Chapter 67
Chapter Sixty-Seven
A week with Rose allowed Evie to get her mind adjusted to what lay ahead. She loved staying with her friend, but after a few days, the kids were starting to get on her nerves, and she craved the solitude and space she needed to process what had happened. The past years had been spent in the company of Bob, or if not, worrying about when he was coming home, or what he was going to accuse her of, or berate her for next. With each day, the relief that he was no longer controlling her every move gave her a growing sense of freedom. By the time the week ended, she was ready for the next step.
Rose hugged her and saw her onto the Greyhound bus that would take her to Brisbane. A short train ride to Cleveland and then a ferry ride at five o’clock in the afternoon across to the island would see her nearly to her new home. ‘There’s a shuttle bus to Flinder’s Beach that runs from where the ferry comes in at Dunwich. I haven’t been there for years, but Chris tells me nothing much has changed.’
‘I’ll ring you once I’m settled,’ Evie said as she stepped onto the bus. ‘Thank you for saving me. I won’t forget what you’ve done.’
Thankfully there had been people along the way who had helped her; firstly Matilda and Baker, and now Rose. If it wasn’t for them, who knew where she would have ended up? There was no way she was going to her parents. More shame. More embarrassment at the stupid decisions she had made over the years. She knew she would have to ring them and let them know about Bob, but it could wait. At least some time on the island would give her a chance to get her head around what was to come next. A range of ideas crossed her mind as to where she should move to. New South Wales sounded like a good idea, although Western Australia was further away from her old life. At least now the choice was hers and hers alone.