Chapter 12
Lucy had no idea what time it was but she couldn't get back to sleep. She's come in with Rachel in the middle of the night and had ended up wetting herself in Rachel's bed. She was scared to wake Rachel because she didn't want her to be cross she also felt really embarrassed about what had happened.
Rachel's alarm went off at 6:00 as it was the first day back to school after the holidays. Reluctantly she turned over and turned it off but when she turned back she saw that Lucy was awake too. Lucy hadn't seem to be able to sleep last night so eventually Rachel had brought her in with her just wanting to go back to sleep.
"What you doing awake love? It's still early" Rachel asked
"I woke up and now I can't get back to sleep" Lucy replied not wanting Rachel to find out about what she's done
"How come you can't sleep? Is there something on your mind?" Rachel asked putting her arm around Lucy
"No but can I stay at home today please Rachel? I don't feel very well"
"What's wrong with you?" Rachel asked the last thing she wanted was for Lucy to have the day off as Rachel would have no other option than to bring her to work with her and the first day back was going to be stressful enough as it was
"I have a sore tummy and I feel really hot"
Rachel put her hand on Lucy's head bit it felt okay
"You feel fine to me. I think you can go to sleep but if you really don't feel very well at school they can ring me and I'll come to get you" Rachel said sure she was just doing this because it was the first day back but once she got there she was sure she would be fine
"Okay" Lucy agreed snuggling into Rachel
"Now as nice as this is I really do need to get in the shower but why don't you go back to sleep for an hour"
Rachel moved to try and get Lucy comfy however when she did her leg went into a wet patch. Rachel realised what must have helped and also saw how embarrassed and scared Lucy looked.
"Have you had a little accident love?" Rachel asked and Lucy nodded
"I'm really sorry I didn't mean to do it and it's all on your sheets"
"It's okay they'll be fine once they've been through the wash"
"But I'm too old to wet the bed"
"These things happen sometimes. Sometimes there's nothing we can do about it"
"I bet you never have accidents"
"Well no not normally but I used to have a lot of accidents when I was younger"
"Really?"
"Really. Why don't we go into my bathroom and you can have a quick shower"
Rachel got Lucy into the shower and then went down to put the dirty stuff in the washing machine. On her way back to her bedroom she got Lucy's dressing gown for her.
"Your shower is so nice and powerful" Lucy said as she climbed out
"I know it's lovely especially when you've just woken up"
Lucy put her dressing gown on before climbing into the clean sheets on Rachel's bed and drifting back to sleep for a bit. Rachel then got in the shower herself.
Once she was dressed and had her hair and make up done she went to wake up Molly first and then Elsie.
"Come on sleepyhead time to get up" Rachel said perching on Elsie's bed stroking her hair
"Do I have to can't I just stay in bed today"
"Nope you've got school remember"
After a couple of minutes Elsie had woken up a bit more
"Rach" Elsie said
"Yes love"
"We're starting swimming today in PE but I can't really go because of... you know"
"You could go if you wanted to, you'd just have to use tampax" Rachel said knowing this idea wouldn't go down well
"No way I'm not doing that"
"I'll write you a note then"
"But everyone will ask me why I'm not doing it"
"Well just say you have a stomach ache or something but you could just tell your friends"
"Okay" Elsie sighed "I hate being a girl. And I don't even understand why mine have started yet I've hardly even got boobs yet"
"Well sometimes it just happens like that but it's not like you haven't developed at all"
Rachel left Elsie to get ready and went back to her own bedroom. When she got in there she saw Molly sat at her dressing gown using her foundation.
"I thought I was using my foundation up quicker than normal" Rachel said smiling slightly
"Sorry Rach" Molly said sheepishly "it's just really nice and it doesn't bring me up in spots like a lot of foundations do"
"I don't mind love but you could've cone and asked me to get you one of your own I wouldn't have minded"
"But bare minerals make up is so expensive and I feel bad you buying me things all the time"
"I don't mind spoiling you one bit. You're my nieces and there's nothing I'd rather spend my money on"
The morning quickly passed and soon it was time to get to school. Rachel parked at Lucy's primary school and walked Lucy in whilst Molly and Elsie waited in the car.
"Rachel I really don't want to go to school today" Lucy told her on the way in
"Why not?" Rachel asked
"I just don't want to" Lucy said tears starting to form in her eyes
"Come on love it won't be that bad once you get there"
"But I don't like school"
By the time that they reached Lucy's classroom Lucy had tears running freely down her face. Rachel was beginning to get a bit worried about her now.
