In this Rachel is married to Chris and they have three children; Finn 13; Emily 11 and Lola 7. Rachel was never a prostitute in this story and is really close to her parents, Sue and Paul.

It was a Tuesday and Finn, Emily and Lola were at their grand- parents', Sue and Paul's, house for tea; something that they did every Tuesday after school.

"I think it's probably time we were getting you three home" Sue said after noticing the time

"But I like this" Lola said referring to the TV program that they were watching

"Well I tell you what I'll put it onto record and then we'll watch it next time"

"Okay then"

The three children went and got all of their stuff together before going into the kitchen to get their shoes and coats on.

"Do you want me to take them back?" Paul asked

"No it's okay I want to speak to Rachel anyway"

Once they were all ready Sue walked out to the car with her grand- children. The journey was only about five minutes so it wasn't long until they arrived at Rachel and Chris's house.

Lola and Finn immediately ran into the house leaving Sue and Emily to bring all the bags in

"Thanks love" Sue said smiling at her eldest grand- daughter

Rachel was stood at the door waiting for them to come in and both Sue and Emily both noticed Rachel's puffy, red eyes immediately

"Hi" Rachel said in an unusually flat tone

"Rach what's wrong?" Sue asked worrying what her daughter was upset about

"Nothing, I'm okay. Em can you just go into the lounge for me a second please I need to talk to Grandma"

"Okay" Emily said before going into the lounge where her brother and sister were sat

"Is Dad not in?" Emily asked

"Mum said he's upstairs" Finn replied

"Oh no we're not watching this" Emily said just noticing that her brother had the football on

"Yes we are I'm not missing it"

"But we don't like football" Lola said sticking up for her big sister

"Well go and put the TV on in the play room then if you don't like it"

The three of them were still arguing over the TV when Chris walked into the lounge closely followed by Rachel.

"Where's Grandma?" Emily asked

"She's gone home"

"She didn't say goodbye to us though" Lola said

"I know she told me to say goodbye to you though. Finn can you turn that off for a minute please?"

"No I'm watching it"

"Finn I said now" Rachel said raising her voice slightly

Finn did as Rachel told and then Chris told him to go and sit on the same sofa as his sisters. All three of them were beginning to wonder what was going on now.

"Me and your Mum need to talk to you about something" Chris informed them

"What about?" Emily asked curiously

Rachel looked at Chris expectantly not wanting to be the one to have to tell the kids

"Well the thing is… I'm not going to be living here anymore" Chris said really not knowing how to tell the kids this

"What are you talking about?" Emily said not really understanding what was going on

"You're going to stay living here with your Mum, but I'm going to move out"

"Why?" Finn asked

"Because your Dad's decided he doesn't want to be married to me anymore" Rachel said the tears forming in her eyes again

Rachel and Chris were crying now as were Emily and Lola. Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing and was finding it really hard to fight back his tears.

It was strange for the kids to see Rachel cry in front of them, let alone their Dad.

"Why doesn't Daddy want to be married to you anymore?" Lola asked through tears

Rachel sat on the sofa in the middle of Emily and Finn and put Lola on her lap

"Because he doesn't love me anymore, but what you three have got to remember is that Dad still loves you"

"I love you so so so much, I will never stop loving you three"

"I thought you and Mum were just having another argument, I thought you would make up like you normally do" Emily said

"I'm afraid not love, this is for the best though because you won't have to put up with me and your Dad arguing anymore. Chris I think it's best if you just go now"

"Where's he going to go?" Finn asked

"He's going to go and stay with Uncle Jack and Auntie Helen for a bit until he figures out somewhere to live"

"You three going to come and give me a hug before I go then?" Chris asked so all three children went over to their Dad. The five of them were all crying now, even Finn

After a while Chris pulled away and walked out to the front door; the three of them followed him out

"Daddy I don't want you to go I want you to still live with us" Lola said

"I wish I could sweetheart but it's just going to make us all happier if I go"

"But I'll miss you"

"I'll miss you too, but you can ring me whenever you like and I'll come and see you as soon as I can" Chris said picking up his youngest daughter

Rachel came out into the hallway shortly after and tried to take Lola off Chris but she just clung to him

"Come on Lola you need to let Daddy go now"

"No I don't want Daddy to leave"

"I know you don't but he has to, come on come and give Mummy a cuddle"

Eventually Lola let go and let Rachel take her into her arms.

"Please don't go Dad" Emily begged getting into a real state

"I have to love, I'm sorry"

"No you don't, you and Mum can make up like you always do and then we can all still live together. It won't be the same without you here"

There was nothing else Chris could say other than "I'm sorry"

Chris said his final goodbyes before walking out of the door, closing the door behind him.

