Consumed by Matt Shaw Read Free Book Online

turned back to Stephen who was left standing by the truck, “Run along and fetch their friends,” she said, “we’ll be waiting.”
     
    “Mum, they really don’t...” his words fell on deaf ears as the front door slammed shut. He sighed and reattached the chain to the back of his truck to stop it from swinging around when he next drove away.
     
     
    * * * * *
     
    “Please, make yourself at home,” Andrea told Dan and the two girls as she led them through to the living room. She pointed them towards the sofa which lined the longest wall of the room. Small coffee tables with lamps were on either side of the settee.
     
    “Thank you,” Charlotte said.
     
    “Listen, this really isn’t necessary...It was good enough of your son to help us in the first place. We don’t want to put you to any further trouble,” Dan tried to tell Andrea but she wouldn’t hear it.
     
    “It really is no trouble at all,” she continued, “it’s nice to get visitors. We so rarely get visitors out here. The boys rarely bring anyone home. Their father, Robert, and I actively encourage it too!”
     
    “Is that their dad?” asked Hayley. She was looking at one of the many framed pictures which were nailed to the walls - nearly all of them family related. The picture she pointed to was of Andrea standing next to a tall man who towered over her. The two of them were standing in front of some trees, in a small clearing, with their arms around each other. Both of them looking at the camera with a solemn expression upon their faces as though it were forbidden to smile in any of the photographs.
     
    Andrea was a fairly small lady, with her grey hair and faded blue eyes, but she looked much, much, smaller standing next to the man in the photograph. Hayley considered that it could have just been the angle the photo was taken at but it was most likely the man would be well over six foot tall. Unlike Andrea’s all grey hair the man’s hair was quite a bit darker, with the exception of his beard which looked as though it belonged on someone else with the amount of grey hairs growing throughout it. Even had it not been for the grey of his beard, the wrinkles on his face would have given away his age - for other than those two factors, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was another son.
     
    “Yes, that’s Robert,” said Andrea. “That photograph was taken sometime last year,” she carried on despite none of the three youths really needing to know. “The picture on the right,” she went on, “is of my daughters - Tammy and Suzanne...Tammy is the one on the left; my youngest daughter.”
     
    Hayley looked at the picture of the two girls. The same pose as the previous picture and even the same spot. Tammy was standing, taller than her sister despite being the youngest, with her arm around her sister. She had waist length blonde hair. Despite the picture not being a close-up shot it was clear to see her eyes were of the brightest blue - maybe catching the sun’s reflection to make them appear brighter in the photo than they were in real life?
     
    “Pretty,” said Hayley, a sting of jealousy flowing through her. Normally she was the prettiest of the girls she hung around with. She wasn’t used to someone stealing the limelight from her.
     
    “Very,” the mother agreed. “Suzanne’s pretty in her own right too,” Andrea continued. “Very clever girl.”
     
    In the picture, Suzanne was clearly a pretty girl too, let down only by the fact she was standing next to Tammy who’d naturally attract the attention of people looking at the picture. Unlike Tammy, her hair was darker and her eyes, although appearing blue if you looked hard enough, clearly weren’t as bright as her sister’s.
     
    “How many of you are there?” asked Charlotte.
     
    “There’s six in the house,” she said. “The two boys, who you’ve already met, my two girls, Robert and myself. I’m sure they’ll be along any minute now. The sound of