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Back The Village Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PROLOGUE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A sense of hope brightened Grace’s horizon. Maybe with someone new around, they would be able to go outside. She knew her mum missed church. Even sitting in a pew for an hour of prayer would be better than the four walls of her room. Grace followed her to the living room, to see a man dressed in a police uniform. It was the same man she had seen in the woods the other night. He towered above her, his presence filling up the room.

Bending to one knee, he held out a calloused hand. But Grace stayed where she was. Contact was not allowed.

‘Don’t touch her!’ her mother had screamed before pushing her towards the settee. Mummy thrust the remote control hard into her hand. Her eyes were a little wild, and the man had watched them both with interest.

Apologising, her mother talked about her allergies to the man. Grace relaxed. Her mother wasn’t cross. This wasn’t her fault. Her mother said that she was lonely. Grace thought she had been the only one.

The man offered to put them in touch with people from the village, saying they didn’t need to be on their own. Grace smiled as he winked at her. She had flicked on a Disney movie, but her thoughts were running wild. Here was a man who had come to their house and made her mother smile. He had even promised to help them get out of the house. She listened to them chatting, surprised to hear her mother lie. Grace had not been allowed outside in a very long time.

‘It’s important for her to get fresh air,’ her mother had said, unable to meet her eye.

Grace felt a tinge of sadness when it was time for him to go. Her mummy’s voice lowered as she talked about her dad, and how often they were left on their own. The mention of a dog made her so excited that she had to force herself not to squeal out loud. She gave the man a shy smile as he said goodbye.

‘Are we getting a doggie?’ Grace said, after the man had left. She followed her mother into the kitchen, watching her pull a bottle of bleach from the cupboard.

‘Maybe,’ her mummy said. ‘But not a word to your dad – not yet.’

Soon she would clean every inch of the space where the man had stood. But first, it was time for her medication. She watched her mother take the milk from the fridge, ready to mix with the ground-up powdered tablets Grace hated to take.

‘Don’t look at me like that,’ her mother said, as Grace pouted. ‘It’s for your own good.’

But if it was for her own good, then why did it make her feel so sick? The tinkle of the spoon as it mixed the milk and powder carried a sense of dread.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO