The Forgotten Sister
Chapter 1
Returning To The Past
Rating - T
Disclaimer - I do not own Hollyoaks or any of it's characters except OCs and Ideas
The Cunningham Family
Gordon m. Angela
Children: Maxwell Robert Cunningham - b. 1981
Dawn Sarah Cunningham - b. 1978
Cindy Rebecca Cunningham - b. 1983
Jude Patricia Cunningham - b. 1984
Christina Laura Cunningham - b. 1986
Christina Cunningham was never the one that anyone really associated when they talked about the Cunningham Family...
She was always in the background...
But when she hit the age of thirteen, she really began to make herself known...
Now returning to Hollyoaks after four years, Christy has some catching up to do...
But why did she leave?
This is her story.
Present Day
December 2006
Hollyoaks Village
Christina Cunningham was never the best driver on the road and she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the sign for 'Hollyoaks'. She was amazed that she managed to drive from Manchester Airport to Hollyoaks in one piece. The car came to a halt at the traffic lights and Christina turned her head to the back of the car...
In the back of the car, was a little girl in a booster seat, asleep. She was quite a cute little girl, with almost blonde hair in bunches and dungarees. Christina smiled at the little girl and turned back to face the traffic lights. She stared at herself in the mirror and sighed...
Christina was quite an attractive girl and had always been since she was a teenager. She had brown hair, which looked slightly auburn, a trait from her mother, and had blue eyes. The traffic light changed from red to green and Christina drove on...
It had been four years since she had last been in Hollyoaks. Now she was twenty-one, she felt it was time to go back...
To settle unfinished business...
She saw the turn-off for Hollyoaks and she drove through and she saw the sign: 'Welcome to Hollyoaks'...
She looked around as she drove through into her childhood village...She drove up to the Dog In The Pond pub and parked the car in one of the free spaces. She stopped and put her head in her hands, exhausted. The little girl woke up in the back and looked up at Christina.
"Mommy?" asked the voice of the little girl. She had quite a distinct American accent.
Christina turned around and looked at her daughter. She looked sparkly and full of energy, seeing as they had both been on a 16 hour flight from Los Angeles to Manchester...
"Are we here yet?" she asked.
Christina nodded. "Yes, pickle. We're here now..."
The little girl grinned. "Am I gonna meet Uncle Max?"
Christina nodded again. "Yes, sweetie..."
Christina opened the car door, sleepily and got out. She looked around and instantly noticed that the Dog was now in a Mock Tudor Style with a blue sign...The outside was decorated with Christmas lights and looked very pretty...
She sighed and opened the car door and unbuckled her daughter out of her car seat. The little reached out for Christina and Christina carried her out carefully and stood her up on the floor. The little girl was quite short for a 4 year old, but she was very clever for her age. She was clutching a brown teddy bear which Christina had bought at the airport for her, to stop her from crying...
The little girl started to wander around, while Christina was busy hunting for her handbag in the front. Christina immediately noticed that she was gone and went into panic mode. She quickly ran to see where she had gone and found her standing outside of the pub...
"Raegan!" called Christina. She walked over to her daughter and came down to her level. "Don't you ever run away from Mommy! Understood?"
Raegan nodded and hugged Christina. "Sorry, mommy..."
Christina sighed and hugged her little girl. She did feel quite tired and grouchy and felt bad for snapping at her daughter...
"Come on...I'm gonna show you your Grandad's shop!" smiled Christina, thinking about her dad...
Raegan smiled and she held onto Christina's hand and they started to walk back to the car. Christina grabbed her keys and locked the car...
'I can get the luggage later...' thought Christina to herself...
She held onto her daughter's hand, while Raegan stomped her feet hard to make her trainers light up. She looked around at the main street and realised that it had changed quite a bit in four years...
She stared at Tony's restaurant and noticed the change in name... She peered inside and saw it was quite modern...
Next door, was the 'Drive 'n' Buy'... Gordon Cunningham's pride and joy...Christina stared up at it, thinking about the time when Gordon had first bought it...
"Here it is, baby..." smiled Christina. "This is the shop that your Grandad owned...He gave it to your Uncle Max..."
Raegan stared up at the shop in front of her. "Is Grandad in heaven, Mommy?" asked Raegan, looking up at Christina.
Christina sighed. "Yes, sweetie...Now, shall we go in?"
Raegan smiled and nodded. Christina pushed open the door and looked around and noticed the shop had moved around a bit...
