Letters from the What-Went-Before , livre ebook

Troubador Publishing Ltd - Stefanie Sybens

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

117 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Another brutal beating. Another trip to A&E. This time, a social worker alerts the authorities and Abby's teenage life gets turned upside down. The woman she thoughthad died at her birth - is alive - and now is taking her home.One year later, a step-dad gets added to the family unit and this latest relationship takes its toll. Lost, Abby tries to escapeby moving to London but locking the door to the past is never easy, even with the help of her long-time gay best friendJoshua and Instagram icon, Luna. That is, until she meets someone. Jay, a puzzle she can't figure out and yet thesimplest answer to a question she's been asking herself for years. Finally she might have the reason she started sufferingin the first place.

Sujets

Children's

Informations

Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	12 février 2020
Nombre de lectures	1
EAN13	9781838598365
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Copyright © 2020 Stefanie Sybens

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Matador
9 Priory Business Park,
Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,
Leicestershire. LE8 0RX
Tel: 0116 279 2299
Email: books@troubador.co.uk
Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador
Twitter: @matadorbooks

ISBN 978 1838598 365

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

To my grandparents,
Everything I am and everything I do is because of you.
Contents
She Said Yes!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
She Said Yes!
Christina had spent a lifetime waiting to hear these words. Begged for them. Even cried herself to sleep imagining them. But all she could do now was slowly whisper them to herself, over and over again like a soothing lullaby, while desperately trying to make her way out of aisle two.
She ran past the cashier, who gave her a confused look, but for once she didn’t care at all what people thought of her. After dodging several shopping carts and cereal boxes, she escaped through the sliding doors and ran towards the car where she felt the wind caressing her sweaty body. So many thoughts rushed through her head after receiving that long-awaited phone call, and every possible gruesome scenario had already crossed her mind, but she realised she had to stay calm if she wanted to do this right. She only had one chance.
I’m sure she’s fine , she told herself when she drove off the parking lot and quickly glanced at her phone.
No missed calls.
Lauren had sounded different. More determined. She had a feeling it was actually going to happen this time and that made her mind wander. She had practised this conversation in her head over and over again but now the moment was actually here and her mind went blank. All she could think about were the frozen pea bags that had probably soaked the entire aisle by now. She was relieved that the battle was probably over, but she knew something must have happened to Abby; otherwise she would never have received that call.
She stopped before another set of traffic lights and knew she had one more turn to take before reaching the hospital’s emergency room. She glanced outside and noticed a teenage couple kissing on the bench outside McDonald’s, something she recalled doing herself when she was younger and completely unaware of the unexpected course of life. She laughed because in ten years’ time they probably wouldn’t even remember each other’s names, but that was probably the beauty of those forgotten years, being able to mimic an adult life and all the personal relationships that go along with it without needing to take any ownership of it. One day you could be someone’s somebody and the next day you could be crying over a bowl of granola. And how she had done a lot of crying.
The lights turned green and she stepped with full force on the gas pedal before taking a sharp left turn. She rushed towards the hospital parking, following the emergency signposts, and parked the car with full force near the exit. She glanced through the window and saw Lauren waiting for her in front of the entrance, waving her hands in the air like a lunatic. She took a deep breath and allowed the silence to take over her mind for a couple of seconds. Could it possibly be that after fourteen years she finally had her daughter back?

