So here is a new story from me, all about Lily and Iain again. It's an idea I had ages ago so I thought I'd get started on it.
Chapter One
Someone pressed the buzzer of number 32.
Lily had been in her room at the time, working on a report for work, It was ten o'clock on a Tuesday night so it frightened her in a way, wondering who on earth would be popping by to see her at that time. She sighed heavily and left her desk to go and answer the door.
"Hello?" She spoke.
"Lily," a familiar voice appeared on the other end. "It's Aunty Bo. I have the girls with me, could I come in?"
"Sure," Lily agreed reluctantly, pressing a button to allow her into the block of flats.
She ran a hand through her hair and yawned, wearily going to unlock the front door so that her aunt could let herself in. Turning round, she realised the state that her flat was in. She really should have spent her day off tidying, however the report was important and she was still nowhere near finished with it.
"Lily?"
The door opened and Aunty Bo entered, two young girls at her side. They immediately squealed with delight when they saw their big sister and rushed to fight each other for a hug. Lily laughed and crouched down to cuddle them both at once. It had only been two weeks since she saw them, but they'd still grown.
Saffron was the middle child. She was only eight and she had autism so she didn't speak much, but she definitely had the looks of the family. Her hair was shiny and black and it cascaded all the way down her back. She had a pretty face and was often seen wearing dresses or skirts, she could have easily become a child model.
Courtney was the youngest. She was only seven, and she was completely the opposite to her sisters. She was a tomboy, always dressed in jeans and dungarees. She loved sports, wore glasses just like Lily, and already knew that she wanted to be a doctor as well. Either that or open up her own zoo or football stadium.
Lily loved her sisters and since her father's death, she hadn't seen much of them. There weren't many people who knew that Lily had siblings, but the ones who did couldn't quite believe the age gap between them all. Lily was twenty-eight and had moved out, Saffron and Courtney weren't even at secondary school yet.
"I'm sorry it's late," she apologised straight away. "But I've just gone to visit your mother. You weren't asleep, were you?"
"No." Lily shook her head. "I have some work I need to finish. How is she doing?"
"She was quite tired when I left her," she said. "But she is doing okay. I came Lily, because we need to talk about the girls."
She crouched down to Saffron and Courtney and whispered for them to go and take a seat in the living room, in Chinese of course. Lily loved the fact that her sisters were learning about their heritage, even though they'd both been born in England.
"You can watch whatever you want on TV, girls," Lily said, as the two of them hurried into the living room. "Would you like a drink, Aunty?"
"That would be nice," she replied, and she and Lily went into the kitchen. "So, why do we need to talk about the girls?" Lily asked, as she boiled the kettle and grabbed a couple of mugs from the cupboard. "I thought that they would be staying with you."
"I have to travel back to Hong Kong, Lily," she said. "I can't take the girls all the way to China with me, whilst their mother and sister are in England. Besides, they have school and their friends."
"But mother can't take care of them," Lily said, as she popped a teabag into each mug and poured the water into it. "How do you take it?"
"Milk, no sugar please," she replied. "And obviously she can't. I was hoping that you would."
"Me?" Lily's eyes widened, missing the mug altogether and getting boiling hot water all over the counter. "I can't," she said, grabbing a towel and wiping over it. "Not in this place."
"You have a spare bedroom, don't you?" She said. "The girls can easily share. You're their sister, Lily."
"I'm worried about mum as well," Lily pointed out. "And whilst she's in hospital, I...I need to focus on myself. There's my job as well, the fact that I work night and weekend shifts, and...Saffron's autism."
"Saffron is only mildly autistic," her aunt mentioned. "And she's getting the support. I know you're worried as well, that's only natural, and surely your boss will be able to change your shifts round."
Lily knew that she couldn't tell Connie about her sisters, or her mum. She struggled to tell her when her father had died, she didn't want to seem weak and vulnerable, and she had never been one to ask for help either.
"There's no one else to take care of them," her aunt continued. "And I can't stay in England. They're such well-behaved girls and not any trouble at all, you know that. They love you Lily, they've not stopped talking about you since I told them that we were coming here."
"Do they realise how bad mum is?" Lily whispered, pouring some milk into a mug and handing it over to her aunt. "Will I have to explain everything to them?"
"They don't need to know," she said, taking a sip of her drink. "As far as they're aware, your mother is ill and unable to look after them properly at the moment."
The door to the kitchen opened and Saffron walked in, immediately going across to Lily and tugging on the sleeve of her shirt.
"Come watch oink oink," the young girl begged.
"What?" Lily frowned at her, before turning to address her aunt. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, that's her word for Peppa Pig," she said. "Courtney watches it, and Saffron's grown to like it as well. Personally I think she's growing a little bit too old for it, but what can you do? Poor girl is always going to be just that bit behind everyone else."
"Oink oink!" Saffron repeated.
"Saffron, your sister and I are having an important chat," Aunty Bo said to the young girl. "Go and watch it by yourself and we will come in when we've finished." Saffron remained rooted to the spot. "Go," she ordered in a gentle tone.
The girl fled the kitchen at once.
"You see?" Lily sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not used to children. You know everything, I had no idea what oink oink meant. To me, it's just a noise that pigs make."
"It comes with practice though," she said. "And I will always be just a phone call away."
Sadness filled Lily. If her aunt moved back to China, if her dad was dead and her mum was in hospital, and if she refused to take the girls in then what would happen to them? Foster care probably, and she couldn't allow that.
"I'll need some help to collect their things," Lily whispered. "Toys, clothes, beds as well."
She nodded and said, "of course, of course. I shall help with all of that. We'll get a moving van sorted out, and I'll make sure that you're all settled before I catch my plane."
There was a pause and Lily forced a smile.
"Thank you for this though, Lily," she said, smiling kindly at her niece. "It means a lot, to me and to your mother. Your father would be proud."
"I hope so," Lily muttered under her breath.
"How is your job going anyway?" She asked, having some more of her drink. "Do you have a boyfriend yet?"
"Work is fine," Lily answered as honestly as she could. "We're rather busy at the moment so I've been working quite a lot of extra hours. I do have a boyfriend yes, he's name is Iain and we've only been together for a couple of weeks."
"And he works at the hospital too?" She asked.
"Yes." Lily gave a firm nod. "He's a paramedic. I um...I haven't told mum yet."
"You should," she encouraged. "The good news might help her."
"But it won't cure her, will it?" Lily whispered and tipped the remains of her tea down the sink. "Sorry. You're right, I should tell her. I'm just not sure if Iain is her type of man, you know?"
"Well of course not!" She said, but then gave Lily a jokey wink. "He's your type."
Lily stifled a laugh. She'd always got on well with her aunt, it was just a shame that they didn't see more of each other.
"Come on," Aunty Bo eventually sighed. "Let's go and watch Peppa Pig."
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter x
