“Beep! Beep!”

“Eh? What’s that?” I thought to myself, as I slowly woke from my light sleep.

My alarm clocks illuminated display showed that it was just past midnight. With my phone set not to disturb me during the night, I was confused as to why a message alert had woken me. My sleepiness wasn’t helping me think straight.

I reached over to where the now brightly-lit phone was charging, on top of my bedside table.

“You nasty little bitch!” read the message previewed on the home screen, shocking me into a more fully awake state.

“What the fuck? Six messages?!” realising that the multiple messages from the same sender had overridden the do not disturb function. They had all been sent by Sarah.

Scrolling through the messages, she had sent the first one almost an hour ago. About fifteen minutes after I’d gone to bed.

“I thought you were going to give me a call? X” That first message read.

Fifteen minutes later, at about 11pm, “Why haven’t you called me? X”

Over the next hour, the messages had come through at about fifteen minute intervals.

“You’re such a tease! Getting me all excited in your sexy fuck-me pumps and low-cut top. Now you’re ignoring me? Call me! X”

“After all I’ve done for you. You owe me, Sam! You can’t treat me like this.”

“Too busy with your new boyfriend? You dirty sissy faggot!”

“I’m not having some queer cocksucker femboy treating me like this. You’re going to regret this!”
I was shaking. I didn’t know what to do. It was the middle of the night, but my mind was racing, almost as fast as my heartbeat.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but I got up and opened my bedroom door, and stepped out onto the dark landing. I didn’t have a plan.

There was a light coming from under the door of my Mum’s study, gently illuminating a strip of the carpet at the other end of the dark corridor.

I gently knocked on the closed door, my toes now caught in the light escaping from the room. I was hoping that my Mum was still up, and hadn’t just forgotten to turn a light out.

“Yeah?” called a voice from the other side of the closed door.

“Oh, good, you’re up,” I said, as I walked through the door into my Mum’s study.

“Yes. I was on a call with Adam. He’s just moved to Indonesia, to take on the GM role there. What’s up?”

I think my Mum thought I must have known who she was talking about. We had probably met, and had likely been introduced. Maybe even more than once. That meant nothing. Apart from her PA and EA, I had never managed to remember anyone that she worked with.

“Are you free now? Or going on another call?” I asked.

“Yeah, I was just logging off. I was about to go to bed. What’s up, honey?” she asked.

I went through with my Mum what I had discussed with Claire earlier, about the exchange I’d had with Sarah in the coffee shop. And then what Claire had shared as her view on the events she’d heard described.

“Sam, I’m inclined to think Claire was perhaps spot on. This doesn’t sound right. Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” my Mum asked.

We had had quite a long chat over dinner. James had left about an hour before Mum had got home from work at around 7pm, and over the dinner that I had prepared we discussed what she had spoken about with Dr Adam’s. The long and short of that was that I was booked in to meet with a Dr Phillips, a gender counselling specialist, next Monday.

“Well,” I paused, “I thought it was perhaps an overreaction or just my misinterpretation of what had gone on. I thought it would just, erm, go away.”

“And?” my Mum asked, “And now what? You’ve changed your mind?”

“Well,” I went on, “It hasn’t gone away. It’s actually got a bit weirder.”

I showed my Mum the six messages that Sarah had sent.

“Oh,” my Mum paused, “This woman clearly has some issues. What is likely late night drinking on her own, is probably only one of them. We’ll sort this out tomorrow. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about right now. Okay?”

“Erm,” I replied, as I paused to look down at my bare feet.

“Go on, Sam,” encouraged my Mum, “What is it?”

“I’m a bit worried that I think she has a key to the house,” I said, not looking up.

I explained how my school bag was still with her at school, and how I’d not yet picked it up after having it locked in the gymnasium. It only contained some books, stationery, my old school uniform, some makeup, Claire’s robe, my bus pass, bank card and house key. I explained how I’d not needed any of those things; I was using the spare key and had been able to use my phone to get some cash out of the ATM.

“Were you avoiding seeing her, to collect your stuff?” my Mum asked.

“No. Not really. I mean, I didn’t really want to go into school dressed like, well, you know. But I wasn’t avoiding her. Not then. I was just, erm, being a bit lazy. I guess.”

“Okay,” my Mum reassured. “Look, I don’t think there is anything to worry about. This woman has likely just had a few too many glasses of wine, and has just temporarily forgotten herself. She probably doesn’t even know she had your key, let alone would consider using it. She’s probably fallen asleep now.”

The timing couldn’t have been scripted better.

“Beep! Beep!”

“You’ll fucking regret messing me around like this!” read the latest message from Sarah.

“So, she’s not yet asleep. But still, don’t worry. Just turn your phone off for now,” my Mum advised.

“Should I block her number?” I asked

My Mum paused for a moment. “I don’t know. I’d say leave it for now. If this woman’s going to keep digging a hole for herself, then let her. Just ignore the messages.”

I nodded my agreement.

“Look,” my Mum said, “If you’re worried, I’ll make sure the house is fully locked down. Key or not, no one can get in then. Not that I’m in any way suggesting that’s what this woman wants to do; I really do think she’s just a pathetic drunk idiot. I will, however, message the security company and ask them to do a couple of drive passes through the night,” my Mum said, “We pay them enough, we may as well use them for once. And Sam, if I thought there was genuinely something to worry about; I’d be calling the police.”