Finn rushed up to his bedroom as soon as Chris had left not wanting them all to see him upset

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked

"To my room" Finn said and with that he was gone. Knowing he probably just wanted some time alone to take it all in Rachel decided not to follow him up

Rachel was left with two very upset girls both crying their eyes out

"Come on you two let's go into the lounge" Rachel said trying to remain strong for her children's sake, but inside she felt truly crushed

Rachel sat down on the sofa and let her two daughters sob into her whilst she had a good cry herself. She didn't know what she could do to make them feel better. She didn't know what she could do to make herself feel any better.

"When are we going to see Dad again?" Lola asked

"I don't know but I promise you can see him soon"

"Tomorrow?"

"Maybe love, we'll just have to see won't we"

"I miss him"

"I know you do, me too. Why don't we all go and put our pyjamas on though and then have a big cuddle in my bedroom"

Slowly, the two girls followed Rachel up the stairs before going into their bedrooms. Neither of them could quite get over what had just happened, this morning they were all sat having breakfast round the table together and now their Dad no longer lived with them.

Rachel knocked on her son's bedroom door

"Go away" Finn shouted but Rachel went in anyway. It upset Rachel so much when she walked into Finn's bedroom to find him lying on his bed his eyes red from crying

"It's all your fault Dad's left, if you'd have stopped being so bossy and nagging him all the time he'd probably still be here" Finn shouted at his Mum

"Finn, I know your hurting but I'm hurting too you know"

"Just leave me alone"

Rachel didn't have the energy to fight with him so instead just walked out closing Finn's bedroom door shut behind him.

She went into her bedroom and started to put her pyjamas on. It wasn't long before Emily and Lola were there to join her.

The first thing Emily saw when she went into her parents room was a big heap of tissues obviously because her Mum had been crying so much earlier.

Rachel continued to get changed and then got into bed with her daughters, not even bothering to pick up her clothes

"Mum why doesn't Dad love you anymore?"

"I don't really know I guess that sometimes people change so they just don't feel the same way anymore"

"Do you still love Daddy"

"Yes" Rachel replied simply. As much as it pained her to say it, there was no point in lying about the fact she still loved Chris deeply. She knew they were having their problems but she thought that after everything they'd been through and everything they had together they would be able to work it out. But she was wrong

"Will we still live here Mum or will we have to move house?"

"Hopefully we'll be able to stay here love, but if you'd rather move so we can have a fresh start then that's fine"

"No I want to, but when my friend's parents split up they had to move house because her Mum couldn't afford to live there on her own"

"Oh well I would think we'll be fine" Rachel smiled

The girls were still really shaken up so it took Rachel a while to calm them down, however eventually Lola did drop off to sleep.

"Do you want to sleep in here tonight too?" Rachel asked Emily

"No I'll go in my own bed"

"Okay love but don't be afraid to come to me in the middle of the night if you can't sleep or you just want a cuddle or something"

"Okay, night Mum"

"I'll come and tuck you in" Rachel said before the two of them got off the bed being careful not to wake Lola

Rachel sat on Emily's bed whilst she went into the bathroom. When she came back Rachel made sure she was comfy and then sat with her for a bit.

Emily wasn't crying anymore but Rachel could tell she was holding back the tears.

"Come on Em, it's okay to be upset you don't need to pretend you're not because I know you are" Rachel said before Emily burst into a fresh flood of tears

"I want him back Mum" Emily sobbed

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" Rachel cried

"You don't have to be sorry, it's not your fault"

"Thank you darling" Rachel said glad that not all of her kids thought she was the bad one in all of this

Rachel laid down next to Emily where they both had another good cry. Rachel rubbed Emily's back and eventually she cried herself to sleep.

Rachel sighed to herself knowing they all had a very tough time ahead of them.

After leaving Emily's room Rachel dithered about going into see Finn again, but decided against it not feeling up to him blaming her again. Instead she went and got into bed with her youngest daughter and put her arms around her, but she didn't fall asleep.

Rachel was still wide awake when Lola woke up crying.

"I want Daddy" she cried

"Come here love" Rachel said pulling the girl into her chest not knowing what to say

"I- I just want to talk to him" Lola said struggling to get her words out because she was cying so much

"Shall we give him a ring?" Rachel asked and Lola nodded "I don't know if he'll pick up mind you because he's probably asleep"

It had been ringing for a while so Rachel thought that he probably wasn't going to pick up, she was just about to hang up when Chris picked up

"Rach is everything alright?" he asked

"Lola wants to speak to you" Rachel said abruptly before passing the phone to Lola

"Daddy"

"Hi sweetie, are you still feeling upset?"

