On the Edge by Jane Jesmond

Author:Jane Jesmond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Verve Books
Published: 2021-06-29T09:32:09+00:00

Seventeen

My feet saved me. They hooked themselves round the underside of the window and held me upright until my hands found a hold in a broken brick. I pushed one leg back into Ma’s room, forcing the window open, and sat astride the ledge. It took a while for the adrenalin to stop sparking pain in my nerve endings and for my breathing to calm. And then I felt sick. This was no accident. My hyper-efficient brother had checked the system before we started washing the windows. Besides, the seconds before the pulley fell were taking shape in my mind. I’d seen something in the eaves. A hand, I thought, snaking out, yanking the pulleys and whipping back.

I gulped the air. It was cold. But that was good. Icy air calmed the dizziness. Pushed the panic down to manageable levels. I made myself focus on the now. Was the owner of the hand still here? Waiting?

I shut out the exterior sounds – the ever-present rushing murmur of the sea and the fainter, sharper noises of the hedgerow birds foraging in the garden – but inside the house, the silence was thick and impenetrable.

I had two options. I could climb back into Ma’s room – I couldn’t unlock the door from the inside so I’d have to sit there and wait to be found but at least I’d be safe. Or, I could climb down and run the risk that someone was waiting for me below.

I heard a thud, faint from travelling along corridors and up stairs. In my head, an image of the back door slamming shut appeared. I was sure that was what I’d heard. Then the sounds of footsteps crunching through the gravel at the back of the house. Were they leaving? I thought so. For a moment my body sagged with relief; then it didn’t. I needed to know who it was. I needed to see who was running through the woods to the road. I’d have to climb down.

I looked toward the ground.

Ma looked back up. How long had she been there? How much had she seen? I couldn’t tell whether she was angry or worried or shocked. Did she know I’d been in her room?

We stared at each other for a few frozen seconds that went on forever. Then she turned and stalked off.

I grabbed the drainpipe and shimmied down, tore after her and headed her off. She stopped. Colour rose in her normally pale face and she breathed as though she’d been running.

‘You’ve been in my room,’ she said. ‘You broke into my room.’

I looked behind her at the drive curling round the side of the house. No matter how fast I ran up it, I’d never catch up with my would-be killer now. Fuck! I turned back to Ma.

‘I had good reasons,’ I said.

‘So?’

‘So what?

‘What were your reasons? Your good reasons.’ She raised a finger and tapped my chest.

‘I thought… I thought… Oh shit, I thought you might be smuggling drugs – cocaine, heroin.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.