"Right come on Luc in you go" Rachel said however Lucy wouldn't let go of Rachel's hand
"Please don't make me go today I just want to stay with you" Lucy said starting to cry harder. Rachel hated seeing her like this but she couldn't just let her stay off school when there was nothing wrong with her. If she did it today they'd only have the same problem tomorrow
"Come on love I'm sure you'll have a good day once you're in there and then I'll be here at the end of the day to pick you up" Rachel said picking Lucy up and putting her on her hip luckily she was very light for a 7 year old
"Please don't make me go Rachel" Lucy said. Rachel let her cry into her for a bit but eventually the teacher came out to see what was going on.
The teacher took a screaming Lucy off Rachel and carried her into the classroom after saying "she'll be fine"
Rachel slowly made her way back to the car feeling dreadful leaving Lucy like that. When she got back in the car her nieces immediately noticed the tears starting to form in their Auntie's eyes
"Rach what's happened?" Molly asked
"It's Lucy you should have seen her she was hysterical over not wanting to go into school" Rachel said wiping away each tear as it fell. She felt so bad leaving Lucy there when she was so unhappy. She hoped that she would be okay once she got in there.
"I'm sure she'll be okay most kids go through a phase like that don't they?"
"I guess she just seemed so upset"
"She'll be fine once she's in there the teachers will soon take her mind off it and she'll calm down"
"I hope so" Rachel said before composing herself and driving to Waterloo Road
"Bye girls have a good day" Rachel said to her nieces before going up to her office
"You too" Molly said
"Bye Rach" Elsie said and they both walked off to find their friends
Rachel had delivered the welcome back assembly and was now in her office getting on with some paperwork when she heard her mobile phone ringing in her bag.
"Hello" Rachel said picking up the phone not recognising the number
"Hi is that Rachel? It's Miss Holmes from Lucy's school"
"Yes is everything alright?"
"Lucy's got herself into quite a state and has made her self sick so we think it's best she comes home for today. Is there anyway you can pick her up?"
"Yes of course I'll be there as soon as I can"
Rachel quickly picked up her bag and told Kim where she was going before rushing over to Lucy's school.
It pained Rachel to see Lucy looking so upset sat on the sofa in reception when she got there. As soon as Lucy saw Rachel come through the door she ran over to her and wrapped her arms around her.
Rachel picked her up and stroked her back and let her have a good cry.
"Right come on then missus let's get going" Rachel said before signing her out an walking back to the car with her
"I'm sorry for making you come and pick me up Rachel" Lucy said once they were in the car
"Well you clearly can't be at school when you're this upset love so I don't mind. You are going to have to come and spend the day in my office though I'm afraid"
"I don't mind"
Rachel started the drive back to Waterloo Road. She knew she needed to have a chat with Lucy to see if there was something upsetting however for now she decided to leave it until she was feeling a bit happier.
"Is this the school where you work Rachel?" Lucy asked as they drove through the gate
"Yes love"
"It's so big" Lucy said shocked by how big it looked
"It's quite a lot bigger than your school, I'll give you that"
Unfortunately when they walked into the school it was break time so Lucy felt a bit scared with all of the big children rushing about everywhere.
Rachel took hold of Lucy's hand and lead her up to her office. They were walking past the cooler when Rachel was surprised to see her niece in there. Sighing she walked into the cooler before saying "Mr Clarkson could I have a word with Elsie Ryan please?"
Elsie looked up with a worried expression on her face when she saw heard the sound of her Auntie's voice. She got out of her chair and walked into the corridor to speak to Rachel.
"What's Lucy doing in here?"
"She got a bit upset at school so I went to pick her up"
"Oh right"
"And why are you in the cooler Elsie?" Rachel asked. Elsie seemed to be ending up in the cooler never for anything major mainly for forgetting her homework or being a bit late for lesson or being too chatty
"I forgot my homework. I did do it but I forgot it and if you don't believe it you can see it on the kitchen table when we get in" Elsie told her
"Oh Elsie" Rachel sighed "what are we going to do with you? I don't think Molly's ever ended up in the cooler from forgetting her homework"
"Good for Molly" Elsie said sarcastically before storming back into the cooler.
Rachel hadn't meant to upset Elsie but she decided to talk to her when they got home.
Once they were in Rachel's office Lucy sat at the table and did some homework whilst Rachel got on with the school newsletter.
Rachel looked at Lucy just thinking about things. It clearly wasn't the school work that she didn't want to do so Rachel wondered why she'd got into such a state about not wanting to go to school this morning. She got up from her desk and pulled up a chair next to Lucy at the table.
"Lucy can I ask you a question?" Rachel asked and Lucy nodded "why did you not want to go to school this morning?"
