(A/N): Next chapter!
A Second Chance
Chapter 4
The following morning, Rachel took Lindsay into Manchester to buy the latter some new clothes, and so that Lindsay could buy Emily a Christmas present. There were only two days left until Christmas, so everywhere was absolutely manic, but Lindsay managed to get a whole new wardrobe, and bought her sister a present in the form of a new top, a pair of earrings and a fluffy diary with a matching pen. Unbeknownst to Rachel, Lindsay had also bought her a present that she'd kept hidden under Emily's.
Once they'd gotten back home at nearly five in the evening, Lindsay snagged the wrapping paper, cellotape and scissors and rushed up to her room to wrap her presents. She placed Emily's presents in a pile on her bed, and set Rachel's at the bottom of her wardrobe, ready to be given to the woman in question as soon as she could.
Five minutes later the doorbell rang, and knowing that Rachel was in the middle of making the pair some dinner, Lindsay jumped up off her bed and ran down the flight of stairs to answer it, jumping off the last stair and twisting the handle hurriedly, a tired smile automatically reaching her face as she opened the front door to reveal a blonde woman stood on the front porch holding the handles of a pram with a little blonde baby inside. Lindsay recognised Philip, who seemed to be hiding a little behind the blonde woman, so Lindsay deduced that the woman must be Rachel's sister Melissa, and the baby must be Georgia. "Hi, can I help you?" Lindsay asked politely.
"Yeah, I'm here to see my sister. I'm Melissa Ryan." Melissa introduced herself. "This is my son, Philip." She pointed at Philip, who flushed red at his mother's patronising tone and smiled nervously at Lindsay.
"I know." Lindsay responded, her attitude souring in response to Melissa's tone. "Hey Philip." Lindsay greeted the boy kindly. She would have hated it if her mother had spoken to anyone like that, and so she would never hold it against him.
"Hey Lindsay. Ros was gonna come too, but her folks wanted her to stay home tonight." Philip replied awkwardly.
"Linds, who's at the door?" Rachel called from the kitchen.
"I think it's your sister!" Lindsay yelled back, still blocking the doorway and preventing Melissa from gaining access to the house.
"What?!" Rachel rushed to the doorway to join Lindsay as she stared at her sister in shock. "Mel? What're you doing here? I thought the meal was going to be on the twenty fifth."
"It was but I wanted to see you sooner than that, sis." Melissa whined. Rachel sighed as she shared a glance with Lindsay, who shrugged.
"Fine, but I've only made enough dinner for me and Lindsay." Rachel responded, opening the door for her sister, nephew and niece to enter her home. Melissa marched through to the living room, pushing the pram, whilst Philip remained in the hall with his aunt and Lindsay.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Rach. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen. I think she thinks you're back with Eddie." Philip winced a little as he mentioned the former deputy head, worried about how his words could potentially hurt his aunt.
"It's fine Phil. Have you eaten?"
"Mum and Georgie have but I haven't. I got in from Bolton's, and she rushed me straight out of the door again."
"Then you can eat with us two. I made a pizza and it's big enough for three of us. Just don't tell your mum that."
"Wait, from scratch?" Lindsay checked curiously.
"Yeah, Aunt Rach makes the best pizza ever." Philip replied with a grin. "It's really good. You just have to get used to the lack of chicken nuggets in this house."
"I've told you time and time again, Phil. If you want them then you cook them." Rachel responded as she led the two teenagers into the kitchen.
…
Lindsay wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. How Rachel and Melissa were sisters was completely beyond her comprehension. As far as Lindsay was concerned, Rachel was a good, warm-hearted person that had made mistakes in her life and learnt from them. On the other hand, she considered Melissa to be petty and small, with an insane need to one up her sister in everything. Melissa had been talking non-stop about Georgia and Eddie, with an emphasis on the latter and how much he came round to the house. Lindsay could see that Melissa wanted to get to Rachel, and though Rachel's expression gave nothing away, she knew that the woman was genuinely hurt by all the comments and digs.
"Can we not stay until Christmas, Rach?" Melissa pleaded.
"No."
