Chapter 4: The Trauma of Terri Wilkinson
Terri Wilkinson remained in that bed for what seemed an eternity but was, in reality, only six hours after she had been shot. And it was she alone, who knew who had pulled the trigger.
Terri wondered if she would ever wake and she wondered about how her husband was coping…
---
Brad Wilkinson was coping surprisingly well when his door bell rung. Marching down the hallway, he followed what could have been his wife's final footsteps. But Brad was prepared. He had the sharpest kitchen knife with him…
---
Benjamin Jones stood outside the Wilkinson residence. Ellie had baked some muffins but Charlie needed feeding so she had sent Ben over. Ben was still a little creeped out that he was stood where Terri's attacker had stood only six or so hours ago.
Ben had almost decided to leave when the door opened.
"Hello my wife and I-" Ben began but Brad cut him off.
"I don't want your charity or your pity. Please go," he said.
Ben opened his mouth to argue but something in the hallway mirror caused him to close his mouth abruptly.
Brad had a knife behind his back.
"Goodbye" Brad said, closing the door.
Ben left the creepy allotment and headed home.
---
Amy and Matt were sat in their Jacuzzi, relaxing. Amy sipped her drink.
"Matt," she began. It was time to tell him.
"Yes?" Matt grunted, closing his eyes as the Jacuzzi bubbles seemed to blank out his less-than-perfect life.
"I have something to tell you," Amy continued, uncertainly. "I'm…pregnant"
Matt gasped. "Oh! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I only found out this morning" Amy lied. She had known for a week, but she was afraid Matt would freak.
"Tom and Catherine will be so pleased." Matt said, kissing Amy on the forehead.
"We should celebrate!" Matt jumped to his feet at the idea.
Amy flinched at the thought of a party. Matt was a different man around alcoholic beverages.
"Tonight. I'll invite some mates" Matt rattled on, ignoring Amy. "We'll have a big bash" Matt droned on.
"I'll go get cooking" Amy said, climbing out the pool and heading towards the house.
---
Ben walked into his house and sank into his armchair.
Sensing something was wrong; Ellie laid the sleeping Charlie in his cot then went downstairs into the Living Room.
"What's wrong, honey?" she asked.
"It seems we don't know our neighbours as well as we thought we did…" Ben growled.
"What do you mean?" Ellie inquired.
Ben merely gestured to the muffin basket.
"What? Is he allergic to blueberry?" Ellie asked.
"No, the muffins were fine. It's just…" Ben told his wife the story about Brad and the knife.
"Oh my
gosh" Ellie gasped.
"It's true," Ben said. "The
Wilkinson family has some secrets they don't want people to know."
"Maybe the person who shot Terri knew one of those secrets?" Ellie suggested. Ben shrugged.
"So many mysteries…so many unanswered questions" Ben thought aloud.
---
Charlene sat in her room. Her chest and face were covered in bruises. Her lip was bleeding and most of her hair had been cut so short; it looked as if it had been tore out.
And Charlene laughed. It was all self-inflicted.
"Now…for my plan to begin,"
---
Amy was cooking a curry when the doorbell rang. She left the curry sizzling. Amy walked down the wooden hallway, wondering who would call at this time. She opened the door, timidly.
There stood Charlene, but she looked as if she had been mugged.
"What happened?" Amy gasped.
"My ex-boyfriend beat me up," she said.
"That's awful. Where's Erin?" Amy asked, compassionately.
"She's with my mum," Charlene said quickly.
"O.K." Amy said, unsurely.
"Could I stay here? Just for the night" Charlene said, weakly.
Amy nodded, and Charlene stepped into the house she had always dreamed of owning.
---
"That's awful," Emily said when Catherine had finished her dramatic retelling of Mrs. Wilkinson's story.
"I know," Catherine drank the remainder of her coffee, leaving only the dregs.
The two sat in silence, pondering the fate of their already ill-fated neighbour.
"What time is it?" Emily inquired, after a few minutes of time.
"Half Nine," Catherine said, instantly.
"I see." Emily said. "I must be going," Emily drank the last bit of her own tea and bid her neighbour goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow,"
Catherine
watched her neighbour exit her house, and sighed.
"So little you
know," Catherine Gardener said, smiling. In her hand was a piece of
paper. The piece of paper would explain the attack on Mrs. Wilkinson.
And only Mrs. Gardener knew.
---
Charlene sat in one of the large bedrooms of the Bourne residence. It was decorated in a lovely white. Charlene loved how it smelt of Jasmine, Amy's favourite smell.
Charlene had wormed her way into Amy's life and it was time to get closer to her. Charlene picked up a photo of her idol, and gazed at Amy.
It was a picture of Amy and Matt's wedding day. Amy had lovely long curly hair, and Matt looked rugged and handsome. They were the perfect couple back then, until things had started to deteriorate…
But Charlene knew this perfect image was all a false pretence. She had heard the rows. But she was obsessed with Amy. Charlene would learn everything about Amy then she could become Amy.
Amy walked into the room. "I brought you some of my old clothes to wear. They're not in mint condition, but I hope they'll be better than your torn clothes. And you can use my personal bathroom if you want to scrub up."
Charlene looked at the white blouse with a button missing, and the jeans that were too small for Amy. But she was happy. Charlene nodded.
"I'll do that." Charlene said, smiling.
---
Under the cover of night, a new resident on Appleby Street was moving in. He had dark hair, dark eyes, tanned skin and a white smile. He seemed to be the perfect man. He was here for a reason though. And soon he'd be so deeply involved with Terri Wilkinson, he'd discover her many secrets she was hiding from her friends, and from the residents of Appleby Street. He was going to find out if it killed him.
---
As Terri lay in her bed, she could tell she would soon face her killer again. And her killer could be attempting to finish what they'd started. A nurse checked over Terri, noting she was stable, but it was strange she hadn't already died. The wound was deep and it would have killed a normal person, it hadn't killed Terri Wilkinson.
Life is a gift. It can be taken at any moment. But to some, it is a gift, given to them from heaven. Everyone shapes their own life and choose their paths. The people are us help us shape it, whether they are good, bad, or well-meaning. But it is those who affected our lives we turn to when things go wrong. We hope that they will shelter us from reality, and heal our wounds. But some wounds are too deep to heal, and some mysteries are too secret to discover…