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Grace tiptoed slowly, keeping her eyes on Je
She deliberately aimed for a point a few metres away. As she reached the edge, she tried not to look down, but her feet dislodged a pile of snow and it fell away into the hidden maw below. All Grace’s senses screamed at her to get back, but she couldn’t. Not yet.
Je
‘Je
Je
Grace edged towards them. ‘Je
‘He moved on without a second thought …’ Je
‘I’m really sorry, Je
Je
‘Yes.’ Grace’s voice shook. She had a flash of Adam’s joyous face on their wedding day, and felt a tear slide down her cheek. ‘And then he vanished, Je
Grace moved within range of them and held her arms out. Give her to me, she implored silently.
Millie suddenly seemed to realise that her mother was there. She screamed and pushed away from Je
Strong hands grabbed her and pulled. She staggered backwards, regaining her balance. She looked to see that Ben was behind her, his face deathly white. ‘Thank you,’ she said, but he was staring beyond her.
Je
Silence enveloped them. Then Je
Grace stroked Millie’s face, and found it was icy. Millie’s wails were weakening now, to intermittent exhausted sobs. Something screeched overhead, but Grace didn’t care what ghouls might emerge from the shadows tonight to chase her. Nothing was more frightening than how close she had come to losing Millie.
‘Grace,’ Je
There was an ominous edge to Grace’s next words. ‘What happened to Adam last year?’
Je
‘Because someone in your family knows the truth.’
Now Je
‘Why do you say that, Grace?’ Ben cut in.
Grace had a very brief moment of hesitation. But the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced she was right. To hell with secrets and silence, she decided.
‘Because I think Adam was your half-brother.’
Ben and Je
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Ben said eventually.
Grace felt with her free hand and pulled the newspaper article out of her pocket, brandishing it at them. ‘I was looking at this in the car while I was waiting for you, and I said to myself that Adam doesn’t resemble this man at all – he looks more like your dad. It was only a casual thought, but something made me re-examine it. And the more I considered it, the more I felt it had the potential to explain a lot of things …’
Je
Ben got up, and held his hand out to his sister. ‘Look, let’s go back to the house, get warm, then we can talk.’
They stumbled along in silence, Ben supporting Je
Finally, they saw the lights in the distance. As they got closer to the schoolhouse, Claire was waiting on the doorstep. She ran a hand over her face in relief as soon as she spotted them.
Grace didn’t want to go inside. Instead, she headed towards Ben’s car. Her fingers were closing on the handle when a voice hissed from the darkness behind her, ‘Why couldn’t you just leave?’
The distant light from the schoolhouse cast a low glow on Meredith’s face, and her eyes were furious, the hollows beneath them sunken furrows.
Grace was too livid to know where to start. ‘How dare you,’ she replied, as Millie began snuffling against her shoulder.
Je
When Meredith didn’t say anything, Je
‘You made me think he didn’t care rather than tell me the truth,’ Je
‘Je
‘I LOVED him, Mum,’ Je
Grace flinched.
‘Je
‘Don’t you dare, Mum – you … you …’
‘Everybody, stop,’ Claire demanded, her face distressed. ‘Come inside, Je
Je
Grace stood defiant before those glacial eyes. ‘I’m calling the police,’ she said stonily. ‘And you can tell them exactly where my husband is … because I would bet both my life and Millie’s that you know what happened.’
They glared at one another.
Ben came and pressed a hand against Grace’s back. ‘Grace, let’s go.’
She let him guide her to the car. He helped her in with Millie, then closed their door and walked around to the driver’s side, saying, ‘Come on, Bess,’ and letting the dog jump through into the back.
‘I’ll go really slowly,’ he said as he got in. ‘Just hold her tight in case we skid.’
They exchanged a tense look before he began to reverse. As the headlights swept around, Grace saw Meredith one last time, standing on her driveway, her posture as rigid as always, watching them leave.