"Please, Rach? Phil's already got a room here, and I could sleep in the guest room halfway between the pair of you."
"Phil stays here every two weeks, Melissa, as you well know, and you couldn't stay in that room anyway. That room is now Lindsay's." Rachel returned firmly. Lindsay flushed red as Melissa glared at her.
"I'm sure the kid could sleep in a different room for a couple of nights, Rach. I'm your sister."
"And Lindsay is now my daughter. The answer is no, Mel."
"Fine." Melissa stood up in a huff and put Georgia back into the pram. "Come on, Philip, let's go."
"I'm going to stop here tonight, mum." Philip stayed seated, which only angered his mother further.
"Philip, get up."
"No, I'm staying with Aunt Rach tonight." Philip insisted. Melissa flushed with anger, but managed to keep herself in check as her lips pursed.
"Fine, do whatever you want. You are so ungrateful, Philip. Rachel, I'll see you on Christmas Day, and I'll bring Eddie with me." She flashed her sister a bright, albeit fake, smile and flounced out of the house with her daughter. As soon as the door had slammed behind her, Rachel walked away up the stairs and into her room, leaving Lindsay and Philip alone in the living room.
Lindsay let out a long breath. "Wow. Philip, your mum is…"
"Don't say it." Philip groaned, his head in his hands. Lindsay shrugged.
"Still not as bad as my dad was." She told him quietly, well aware that the boy most likely knew about her father's abuse towards her, though not minding as much as she would have done before prison and all the visits from Rachel. "Look, Philip, how bad did Rachel fall for Eddie?"
"They were practically living together. I'm fairly certain they said the whole 'I love you' thing." Philip shrugged. "They tried not to rub my face in it, which I appreciated. Why?"
"You're certain he's not with your mum?" Lindsay checked.
"No, Eddie really dislikes mum. I think he still likes Rach, but… I dunno. They're both so closed off."
"How would you like to help me get them together?"
"Don't you hate the idea of having another dad?" Philip's eyes widened as he realised what he'd said. "Oh god, Lindsay, I didn't mean…"
"Don't worry about it." Lindsay waved it off, aware that he didn't mean any offense by it. "I've never met the guy, but I trust Rachel's judgement, I think. My point is, she clearly still likes the guy. Why not let them have another chance?"
…
"Rach?"
Lindsay let herself into Rachel's bedroom, her heart aching for the auburn haired woman when she saw Rachel curled up on the latter's bed, staring off into the distance and crying silently. Slowly, so as not to frighten her, Lindsay pulled herself onto the bed beside Rachel and put her arms around the older woman, gently hugging her.
"Rach, is this because of Mel?"
"I'm so sorry, Linds." Rachel managed to choke out in a whisper. Lindsay shook her head.
"What for? For taking me in? Treating me as your own? Defending me against your psycho sister?" Lindsay smiled sadly. "Come off it, not many teachers would listen to my messed up life, accept the fact I've murdered my dad, and still agree to adopt me so I don't have to go back to the house I was abused in."
"I couldn't let that happen, love. I just couldn't."
"And I'll be forever grateful for that. Now then, is all this about the stuff Mel was saying about Eddie?"
"Maybe, I don't know. I think it was more that she was setting out to hurt me. I love Melissa, and I'd do anything for her. Yet, she hates me."
"Because she wants what she can't have. I talked to Philip. Melissa's not with Eddie. Eddie can't stand her. He agreed to come for Christmas for you. At least give it all a chance, and ignore that psycho woman. She's not worth it."
"Thanks, Lindsay. How on earth did you know I needed to hear that?"
"Magic." Lindsay grinned as she clambered back off the bed. "Now then, I'm going to finish off some coursework and then I'm going to sleep. Will you be okay?"
"You're still set on going back to school after Christmas?"
"Yeah."
"I'm not trying to put you off. I'm just worried about you."
"I know. Look, I promise I'll tell you when things get tough. Even if it means I have to hide in your office four out of five days a week. I'm just happy I can still do all this."
"Alright. Goodnight, Lindsay."
"Night, Rachel."
To Be Continued…?