The Treatment: the gripping twist-filled YA thriller from the million copy Sunday Times bestselling author of The Escape. C.L. Taylor

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СКАЧАТЬ her and Mrs H., dragging my suitcase behind me, as they disappear through a door to the left of the entrance hall. ‘Mum, there’s something –’

      ‘Sssh.’ She gives me a sharp look as I draw up alongside her. ‘I’m talking, Drew. Don’t be so rude.’

      Mrs H. raises a pencilled eyebrow. ‘There will be plenty of time for goodbyes in a moment, Drew. I was just telling your mother about –’

      ‘But Mum!’ I pull on the sleeve of her grey woollen coat.

      ‘This is important. I just sa–’

      ‘Drew!’ Mum grabs me by the shoulders and spins me away from Mrs H. ‘Stop. Being. So. Rude.’

      ‘I need to talk to you. Alone.’

      She shakes her head, her cheeks reddening under Mrs H.’s judgemental stare. ‘Just do what you’re told. Please! This is a difficult enough day as it is without you making it harder.’

      ‘Mum, the OFSTED inspector is in Dr Rothwell’s office and he just paid him off. I saw the money. Thousands and thousands of pounds.’

      My heart thuds in my chest as I wait for Mum to react. This is it. The proof that something dodgy is going on. If Mum rings the police they’ll have to shut the school down.

      ‘Mum?’ I say as she stares silently at me, her eyes searching my face. ‘Did you hear what I just said?’

      She swallows, presses her lips tightly together and then, to my utter horror, her eyes fill with tears. ‘You don’t have to do this, Drew. It’s OK to be scared. You’re hundreds of miles away from home in a place you don’t know, but nothing bad is going to happen to you. I promise. Tony wouldn’t have suggested sending you here if he thought you’d be in any kind of danger. I know you don’t believe it but he loves you and Mason.’

      I laugh. ‘Seriously? Mum, we both know that’s not true, but this isn’t about –’

      ‘So sorry to interrupt.’ Mrs H. takes a step towards us. ‘But you did say you needed to get off, Mrs Coleman, and it’s nearly 5 p.m.’

      Mum glances at her watch. ‘Oh God, I’ve got to go! I’m sorry, Drew. I wanted to see your dorm and make sure you were settled in but I can’t miss this train.’

      ‘No!’ I grab hold of her arm. ‘Don’t go.’

      ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart.’ Mum’s eyes fill with tears again as she twists her arm away.

      ‘I love you, Drew,’ she shouts as she sprints towards the front door, which Dr Rothwell is holding it open. Beside him is the OFSTED inspector, with the brown envelope tucked under his arm.

      ‘Mum!’ I start to go after her but Mrs H. shoots out a hand, lightning fast, and grabs me by the arm and sinks her nails into the thin skin of my wrist. I cry out in pain and Mum glances back but, before I can say anything, the OFSTED inspector sidesteps her, blocking her view.

      ‘How nice to see you again,’ he says in a loud pompous voice. ‘Dr Rothwell and I are going for lunch in Newcastle. Perhaps we could share your cab?’

      ‘Mum!’ I shout. ‘Mum, don’t go! Mum!’

Chapter Fourteen

      As the front door slams shut, Mrs H. releases her grip on my wrist. Four crescent-shaped nail marks are etched into my skin like dirty pink tattoos.

      ‘Oh dear,’ she says, peering down at them. ‘I’m so sorry about that. I really should get my nails cut. Do you need a hug?’

      Do I need a hug? What kind of sick psychopath is she? I move away from her, my hands raised in case she tries to hug or scratch me again. I’ve got three options:

      Run for the door and hope Mum’s taxi hasn’t left yet

      Smack Mrs H. round her stupid ‘do you need a hug?’ face and tell her that she’s not fooling anyone with her ‘we’re all family’ line

      Act dumb, play along and go back to plan A – help Mason escape

      ‘Drew?’ she says again. ‘Do you need a hug?’

      I nod my head. (Three, it is then.)

      I try very hard not to cringe as Mrs H. puts her arms around me and gives me a squeeze. Her perfume, a vile floral scent, catches in the back of my throat.

      ‘It’s tough, I know,’ she murmurs into my hair before she swiftly lets go.

      ‘Grab your suitcase, please, Drew.’

      She holds the white card at the end of her lanyard against a small black box to the right of the door. It swings open and she ushers me inside.

      ‘Your homesickness will pass quickly, Drew,’ Mrs H. says as she follows me into the room. The walls are lined with bookshelves and hundreds of faded hardback books. It smells vaguely musty, like a second-hand bookshop. A man and two women are standing at a large picture window on the other side of the room. They’re wearing identical royal blue sweatshirts with a Norton House logo, dark jeans and white trainers. And they all have lanyards dangling from their necks.

      ‘Drew,’ Mrs H. says as they walk towards us. ‘Let me introduce you to Abi, Stuart and Destiny.’

      ‘Hi,’ they chime, flashing ridiculously white smiles.

      ‘Great to meet you, Drew!’ Abi steps forward and hugs me. She’s early twenties with blonde hair in a ponytail and ridiculously clear skin. She looks, and sounds, like she should work on the Disney Channel.

      Stuart steps closer as Abi lets me go and I brace myself. What’s with all the bloody hugging? But he doesn’t embrace me like I’m some long lost relative. Instead, he nudges my shoulder with a closed fist and says, ‘Drew eh? Cool name,’ in a thick Scottish accent.

      ‘Nice to meet you, Drew,’ says Destiny. She’s got a neck tattoo, a septum piercing and long black dreads that are curled into a bun on the top of her head. She shoves her hands into her pockets as she speaks. Finally, someone who doesn’t invade my personal space.

      ‘Abi, Stuart and Destiny work here,’ says Mrs H. ‘Officially they’re known as support assistants but everyone here refers to them as “the friends”. They’re responsible for your mental, physical and emotional health and well-being whilst you’re in the acclimatization phase of your stay at Norton House.’

      ‘Anything you want –’ Abi beams at me ‘– just ask us.’

      ‘Can I have an iPad and the Wi-Fi password, please?’

      She laughs as though it’s the funniest joke in the whole world but Mrs H. isn’t amused. ‘You won’t have any contact with the outside world for the duration of your stay, Drew. There are a number of other rules you’ll need to abide by but we won’t worry about that now. You’ll find a welcome pack on your bed when I show you to your dorm.’

      Dorm? I have to share with other people?

      ‘You’ll СКАЧАТЬ