Page 57 of Forgive Not Forget
Tom grabbed a snack from the cupboard and disappeared before Anna had the chance to gauge his reaction and check that he was okay.
Anna had promised Katherine she would let her know how Laura was, so she tapped out a brief message on her phone. She was angry at Katherine for pushing her away and didn’t feel like engaging in anything other than the basics until she had calmed down.
Operation went well. Laura is fine.
A response followed immediately.
Thanks for letting me know. I hope the children are okay.
After dinner, Anna became embroiled in board games with Abigail, who, as it turned out, was an exceptionally skilful strategist.
“Are you just getting me to play the games you know you can win?” Anna asked, narrowing her eyes at Abigail, who had just won the quickest game of Monopoly Anna had ever witnessed.
Abigail tried to disguise a grin behind her stash of pretend money. “Of course not. I just happen to be good at all of them. Can I sleep in your bed tonight, Anna?”
“Certainly not!”
“What about at the bottom?”
“At the bottom! No. I won’t have you sleeping at the foot of the bed like a dog. Besides, I’m making the most of a whole bed to myself for a change. Katherine kicks me in the night.”
Abigail giggled. “On purpose?”
“No,” Anna laughed, then thought for a moment. “I don’t think so.”
There she was again, Katherine. Focus.
“Right, one last game and then to bed, Miss Abigail.”
CHAPTER24
Anna woke a little disorientated. The light in the room was different from normal, and the scent of the sheets was different. Warmth radiated from something beside her. She opened her eyes to see a pair of pink pyjamas and a long, chestnut ponytail. Abigail. The girl must have snuck in during the night.
Careful not to wake her, Anna rose, belted her dressing gown, and slipped from the room. Tom’s door was ajar as she passed it. She cast an eye through to check on him only to find the bed empty. Opening the door fully she scanned the room.
Empty.
Hopefully he was just downstairs, having breakfast. She tried to contain the sense of panic spreading through her as she made her way down.
The kitchen was desolate.
She hadn’t thought to check the bathroom, and the door had been closed when she passed it. The bathroom door wasn’t locked. She gave a light tap and entered to find it too was empty. There was one room left she hadn’t checked. Laura’s.
The door was open enough that she could pop her head around to see in. Tom was wrapped up in the duvet. She smiled. It was nice to see that beneath the tough exterior he was missing his mum. Both children had been through so much; she was amazed it hadn’t affected them more severely.
Midway through her cup of tea, she was joined by Tom and then Abigail. They proceeded to fight over a box of cereal. What was there to fight about over cereal, Anna would never know. If this was what it would have been like to have siblings, she was glad she had been without them. She could have used the help when her mum was sick, though. Would they have spotted that something wrong sooner than she? Perhaps they would have been the attentive son or daughter who would visit more regularly than she had. She stopped her thoughts before they escalated back into feelings of guilt.
“I thought this morning, Abi, that I would take you for a private tour of the abbey. Assuming I can remember all of my tour guide tales.”
“Yes!” Abigail exclaimed, wiggling in her seat.
“Do I have to come?” Tom asked. “I wanted to go out on my bike.”
“No. We’ll only be an hour or so. Don’t step outside the village and keep off the main road.” Knowing Tom would ask for time alone on his bike at some point, Anna had already checked with Laura that it was okay to leave him to play in the village.
Tom nodded as he took another mouthful of cereal.
“We’ll meet back here, and then I’ll take you into town and treat you to whatever horrific fast food you want for lunch.”
