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pull out his little black pocket book. Sometimes she would watch him and smile as he struggled to get the words on to the page fast enough in his excitement.
    ‘So, why here? There are plenty of other museums that have big archives like this one, bigger even,’ she finally broke the silence one day during what was supposed to be the lunch hour. She had taken to bringing her sandwiches into the dusty old store room, feeling guilty that he would be sitting in there alone if she went to the cafeteria.
    ‘When I was a boy my parents brought me to this museum. I spent a lot of time in this place. I loved all the reconstructions of the Roman occupation and the artefacts and relics that were found in the local area, but they don’t make you think like the animals do. I would sit and stare at the dioramas and feel completely lost in them. There used to be a bench opposite the African desert display where a lion had sunk its teeth into a buffalo. I would just imagine I was either the hunter or the prey, how it would feel to be one or the other, if it was even possible to understand being both.’ He swallowed and closed his eyes, a thought he couldn’t shake. He took a deep breath before starting again, a forced smile on his face. ‘This is where it all started for me, this is where I decided what I wanted to do with my life, it was a bit of a eureka moment, so this place has always held a special place in my heart.’ He spoke with a wistful tone to his voice. She could almost see his memories and his pleasure in revisiting them, then something else, fleeting sadness, a less pleasant memory, perhaps.
    ‘I always wanted to be a vet, but I dropped out of uni and here I am.’ She took a bite of her sandwich, unwilling to continue talking in case she said something she regretted.
    His simplicity was magnetic to her, it had been years since anyone had fascinated her so much, he was almost like a child in his animated way of moving and speaking and yet, just like at that moment, occasionally she would see a melancholy about him, something she couldn’t identify but something so precious that she just wanted to tell him it would all be OK. A lie, for sure, but she knew he needed comfort from something, she just didn’t know what. He put her at ease and she trusted him, despite not knowing him for long. He was nothing like anyone she had ever met, although it had been a long time since she had met anyone new.
    ‘What is it?’ he asked, she realised she had been staring at him, she blushed and looked away.
    ‘I’m sorry, I’m not used to working with people, I’m usually up here alone, and I didn’t mean to stare.’
    He didn’t say anything, just smiled, a consoling smile. He didn’t push the issue but it was too late, she felt her cheeks burning red.
    The rest of the day passed without any conversation, without any incident, and Parker walked out at five o’clock exactly. She wondered if she offended him with her question, if his past was somewhere he didn’t want to revisit. She really wasn’t used to dealing with people, or, in particular, men. When she finally came to leave, Parker was there, leaning against the street lamp, brows furrowed, concentrating on the notebook in his hands. When he looked up and saw her, the tension left his face, melted away and was replaced with the most genuine smile. She felt special for a moment. It had been a long time since she felt that way. If she had to put a number on it she would say it had been five years. It was five years since she had left college, five years since she had to restart her life all over again.

Chapter 4
    The Fresher
    Then
    The radio hummed softly, barely audible but just loud enough to quash any fear Abbey might have of being alone.
    The street light shone through the window and lit up the room making it impossible to relax. Abbey wasn’t much of a sleeper anyway, which was a shame because she had no social life.
    She looked across the room at her