Page 23 of The Cut

Ben stood in the shower, letting the hot water cascade down over his thinning crown. He turned the heat to maximum, blasting the jet into the base of his aching spine.

‘DAD … Come on! LET’S GO!’ Lily was clattering around in the kitchen. The relentless jingle of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ floated up the stairs to torment him.

Ben turned off the water and threw on a towelling robe, too lazy to dry himself; whacked some deodorant under his wet pits and took a mouthful of Listerine.

He stood for a second on the threshold of the en-suite, stared at the unmade bed and searched his brain for where he was supposed to be going with Lily.

For the life of him, he couldn’t remember.

Sleep had eluded him in recent months. He’d been jolting awake in drenched sheets to the sound of shattering glass as Russian gangsters in motorcycle helmets swarmed his house in the middle of the night.

Dave crawling up the stairs from the basement door like a monstrous chimera emerging from the mouth of hell.

He couldn’t take the tossing and turning anymore and had finally resorted to Zopiclone, which left him with a metallic taste in his mouth and a blurred reality, like a video with out of sync dialogue.

Downstairs, Dani wandered into the kitchen, mules clattering on the polished concrete floor.

Nate was slumped on the floor in the den under a makeshift tent consisting of a cashmere throw from the sofa and a clothes airer.

The curtains were drawn and the room was in darkness.

Lily was sitting cross-legged on a bean bag, with a tablet open on her lap, the light from the screen illuminating her face in an eerie glow as she read.

‘Say it again slowly.’ Nate poked his head out from the makeshift tent.

‘“Sod off!” The heel of a foot donkey-kicks him in the ribs. “Keep your hands to yourself, faggot.”’

‘LILY … language!’ Dani was pouring coffee from a cafetière.

‘What?’ She huffed in annoyance. ‘It’s what it says in the script. I’m testing Austin Butler here on his lines.’ She yawned and picked at the scab on her shin.

‘Shut up … just read it.’ Nate was sitting up now. He threw a bag of Haribo at his sister.

‘Bribery will get you everywhere.’ Lily stuffed a sour snake into her mouth and continued. ‘E.X.T. Campsite. Night … What does E.X.T. mean?’ She screwed up her face.

‘Exterior, as in outside … idiot.’ Nate tried to get into character, lying flat on his side listening to the imaginary howling wind, half of his face buried into the carpet.

‘It’s a camping trip to the Brecon Beacons.

There’s a wild animal in the forest … or at least that’s what they think it is, but I think it’s a werewolf.

Karine says it’s like that scene in A Quiet Place …

if they hear you, they hunt you. Come on , I need to know these lines. ’ Nate pleaded.

‘It just says “heavy breathing” and “he screams”. It’s not exactly Shakespeare.’ Lily picked the remains of a Gummy Bear from her teeth. 131

‘Give it me.’ Nate tried to swipe the tablet, but Lily kept it at arm’s length. She rolled off the bean bag and crouched on the floor, commando style, face-to-face with Nate. She continued, her voice intoning a suspenseful whisper.

‘The patter on the tight canopy overhead is like fingertips on a drum skin. Outside, sheet lightning illuminates the boughs of a tree.’ Lily glanced up for a second, a terrified expression on her face.

‘Jagged shadows of branchy limbs reaching out across the sky, their nails scratching at the door.’

‘ROOAARRAAGGHH!’ Dani pounced on Nate from behind with an almighty growl, decimating the makeshift rehearsal tent.

‘NOOO!’ Nate nearly jumped out of his skin, squealing in shock. ‘GET OFF ME! HELP! DAD!’

Upstairs, Ben heard the commotion coming from the den.

His heart leapt into his mouth. Someone had broken in, someone was attacking his family.

He threw himself down the stairs and turned the corner.

He skidded into the kitchen, scrambling towards the worktop.

Grabbing a carving knife from the block, he bolted into the darkened den.

‘GET OFF HIM! LEAVE THEM ALONE!’

The chaos of the violent struggle suddenly broke apart.

Lily and Dani were rolling around on the floor in stitches as Nate tried to cover the fact that he had nearly peed himself laughing. Lily spluttered, ‘Yeah, Dad … that’s exactly what he says in the script. You know the lines better than Nate.’

Ben panted heavily, catching his breath. His face was white and his hands trembled. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

Dani’s eyes fell on the knife in Ben’s hand. ‘We’re only playing around, love.’

‘Christ … I thought there was an intruder.’ Ben was hyperventilating. ‘You scared the life out of me.’ 132

His family stared at him, the smiles disappearing from their faces. Nate gathered himself up and draped the throw over the sofa, while Dani packed away the rest.

‘Chill out, Dad.’ Lily breezed by him to get her coat. ‘It’s just a rehearsal for the film. Exterior. Night. Some scary camping trip that Nate’s shooting tomorrow … Can we go now, please?’

Ben stood staring at Nate in silence. He didn’t move, he didn’t breathe. An overwhelming need to cocoon his children washed over him.

‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’ Dani fussed past Ben. ‘Come on, snap out of it, love. We’ve got guests,’ she muttered under her breath. ‘Don’t want Karine to think you’re a nutcase.’

‘Well, this is all very exciting.’ Ben turned to see Karine standing in the hallway. Had she been here this whole time?

‘Can you show me down to … wherever your Wi-Fi and service board is?’ She glanced down to Ben’s hand.

He tucked the knife behind his leg and hesitated, before moving tentatively towards the kitchen.

