Page 130 - My Home on the Earth

mum had persistently encouraged it. His dad didn’t know about her friendship with Mrs Morris, who was a fearful and spiteful woman. She was often sprawled on their sofa in their lounge or ruling the roost in the kitchen, supping vodka, when he arrived home from school. On those days, he looked forward to going back to Robin’s home until his dad collected him after work. However, one particular day would always remain etched on his mind.
He’d walked in to his house unexpectedly to see Mrs Morris sitting in the kitchen as large as life, and on the table sat Robin’s cycling helmet and rucksack. He couldn’t take his eyes off the items. ‘Listen hear! Say nothing, son, or you’ll regret it later. Do you hear me?’ she warned. He nodded, and found out later that his mum was aiding Mrs Morris to sell stolen items online. When the two women went outside for a smoke, immediately suspicious, Jake, as he was called then, grabbed Robin’s things. He raced up to his bedroom and opened his wardrobe. He levered up the bottom piece of wood to reveal a deep cavity underneath. Putting the items inside and replacing the wood, he clicked it back in place. No matter how often she screamed and hit him to reveal their whereabouts, Jake refused to tell his mum. They belonged to Robin’s family.
A week before they left Nestonbrook to live near Sorrenbridge, Jake emptied two large boxes of Lego and threw the pieces into a bin liner. When he was alone in the house, he removed Robin’s things and carefully placed them in the boxes. Before sealing the boxes with sellotape, he dropped in handfuls of Lego pieces in case someone
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