"I want you to come home"

"I know but that's not an option, is Mummy giving you lots of cuddles?"

"Yes and I'm sleeping in her bed but it feels weird without you there too"

"I bet you have lots of room though"

Lola started to get really worked up again

"I'll say goodnight now darling, you sleep tight I love you lots. Can you pass me back to Mummy?"

Lola passed the phone back to her Mum however Rachel didn't really feel like speaking so just ended the call before comforting her daughter.

It took a while but Lola did eventually calm down and fall back to sleep. It was another couple of hours but Rachel did too fall asleep in the end.

When Rachel's alarm went off the next morning she quickly turned it off not wanting it to wake Lola up. She didn't get up though because she had absolutely no intentions of going to work today. She knew that they all needed the day off.

Rachel stayed in bed for a bit longer before putting her dressing gown on and going downstairs and making herself a cup of coffee.

She hadn't been downstairs for very long when Emily appeared in the kitchen in her pyjamas and sat at the kitchen table next to her Mum

"Morning love"

"Why didn't you wake me up? Don't I need to get ready for school?"

"You're not going to school today, I thought it was best we all had the day off"

"No I want to go into school"

"I really don't think that's the best idea love"

"I don't want to stay around here all day. I'm fine, I want to go to school"

"Please have the day off for me"

"No I want to go in"

"Well if you're sure I suppose I can't stop you but I really do think you'd be better off staying at home today"

"I'm going to get ready" Emily said before going back upstairs

Rachel put her head in her hands and sighed. She'd been sitting like this for a while when the doorbell went. The last thing Rachel wanted to do was see anyone but she knew she couldn't just shut herself out from the rest of the world.

She got to the front door and saw it was her Mum. Rachel opened the door and immediately fell into her Mum's embrace where the tears started to fall again.

After a while Rachel calmed down a bit so went through to the kitchen with her Mum

"Do you want a coffee Mum?" Rachel asked

"I'll do that, you sit down"

Sue made them both a coffee before sitting down next to her daughter. She knew Rachel probably didn't want to talk about it at the moment, but for Rachel her Mum just being there was making her feel better.

Sue was just about to ask about the kids when a sleepy Lola appeared at the kitchen door, her brown curly hair all over the place.

"Morning Lola" Sue said

"Grandma" Lola said rushing over and sitting on her Grandma's lap and giving her a cuddle "what are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd come and give you all a visit"

A little while later Emily came downstairs now dressed in her school uniform

"Mum it's nearly time to go"

"You need to have some breakfast first"

"I'm not hungry"

"I'm not having you go to school with an empty stomach, now what do you want?"

"I don't want anything"

"If you don't eat you're not going to school"

"Fine I'll have some toast then"

Rachel got up and started to make Emily her breakfast

"Mummy I don't want to go to school today I want to stay with you"

"You don't have to go today my love, we're going to have a nice day at home"

"Why does Emily have to go to school then?"

"Because she wants to, but you know Em you really don't have to"

"I want to"

"Do you want me to drop her off?" Sue asked

"No it's alright I'll do it" Rachel replied "I want to have a word with Emily's teacher about everything" Rachel said quietly when Emily had her back to them

"I'll just quickly go and get dressed and then we'll go" Rachel said before quickly going upstairs. She just stuck on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and brushed her hair not really caring what she looked like

"You haven't eaten much" Rachel said coming back into the kitchen

"I can't eat anymore"

"Okay then, come on let's go. Are you alright to stay here until I get back Mum?"

"Yeah of course"

Rachel and Emily went and got in the car to get to school. Emily didn't say a word and Rachel was beginning to worry about her. She never was very good at opening up to people about how she was feeling.

When they got to school Rachel got out of the car with Emily. Normally when Lola wasn't going to school Rachel wouldn't bother to walk in with Emily.

"Mum why are you coming in?" Emily asked

"I just want to have a little chat with Mrs Jones that's all"

"Why?"

"Just to tell her what's happened"

"Why does she need to know? It's none of her business"

"well because you're bound to still be upset today and she'll probably wonder why"

Emily sighed not really seeing why her Mum needed to tell her teacher but walked in with Rachel and then rushed off to find her friends.

"Bye Em, have a good day just ring me if there's any problems"

"Mum I'm fine" Emily said before going off

Rachel found Mrs Jones and had a quick chat with her. She said that she'd let Rachel know if there was any problems and keep an eye on Emily.

When Rachel got back to the house Lola was in the lounge with Sue crying again, but there was still no sign of Finn downstairs.