He carefully replaced the long blade into the block and headed into the hallway.

His hands were still shaking as he tried to fit the key into the lock of the basement door.

‘Er … how long are you going to be? I have a work call in twenty minutes.’

‘Wait. Dad … I thought we were going to Palmers to get a Christmas tree?’ Lily interjected.

‘Yeah … well, after my work call. It’s important.’ Ben shifted uncomfortably.

‘It’s Saturday …’ Lily slumped back angrily on to one of the kitchen bar stools.

‘Not now, Lily!’ Ben snapped. 133

Dani and Lily exchanged a look as Karine defused the tension. ‘I won’t be long, I just need to run a few extra cables to video village, then I’ll be out of your hair.’

Ben paused for a second at the top of the stairs to the basement. ‘Fine, just give me a minute to tidy up a few things.’ The door banged behind him.

Karine’s eyes narrowed before turning back to the sulking teenager at the kitchen island. ‘Hey, you’re a really convincing actor, Lily … Do you want to be in the film? We need some female energy.’

Lily’s face flushed and she pulled her hood over her head. ‘Nah, that’s Nate’s thing.’

‘Well, let me know if you change your mind.’ Karine smiled at Dani, who had been frantically nudging Lily to say yes.

‘Nate’s been so secretive about the whole thing. I’m dying to know what you’ve been up to the last few weeks.’ Dani leant in conspiratorially.

‘He’s doing great. He’s a natural performer.’ Karine winked at Dani. ‘But we will need one or two night shoots, if that’s OK with you and Ben?’

Something in Lily switched at the sound of Karine’s praise and the idea of some exhilarating nightlife, anything to alleviate her teenage boredom and get out of the house. ‘All right then … I’ll give it a go.’ The sibling rivalry overrode her reticence.

‘Amazing! Just out of interest … are you a good swimmer?’

‘She’d give Tom Daley a run for his money.’ Dani was nodding encouragingly at Lily.

‘He’s a diver, love.’ Ben was holding open the basement door for Karine with a face like thunder.

‘Diving works for me.’ Karine’s eyes met Ben’s as she descended the stairs into the darkness. He watched her go, then turned to 134 Dani, who was silently fist-bumping Lily by the door. Her new career as ‘momager’ appeared to be in full swing.

Ben stood at the top of the stairs, monitoring Karine’s every move.

He really didn’t want anyone down there rooting through his private things, not right now with everything going on at work.

And the timing of this film was making him feel uneasy.

As Karine plunged into the darkness, Ben took one step down and gently closed the door behind him.

He watched as she fumbled with her iPhone, trying to find the torch.

His hand hovered over the light switch but he decided to leave her in darkness.

He watched as she shone the torch into the corners of the gloomy space.

The light passed over the steel shelves bolted to the stone walls, loaded with crates of fine wine.

Ben’s collection, an investment of sorts.

Several worthless oil paintings and framed prints were filed vertically against a mountain of plastic stacking crates full of junk.

There was a pile of old suitcases and the blue-painted wooden highchair that the little Knots had once sat in, passed down through generations.

The silhouette of an old dressmaker’s mannequin, propped against the wall in the corner, was draped with an old flea-ridden fur coat.

When they had sold the old house, Ben hadn’t thrown a single thing away. It had all just been shoved down here and forgotten about.

Karine’s torch light picked up the narrow corridor of Ben’s wine cellar and followed the line of shelves into the storage area.

‘The router is right behind you, in the service cupboard.’

The basement spluttered into light as Ben finally flicked the switch. Karine jumped and shielded her eyes from the glare of the strip bulbs.

She exhaled sharply. ‘Thanks.’

‘What exactly is it you need?’ Ben took another step down. 135

Karine opened the metal locker bolted to the wall and held out her phone. ‘Just a photo of your set-up for my crew. Ed will sort you out.’ Her hand reached out to a large black box, flickering with green light.

‘Don’t touch that.’ Ben’s tone caught her by surprise. He softened. ‘It’s … for my work. The house Wi-Fi runs from a different system.’

She pocketed her phone. ‘OK, I’ll let the boys know.’

Ben noticed her eyes scan the basement again. He didn’t trust her and needed to keep a tight grip on this. He was standing on thinning ice, the ominous creak of his fate about to shatter everything; unable to do anything about it, except fall. Ben stood his ground as Karine got closer.

‘Before you do any more filming, I’m going to need to see this … deal.’ He made air quotes with his fingers. ‘You know what I’m talking about.’ His phone vibrated in his back pocket. He looked at the screen. ‘I have to take this.’

She smiled awkwardly at him. ‘Then I’ll get out of your hair.’

‘I need the contract or I’m pulling the plug … You understand me?’

Karine nodded as Ben stepped out of the way, opened the door and permitted her to leave.

‘Dad, come on, let’s go.’

Ben left the basement, closing the door firmly behind him, and answered his phone.

‘Lars?’

‘What the fuck, Ben? The FSA are here at the office, they’re confiscating everyone’s computers.’ His voice was a hissed whisper. He was clearly rattled.

‘Listen …’ Ben headed outside after Lily, halting on the thresh-old of the house. ‘I’m gonna need to call you back, Lars.’ 136

‘Ben, don’t hang up …’ Ben killed the call and froze. A motorbike was speeding off around the corner on to Barton Rise; the rider was wearing a matt-black crash helmet. It was the same one he had seen in the rear-view mirror, the one that had been following him and run him off the road.

His phone buzzed: a text from Lars.

What the hell have you done?