Revenge

Chapter 16

Come on Connie, pick up. After trying and failing to reach her on her mobile, Jacob had tried the house phone but everytime it rang until the answer machine came on. He knew Connie would be at home because Grace had school the next day so they wouldn't have gone anywhere.

After calling three times, he decided to leave a message on the machine. It wasn't like Connie to not answer her phone. She always had it handy in case work was calling. Something didn't seem right to him. It might have been a coincidence that the police had gone after Mr. Simms on the same night as Connie wasn't answering any of her phones but he doubted it.

He left another message before grabbing his coat and keys and heading out.

"Connie, where are you? You're not answering your phone. Call me as soon as you get this."

Hearing the silence downstairs after her fall, Grace completely froze, not wanting to make a sound. Her eyes were wide as she looked towards the stairs, hoping that by some miracle whoever was downstairs hadn't heard her. Holding her breath, she put one arm in front of the other and did her best to drag herself along the floor towards her mum's room.

Connie grabbed hold of Peter's arm in an attempt to stop him but he just shook her off and jumped to his feet. Before she knew it, he was making his way up the stairs. Despite the pain she was in, she pushed herself up and ran after him.

"Don't you dare touch my daughter," she warned him, grabbing hold of him on the stairs. She wasn't worried for her own safety anymore, her daughter was her main focus and she wasn't going to let him get to her.

She could feel her head banging from having hit the wall earlier but it wasn't going to keep her from keeping her daughter safe. Gripping his shirt, she pulled him backwards causing him to slip down a couple of stairs before kneeing him in his abdomen. As he bent over in pain, Connie pushed passed him and called out to Grace.

"Gracie," she shouted up, completely breathless "hide." The last word came out not much louder than a whisper but it was enough for Grace to hear her. Her arms were tired as she struggled to drag her body across the landing. She was so close to reaching her mother's room which she knew had a lock on the inside but she didn't seem to have the strength to move much further.

"You bitch," Peter growled, standing back up straight, keeping a hand pressed against his stomach. Connie looked down at him in fear as he reached out to grab her. In that moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Peter's forcefulness caused Connie to lose her footing and before she knew it she was falling, Grace was screaming and the stairs had never seemed steeper.

"Mum!" She shouted, watching as she lay curled over at the bottom of the stairs, immobile. Grace couldn't see much from where she was, she couldn't tell if Connie was breathing or bleeding, she couldn't tell if she had broken bones or if she needed help or if she was even still alive. Her breathing accelerated as her eyes darted from her mother back to the man making his way over to her.

"Get away from me," she warned him. She had never felt more helpless. Her mother had just been attacked in front of her own eyes and she couldn't even stand on her own two feet. What did Mr. Simms want with her? Is this what Carmel had tried to warn her about? It was starting to make sense now. If only she hadn't hung up on her friend. She felt as though it was all her fault.

She pushed herself backwards, desperately trying to crawl away from him but she was never going to be able to. He walked up to her and knelt down by her side, causing her to shake in front of him.

She swallowed deeply as he spoke. "I've lost everything because of your mum," he whispered. His tone was terrifying and sharp. She shook her head, desperately hoping that she was dreaming and that none of this was actually happening.