Miss Toulouse Home for Unwanted Girls

Chapter 26

We are running out of time before the devil comes knocking......

As soon as I enter the house with Phoenix, I'm met with Ally rushing toward me with a terrified expression etched upon her usual steely face.

"Miss Toulouse, we need to act now, Evelyn is edging closer", she spits out.

The usual composed Ally looks shaken to her core, this is unheard of. Often seen as the rock within our family she never lets her emotions get the better of her.

"What happened?" I ask.

She slumps to the kitchen chair as if exhausted by what she's witnessed and endured "Lola's mother arrived, she was sent by Evelyn to bring her home, she's trying to divide us - she's getting bolder in her tactics, we need to act now before she hurts someone, we have to protect ourselves but also the ladies here... what if she hurts one of them".

I gently wipe the whispering hair that has strayed from Ally's normally tight, pristine ponytail and places my hand gently on her shoulder.

"She's getting desperate" I whisper so as not to alert any of the other ladies "she knows united we are as strong, if not stronger than her, so she's trying to pick us off one by one".

"That's what worries me, she's desperate, what will she do next?".

Phoenix pipes up "I agree we can't sit here like sitting ducks waiting for her next attack or to be picked off one by one, we need to end this".

Ally grunts in agreement, exasperated by it all "what if Lola had answered the door, what if Lola had seen that woman .... I can't even use the word mother when referring to her".

"My mum was here" a little voice squeaks as everyone turns to find Lola standing in the doorway, wide-eyed and bewildered.

Ally shot to her feet sending the chair colliding to the ground "I'm so sorry ...I was going to tell you".

Lola's warm disposition had been replaced by a robotic cold tone "what did she want?".... Silence fell across the room only broken when her cracking voice screams out "WHAT DID SHE WANT" her heartbreak seeping out of her soul as her eyes race from each of us desperately seeking answers.

There are no words that I can say that will soothe this poor child's heartbreak, in life we all suffer but to suffer at the hands of a parent who is meant to love and protect you, is one of the cruellest emotions to endure.

Ally slowly raises and walks towards Lola as if approaching an injured cornered animal "I'm so sorry Lola, I was going to tell you, your mother was sent by Evelyn and ....".

"Stop...I don't want you to tell me, I will feel for myself" Lola steps into Ally's personal space placing both of Lola's hands on either side of her face, eyes locked they are frozen upon the spot. Ally's strong composure slumps as if unable to move under Lola's grasp.

Lola's power which is usually erratic and unpredictable becomes honed by Lola's unshakable need to know what Ally felt at that moment. The link between them tightens, their breaths in sync as Lola delves deep within Ally.

Ally's eyes roll back into her head, and her body gently shudders with the threat of possible seizure as Lola pulls out every last emotion that was hidden in Ally's mind from that brief moment.

Tears roll down Lola's face, a signal to us that Lola has found what they were looking for. Ally's body now violently shakes with the emotional drain put upon it, we must break the link before Lola unintentionally hurts Ally.

"Stop Lola" I raise my stick and slam it into the floor three times, casting a bright light that illuminates and floods the room. It startles our senses, as it briefly burns then blinds all of our eyes as the warm glow engulfs us all, our ears ringing with a high pitch noise that echoes throughout our brains - it startles Lola resulting in the release of Ally.