Five: A Maor Novel (Maor series) Read Online Free PDF

some little-hick town on the
other side of the world just because you -’
    ‘You don’t have a choice, Shaylee.’
    My father’s voice is quiet, even as he interrupts me,
but the effect is like a gunshot in the room. I’ve heard this particular tone
of voice before and I know what it means; if he has to tie me up and drag me
onto the plane, I will be going to
Aylburton.  
    I stare, unseeing at the painted ostrich egg perched on
the oak coffee table as I try to gather my thoughts, but it’s like playing
pick-up sticks.
    ‘But what about my dancing - and my friends? I can’t
just leave everything,’ I say in a small voice, feeling the warning prickle of
tears, gather in my eyes.
    My mother makes a small sound of distress and stands.
    ‘It’s the only way we can protect you, baby.’ She holds
her arms out to me but I step away, folding my arms across my chest and
ignoring the hurt in her eyes. I blink away the moisture in my own eyes and
focus on the injustice of this decision, because if I fill my heart with anger,
there will be no space for tears. I will
not cry. I will not show
weakness. I will not be like my
mother.  
    ‘Protect me from what?’ I demand.
    Mom gives Dad a questioning look but he just shakes his
head.
    ‘You just need to trust us, Shaylee,’ he says.
    ‘Aahh!’ I groan my frustration and throw my hands in the
air. ‘Why are you being so secretive? What could I possibly be in danger from?’
    ‘It’s going to be ok,’ mom says. She puts one hand on my
shoulder but I shrug it off.
    ‘When do I leave?’ I demand in a tight voice, tapping my
heel agitatedly against the floor.
    There is a slight hesitation.
    ‘Next Wednesday,’ Dad says.
    I stare at him in shocked silence for a heartbeat and
then the words escape in a blast of air from my lungs.
    ‘A week ? You’re
giving me one week ?’
    ‘You’re in danger here. The sooner you get to Aylburton,
the better.’
    ‘ What danger?’
    ‘Shaylee -’ my father warns with a sharp look and I know
my voice is rising again but I’m past the point of caring.
    ‘This is my life, damnit -’
    ‘That’s enough!’ Dad’s voice booms loudly off the walls
and wooden floors and I immediately fall silent, although I continue to seethe
inside. ‘We’ve made this decision for your own good and there will be no more
discussion. I’m going to get you into a bridging course at the Royal Forest of
Dean College, so that you can do a Literature course next year. That’s what you
wanted, isn’t it? Nan is already preparing your old bedroom for you and mom and
I will be there as soon as we can.’
    As I stare, dumb-founded at my father, some of my anger begins
to fade as reality sinks in.
    ‘But what about my friends?’ I whisper.
    ‘You’ll make new ones, baby,’ Mom says.
    Her answer infuriates me. She knows I’ve never found it
easy to make friends.
    ‘Easy for you to say, you’re not the one who has to
start over in a new country - alone.’
    ‘You won’t be alone.’ My mother clasps both hands
tightly together, as though to stop herself from reaching out to me again. ‘Nan
will be there and it’s not a new country; you did spend the first seven years
of your life there.’
    ‘It’s not like I can remember that mom.’
    ‘But you know Nan.’
    ‘Having a couple of telephone conversations every few
weeks is not the same as living with someone.’
    My father shoots me another warning look but I pretend
not to see. I feel nauseous and hot, sick with the reality of the life that overnight,
is falling to pieces around me. How can they expect me to leave now, just when
my dreams are beginning to take shape?
    ‘How long before I can come home again?’ I ask, gripping
my upper arms painfully in an attempt to keep my composure.
    My mother drops her gaze to the plush, cream rug beneath
the coffee-table and there is a moment of awkward silence; Dad clears his
throat and steps around the couch.
    ‘We won’t be coming back to South