THE DEAL

“Don’t you eat, dear?” Lady Melrose spoke.

I looked at the food before me.

Anita had whipped it up and it honestly smelt and looked amazing.

Chicken a la king.

There were chicken strips and pasta dipped in a creamy cheesy sauce with mushrooms.

But my nerves honestly weren’t letting me eat much. I took one bite and immediately went back to thinking about Joshua’s bloody skin, about the wolf...

I thought about the people back at school; Kat and Chris... were they safe? Had they been sent home?

What about Aunt Sarah and Uncle Victor?

Aunt Sarah worked at the nursery school so she would have to stay there.

But Uncle Victor’s construction jobs probably weren’t much of a priority, I’m sure he was allowed to leave and be with Aunt Sarah, Hazel and Parker.

“Francesca, she obviously can’t stomach the stuff, leave her alone.” Anita spoke, smiling at me warmly as she came to place a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. When my son got back from the war, he couldn’t stomach anything either.”