Will and Testament // Sequel to the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Twenty-Six

I grabbed hold of my ankle as pain spread up and down my leg like a wave smashing against a rock again, and again. Small stones embedded themselves in the palm of my hand from the ground but they were nothing compared to the pain radiating from my ankle. Every slight movement, every slight touch and the pain would start all over again. It felt like my entire leg was on fire.

Aunt Matilda looked at me and smiled before slinking back to Grandmother and standing beside her. They both just stood there, smiling at me like they were enjoying my pain and from what Mother said, they most likely were. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fight the tears but the pain was too much and I felt them slip down my cheeks and drop onto the collar of my dress.

A car engine approached us and through the tears in my eyes, I caught the nervous stares from Grandmother and Aunt Matilda. They still smiled at one another, but when the engine got closer they turned and walked away from the school. I imagined they were still smiling at one another when they left.

The engine cut out and I heard the sound of a door opening and closing followed by footsteps on the road. A shadow loomed over me and when I looked up, Marsh was leaning over me with his hat pulled low over his eyes and a look of concern plastered over his face.

"Was that who I think it was?" he asked.

"Yes," I muttered, still clutching my ankle.

"Can you walk?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, I'll help you." Marsh reached down and grabbed onto my forearms, wrapping his fingers around them to make sure he had a decent grip. "Ready? One, two, three."

He pulled me to my feet but I couldn't put a shred of weight on my ankle and just started to tip sideways before Marsh grabbed me. Even the slightest movement of my ankle caused the ripples of pain to return and I had a hard time even thinking straight. Whatever Aunt Matilda had done, I got the feeling that my ankle was more than sprained.

"Let's get you to the car, put all your weight on me and try to hop. You don't want to do any more damage to that ankle."

"Do you think Father will be mad at me?" I asked, gripping onto Marsh as he led me over to the car.

"Why would he be mad at you?"

"Because I didn't tell him."

Marsh opened the car door and helped me inside, handing me my satchel which I tucked under the chair. "The only thing he's going to be mad at is what your aunt and grandmother have done. He's not going to be mad at you."

"A historical precedent would suggest otherwise."

Marsh pulled a face and then walked to the driver's side and climbed in. He started the engine and we pulled away from the pavement and headed back towards the house.

Even with the pain, which didn't appear to be going away any time soon, the thoughts about how Father would react still managed to push their way through. He knew I had hurt myself when I left that morning, he wouldn't have given Marsh the ice if he hadn't. I knew that he would find a way to blame me for this even though Aunt Matilda had been the one to make it worse. Father wouldn't see it like that. I knew he wouldn't.

The pain didn't help to pop any of the anger bubbles and the more I thought about Father blaming me for what happened, the more bubbles formed. All of my emotions were at their pique, balancing the edge of the cliff and just waiting for something to push them over the edge. I knew that a confrontation with Father would do that; it would be the catalyst to all of my emotion and the thing that ultimately destroys me.