The Silent Girl

37.

this is getting dark, you have been pre-warned...!

'Ella'

'Higher higher mummy, higher' My three year old self screams, swinging on the play set in our back garden, 'higher!'

'I'm going as high as I can, ella!' My mummy yells back in a playful, gentle baby voice.

Mummy stops swinging me and I giggle. Jumping off the swing, I climb the ladder of the slide and slide down it in my blue summer dress. Mummy is waiting at the bottom to catch me.

When she does, I'm lifted into her arms and she swings me around, holding on in a protective tightness.

'You're my perfect angel, aren't you?'

'You're my perfect mummy' I say back, a bright smile on our faces.

I'm awake with a gasp and try to move. My forehead is sweaty, just come out of experiencing a bad dream. Anything with my mother in, is bad.

I'm trying to move but my arms, legs and torso is difficult to move. My eyes cast down to my arms and I realize, there are thick ropes tied wrapped around them. It registers with me that my legs are also tied the same and there is an even thicker rope around my torso. My eyes gloss once more.

I internally scold myself for leaving the safety of my house. And my dad...Noah...Luke and Micky...

It suddenly registers that there is a sticky substance over my mouth. And I could not talk.

I hear a lock clock from in front or me and immediately tease in the wooden, uncomfortable chair.

Amber, Roxy and Emma are there.

"Awww" Amber coos, entering the room first and Roxy closes the door. "Really are silent aren't we now?"

"Pathetic" Emma says before walking closer to me, I tease back and watch her movements. "Mummy said to answer your stupid questions" She rips the tape off my mouth and folds it up in her fingers.

A few moments of silence past.

"Well, questions?" Amber hints, smirking at my lost of voice for a moment.

"Not talking to you three idiots" I mumble, averting my eyes downwards, slightly scared of their presence.

"Estella" Roxy warns. "Your lovely mother gave us permission to hurt you so talk now" She threatens, and I must say, I'm scared.

"What are you three doing here?" I stutter out, clearing my throat and trying to straight my body but there is no use.

"Well" Amber starts, walking in circles around the chair that I'm bound too. "Our mums met in prison and decided to get revenge on you. So, now they are partners. My mum came out first so she paid off your mums bail and got your mum out and now" She stopped in front of me and leaned down to my ear. "she's going to kill you"

I gasp. "What?" I scream, trying to get out of the restraints.

"Ella, you're wasting your energy trying to get out. There is no way." She tells me, standing up and walking to the other two again, and standing in front of them, just a little ahead. Making her look like the ring leader.

"W-why does she want to kill me?" I stutter pathetically, feeling the nerves come back.

"Because you ruined her life. You put her in prison and made herself look like a criminal" Amber mumbles.

"That wasn't my fault" I spit back, feeling the angrier seeping into my voice.

"Yes it was" She pauses, looking to Roxy and Emma.

"You made a big deal over other" Roxy replies with a smirk.

"I did not" I cry, tears flowing down my cheeks, in pure anger and emotion.

They all erupt in laughing and Amber steps forward.

"This is for ruining my life" Amber raises her hand and slaps my cheek right across my face.

"How did I ruin your life?!" I shout back, feeling a sting painfully in my right cheek.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out." Amber snarls and they leave. I hear a lock click and I try to blink the tears away but they don't disappear.

'Jim'

It has been two days. Two days, I lost her again.

I don't know where she is, I don't know if she ran away or was taken. I was really hoping that it was the first option. That way, she was safer than if she was taken.

But either way, I really hoped she was ok.

Right now, Luke, Noah, Micky and I were sat with police officers, giving as much information as we possibly could.

The last place that they could track her to was our local park. They found her school bag, her phone and that notebook in the canal. But there was no more trace of her apart from that.

And now we were angry.

Diana, Estella's mother, had been bailed out of jail. Meaning that someone -

No guesses who.

Had paid for her to get out of prison.

Now, Ella was missing. This was her mother, I knew it was. It's the only person that would do this, and I'm sure if Ella ran away, she would not throw her bag, and belongings into the canal.

"So, our best thing to do at this point is to find Diana, see if Ella is with her. If not, we'll go from there." The police officer tells us. "Is their anyone else that could be connected to Ella's disappearance?"

"Well, at school Ella had three people that bullied her over and over again. Amber, Roxy and Emma. Amber's mother just got out of prison. They could be related to this."

Then we had to explain everything. Everything.

Ella's life had been involved with the police but not these police officers and even though they had her file, they asked us to explain everything that had happened to Ella in the past year or so.

I just wanted to find her.

I know she is struggling. I just wanted to find my baby.

'end of 37.'

on a more positive note, it's really late and im going home for ed sheeran concert. let's just say, i can't talk at the moment.

ed, you saved me x :)

Posted: 29.6.22