Hannah sat on her bed staring at the cover and fiddling with her nails. She didn't know what to do. She felt like she should be doing something but what could she do? She'd helped her mum make some tea for everyone and then she'd retreated to her room, deciding it was for the best if she just stayed out of the way for now.

Poor Aaron. That's all she could think. She might be young but she wasn't stupid, she knew what this sort of thing did to people. How it messed with their heads, changed everything.

There was a small knock at her door and it creaked open to reveal Victoria standing there, her face still wet with tears.

"Is it okay if I come in?" she asked timidly "your mum said you were up here".

"Of course" Hannah scooted over on the bed to make room for her.

They sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes.

"I can't believe it" Vic said. "I mean I believe it, but it's just so awful isn't it?" Hannah nodded, letting her speak, she felt it was only right. Victoria knew Aaron much better then her after all.

"You know I slept with him?" Hannah pretended not to be shocked. "I mean it was ages ago now, but well, it was his first time" Vic sat with her legs crossed facing her on the bed. "He was really nervous before, and he hated me knowing he was a virgin, he got really defensive about it. I didn't really understand at the time. But now, well it makes sense doesn't it?"

"I guess so" Hannah replied, she wasn't sure if it did to be honest, the idea of her first time scared her but boys were supposed to be different weren't they and anyway Vic would know better than her. She had way more experience.

"Oh my god" Victoria said "I just realized something else. When he found out about me and Daz he just assumed he'd forced me, proper flew off the handle at him."

Hannah had no idea who Daz was but she didn't want to interrupt. She'd find out eventually she was sure.

"How did no-one know, how did we not see?" Victoria was crying again now.

"I don't know" Hannah handed her a box of tissues, "I guess he's good at keeping secrets".

"I hope Adam caught up with him, you don't think he'll do anything stupid do you?" Vic asked blowing her nose into a tissue.

"Who? Adam?"

"No Aaron"

"I don't know, I hope not" Hannah answered. It didn't feel like enough. She wanted to offer her the other girl some comfort, some kind of reassurance, but she way out of her depth. She wasn't even fifteen yet, and this was massive. With a jolt she remembered why Victoria was here today, she'd come to help set up for her birthday party tomorrow. Well that wasn't going to be happening now, somehow she didn't think any of them would be in the mood for celebrating anymore. She knew she certainly wasn't.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The car journey had mostly been quiet, Chas too wound up to say much. She had a thousand thoughts going through her head. One minute she was worried sick about her son and the next she wanted to ring his neck for doing this to her. She had no idea what she was going to be walking into when she got up to the farm and the uncertainty made her jittery.

As soon as Cain pulled up in front of the farm house Chas was opening the door and walking as quickly as she could in her high heels.

"Hold up Chas" Cain called after her jogging to catch up "don't go barreling in there like a bull in a china shop".

"Don't tell me what to do" Cain rolled his eyes and followed her into the house.

The kitchen was full of people, too may people but none of them was Aaron.

"Chas" Paddy said standing up from where he was sitting at the table.

"Well, where is he then?" Chas asked.

"We don't know" Paddy didn't look at her as he spoke.

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know? What the bloody hell is going on Paddy?" Chas knew she sounded hysterical, but that's because she was.

"There's been...well you see Aaron..."Paddy babbled on as usual until she fixed him with a glare, she could feel her eye twitching with tension. "He's ran off" Paddy finished lamely.

"What's he done that for?" Chas was completely confused now, was she supposed to be angry or worried.

"I think someone needs to explain exactly what's happened" Cain said from behind her and she nodded in agreement.

"Sit down Chas" Moira said taking a seat at the end of the table.

"I don't want to bloody sit down, I want to know what's going on with my son" she bit back angrily.

"And we'll tell you" Moira replied in a calming voice that just irritated her even more "but you really need to sit down first".

"Don't you..."

"Just do it" Cain interrupted her before she could get going, and something about the way he said it had her pulling a chair out in a huff and sitting down.

"Well go on then" she said to the other woman

"I don't really know where to start" Moira said with a sigh.

Chas resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"John caught Aaron setting fire to some hay in the barn".

"What the bloody hell was he playing at?" Chas screeched. "Is that why he ran off?".

"No, it's not" Moira didn't look at her, instead she played with the cup on the table in front of her. "John lost his temper, he ended up giving him a clip round the ear and locking him in one of the stables to cool off".

"He did what? Where is he now?" Chas said looking around at who was there, other than herself, there was Cain, Paddy, Moira and even Andy but John was notably absent. When she got her hands on him there'd be hell to pay, no one laid their hands on her son, even if he did deserve it.

"He's out looking for Aaron" Paddy said.

Chas threw her arms up in exasperation, were they going to get to the point, she was no clearer now than she had been a few minutes ago.

"When I found out we went to let him out, he was really upset" Moira continued with the explanation.

"Well what did you expect?" Cain said."He was bound to be angry, anyone would be, but this is Aaron we're talking about, it doesn't take much to set him off".

"Yes except he wasn't angry, he was distraught" Moira said looking up at him then back down to Chas.

"What do you mean distraught?" Chas felt even more confused now.

"He was crying, he'd just been sick and he was really scared".

"Our Aaron?" Chas frowned, that didn't sound like her boy. He was never scared, didn't have enough sense for that.

"What the hell did he have to be scared of?" Cain sounded just as confused as she felt.

Moira looked over at Paddy then as if asking for help. He took Chas' hand in his and she let him.

"I wasn't there at first, the girls came and fetched me, but when I did get there... well it wasn't good. I've never seen him like that, in fact I've never seen anyone that upset. It took a while but he told us why" Paddy took a deep breath then, as if he was about to dive underwater and Chas had a horrible feeling she was about to be dragged under with him. "He was so scared because he thought John was going to punish him for doing something wrong..." Paddy squeezed her hand as he spoke, "punish him like his dad used to".

"Gordon?" Chas couldn't understand what Paddy was trying to tell her.

"What do you mean, punish him?" Cain's voice was tight and controlled but Chas could hear the anger under the surface.

"He said...he said that his dad... hurt him for being bad" Paddy was looking right at her now and the grip he had on her hand was too tight, but she didn't pull away. It was the only thing keeping her from jumping out of her seat.

"Hurt him how Paddy?" Chas was suprised at how calm her voice sounded, because all she could picture was her son, her little boy crying and scared. Whatever had made him like that was going to be terrible, she just knew. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear anymore, but she had to, she owed him that much.

"He said...th...that his dad, that Gordon, abused him...sexually" Paddy finally got the words out and for once she could forgive his stutter, his inability to say those words, because who wouldn't struggle with them. The worst thing to say, even worse to hear.

The room narrowed to a point, she felt like she couldn't breath. He'd taken her breath along with her heart with his words. She was dead, she must be, because how could she still be alive after hearing that. She could feel Paddy's hand in hers and it was the only thing grounding her, the only thing keeping her here, stopping her from flying off into nothingness. She looked up and his eyes locked with hers.

"I know" he said reading everything she was feeling.

She grabbed at him desperately and he pulled her into his embrace. She clutched at him desperately as the tears came. She didn't speak, she had no words, instead she sobbed out her pain and anguish. She'd let him down, her little boy, the person she was supposed to love and protect for ever. This was all her fault.