"I don't want to talk about it" Lucy replied as the tears started to form in her eyes even thinking about it was bad enough
"But if you tell me I might be able to help you"
"I just don't like school" Lucy said tears starting to roll down her cheeks despite the fact she was trying so hard not to cry
"Oh love come and give me a cuddle" Rachel said and Lucy went and climbed on Rachel's lap before sobbing into her chest
"Please tell me what this is all about I hate seeing you upset. And usually when you tell someone it doesn't seem half as bad as what it seemed before"
Lucy thought for a moment before deciding to tell Rachel. She trusted Rachel a lot now
"I don't like going to school because everyone teases me they're always going on about me not having a Mum and how bad Dad is and how e doesn't iron my clothes properly and I have no friends and..." Lucy said however she couldn't continue as she was crying so much
Rachel just rubbed her back to try and soothe her. She knew how awful it must be for her having to go to a place everyday where everyone was mean and horrible to her. She hated how kids always seemed to look for things they could pick on someone for.
"Listen to me darling" Rachel said putting her hands on Lucy's cheeks and looking her in the eye "I promise I'm going to sort this for you. You don't need to worry anymore everything is going to be fine"
"How?"
"I don't know yet love but I'll sort it why didn't you tell me about all of this sooner?"
"I don't know"
"Okay well at least I know now. Do you fancy going for a little walk?"
Lucy thought this was a good idea so they went for a little walk outside to get some fresh air. It gave Rachel a chance to think about what she was going to do about Lucy. Obviously if she was starting the school now she wouldn't get bullied because her home life was a lot better now but the kids wouldn't get that. Rachel knew it would be hard for Lucy to ever feel like a normal part of the class which is why she decided it might be best for Lucy to move schools. Rachel knew it wasn't the best of schools and was a bit rough but she didn't want to move her before as she thought Lucy wouldn't want to leave her friends.
"Lucy how would you feel about moving schools?" Rachel asked
"What do you mean like never go back to my school?"
"Yeah I just thought a fresh start might be just what you need"
"Do you think everyone would like me?"
"I'm sure they would they have no reason not to do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you're so lovely and kind and funny and pretty" Rachel told her
"Thanks Rachel would I be allowed to just move schools though?"
"Yeah course you would. There's a primary school about 5 minutes from here which is meant to be really good so I'll give them a ring later and see what they say"
"Thanks Rachel. You're so nice to me" Lucy said
The rest of the day passed quickly and soon it was time to home. Rachel picked up all of her stuff before walking out to the car with Lucy to meet her nieces.
"Hi girls did you have a good day?" Rachel asked
"Yes thanks Rach" Molly replied but Elsie just stayed silent
"What about you Elsie?"
"Yeah it was fine"
"Good. Remember I have a facial at 4 so are you still alright to stay at home on your own for a bit?" Rachel asked
"I'm 15 Rach I think I'll be fine"
"Yes I know but I just meant are you still okay to look after Lucy?"
"Yeah we'll be fine"
When they got back Rachel sorted a few things out however soon it was time to go. She said goodbye to the girls before going into town. It was nice to get a bit of peace and quiet, something that she didn't seem to get a lot of anymore. Not that she minded she couldn't have been happier looking after the three of them.
Once she'd had her facial she went into the kitchen to find Molly sat at the table doing her homework and Lucy sat with her drawing a picture.
"Where's Elsie?"
"Upstairs, on her ipad I think"
"I swear she's glued to that bloody thing"
Molly went upstairs to finish doing some homework whilst Rachel got on with tea. When it was ready she called them all down.
"Thanks for unpacking the dishwasher while I was out Mol" Rachel said
"That's okay"
"Why did you just presume it was her who did it? It might have been me" Elsie said starting to get annoyed it was always Molly who got all of the praise
"Well did you?"
"Well no..."
"Exactly"
"Yeah well it could have been me it's not like I never do anything"
"I'm sorry love I shouldn't presume these things"
They ate their tea chatting about their days and then the conversation turned to Molly's exams that were coming up.
"How you feeling about your exams?" Rachel asked
"Okay I guess I am quite nervous though. But I thought that if I try and do a couple of hours revision everyday then it should be okay"
"I'm very proud of you you know? You've been working so hard"
"Thanks Rach" Molly said smiling
Rachel was a bit taken back when Elsie stood up and stormed upstairs when she hadn't even finished eating.
"Elsie where are you going?" Rachel shouted however she got no reply
She decided to let Elsie calm down a bit before going to check on her.
Once the rest of them had finished their tea she went into Elsie's bedroom. Elsie was laying on her bed cuddling a pillow.
