I've been meaning to write a Waterloo Road ficlet for a while now. This is my first go at the fandom; I can write more on request if anybody wants. Set between series 2 and 3, it's Izzie's family's thoughts after her death.
Tom
When they broke the news to me, I didn't believe it at first. How could Izzie be dead? Why was everyone I loved being taken from me? First the baby, then Lorna. Now Izzie was gone as well. I'd thought they were having me on until I saw Jack. His blank, tormented expression told me all I needed to know, even if the blood on his shirt didn't give off an obvious clue as to what had happened.
I didn't know what to say. How could I? She was dead, that much I knew. I was left without my girlfriend, and the girls – Mika and Chlo were still so young to lose their mother. I knew though I couldn't abandon them. If they decided they wanted to go and live with their real father, I couldn't – wouldn't – stop them. But if they decided to remain living with me, well, I guessed I'd have to deal with being a single father. It wouldn't be easy, but I owed Izzie that much.
Mika
Initially, I wished my recent overdose attempt had worked. That way, I wouldn't have had to deal with losing Mum. Tom was so strong, looking after Chlo and me, that I didn't even think about how he'd been affected until I returned home to see him crying one day. Chlo was out, with Donte I think, and I'd just returned with a takeaway when I saw him on the sofa, head in his hands and a photo of Mum beside him.
It's hard to see a grown man cry, and I didn't know what to do. I just went over to him and put my arm somewhat awkwardly around him. We just sat there for a while, letting the Chinese go cold as we both cried over Mum. We talked, too, and if I'm completely honest, it was what Tom said to me that day that gave me the strength to go back to school. I had been dreading facing it, the place where Mum died, and he made a promise to me. If I'd go back, he'd go back too. I knew then he was hurting much more than he ever let on to me and Chlo, so I agreed.
Chlo
Everyone's got their own way of coping with death. Mine was staying out of the house. I spent as much time at Donte's as I could get away with, and when I wasn't there, I was with other friends. Home reminded me too much of Mum, and I couldn't deal with that. It wasn't just the pictures everywhere. There was the answerphone message with her voice that none of us could bear to change. There was the toast in the morning that Tom didn't manage to burn but Mum always did, and I'm convinced she began doing it deliberately after a while. There was even the silly stuff like her towel and flannel in the bathroom nobody wanted to wash as it'd take away her smell.
I guess it was Donte that made me see sense. He hadn't seen his mother in years, and while it was completely different circumstances, he made me realise I could cope without her. I still had Mika, and as much as we hated each other at times, we loved each other as well. I still had Dad, as useless as he often was. And I still had Tom, who had done so much for us and neither me nor Mika had said anything about it. Things maybe wouldn't be so bad after all.
