In the Shadow of the Storm by Ella Zeiss

Author:Ella Zeiss [Zeiss, Ella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542015240
Published: 2019-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

Anna was lost in dark brooding thoughts when their front door flew open. Erich slammed it behind him, looking furious.

‘Erich!’ Anna was about to start scolding him when Rita ran over with a panic-stricken gasp.

‘You’re bleeding!’

Anna hadn’t noticed but her foster-daughter was right. Erich’s lip was torn. Dirty snow was stuck to his coat and in the warmth of the room was beginning to drip onto the floor in a dark grey trickle.

‘What happened?’ she asked. She turned his face to the light in alarm.

‘It’s nothing.’ Roughly Erich pulled himself away and wiped his mouth.

‘It doesn’t look like nothing to me. Were you in a fight?’

He looked away defiantly.

For a moment Anna had no idea what to say. This wasn’t the son she knew. He was usually so mature and sensible and she was ill-prepared for this situation. She really had enough worries right now without Erich suddenly deciding to rebel. It was two days since her visit to Boris Alexeyevich but they’d had no word from him.

‘Should I fetch the first aid box?’ Yvo asked, having put down her book and come over.

Anna pulled herself together. The questions would have to wait until she had cared for Erich’s wound. ‘Yes, fetch some swabs and the bottle of hydrogen peroxide, please.’

Yvo ran off and was back in a second with everything they needed. ‘Let me do it!’

‘All right,’ Anna said, standing back. She had already noticed her daughter’s interest in medicine. Most girls her age would turn away in disgust at the sight of a cut knee, but Yvo had already taken a first aid course and often said she would like to become a doctor one day.

Yvo carefully soaked a cotton swab in the solution. ‘This is going to burn a bit,’ she said seriously to Erich, who reacted by looking at her in annoyance. ‘Don’t move.’ She pressed the cotton swab onto the bleeding cut on his lip.

Erich gasped and tried to push her away, but she wasn’t daunted by that. She continued to repeat the procedure until she was satisfied with the results.

‘That should heal up nicely now,’ she said.

‘It would have anyway,’ Erich grumbled.

‘Are you finally going to tell me what happened?’ Anna asked him sternly.

‘I had a minor difference of opinion with Sashka,’ he said reluctantly.

‘What do you mean?’

Erich drew a sharp breath and frowned at his mother. ‘He called my father a despicable traitor, an enemy of the people. I didn’t agree and my fists didn’t either.’

‘You hit someone because he said something nasty about your father? Why couldn’t you just ignore him?’ Anna was counting all the consequences he might have to face in her mind. Could he be held to account? He was only just sixteen after all, and not an adult yet.

‘Why shouldn’t I defend myself if he and his mate ambush me and start calling me a filthy Fascist pig?’

‘They attacked you?’

‘Yes. Don’t worry, I fought them off, then I ran for it.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Anna said, hugging her son unhappily.

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