"What was that all about?" Rachel asked going over and sitting on her nieces bed
"It's not fair you're always going on about how perfect Molly is and all you go on about with me is the bad things I do"
"I'm sorry you feel like that love, I honestly don't mean to make you feel that way. But Molly's just at that age where she's under a lot of pressure what with exams and everything and I'm impressed with how well she's doing. But I'm proud of you too you've settled in really well and yes you may be slightly reluctant to do your homework at times but you always do it even if you do leave it at home sometimes" Rachel said laughing slightly pleased to see Elsie's lips curl up at the end as hard as she was trying not to laugh
"But you're always telling everyone I'm a pain in the butt"
"I'm only joking around darling you're a bit of a character yes but I wouldn't have you any other way. Of course you're going to be different to your sister you're two separate people. But I still love you equally as much"
"I'm sorry for overreacting earlier" Elsie said beginning to realise that maybe she was making a big thing out of it all
"I think we all overreact at times my love. Anyway you ready to come downstairs now?"
"Yeah okay do you want me to help you clear up the kitchen?"
"You're alright love go and relax after your first day back"
Rachel cleared up the kitchen before joining the three girls in the lounge. However soon Rachel saw how tired Lucy was looking which was no wonder after the nights sleep she had had last night.
"Right shall we get you in the bath?" Rachel said
"Do I have to?"
"Yes you're shattered" Rachel said before taking Lucy upstairs.
She ran Lucy her bath and got her undressed before getting her in. Rachel was pleased that Lucy seemed a bit happier now. The school had said that they should have a space for her so Rachel was taking her Lucy to look around tomorrow.
Once Lucy had had a play in the bath Rachel washed her hair an then got her out.
"Right into bed" Rachel said after Lucy was all sorted
"Okay but I just need to put Annabel into her cot first" Lucy replied. She loved playing with her dolls and usually ended up taking Baby Annabel with them wherever they went
"Okay love"
Eventually Lucy got into bed herself so Rachel tucked her in.
"Rachel can I have my own real baby please?" Lucy asked and Rachel couldn't help but laugh
"You're not really old enough are you love?"
"Why not?"
"Well for one thing I don't think you'd be able to look after it properly somehow and your body can't make babies yet"
"When will it be able to make babies?"
"When your older your body will go through some changes and then you'll be able to make babies" Rachel explained not really wanting to go into too much detail on this discussion
"How though?"
"That's a question for another day I think. Time for sleep"
"Okay night Rachel"
"Night night my love" Rachel said giving her a kiss on the forehead.
"I love you Rachel" Lucy said making Rachel smile. She'd never said this to Rachel before
"I love you too darling lots and lots. You've been a very brave girl today so I think you need a good nights sleep"
"Okay see you in the morning"
Rachel then went back downstairs with her nieces. She went into the lounge and closed the door behind her as she wanted to talk to Molly and Elsie and she didn't want Lucy overhearing.
"Girls there's something I need to talk to you about" Rachel said to them
"Okay" they both said turning to face their Auntie
"How would you feel about Lucy staying here long-term?" Rachel asked
"What you mean like adopt her?"
"Yeah"
"I'd be happy with that" Molly said
"Me too" Elsie said
"Okay well I just wanted to make sure you were happy about it before I go any further"
"Are you going to foster and more kids Rach?" Molly asked
"No I don't think so love Lucy has made me realise that I couldn't just have them for a bit and just get rid of them. I've grown so close to Lucy, well we all have, and I couldn't bare to lose her now"
"She's a really lovely girl" Elsie said
"Yeah it's just a shame she had such a bad start in life hopefully we can give her a better one now though"
The three of them sat chatting for a while. Rachel always did like to talk to her nieces about things and she also liked how they were quite open. Obviously they didn't tell her everything but she knew they would always come to her about most things.
"Are you both all ready for school tomorrow?" Rachel asked
"I'm going to go and pack my bag in a minute" Elsie replied
"What about you Mols?"
"Yeah I'm all ready"
"Have you started packing for Friday yet?" Rachel asked she was going on a school trip to London as part of her geography trip.
"No not yet I'll probably start tomorrow"
"Well make sure you do we don't want a mad rush on Thursday night trying to get everything ready do we?"
"No don't worry I'll be ready"
"Good. Go and get your things ready then Elsie and then we can all sit down and watch a bit of TV together I think Miranda is on later" Rachel said knowing how much her nieces loved Miranda they would often all sit there in hysterics watching her
Once Elsie had been up for a shower and got her things ready they all had a nice evening together.
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