Without Saying a Word Read Free Page A

flooded through him at the thought that someone hit Laura—his Laura. Instead of rising out of the chair, Rhean leaned forward and encouraged Theo to open up.
     “We all got home early from school. When we came in, we heard Mum scream and then a crash. James and I went upstairs, broke the door down and saw Dad— “ Theo broke off and his adolescent voice cracked. “We saw Dad kick Mum in the head. She was on the floor huddled up. Her eyes were black and her face was bleeding.”
    Rhean felt sick and bile rose in his stomach at the thought of what Laura must have gone through. His gaze lingered on Theo, as tears rolled down the teen’s face.
    “James and I yelled at Dad to stop. We jumped on him to pull him away from Mum, and while we were trying to stop him from hurting her again, we knocked him to the ground. He hit his head. Then Maisie rang the ambulance and our grandparents.”
    “What happened after that?” Rhean asked. His heart went out to them and what they witnessed at such a young age.
    “Dad was arrested and taken away. Mum was in hospital for a while. Dad broke her ribs. We went to stay with Nan and Granddad until Mum was better. I’m surprised Mum didn’t tell you, seeing as the two of you are neighbors.”
    “I didn’t know any of this. To be honest Theo, your mum is the type who keeps stuff like this pretty close to her chest and bottled up,” Rhean told him.
    Theo nodded. “She asked us to keep this to ourselves. Not really the sort of thing you tell your mates in the playground, is it sir?”
    “No, it’s not Theo,” Rhean agreed. He admired the manner in which Theo conducted himself. Unfortunately, this did not excuse him from the smoking incident.
    It explained so much to Rhean—why the children were so protective of their mother and the third degree that they gave him when he introduced himself as their neighbor. Rhean pushed his chair away from the desk. He stood up and reminded himself that he was Theo’s headmaster, so he resisted the urge to hug him. Instead, he gently patted the boy on the shoulder, and wondered what the next course of action should be.
    “Okay Theo, why don’t you go to the library for a while and take some time to calm down?” Rhean took in Theo’s tear-stained eyes and stricken face. With his head down, Theo shuffled out of the office and closed the door behind him.
    With purpose and determination in his stride, Rhean left the school and strode back up the hill to Laura’s house. He knocked three times, and tapped his foot impatiently. Finally, the door opened.
    Laura’s stricken expression, her red-rimmed eyes and trembling lips shook Rhean to the core. It was obvious to him that she hadn’t stopped crying since he left.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked him in a very quiet voice.
    “Helping you,” Rhean stated as he walked past her, into the kitchen.

    Rhean walked into the living room, and handed one of the steaming mugs of tea he carried to Laura. He sat down next to her on the sofa as she sipped the hot brew. Her hands were unsteady, and they shook the mug, sloshing some of the contents over the side.
    “I’m sorry, Rhean, about earlier. I guess I kind of lost it,” Laura apologized.
    Rhean could tell by her voice that she was about to cry again, so he held up his left hand.
    “So help me woman, if you start to apologize once more, there will be trouble,” he commanded in what he thought was his best headmaster’s voice.”Come on Laura, drink this. We need to get you out of this house.”
    “Yes sir,” Laura whispered and sipped the hot strong brew.

    After he’d locked the front door, Rhean took Laura by the hand and led her to his beloved car—his pride and joy, a restored dark green Austin Cambridge that he’d found it in his parent’s garage. He opened the passenger door and Laura slid in. They buckled their seat-belts and Rhean started up the car with a roar. He drove away from the curb, up the hill and along High