Raegan stared up in excitement and looked at the sweets eagerly...
Christina stood and felt her heart beat faster than ever. She hadn't seen Max in four years and now she had turned up unexpectedly without a word...
'He's gonna be angry...I just know it...I wonder how Tom is? He was so tiny when I last saw him...I wonder if he still lives in that tiny flat...'
A man walked through the back door and smiled at Christina. He was quite a middle-aged man and was wearing a navy T-shirt and jeans...Christina gave a small smile and stared at the man, who she had never seen in her life...
'Wow...Max must have hired staff...'
"Hello. Can I help you?" smiled the man and he gave a wave to Raegan, who stared up at him.
"Hi..." smiled Christina. "Is my brother in?"
The man looked at Christina confused. "Your brother? Do you mean Gilly?"
Christina stared back at the man, equally confused. "Umm no...I mean, Max Cunningham? He owns this shop, does he not?"
The man laughed. "Oh, Max! I guess you haven't been here for a long while...Max sold the shop to me several months back. I'm Neville Ashworth, the owner..."
Christina stared back at Neville in shock. "Oh..."
'Max promised Dad he would never sell the shop...I can't believe he has done this...This shop meant everything to Dad!'
Christina felt a slight tug on her jeans and saw her daughter's puzzled face.
"Is that Uncle Max, Mommy?" whispered Raegan, quietly. Tiredness was already settling in and she was pulling on one of her bunches...
"No, sweetie...I don't know where Uncle Max is..." replied Christina, quietly.
Christina smiled at Neville. "Does Max still live in the village?"
Neville nodded. "Yeah he does...He owns The Loft now, so you could try The Loft if you wanted to see him..."
'He swapped this for that place?! The Loft?!'
Christina sighed. "Thanks for your help...Come on, Raegan..."
Raegan held onto Christina's hand and they walked out of the shop and stared out at the street.
Christina felt angry inside... She looked at Il Gnosh next door...
Christina stared at the cafe. "Come on, sweetie...We're going into here to see if we can find Max..."
Raegan gave a small yawn and nodded as she walked with Christina up to Il Gnosh.
Christina pulled the door open and she looked around and saw the place was pretty busy... She walked up to the bar and saw no-one was there. Raegan was now cuddling her teddy...
A man in a white chef's suit walked out and came up to the bar. Christina stared at the man, who was busy getting something from under the bar...
"Right..." said the man, from under the bar. "How can I help you?"
He appeared from underneath the bar and gave a smile to Christina. Then suddenly, Christina recognised who it was...His hair had got a little longer, but it was still him...The man took a double take and stared back at Christina...
"Tony?" asked Christina, smiling at him.
Tony stared back at Christina and smiled. "No...It can't be...Christy?!"
Christina nodded and smiled back at Tony. Tony stood with his mouth open and smiled. He looked at her up and down...
"Oh my god, you've changed! Wow! You look amazing!" smiled Tony, "I mean, not that you weren't before..."
Christina smiled. Tony looked down at Raegan holding Christina's hand and smiled at Raegan.
"Who's this little one?" Tony said, smiling.
"This is my daughter, Raegan..." said Christy, smiling.
Tony looked up at Christy and then looked back at Raegan. "No...You had a daughter?"
Christy nodded. "She's four now, aren't you baby?"
Raegan nodded and started to suck her thumb.
Christy sighed. "I'm looking for Max...I wanted to surprise him, but then I have only just found out that he's sold the shop..."
Tony made a small 'o' and then looked back at Christy. "Oh yeah...He's living above The Loft now in a flat..."
Christy smiled. "Thanks...I will go 'round and see him...Is Mandy in actually? I may as well kill two birds with one stone, while I'm here..."
Tony looked at Christy solemnly and then looked down at the floor. "Ummm...she's...not...here..."
Christy looked at Tony, confused. "Oh right...When will she be back?"
Tony looked down at the floor.
"So, have you only just come back from Spain?" asked Tony, changing the subject.
Christy shook her head. "Oh, I didn't go to Spain...I've just come back from LA...I've been living there for four years..."
Tony looked surprised again. "Oh, 'cause I thought you went to go and live with Cindy and Jude..."
Christy shook her head. "Nope. I mean, I have visited them, but I didn't live with them..."
Tony smiled at Christy. "Do you want something to eat or anything? You must be starving!"
Christy smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I'm okay thanks...I better find Max though...But it's been great to see you! I will have to see Mandy later..."