Christina got out of the car and slowly walked over to Lauren, who couldn’t help but hide a smile. She gave her a hug and noticed she was carrying Abigail’s folder. She realised how thick the folder had grown over the years, like a physical burden flourishing inside of her. A folder that grew thicker over the years and was filled with reports, statements and pictures of bruises and broken arms to prepare them for this exact day.
‘Try to stay calm,’ Lauren immediately said, even though she knew Christina wouldn’t.
How could she? All these years were leading up to this particular moment. All the disappointment and frustration had finally reached their culmination point and it could go either way.
It had been hard for Lauren as well to prepare them for this life-changing moment. After all, she was the one who had sat next to Abby’s bed every time she was admitted to the hospital, and she had heard her often say how she wished her mother wasn’t dead. If only she could have said she wasn’t.
‘Are you ready for this?’ Lauren asked.
Christina let out a sigh. ‘I am,’ she finally replied.
Lauren put her arm around Christina and together they walked through the hospital’s corridor, trying to catch their breath. One sigh at a time. They walked through the big hallway together chasing that cathartic moment, yet neither of them were moving fast, as if they both felt paralysed by an invisible ghost of the past because this was the moment when everything would change. Can you imagine actually living in that moment? Usually you can’t really pinpoint the moment when everything suddenly changes, but she was actually standing on that border between then and now.
She looked over at Lauren and knew she was feeling the same way. She had been Christina’s personal soundboard the last couple of years, and this personal voyage had brought them so close together. She knew being a social worker didn’t bring many happy endings, but when she first joined Parents Together something just clicked between them.
‘Is she okay?’ Christina finally asked.
‘She will be,’ Lauren said. ‘Now, come on, the doctor is waiting for us.’
She felt the moment getting closer and closer and, for the first time since she’d got into the car, she was able to fully breathe again.
‘Is she in one of these rooms?’ Christina whispered while making her way through the revolving door. She tried to get a glimpse of every person behind the curtains. Abby must be in one of them and she had to find her.
‘Christina, stop! You can’t barge in there,’ Lauren said. ‘The examining doctor wants to talk to you first.’
She let out a breath. ‘Sorry, I’m just nervous.’
‘I know,’ Lauren reassured her. ‘But he is waiting for us in his office. So, pull yourself together and follow me.’
She knew Lauren was right, but she was so close now that she couldn’t bear being apart anymore. Lauren rested her hand upon her shoulder and opened the door of the first office they came across. The room was small and there was only one desk with a couple of seats. Behind the desk sat a doctor, who immediately greeted them with a big smile.
‘Doctor Ronson,’ he said, far too excitedly. Christina wasn’t surprised. The doctor looked very young, so it was likely he had seen one of her surgeries during classes. Usually she didn’t mind talking about her career but tonight she wasn’t the famous heart doctor. She was Christina, Abby’s mum. ‘It is so nice to meet you,’ he said and pointed towards the two leather seats in front of him. As she rested her arms on the chair, she realised how uncomfortable patients must feel when sitting there. The uncertainty of what was coming next. The big reveal. If there was any.
‘Is she okay?’ Christina asked again. ‘I would very much like to see her.’
The doctor moved forward in his chair and rested his elbows on the oak table as if he felt a bit disappointed by the conversation.
‘She didn’t sustain any serious injuries,’ he finally said. ‘Her wrist is fractured and there appears to be a minor blow to the ribcage which will probably cause some bruising and swelling over the next couple of days, but other than that there isn’t anything that needs urgent medical attention.’
Christina let out a sigh of relief at first, but then suddenly realised there wasn’t much to be relieved about. She was still hurt.
‘Did he do it?’ she asked Lauren.
She felt all eyes pointing towards her as if they wanted to spare her from the truth even though no one could.
‘They arrested both of them and the case is currently under investigation. I have given an official statement summing up her injuries, as well as his broken hand, so they have a solid case.’
‘So he is going to prison, then?’
‘Christina,’ Lauren sighed, ‘you know that her dad is one of the most powerful judges in the country who knows everyone in the system.’
She felt the anger building up inside her. She couldn’t believe he would be able to walk free after all these years of hurting her. And everyone probably knew he did it but they’d rather protect one of their own than save someone’s life. It made her feel so powerless. This was her daughter and it was so frustrating that she hadn’t been able to do anything about it.
‘Why does he keep getting away with this?!’ Christina yelled, slamming both fists on the table.
‘They never had proof,’