Ruby by Heather Burnside (carter reed txt) 📗

was out to get Trina. She turned back round and also sprang to her feet, the shock of seeing Kyle making her temporarily indecisive about whether to stay or run. The sight of Laura sprinting through the park spurred Trina into action and she set off after her friend.

But Trina wasn’t fast enough. Within no time the boys had surrounded her and there was no way past them. Trina looked desperately at Laura’s retreating back.

‘Fetch help!’ she shouted.

Then she looked at the boys: Kyle, with a cruel sneer on his face, and his two friends. The three of them were equally intimidating; all bigger than Trina, all nasty looking and all ready for revenge.

It was the first time Trina had been frightened of other kids. She was so used to being the intimidating one. But these three weren’t part of her usual social circle. They were older, bolder and much more ruthless.

Even fear of her father didn’t compare to this. With her father she could usually anticipate the outcome of his wrath; a sharp slap on the thighs or a good shouting at. She’d grown so used to it while he was at home that the rapidly pounding heartbeat had dissipated with each occurrence.

But this was different. She didn’t know what to expect, only that it would be bad. And as she stared at the callous faces of the boys, she felt not only her own rapid heartbeat, but a strange sensation in her mouth. The taste of fear. It felt as though her throat had constricted while her tongue swelled and her breath shortened, and she gulped in air, desperately trying to feed her lungs.

The boys dragged her into the bushes so they were off the main pathway and out of view. Then she felt the first blow, which was quickly followed by others. A volley of punches, slaps and kicks around her head and body. Each blow felt sharper than the last and she cried tears of pain and humiliation as they rained punches down on her and tore at her clothes.

Trina quickly realised with startling clarity that this was more than just a playground tussle. It was a terrifying and devastating assault by three cruel boys who knew no bounds. Despite her fear, Trina didn’t give in without a fight. Even as the attack was taking place she spat at them, clawing at their faces and calling them foul names, which just made them hurt her even more.

Prior to the incident, Trina had felt that she was as tough as any boy, but now she couldn’t escape the physical differences. And she detested that failing. When she realised that fighting back wasn’t helping her, Trina begged them to stop. But her anguished pleas were met by sniggers and excited squeals; her distress reflected in their whoops of joy.

Then Kyle pulled out a knife and thrust it at her. Trina knew it had pierced her skin. She didn’t feel pain at first; just a dull sensation as the knife sliced across her face. She instinctively put her hands up to her cheeks then pulled one away to examine it. It was covered in blood. Trina let out an agonised yelp, which sounded like an animal in pain.

The boys ran, leaving behind a traumatised ten-year-old child, sobbing into blood-soaked hands. She had been marked by the attack both physically and emotionally.

*

Daisy was enjoying some valuable time with her sons, helping her youngest, Tyler, with his colouring book while her older two sons drew pictures. When she heard a loud knock at the door, she tutted, not welcoming the intrusion, which meant she had to leave her sons while she answered it. Before she even got to the door, somebody knocked again, this time even louder.

‘Alright, alright, I’m coming,’ she shouted as she bustled down the hall.

She was surprised to see Laura on the doorstep, out of breath and tearful.

‘Some boys have got Trina in the park,’ she panted. ‘Kyle Gallagher and some others.’

As soon as she heard Kyle’s name and linked it to Laura’s troubled state, Daisy became alarmed.

‘Wait there!’ she said.

Then she dashed back into the living room, told Ellis and Jarell she had to go out and left them to look after Tyler while she hurried from the house.

‘Come on,’ she said to Laura, rushing up the street, ‘show me where they are.’

They soon arrived at the park and Laura took Daisy to the spot where they had been when the boys arrived. But there was no sign of Trina.

‘It was definitely around here,’ said Laura, growing more tearful as she searched around in vain for her friend.

Daisy glanced around the park, frantically hoping to catch sight of her daughter but she couldn’t see her anywhere.

‘Are you sure this is where you were when the boys caught up with her?’ asked Daisy.

‘I think so,’ said Laura, looking anxiously up and down the pathway as though hoping it would tell her something. ‘It was about this far from the gate.’

Daisy realised that, to Laura, there was nothing along the pathway to differentiate one spot from another. It all looked the same; a wide pathway with a field on one side and a grass verge on the other, bordered by bushes. At a loss for what else to do, she began to shout Trina’s name. Laura followed suit and, as they shouted, they wandered up and down the pathway taking care not to go too far from the area Laura had indicated.

At one point Daisy thought she heard a voice. ‘Shush,’ she said to Laura, then she called Trina’s name again and listened for a response.

Daisy could just about discern a voice calling, ‘here’ but it was frail and she wasn’t sure whether it belonged to her daughter. She followed the direction of the voice and called Trina’s name again.

‘Here. In the bushes,’ came the faint reply.

This time there was no mistaking her daughter’s voice and, with a feeling of trepidation, she headed into the bushes with Laura