The Drowning (Rachel Ward) by Rachel Ward

Author:Rachel Ward
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-04-29T12:00:00+00:00

I’m on my feet now and I’m throwing myself down the stairs, heading for the door.

“He’s gone mad, Kerry. He’s not safe …”

I run out the front and through the yard, vault over the wall, and I’m gone. I don’t know where I’m running to, but I can’t stay in that place another minute. I run blindly through the alleys and paths, past back-garden fences and garages and bins. I want to run forever, but my tank is nearly empty before I even begin. I slow to a jog and then start walking. My throat’s dry and my legs are like lead.

I’m around the back of the school, near a set of ramshackle buildings known as The Sheds, where the caretakers run their own little empire. It’s the middle of Saturday afternoon now. School’s empty. No staff. No kids. I duck through a gap in the chain-link fence and I’m in. The huts themselves are locked, but there’s a kind of porch outside one of them with two canvas chairs set up. I sit in one of them and try to get things straight in my head.

I’m sorry I hit Mum. If it was just me and her, I could go back home and apologize. Maybe she’d hit me back, maybe she wouldn’t. Whatever. I could take it. And I’ve got a feeling we’d be all right. We’ve been starting to get on. But now that Debbie’s there, it’s different. She’ll be twittering on and on, winding her up. I can’t go home. Not now, not yet.

The thing is, I know what this is about now. Why Rob’s so angry. He’s jealous of me and Neisha, angry at me for protecting her from him. He wants Neisha dead. And he wants to make me pay by killing her. He thinks I owe him my loyalty. Well, I’m not doing it. No way. She’s beautiful and kind, and I’m starting to feel like she could be my girl. It’s the best feeling ever. I’m not going to let him take it away.

I’ve got to find a way to tell him that. What can he do, after all? He’s dead, isn’t he?

I sit back in the chair and close my eyes. And it’s him that I see. His pale face, the zipper going up and over it. And I know in the pit of my stomach that he will hurt me if I refuse him. He’s in the water and water is everywhere and it feels like he can use it against me. And seeing him, hearing him, smelling him — every day, over and over — is tipping me closer and closer to madness. I hit Mum. What else will I do?

I’ve got to get rid of him.

Something starts buzzing in my pocket, then a ringtone blares out. Rob’s phone. For a crazy moment I think it’s him. I bring it out of my pocket, but I’m too scared to look. Then I realize how stupid I’m being. I look at the screen.

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.