Truths I Never Told You : A Novel (2020) by Rimmer Kelly

Author:Rimmer, Kelly [Rimmer, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

Maryanne

1958

My heart was thundering against the wall of my chest as I walked from the driveway to Grace and Patrick’s front door that night. Over seven hours had passed since the time Grace and I were due to meet in that alley. I had hung the last of my hope on the remote possibility that Grace might have found her own way home. I’d almost convinced myself that we’d inadvertently had some communication confusion somewhere along the line.

I paused at the door, and for the first time in years, I offered up a prayer.

Please, God. Please let her be inside.

I drew in a deep breath and pushed the door open to find Mrs. Hills sitting on the couch watching the television, wearing a deep-set scowl.

“Where is she?” Mrs. Hills bit out as she struggled to her feet, only to wave her cane vaguely in my direction. “She said three o’clock! It’s nearly nine-thirty! My husband had to make his own dinner and he is furious!”

“Grace isn’t here?” I whispered.

“No, she’s certainly not!” Mrs. Hills said, raising her voice just a little, then glancing toward the boys’ bedroom guiltily. She dropped it to a whisper before she finished, “And neither is he, the useless lout he is. He’ll stumble in drunk sooner or later, mark my words.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hills,” I said. When Mrs. Hills started walking toward the door and I realized she intended to leave me alone with the children, I panicked. “Oh, please don’t leave. I have to—”

“Young lady, I have been here all day with those children. I am exhausted. If you think I’m staying here for one more second, you have another thing coming.”

The door slammed behind her, and I found myself standing alone in Grace’s living room. Panic once again began to claw at my throat but I had to hold myself together because I had no idea when Patrick would walk through that door. I needed a plan to keep looking for Grace, but I also needed to come up with some kind of story to tell her husband, because I knew that if I told him the truth, he’d have no qualms in handing me over to the police.

“Momma?” a tiny voice said behind me. I spun around to face the entrance to the bedroom, and there in the doorway stood Beth. She was clutching a teddy bear, wearing a green nightgown and diaper, and her little cheeks were rosy red.

She was utterly adorable, and I was absolutely terrified of her.

“No, not Momma,” I croaked, shaking my head. “It’s Aunt Maryanne.”

“Where Momma?” Beth asked me. She dropped the teddy bear to rub sleepily at her eyes, and my chest started to feel tight. Gone, Bethany. She’s gone and maybe she’s never coming back to us. I waved her vaguely back towards her room, trying to school my features to hide my fear.

“Go back to bed. Everything is fine.”

“Want Momma,” Beth said, dropping her hands from her eyes to give me a stubborn, determined glare.

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