Molly 2: Molly Series, #2

By Bellamy Grayfield

★★Make sure to also read Book 1 of the Molly series★★

This description is spoiler-free for those who have not yet read Book 1

Five years later, Sarah and the boys are just getting their lives back. Living in a quaint West coast town near Seattle, Washington, the family tries to maintain normality. The boys are now in elementary school and know little of anything about what happened in that Midwest town.

Even after moving to the other side of the country, Sarah feels like Molly is still in her life. With very little support from the police, Sarah decides to take matters into her own hands. With no solid evidence, Sarah must figure out if the threats are real or if they are just in her head. A near constant internal battle ensues leading down a spiraling path to the inevitable.

Will it all end in tears? Or will Sarah conquer her tormentor and save her family? Join us for the sequel to the captivating book, Molly. Follow Sarah as she navigates the dizzying path of reality versus fantasy. Watch as she battles her demons and struggles against all odds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bellamy Grayfield
• Release date: Mar 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386689577

Book preview

Preface

Sarah was a small-town single mother, living in a Northern state of the U.S. She went about life the way most of us do. We work every day to provide for our kids and to ensure that they have everything they need in life. One day, while waiting to pick up her son Tommy, a new woman walked into her life. Unbeknownst to Sarah, it was the beginning of the rest of her life. This woman and her son permanently changed their lives forever. What started out as a beautiful, supportive, and healing friendship soon turned into a volatile and heart-wrenching struggle against all odds.

Molly was more than she seemed. She was guarded, but for what reason? Sarah felt like she had to help her, and after just one play date with their boys, they knew they were kindred spirits. Both of them loved their sons no matter what, they would do anything for them and Sarah found out how far a mother's love goes for children. Molly confided her husband about how he abused them and sent Molly to the hospital for the last time. The details of the story were horrifying, and the letter sealed it. When Molly found herself fired from her job and losing her house, Sarah lent out a helping hand that ended up being mutually beneficial. Molly and her son, Leif, moved in the very next week. It was going so smoothly at first, things were almost too perfect.

Suddenly Molly was outshining Sarah to the boys. Molly was obsessed with Tommy and extremely secretive about her past, despite being such an open book the first time they really met. Something was very off about her. Debating whether or not Molly's strange behavior had to do with the lingering abuse or not, Sarah tried to get over the quirks. But after a bizarre 'illness', Sarah needed answers, but finding them proved to be harder than she had originally thought. Risking it all, Sarah made one last attempt to get to the bottom of all of this. She thought she outsmarted Molly until she woke up on the floor, blood rippling down her face.

Molly struck with full force, but Sarah was a fighter. Even the flames climbing the walls around her could not keep Sarah from Tommy. Sarah defied the odds and caught up with Molly and the boys. The very cabin that Sarah invited Molly into their lives would be the final fight between them, or at least it was supposed to be. Sarah and both boys are safe now from that psychotic woman, but it hasn't been easy. Molly took their innocence away. She took their sanity and feeling of safety away, but at least they were together and in the end, that's what really matters. Sarah legally adopted Leif and she loved him. Even though the boys were so young, something unseen tied them together. Molly somehow made them stronger, despite all that she took away. 

Chapter 1: Back to the Cabin

The water is so nice . The heat from the midday sun beats down on my skin and I can feel it tightening ever so slightly. The rubber on the raft heats up much hotter than I would like, normally, but the slight breeze off the water cools me enough to beg for more heat. I lazily drift around our part of the lake. It's narrow here and no more than 6 feet deep. I turn myself with my feet to look towards the beach of our cabin. Tommy and Leif are chasing each other with squirt guns. They were laughing and hollering. The sounds echo across the lake but lose themselves in the dense woods opposite of them. Somewhere a loon calls out, and I smile. My nervousness about returning here was unwarranted, I don't know why I worried so much. She would be a fool to show her face here. I check on the boys one more time and close my eyes. Oh, I could so fall asleep right now, just a little summer nap. The heat, the gentle breeze, my boys laughing in the near distance, it was all too inviting. I doze off for a bit until I wake up shivering. Something's off.

Goosebumps crawl up my legs and arms and my eyes fly open. The sky instantly clouds over, it's gray and green and the wind starts to blow hard. The water has turned black and is pulling me out further from the cabin. I spin to look towards the beach. The sand is stained red and the black water swells around it. I panic. A million images fly through my brain and I slip off my raft into the freezing water. At first, I can't figure out how to stay afloat. Something is preventing me from swimming, I seize up and the dim surface stretches further and further away from me. I choke and I reach for anything to pull me up. Suddenly, whatever was pulling me down releases me and I hastily swim for the surface. My throat stings as I resist the urge to gulp down the ice-cold water. I barely make it to the surface, when I involuntarily gulp for air. I inhale a little bit of water but manage to gain oxygen. I greedily suck down air and try to cough up the water as I circle to orientate myself. Behind some growing waves, I find land and immediately swim towards it. I'm shaking violently in the intense cold and my skin looks like a sheet of paper. As I get closer I start to feel rocks and sand on my feet, and something else. It's sharp and stings my legs. I cry out in pain and hot tears roll down my cheeks. Whatever it is, there is a lot of it. I'm no longer in deep enough for the water to support my weight and I have to walk across the jagged lake floor. I look down in front of me and see glinting glass shards spread everywhere across the beach. I cry out again for help. But no one answers.

Somewhere in the distance, a shrill scream calls out. I turn towards the sound and see the cabin caught on fire. Flames fully engulf the building as if it was doused in gasoline. Ten yards away I see the end of the old dock. It was out far enough into the lake that I could get to shore without wading over the glass field. I limp back out to deeper waters and head towards the dock. The ladder at the end was a welcomed sight and I shakily pull myself up. As I reach the planks, my grip slips and I fall back a bit. I groan and pull myself up again, this time landing on the dock and sliding a bit. The dock is coated in a thick, sticky coat of blood. My hands and back are covered in it. The smell of warm metal fills my nose and makes me want to vomit, however, I'm starting to regain control of my body here. I deal with the smell and the sight to warm up. Instantly, I remember the burning cabin, I glance up it and it is completely charred. No more flames and barely any smoke. It looks like it stopped burning days ago. All that is left, is a few black beams and some charred walls. Everything else is soot, ash, and shapeless objects. It looks familiar. A newspaper clip flashes into my mind. My house. After the firefighters finished putting the flames out, this is exactly what my house looked like. Even down to the garden beds up front, still perfectly intact and a few beautiful flower heads poking out among the bits of black everywhere. They are defiant and unashamed.

Slowly, I pull myself up and carefully walk to the shore. The glass is all gone but the cuts all over my feet and legs remain, though the pain has subsided for now. I soberly walk up to the house and touch the severely singed door. I feel sad. Tears drip from my eyes and I realize I'm crying. I wipe my eyes and something stings. I am covered in ash from head to toe. My clothes are scorched and hanging from my body. My skin is black and gray. I look up and the door has disintegrated. How long have I been here?