Book tour: The New Girl - Ingrid Alexandra - EXTRACT

 

You’ve only just met.
But she already knows you so well.
When Rachel moves into the spare room in Mary’s flat, everyone is quick to jump to the conclusion that there’s something strange about her. Everyone apart from Mary.

And when Rachel starts sleepwalking, everyone’s fears grow. But there’s something about the new girl that Mary can’t help but trust, and having recently escaped a toxic relationship, she needs the support.

Rachel becomes a friend and an ally, and Mary soon discovers that they have more in common than she ever could have imagined.

In fact, Rachel seems to know more about Mary than she knows about herself…

EXTRACT

I sigh with relief, but my heart is still racing and my

mouth is dry. I swing my legs over the side of the bed

and tiptoe out the door. The clock on the microwave reads

03:30 as I creep through the fragrant summer darkness into

the kitchen. I could wait until my vision adjusts, but I’m

dying for water, so I slide my hand along the hallway wall

until my fingertips find the switch. Fluorescent lights blink

to life and it’s a moment before I can see.

Rachel stands in front of me.

With a shout I stumble backwards, the small of my back

slamming into the countertop. ‘Ow. Sorry, I . . . I didn’t

think anyone . . .’ I stop. There’s something funny about

the way Rachel’s standing. And her expression. She’s

hunched over the counter, both hands fl at on its surface,

staring into what would have been darkness before I turned

on the light. ‘Rachel?’

She remains silent, staring ahead. A strange chill creeps

through me.

‘Rachel? It’s just me, Mary.’

She cocks her head, those golden-hazel eyes meeting

mine, but they’re blank. Unseeing.

I take a step backwards. Then something changes. I can’t

explain it. It’s like there was a film over Rachel’s eyes, and

now it’s peeling back and they’re clear again. She’s looking,

not through me, but at me.

‘Hey.’ She smiles, blinks. She stares down at her hands,

still pressed flat to the counter, and pulls them away as

though she’s been burned. She puts them behind her back.