We’d had access to the security for as long as I could remember. I think it first went back to when my dad was appointed as CFO of a large multinational company. Not that they thought it was likely, but I understood he was advised that he was a potential target for all sorts of financial crimes and threats of violent coercion, that I didn’t quite understand.

My Mum took care of speaking to the security company, and double-checking that the security system was working as it should. We wished each other a goodnight with a hug, and went back to bed. I didn’t, however, get back to sleep.

It was about 2am, far too early for a rising sun to be starting to brighten the sky. It was, instead, the powerful security lights on the front driveway that were shining through the gaps in my curtains. Despite my still somewhat upset state, I told myself that it would just be a cat setting them off, or maybe one of the foxes that had been recently knocking over the bins.

I then heard something that sounded like a mumbling voice, and the handle of the locked front door being repeatedly tried. I was too scared to look out of my bedroom window down towards the driveway, and just sat upright in my bed. My Mum must have heard it too, as it must have been her that set off the panic alarm a few moments later.

With the shrill alarm reverberating around the house, my Mum came into my room. “It’s okay, honey,” as she sat on my bed and gave me a hug. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, and no one can get in the house. The police and the security firm will be here soon; they pick up the alarm.”

My Mum stood, and went to the window, looking to see if it was the police or the security guards that would arrive first.

“Fucking hell!” she cried. “It’s your bloody sister!”

“What?” I cried back, as we both headed downstairs, my Mum pausing to cancel the panic alarm as she went. Albeit, too late to prevent a police car pulling into the driveway.

“Well, that was a bit embarrassing,” my Mum admitted, entering the lounge after explaining to the police that she had essentially set off a panic alarm, because her daughter couldn’t open the front door.

“What are you doing back here? In the middle of the night?” my Mum asked of Claire.

“Oh, nice to see the both of you, too,” Claire sarcastically replied, “I’m just back to pick up some clothes.”

My Mum and I were left a bit confused by Claire’s answer; she must have picked up on that

“It’s all very last minute, but Amy has invited a few of us to her family apartment in Mallorca for a couple of days. We only sorted it out late this evening; we fly out at ten tomorrow after finding some cheap flights. I need some clothes. However, this really isn’t the biggest question, is it? Why is the door double-locked? Why did you call the police?”

My Mum and I explained to Claire that it was related to some threatening text messages received from Sarah. How we really didn’t think that there was any credible threat, and how we were being over cautious; if only to allow us to get some sleep that night. A plan that was now long out of the window.

“Erm,” Claire paused.

“What is it?” my Mum asked.

“Well,” Claire went on, “It’s probably not related, but, erm, when I turned into the driveway, there was a woman stood on the other side of the road. I thought she was looking at the house, and turned away when my car approached. I didn’t think anything of it though.”

“Right,” said my Mum, “It could, of course, be completely unrelated. I will however, tell the security company. I’m also going into your old school tomorrow; we’ll get your stuff and I’ll have a word with the head teacher.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” I asked.

“No, I’ll go,” suggested Claire.

“No. Thanks. To both of you. I don’t want you seeing this woman, Sam. And Claire, it sounds like you have a holiday to get to. My driver will be with me.”

“I’m sorry Mum. I’m causing so much hassle right now,” I said.

“Don’t be silly, Sam,” my Mum reassured, “None of this is your fault. And anyway, you’ve got a long way to go before the number of sleepless nights spent worrying about you, get anywhere close to those caused by your sister here!” she joked.

“Ha, fucking, ha!” Claire responded.

Claire headed off soon after; once she had picked up the clothes that she had dropped by to collect. Mum and I went back to bed, for a third time.

The following morning, my Mum headed off to the school around 8am. Her driver had been waiting in the lounge, watching TV and drinking tea since about 6am; the time that she was due to be heading off to meetings. I don’t think that he was complaining.

My Mum returned home around 45 minutes later. She had seen and spoken to the headmaster. Apparently, upon seeing the messages and hearing what had been said, he understood the problem; but had initially suggested it wasn’t a school issue, as I was no longer a student. Whilst my Mum told me that she understood that, she had told him that the teacher’s coercive behaviour had started whilst I was a seventeen year old student at his school, and that it would be his school that the police would be visiting, to speak to Sarah. It sounds like he saw things more so from my Mum’s perspective, after her thinly veiled threat.

He had walked my Mum and her driver to Ms Greenwood’s office and in her absence found my possessions. She had called in sick earlier that morning. The head teacher assured my Mum that he would be talking to Ms Greenwood, and shared his opinion that he doubted we’d be hearing from her again. When I looked in my bag, all of my stuff appeared to be there.

“Could she have copied my keys?” I asked my Mum.

“Right, let’s not allow ourselves to get too carried away. Okay? And anyway, no, she can’t get those keys copied. You need a security code to get copies made,” my Mum replied. “I’m going to work from today, okay?”

“You don’t need to do that,” I suggested.

My Mum’s mind was, however, made up. She told her driver that he could go, and headed up to her office. “Haven’t you got studying to be getting on with?” she called to me, from halfway up the stairs.