The Couple Upstairs

I should never have become friends with the couple upstairs… The first time I step inside this cosy apartment with its sash windows, just minutes from the sea, I think it would be the perfect place for me and my partner Zac to start again. A chance to leave our troubled past behind. Chris and Vanessa, the couple upstairs, are so welcoming: smiles, flowers, a home-baked cake. It’s strange how he does all the talking, and she seems so shy, but I’m just thrilled to have new friends nearby. But everything starts to go wrong… my business begins to crumble, I can’t ignore the whispers at our housewarming party and loud arguments from upstairs keep me awake at night. I can’t sleep, I can’t think straight and I feel like someone is watching me in my own home. And then Zac comes home one afternoon, his face clenched with fury, and says he knows what’s going on. He knows about my secret… He won’t listen to me. He storms out and I’m left in tears, completely devastated. Why has my life fallen apart since we moved here? Am I going mad? Or is someone trying to destroy us? If only I’d known what I know now. If only I hadn’t trusted the couple upstairs...M.F