Читать книгу Keep Your Friends Close: A gripping psychological thriller full of shocking twists you won’t see coming - June Taylor - Страница 18

The next morning unravelled itself slowly, creeping out of the darkness between short bursts of sleep. Karin had inherited Birgitta’s sleepless gene. The difference was that her mother claimed it was a waste of time anyway: ‘For losers, Karin,’ she would say. Sometimes, when ghosts and monsters got the better of Karin, she would creep into her parents’ room, distressed and frightened. ‘Silly child,’ was her mother’s only comfort. ‘Either go back to bed, or else get up and do something useful.’ So Karin would return to bed, muffling her cries until the morning made her feel safe again.

The only way to get Karin to be more independent was to send her away to boarding school, where she would develop the powers of ‘thinking for herself’. Karin was never officially told this was the reason, just snippets of conversations wafting upstairs or through doors left slightly ajar. But once Karin did develop the powers of ‘thinking for herself’, she worked out that there must be other factors involved in this decision. Birgitta’s career was beginning to take off. Furniture design and quirky household products. Later, log cabins and trendy alternative living spaces. Her work was revered the world over, in magazines and trade press. But the name Svendsen was a curse as far as Karin was concerned. She got rid of it as soon as she could.