Tony nodded and his smile faded away. "Yeah...It's good to see you after all these years..."
Christy smiled. "I'll see you around...Say goodbye, Raegan!"
Raegan waved her hand at Tony and Tony waved back.
"Bye!" smiled Christy and she took Raegan and lead her out of the door...
And on the way, Christy's mind was on the Christmas that the Cunningham family had before everything changed...
Christmas Day 1997
The Cunningham Household
It was Christmas Day and 11 year old Christy Cunningham was dancing around in the kitchen in her new black sparkly dress, tapping her feet in her new patent black shoes. Angela Cunningham was putting the leftovers of the Christmas Pudding away in the fridge, while Gordon was reading the newspaper. 16 year old Max was still in a sleepy state of mind and hadn't really woken up yet...
15 year old Jude was listening to a new Oasis CD, while 14 year old Cindy was cradling a new make-up case with lipsticks and eye shadows inside it...
The mood was quite somber due to Dawn's degrading health, but they were all trying to keep their spirits up...
Christy however was oblivious to Dawn's health and thought it was just another Christmas day, full of presents and excitement...
She had her hair curled and was dancing around, singing to herself, while her family were busy doing other things...
She skipped off into the other room, singing 'Too Much' by The Spice Girls and started twirling around her hair around her finger. She skipped into the living area where the Christmas Tree twinkled with its lights... She smiled at the fairy on top of the tree and she walked up to the Christmas tree. Underneath the tree were some presents for Dawn, but Jambo had taken her out for the day, so she would be back to have them later...
"Hello Fairy!" grinned Christy. She walked closer up to the tree and she stood on her tip-toes. "This year is gonna be the greatest! Dawn is gonna get better and Max is going to pass all of his A-Level thingys and I will hopefully get the lead in the school play!!"
Suddenly there was a scream from the kitchen and it sounded like someone was crying...,
Christy frowned and she started to make her way back into the kitchen...
She walked away from the Christmas Tree and made her way back to the kitchen, with it's scent of turkey and custard...
She opened the door and saw her mum, crying with the phone in her hand and Cindy crying in Max's arms and Jude looked really upset. Gordon was putting his coat on and looked really upset. They all saw Christy walk in the room and they all stared at her, looking worried...
Mr. C walked over to his youngest daughter and bent down to her level. Christy looked at him, puzzled and confused...
Mr. C put his arms on Christy's shoulders. "Christy...Something has happened to Dawn..."
That was the moment that Christy's world fell to pieces...
An old Christy died...
...And a new one was born...
Christy and Raegan walked up and they finally made it to The Loft nightclub. Christy looked up at it again and memories of her teenage years at the nightclub came flooding back to her...
"Where are we?" asked Raegan, rubbing her eyes.
"We are going to see Uncle Max, now..." said Christy, sighing.
They walked up to the entrance to the flat of the Loft and surprisingly, the main door was open. Christy held onto Raegan's hand and they started making their way up the stairs. Raegan gripped onto Christy's hand tight...
Christy felt nerves kick and she felt like turning back and running away...
'Come on, Christy!...You can do this...You haven't seen your brother in over four years and you need to see him...'
She appeared at the door of Max's flat and felt her heart thump in her chest. She brushed her hair out of her face and she walked slowly up to the door...
She looked at Raegan and then she knocked on the door, a lump growing in her throat...
The door opened and a small boy answered with brown hair which looked kinda curly. He had brown eyes and was wearing a school uniform. He looked older than Raegan, but was still quite short. Christy stared at the boy and it hit her over who it was...
"Oh my god..." said Christy quietly. She knelt down to the little boy's level and smiled at him. "Are you Tom?"
The little boy nodded. Christy smiled at him and she felt tears well up in her eyes.
"You don't remember me, do you?" asked Christy, smiling at him.
Tom shook his head and he stared at Raegan, who was cuddling her teddy.
"Who is it, Tom?" came a familiar voice.
Tom stood staring at Christy and Raegan.
Then suddenly, a man appeared at the door and opened the door fully to see who was outside...
Christy stood up tall and stared at the man who answered the door...
Her heart began to race...
The man suddenly stared at Christy in shock and they both looked at each other...
"Christy?"
END OF CHAPTER 1
A/N: Hope you like my first chapter on this story! Its just something that I've cooked together over the past couple of days...I'm not sure if the birth years for the Cunningham children are correct and I've just made the middle names up!!
Please review if you would like me to continue with this story... xxxx