"Mummy" Lola said noticing her Mum had come in

"Hi darling, you feeling a bit upset again?" Rachel asked sitting the other side of her daughter

"I don't know why I keep crying"

"It's because you're feeling sad at the moment, but I promise you you'll start to feel better eventually"

"Is Finn up yet?"

"Yeah he came down and had some breakfast with Lola, he's gone back up to his room now though"

"I'm just going to go up and have a word with him"

Rachel walked upstairs to her son's bedroom where he was playing his xbox.

"Hey Finn" Rachel said but Finn just completely ignored her

"Please don't be like this with me I know you're upset at the moment but I can't help you unless you talk to me"

"I don't want to talk, I'm playing this"

"Okay well you know where I am if you want me" Rachel said working in a school meant she knew there was no point in forcing a child to talk if they didn't want to

Rachel went back downstairs and had a chat with her Mum whilst Lola had gone to the loo

"Finn alright?" Sue asked

"Not really, he blames me for all of this you know"

"He's just angry, he'll calm down eventually"

"I know I just hate seeing them so upset, I can't believe they're having to go through all of this."

"It's not what you wanted, so if anyone's to blame it's Chris"

"What did Dad say when you told him?"

"He was angry, very very angry but only because you're his daughter and he hates to think of anyone upsetting you"

Sue stayed for a bit longer before leaving them to it. It was about lunchtime when Rachel got a call from Emily's teacher

"Hi is everything okay?"

"It's Emily. She's in the toilet crying and she's refusing to come out"

"Okay, I'm on my way"

Rachel quickly went upstairs to tell Finn she was going out and asked him to keep an eye on Lola before hurrying to the primary school.

The lady at reception showed Rachel to the girl's toilets. Mrs Jones was in there but when she saw Rachel left to give the two of them some space. Rachel could hear her little girl sobbing which pained her inside

"Em, it's Mum. Can you come out for me a second please?"

"I don't want to"

"Please sweetheart, come and give me a cuddle"

Emily knew her Mum wouldn't leave until she came out, so slowly she unlocked the door before walking out to her Mum and immediately collapsing into her arms.

"I should never have let you come in today"

"I just want everything to go back to normal"

"I know you do and it will soon, but at the moment I think you just need a bit of time to come to terms with everything"

"I know I'm sorry I should have listened to you"

"How about we go home now and get some lunch and put some rubbish on TV" Rachel said to which Emily nodded

"Come on then, let's go"

"But look at my face everyone will see I've been crying"

"It's lunchtime so they're all outside anyway"

They were just about to walk out when Mrs Jones came in with Emily's bag.

"Are you going home now Emily?" Mrs Jones asked and Emily nodded

"Okay well here's your bag. Take as much time as you need and we'll see you when you're feeling a bit better"

"Thank you" Rachel said before the two of them walked to reception so Rachel could sign Emily out and then went to the car

Emily suddenly remembered it was Wednesday and she usually went to her tutor on a Wednesday, as she was doing the 11 plus soon in the hope to go to a grammar school next year

"Do I still have to go to my tutor tonight?" Emily asked

"No love, I'll ring her tonight and tell her you can't make it"

"But the test is in a couple of weeks what if I'm not ready in time"

"You've still got all your books and stuff so you can just do a bit extra at the weekend"

"Okay"

When they got home Rachel went into the kitchen to make a start on lunch whilst Emily went upstairs to get changed out of her school uniform

"Emily please can I come in?" Lola asked from Emily's door frame

"Course you can"

"Why did you come home from school early?"

"Because I got a little bit upset"

"Because of Mum and Dad"

"Yeah"

"When are we going to see Dad again?"

"I don't know Lola, we'll just have to wait and see. Just wait until Mum mentions it because she's really upset at the moment"

"I've never seen Mum cry so much" Lola said her eyes glassed with tears

"No me neither, come and give me a cuddle"

Emily and Lola had a nice long cuddle on Emily's bed before deciding to go downstairs to see what Rachel had made for lunch.

"Anyone fancy some pasta for lunch?" Rachel asked

"Yes please Mum" #

"Em?"

"yeah okay"

Rachel cooked some pasta for them all and once it was ready called Finn down

"Is that enough for you?" Rachel asked her son

"Yeah" Finn said before walking out of the kitchen

"Aren't you going to eat with us?"

"No I'll eat in my room"

"Oh okay, well careful not to spill it then"

Rachel sat at the table with her two daughters to have some lunch, but none of them could really eat properly they were just picking at it.

Rachel knew that eventually they would get through all of this, but at that moment she was struggling to see how she was ever going to make her kids as happy as they used to be.

Please let me know what you think xxx