupid, they questioned, or had she known, but chosen to turn a blind eye?

After Steve was jailed, she had made the decision to divorce him, then just eighteen months later she had betrayed him further, by marrying Dennis. Steve and Dennis had always been close, but even more so since Gareth’s Aunt Wendy had died. Now, with his half-brother out of the way, Dennis had twisted it to his advantage, getting his feet firmly under the table.

Of course, his mother had dressed the move up differently, saying she was concerned about Gareth, too, and it would be good for him to have a fresh start. She had told him she was worried about his obsession with Casey and felt it was getting out of hand.

He hadn’t liked that. Casey was his girlfriend and she had betrayed him. It was only natural that he was upset.

No one could prove his little hate vendetta against her. He had been careful not to let anything link back to him. The brick through her window, the scratches on her car, the graffiti calling her a slut and then when she returned to university, the hang-up calls.

Of course, the police knew he was behind it, as did his mother, but no, they couldn’t prove it, any more than they could prove he was the one who had tipped them off about PC Finn Murphy’s steamy kiss with her, the one that Gareth had witnessed. He didn’t ever replace out if there were repercussions from that, but judging from Murphy’s scowl when he had left work that day and the fact he didn’t have any further contact with Casey, it suggested he’d had his knuckles rapped.

It had been Dennis who had initially put the idea into Julie’s head that they move down to Sizewell, telling her it would be good for them all to start over.

Dennis had stood by Steve initially, but disowned him the moment the jury returned their guilty verdict and it hadn’t taken him long to convince Julie to do the same. He had effectively brainwashed her and Gareth was disgusted with how they both turned their backs on his dad.

Dennis was nothing like Steve. He was stricter, less fun (actually, scrub that, he had no sense of humour whatsoever) and played the martyr, like he was doing them a huge favour, acting like it was his responsibility, his burden to take care of them.

He had pretty much taken charge the moment Gareth’s dad was arrested, when Julie had gone to pieces. Gareth didn’t blame her so much. He understood that Dennis had taken advantage of her at a time when she was vulnerable, upset and not of sound mind.

Gareth had lived in the house his entire life, had been devastated at the thought of leaving.

Dennis had told them to pack what they needed, made it clear that they didn’t have room to accommodate any clutter.

It had been weird being back in the house without his dad, albeit they were only there for a couple of nights, and watching Kelvin poring over everything with a morbid fascination had turned his stomach. Kelvin was a year older than Gareth and although the two of them had got on okay growing up, he was slowly turning into Dennis, liking to throw his weight around and lay down the law. He hadn’t been around the house quite so much since leaving school, preferring to hang out with his friends. Now, though, he was firmly back in Gareth’s life and making it clear that he wanted to be the alpha male. Gareth much preferred his younger cousin, Rod. Although he was a few years younger, he was quieter and more respectful. With bullying Kelvin and snivelling Ethan, Rod provided the only sanity in Gareth’s life.

The neighbouring property where three of the bodies had been found was off limits, as was the woods behind the house. Although the police had finished their investigations long ago, Dennis had warned all four boys that he didn’t want them going near it.

While Gareth didn’t appreciate being told what he could and couldn’t do, he hadn’t complained too much. The place now held so many bad memories.

Instead, he had sullenly watched as his life was packed up in boxes and eventually shifted to Sizewell, which he soon learnt was the most boring place on earth. Dominated by its power station, it was a dreary place with a tiny aging population and nothing to do, and Gareth’s only solace was the beach, a place he often escaped to when living with his uncle became too much to bear.

He had wanted to stay in Norwich, but couldn’t afford anywhere on his own. While his mother took a job with the post office, he had sought work with a local construction company. The looks and the gossiping never went away though. The case had occupied the papers for months and his father had become a household name for all the wrong reasons.

The lads he worked with never spoke about it, but equally they didn’t include him. It was the same with local people. It was a small community so everyone knew who he was.

No one would stop to make conversation and it was impossible to make friends or score a date.

It was what had ultimately led him on this path, the decision had been made for him and he understood that while he was leading this life, things would never go back to normal for him.

As he watched the rise and fall of the waves, he thought back to Casey. She would have graduated university over a year ago, had her whole life ahead of her.

Did she ever spare him a thought? Did she have any understanding of what she had put him through?

She had destroyed his life, hadn’t even been remorseful that she had done it. How was it fair that she got to go on living hers without having to face any consequences?

It was her fault this was going to happen. She had left him with no other choice. He would make her suffer for everything she had put him through.

As he slowly undressed, he thought of her reaction when she discovered what he had done. He would show her. He would show all of them.

Trainers unlaced, jeans kicked off, jumper pulled over his head. He left the clothes in a pile on the beach, checked to make sure the note he had carefully worded was still tucked safely in his jeans pocket, before stepping down to the water’s edge. He had thought about this carefully for weeks, plotted out every last detail. It was the anniversary of his father’s conviction.

How fitting. There would be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to why he had decided to follow this course of action.

The cold waves lapped over his bare feet as he stared straight ahead into the darkness.

Sucking in a deep breath, he took the first step forward.