Author's note: Was anyone else horrified with where Ellie's story ended in the first series of Broadchurch?
I don't usually write for shows which are still in production, but I had to do something to make myself feel better :)
Unfortunately, I can't see her situation improving for a while and I wrote something which reflects my unease.
Go figure.
If you haven't seen to the end of episode eight, this might spoil things.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with (and have no financial interest in) Boardchurch. :(
ONE
Is it a week day?
She doesn't know what woke her. Could've been that manky cat from next door skittling a dustbin lid. They don't feed it enough so it prowls the neighbourhood. She'd feed it if she remembered.
Not that it matters.
The real mystery is how the sheets on the right side of the bed are still smooth. Barely disturbed. Like that every morning for a month.
Has it really been that long already?
First it was 'one week since—', then 'two weeks today'. The third slipped by, mercifully, unnoticed. But now she's hit a new milestone.
A month.
Eleven more of these and that's a year. The blanket twists in her hand; she just can't see that far ahead. When she tries to think back that long, memories blur and her stomach rolls.
Just like that, her past is gone and so is her future.
What did Beth say? Very far from myself.