Although Keith had said for her to remain in his house until he got back, she couldn’t just say put in one place all day. The house was big and only Alix seemed to enjoy running up and down, entering into every open room, and the cook did enjoy making finger foods for her to eat, but it was easy to get bored.
She dropped a thank you and sorry note for Keith on the bedside table after making a phone call to her mother who had been sick with worry when she could not get through to her daughter.
“Donna Elizabeth Brooks!” Her mother exclaimed the minute she stepped into the house. She got down on her knees to accept Alix into her arms, her eyes never leaving her daughter.
Donna sighed and smiled. “Good to see you too mum.”
“I called your line all throughout yesterday!” she said, letting go of Alix who was quick to run away and straight for the tray of home made cookies her grand mother had made yesterday laying on the table. “And you only call me back this morning, do you know how worried sick I was for the both of you yesterday, I couldn’t even sleep well.”
“Mum, I apologized.” Donna replied to her mum, taking off the last sandal so she could walk into the living room. “And I explained-”
“And that was not enough Donna!” she cut Donna off. She was still not calm and she was too eager to know what had happened last night. She knew it was unlike Donna to stay out the night and not call and that was why she wanted to know what had happened, plus she had not been able to find Alix too.
“Tell me darling,” she seemed to calm a little as she joined Donna on the sofa. “What happened to you last night.”
“I got arrested.” Donna said without trying to mince words, she knew just how curious and eager and agitated her mother could be.
Betty narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “Are you being serious right now?”
Donna sighed and leaned as far back as she could into the sofa. “Yes mum, I am being serious, you could even ask Alix, she was there with me.”
“You got arrested with Alix?! how?”
“I-” she was about to speak up but paused as the images of Alix’s bloodied pictures refused to leave her memory. She opened her eyes and sat up. “I might have broken a few rules on my way to her school and when I was at the school.”
“You were driving so I guess you ran though traffic?”
Donna nodded positively and her mother sighed exasperatedly. “Did you cause any accidents?”
Donna shook her head. “Almost did but thankfully no.”
“Okay.” Betty nodded. “So what happened at the school, what law did you break there?”
Donna folded her lips. “Bodily harm?”
“Bodily- were the children affected?!” her body shot up and she leaned forward towards Donna.
“Not the children.” Donna said to assure her mother who then relaxed a bit on hearing that. “I made the police man bleed.”
“How?”
“Before I say anything, you should know I was desperate and under a whole lot of pressure.”
Betty narrowed her eyes at Donna, feeling like what she was about to say might not be good. “Donna…”
She hesitated, knowing that her mother would not be happy to hear what she was about to say. She sighed, looked away and lowered her voice slightly. “I used a spell…”
“Donna!”
“I didn’t know!” her voice came up now and she looked at her mother with frustration evident in her eyes, facia expression and voice. “I mean, it’s not like I… it just came out… I was desperate mum and loosing my mind at that time.”
Betty relaxed a bit and pursed her lips into a thin line, she looked at her daughter who had now shifted her attention to her fidgeting fingers.
“Did you kill him? Was that why you were arrested?” she asked, lowering her voice down to a whisper.
“What? No, mum!” Donna replied with her eyes wide in surprise. “Nobody died!”
She calmed now and let out a quiet breath through her mouth, her daughter looked stressed and tired and she could tell that Donna was still disturbed.
“What exactly did you see that made you race all the way from your office to her school?”
“I got delivered a package, and in it was a teddy bear, beneath that was pictures of Alix, all covered in blood and at the back of all the pictures were the words ‘STAY AWAY’”
“Oh yes I remember, we were on a call then.” Betty said. “But stay away? Stay away from what or who?”
Donna sighed and reclined back against the sofa. “That is what I don’t know mum, but one thing I am convinced of is that Cheryl did this!”
“How can you be so sure, you shouldn’t go around blaming just anyone.”
“It could only be her mum, who else knows of Alix existence?” she lifted her hands in the air to gesture, her body vibrating as she spoke. “Keith couldn’t have done it, he had no reason to and I trust him, or are you thinking it could be Wayne?”
Betty smiled softly. “It couldn’t have been Wayne…”
“Exactly, Cheryl is the criminal and I will make sure she gets reported, I don’t care if her family is untouchable by the law!”
Betty relaxed on the sofa now and a moment of silence passed between them for a couple of seconds before Donna spoke up.
“Speaking of Wayne,” she turned to her mother. “I noticed he was packing his stuffs out of the house, is he moving away?”
“I don’t know,” Betty shrugged her shoulders but didn’t turn to look at her daughter. “Why don’t you go have a look see? And then you could ask him.”
But Donna stayed put, something had been bothering her for a while now and it was something she felt she needed to share with her mother. Her jaw clenched as she watched her mother, trying to figure out a way to start the conversation. She sighed, deciding to just drop it as it came to her.
“I met with Jeremy recently.”