Chapter Six
‘We’ll get in trouble,’ Penni whines, shifting from foot to foot beside her sister, who’s already heaving herself up and over the rickety back fence. ‘Mike said we’re not allowed in the woods without a grown-up.’
‘Don’t be silly. We won’t get caught,’ Nicola reassures.
‘Come on.’ Their foster dad is at work, and their foster mum, Janet, is having a nap upstairs.
It’s the perfect time for them to have a bit of fun.
They won’t be long, just twenty minutes or so.
Janet always naps for at least an hour, so she won’t even know they’re gone.
‘Okay, but just for ten minutes.’ Penni relents, as Nicola knew she would.
She reaches down to give her sister a hand up.
They trot through the tall grass and into the woods behind the small house, their laughter mingling with the rustle of leaves.
The air is crisp, and fallen leaves crunch beneath their feet as they make their way to their favourite oak tree, its branches sprawling like a giant’s arms. With practised ease, they scramble up the sturdy trunk, branches swaying gently under their weight.
High above the ground, they settle on to their usual perch, legs swinging in the air.
Nicola tilts her face up to the sun that filters through the canopy above, imagining she’s in a magical world where there’s no one else but the two of them, except maybe a unicorn and some friendly fairies.
But definitely no adults. She grins at her sister, fascinated by the dappled shadows flickering across Penni’s cheek.
Penni clears her throat. ‘Gracie Nugent asked if we want to go round to her house after school one day next week.’
Nicola doesn’t even pause to think about it. ‘No,’ she replies abruptly.
‘Why not?’ Penni persists, which isn’t like her. Usually, she defers to her sister.
‘Because she’s a show-off,’ Nicola says, her voice sharp.
‘No she isn’t. She’s nice.’
That stings more than Nicola wants to admit.
Sends a sliver of something twisting in her belly.
Jealousy, probably. For as long as she can remember, it’s always been just the two of them, clinging to each other and the precarious world they share.
They’ve been abandoned more times than they can count.
Their real parents didn’t want them, and they’ve drifted through four different foster homes over the past ten years.
This latest one isn’t too bad. They’ve been here just over a year.
Mike and Janet are fine. Not great, but fine.
They prefer Penni, that’s for certain, but the worst thing about living here is that their new school decided to put them in different classes.
Penni loves her teacher, Miss Curtis, and has made a few friends, but Nicola hates her teacher, Mrs Appleby, and hasn’t made any friends at all, apart from Sonia, who’s mean.
‘Well, I don’t want to go to Gracie’s house,’ Nicola says, folding her arms and scowling.
‘Okay,’ Penni replies.
Relief blooms in Nicola’s chest for half a moment until her sister’s next words, not mean or spitefully meant, but wounding just the same: ‘I can go on my own.’
Heat floods Nicola’s face, and a tightness pulls at her throat. ‘Fine!’ she snaps. ‘Go! I don’t care.’
‘You should come too,’ Penni coaxes, placing a hand on her sister’s arm. Her voice is soft, just like it always is. ‘It’ll be fun. She’s got a trampoline.’
But Nicola won’t be soothed or cajoled. She doesn’t want either of them to go to Gracie’s no doubt perfect house with a matching set of perfect parents.
She’s terrified that Penni will prefer Gracie to her.
It’s already bad enough hearing all about her after school.
What will happen if they become best friends?
Where will that leave Nicola? On her own, that’s where.
‘It won’t be fun and I hate trampolines!’ Nicola cries, shoving her sister’s hand away in frustration.
Penni’s eyes widen in surprise as she loses her balance and slips forward. She slides off the branch with a startled cry, crashing through the branches before landing with a sickening thud on a jagged tree stump below.
Nicola screams, horrified at the sight of her sister lying on her side in a crumpled heap on the forest floor, hair tangled with dirt and leaves.
Fear races through her veins as she frantically clambers down, her heart pounding, hands gripping the rough bark, eyes wide and wild, her mind spinning in terrified circles.
‘Penni!’ she cries, crouching beside her sister. She doesn’t know what to do, can’t think straight. ‘Penni, are you all right?’
Her sister’s eyes flutter open, and then close, but she doesn’t reply.
What should Nicola do? She’s petrified about getting into trouble, but she can’t do nothing. She has to get help. Please let Penni be okay. Please.