Echoes in the Woods by Georgina Scott (ebook reader web txt) 📕

I will throw you out!” with that, John gets up from the table and walked out of the house slamming the front door.

Faith stayed sitting and breaking down in tears. With her head in her hands, Matthew approached her and put his arms around her, squeezing her tight. They stayed like that for a while with Faith sobbing. “Matthew, please help me get your brothers dressed, quickly and quietly,” said Faith as they both headed up the stairs.

Matthew quickly got dressed then went into Henry and Mark’s room, woke them up and got them dressed. “Where are we going,” said Henry. “We are going to see Nana and Gramps,” said Matthew.

“Yeah,” Mark and Henry cheered.

Whilst Matthew sorted out his brothers, Faith threw clothes into black bin bags and anything else she thought they would need, and then took them downstairs. She reversed the truck up to the front door and started to load the truck. She saw the tractor in the distance approaching. “Shit, boys hurry up,” said Faith shouting up the stairs. “Why are you taking so long, boys hurry up?” said Faith, getting impatient. She ran upstairs only to find the boys were not up there. “What,” she said to herself. She looked in all the upstairs rooms then headed back downstairs; they weren’t in the kitchen either.

Starting to panic, “Boys, where are you?” as she turned into the living room, they were sitting on the sofa with John standing over them.

“What do you think you’re doing!” said John.

Ignoring what he said, “Boys come on, let’s go, get into the truck,” said Faith, brushing past John. The boys were about to stand, “Sit down, you’re not going anywhere,” said John, clenching his fist.

With fear in her eyes and about to turn, John grabbed her by her neck and threw her against the wall. “I told you the boys are going nowhere, so what the fuck, do you think you are doing, taking my boys?”

“They are my boys, too,” said Faith, shaking to the core.

“Not anymore they are not, now get out.”

“No, not without my boys,” with that she pushed herself from the wall, turned and pushed John off of her. Panting with every breath, she tried to pass him, heading towards the boys who were now scared and sobbing their little hearts out. John grabbed her arm and slapped her face; she slapped him back, hurting her hand in the process.

This time, he punched her in her face. She retaliated by slapping him again, then embedding her fingernails into his face, scratching downwards. He cried out in pain, grabbing her hair and then punched her in the stomach, winding her. She managed to catch her breath, and kneed him in the balls and ran into the kitchen. In pursuit of her, he grabbed her and threw her onto the kitchen table. They wrestled; she managed to grab hold of the ceramic fruit bowl that was in the centre of the table, spilling the contents onto the floor then smashed the bowl over John’s head. “Fucking bitch,” he shouted out, then kept slapping her in the face.

The boys, by this time, had moved into the corner of the living room, all huddled together scared and sobbing, with Matthew having his arms wrapped around them, trying with all his might to shield them from the screams from their mother, coming from the next room.

John grabbed hold of Faith by her hair, and pulled her off the table, she slumped onto the floor. He then started dragging her towards the front door and threw her out of the house. She darted for the truck but John got there first, and then removed the keys from the ignition. They fought for the keys, then John pushed her up against the car, and said, “Fuck off, you whore!” Faith spit blood in his face.

“I hate you, I fucking hate you,” she screamed. He threw her to the ground, and kicked dirt at her. “Fuck off and don’t come back!” Faith managed to stand shaking, walking away weeping with convulsive gasps, leaving her boys behind. She kept looking back as she walked down the drive. Seeing John standing there watching her as she walked away.

Matthew knew where the mobile phone was hidden that Dr Moody gave his mum. Henry, Mark and him took the bins bags back upstairs and put their clothing and stuff back in their closets. He could hear his dad downstairs pacing. Matthew went into his parents’ bedroom to retrieve the mobile phone from under the carpet in the closet and quietly phoned Dr Moody.

Chapter 16

It would take another three weeks for Jake to put his plan into action. He attended school as normal and didn’t start to put his plan into action until after lunch. When he saw any of them he would shoulder nudge them when passing. To really get their attention, Jake walked up to Kevin, “Would you like me to run away so you could see the back of my head and then maybe let you catch me this time?”

“You what?”

“You heard, dick head. Did you enjoy eating dirt?”

“BASTARD, you’re dead, you’re so dead!” said Kevin with pure anger on his face.

“Hey Kevin, there’s a tree with a noose that has your mong sister’s name all over it,” said Jake, giving Kevin the bird as he walked away.

Kevin launched himself at Jake but was stopped by Natasha and Wilf. “Not here dude, too many spectators, after school we will get him, all of us!” said Wilf, in his ear.

“Jake, what have you done, they won’t stop till they get hold of you,” said Ella, scared and concerned. Jake held her face in his hands and said, “I’m gonna get them, all of them for what they did to you. I won’t let them hurt you again.”

“Jake, they haven’t come near me since the attack.”

“They will, they are just biding their time, and then they will come for you like they do with the others. Trust me Ella. Don’t wait for