A Sneak Peek on Going Home – Excerpt #2

Guess what? It’s only one month until Going Home is released. I can hardly believe it! To celebrate, here is another excerpt from the novella. Enjoy!

She wasn’t sure how long she had crouched there when the feeling of panic finally began to dissipate. She hoped she hadn’t missed the train. She trembled as she raised her head. Looking around she felt a faint sense of relief; there was no-one there. The episode was over, but it left behind it a weakness in her limbs, a trace of nausea and a fearful heaviness in her thoughts. She needed a smoke. She smoked irregularly, often but not always daily, sometimes a lot and sometimes a little but always, always after an episode. It calmed her, or so she told herself. She rummaged through the bag for a few moments, searching for her lighter, before remembering that it had been confiscated when she checked in her bag. She swore under her breath. She had a whole carton of cigarettes, another benefit of flying, and she really wanted a smoke right about now. Going back inside to one of the shops, past the coffee bar, was not an option. She wet her lips and looked around. There was still no-one in sight. After ripping a hole in the plastic around the carton, she took out one of the packs and fished a cigarette out of it. Glancing around again, she then pressed her right index finger against the end of the cigarette. The heat began building up at once; this was her most used trick and the only one she could do really well. It really only worked when she was keyed up, which was sort of appropriate since she often smoked to calm down. After a few moments a small wisp of smoke began rising from the now glowing end of the cigarette. She kept her fingertip there until the heat began to sting before removing it, lifting the cigarette to her lips and taking a long drag.

Once the cigarette was over she had calmed down some more, although she still felt a lingering queasiness. She put the cigarette out against the wall of the building and picked her bag up. She found her train easily and took a seat by the window, shoving her large bag onto the overhead shelf with some difficulty. As the train started to roll out from the station she put her ear-buds in and let the sound of wailing guitars fill her head as she headed north.