Chapter 33
Thirty-Three
Gemma
Ruby’s voice booms out as I grab the scarf and run as fast as I can through the snow.
I don’t know what she’s saying and I don’t care.
Morgan needs me so my shouty neighbour can wait.
More snow keeps falling. The weather reports were right about the storm getting worse.
As I reach the entrance to the woods, my legs go jelly-like.
I don’t want to go in. The past comes flooding back to me and it’s telling me to step away from the woods.
My mouth is dry and my heart feels as though it’s begging to give out.
I pull my phone out. I have to call Ethan.
I need him. Damn, my signal’s gone but Morgan needs me.
I can’t leave her in those woods. On taking one step, then another, I know I can push through this for my daughter.
I’m scared for Morgan and Harry. I keep following the path, trying my hardest not to slip and then the streetlights run out. I’m now alone in the dark with only the sound of my fast shallow breaths keeping me company. Every time I exhale, plumes of white mist fill the air.
My chest tightens. The last time I ventured down this path, Jasmine disappeared.
Is this history repeating itself, only with my daughter this time?
‘Morgan.’ Please hear me, Morgan. On holding my phone out, I see that there are footprints in the snow.
They’ve been snowed over but they’re still defined.
The footsteps point in one direction – towards the den, and I can see dog paw prints too.
I’m not sure I even remember where the den is.
My teeth chatter as I follow them. ‘Morgan.’ Please don’t make me have to do this.
I stop and listen, in the hope of hearing them or the dog then I look down at the footprints again.
There are three sets, not two, which means that someone else is out there with the kids. They – we – are not alone.
The snap of a branch makes me stop dead. I quietly exhale. ‘Who’s there?’ Why did I even say that? Now whoever is out there knows I’m close. My knees shake with each step, and I worry that I’ll fall over.
A thrashing sound in the bushes makes me cry out automatically.
I place a hand on my beating heart and listen.
Someone whooshes behind me and they push me hard.
I manage to keep my footing after doing a bit of a dance to stand upright then I turn, but they’re gone.
Whoever tried to knock me over is running away from the path, taking the more treacherous route over a small brook, towards the back end of Quinn’s and Ray’s gardens.
Even though all of my senses are telling me to turn around and get help, I force myself to keep going forward, for Morgan. Is this person running away because they’ve hurt the children?
A dog barks in the distance. It has to be Diggerty.
I follow the sound and he emerges through a bramble bush trailing his lead behind him.
I grab the lead and the dog wags its tail.
I want to carry on running to find Morgan and Harry, but my heart feels like it’s about to stop.
I can barely breathe at the thought of what could be ahead.
I’m gasping and the pain in my chest is intensifying.
With my hand on my stomach, I fall to my knees in a dizzy heap, burying them in the snow.
All I want is for Morgan to be okay and for my baby to cling on.
Tears stream down my face. If only I could force my stupid legs to work and make my panic attack subside.
The woods are spinning around me. I close my eyes in the hope that it’ll help.
That’s when I hear footsteps thundering through the woods.
‘Diggerty,’ Harry calls.
‘Here,’ I manage to croak. I’m relieved that he’s okay, though I haven’t heard Morgan’s voice. I go to stand but I stumble again.
Morgan and Harry run towards me through the snow, and I gasp with relief. They’re both okay. I want to shout at Morgan, ask her why she went into the woods, but I can’t get my words out.
Harry is on one side of me and Morgan is on the other. They help me up, and Harry takes the dog.
‘Mum, is everything okay? Do you need an ambulance?’
She knows about the baby. I was on the floor trembling. She thinks I fell. I shake my head. The spinning has slowed down to a mere wooziness now. ‘I’m okay. I didn’t fall. I kind of lost my footing but I’m okay. What were you doing out here?’
Morgan glances at Harry and it’s as if they’re communicating in facial expressions. Harry answers. ‘We were just walking Diggerty. He likes to run around the woods.’
I know there’s more to this story, and I also know we need to get out of these woods. As we return to the lit path that leads us back to Clover Lane, I can’t help but question them further. ‘There was someone else in the woods. I heard them before you found me. They bumped into me from behind.’
Morgan doesn’t say a word, and Harry looks away. ‘We didn’t see anyone, Mum.’
‘I don’t want you going there again. I told you to never go into the woods.’
‘Okay.’ Morgan presses her lips together.
‘And keep your phone on.’
‘It is on. I don’t have a signal.’ She pulls it out of her pocket to show me. Her phone is indeed on.
It’s not the time or place to give her a lecture so I leave it at that. As we reach Clover Lane, Harry walks away with Diggerty. ‘Bye, Morgan. I’ll catch you tomorrow.’
‘Okay. See ya.’
He’s gone in a flash. Ruby is standing outside my house, waiting for me to return, and I can tell by the look on her face that it isn’t a friendly visit.