Okay so I didn't get the ammount of reviews I wanted but oh well I did well enough I think...um about eight but yeah :D Thanks to those who did review, I appreciate it a lot. Enjoy!
Tanya yawned loudly as Sally tried to make her apologise to one of the little kids called Peter who was hanging tightly onto Sally's hand and peering round her side cautiously, visibly shaking after having been screamed at by a furious Tanya when he 'stole' her juice carton. From the other side of the room Gina watched as Sally said something inaudible which obviously riled Tanya as she was on her feet the next moment throwing the juice carton at the wall in a screaming rage.
"Hey, hey, hey what's going on here? You outside with me now!" Gina said barging in and dragging Tanya away from Sally and Peter who were both looking equally shocked. "Lovely display there Miss Duncan now if you'd like to explain what the hell you were playing at intimidating an eight year old!" She said as they stood outside the rec. hall.
Tanya merely shrugged her shoulders and flopped down onto the steps. "He nicked my juice, I don't take shit from nobody so I told him that. It's not my fault I've got behavioural problems."
"I know you've got behaviour problems but you can't just fob people off with that as an excuse your whole life. What happens if you put somebody in hospital, the police aren't really going to just let you off with it 'because it's not your fault you have behavioural problems' are they?" Gina replied mimicking Tanya so perfectly that even she laughed.
"S'pose not. I just don't seem to be able to control it. It's hard. I mean Mum and Dad couldn't take it so they ditched me. I get riled by stuff real easy…I ain't been suspended yet though!" She added proudly making Gina grin.
"Have you ever thought about taking up boxing?" Gina asked and Tanya did a double take.
"Okay…so I've got behaviour problems and I beat people up and you're telling me to take up a sport so I can get better at it!" She said incredulously.
"No…no I'm not saying that. Boxing, it's not just about beating up folk, it's the control, the patience to wait until the right moment. You might even find it helps with your anger problems. You'll be taking out your feelings on a punch bag most of the time, not a real person. There are rules too, it's disciple training really." Gina explained turning to face the young girl.
"I'll think about it." Tanya murmured staring off into the distance and then seeing that Gina had stood up again and was holding out the door for her, they returned into the warmth of the Rec. Hall.
Sam stretched out and her arm came into contact with Phil's shoulder. "Oh sorry." She mumbled retracting her arm but Phil just chuckled and wrapped his arm round her shoulders.
"If you wanted to touch me, you could have asked." He smirked and she just rolled her eyes in mock exasperation at him.
"I'm going to bed." Sam said as she stood up and collected her jumper from the space next to her beanbag where they'd been watching the telly.
"Can I come?" Phil asked cheekily and Sam laughed out loud.
"Sure if you want…but remember that I do actually share with Gina." She replied as he got to his feet quickly, looking about for the things that he'd discarded during the course of the evening.
"I'll be a good boy don't worry." He murmured as he followed her from the room, earning himself a few odd looks on the way.
Emma shifted slightly on the large pillow she was lying on and Keeley too was forced to move as her head was currently resting on Emma's stomach. "Green…number 3." Emma said softly as Keeley moved the fortuneteller according to these selections.
"You'll find the love of your life if you just open your eyes a little wider." Keeley giggled as she read from the segment. "God who actually made this? I found it down the back of the pool table…maybe it should have stayed there!" She said as she threw it at the back of Will's head so he turned round and scowled at her.
Emma looked around the room a bit and her eyes zoned in on a little clump of blonde hair that was emerging from one of the beanbags close to her. She leant up on her elbows to get a better look and sure enough Florence was tucked into a ball, fast asleep in the middle of her beanbag, her thumb firmly in her mouth. Will's eyes followed the same movements and he crawled across to Emma who'd just put her hand over her own mouth to stifle a yawn. "I'll take her up to the cabin if you're tired Em…let you stay here and rest with Little Miss Trouble." He said jerking his thumb in the direction of Keeley who was now smiling angelically at him.
"Awww would you. That's great, thanks hun." Emma said smiling up at Will before she lay down again and went back to watching the telly. Will moved over to Flo's beanbag and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her from the hall still wrapped in a blanket. He flicked on the light switch as he went into the cabin and made his way over to the bed, noticing her stir slightly as he walked.
Flo's eyes flickered open and widened in horror as she saw a dark face looking down at her. She tried to move her legs but felt his hand under her knees restricting her movement, flashing back to the real-life nightmares that had haunted her before she was placed in care Flo began to shriek loudly causing Will to jump and almost drop her in fright. She began to scratch at him face with her sharp little nails and Will quickly placed her down onto her bed where she lay sobbing. He looked about nervously, unsure what to do, feeling the cuts on his face prickle as the blood oozed slowly from them. Taking one last look at the little girl he turned and ran down the hill to find someone who would know how to handle the situation.
He burst in through the double doors of the Rec. Hall and grabbed Emma from the pillow, pulling her from the room and explaining briefly on the way. They reached the cabin and Flo was still lying in the same position on the bed, hunched over and sobbing violently. "Will…go and fetch Sascha, tell her its urgent." She whispered as she made her way over to the bed and knelt down next to it. "Flo? Flo its Emma. Do you want to tell me what happened?" She asked; as she saw Will leave the cabin, dread filling every part of her, what had he done to scare her this bad?
Florence didn't seem to be capable of speech, she just rocked back and forth so Emma sat up on the bed next to her and placed her arms around the child. She cried long and hard and Emma felt the tears soak in through her t-shirt and wet her skin in places. They'd ended up with Emma's back pressed against the wall and Flo cradled in her arms, her face buried in Emma's chest. The door to the cabin opened slowly and Will and Sascha appeared in the doorway, both with the same worried expression on their faces.
Emma stood up and laid Flo back down on the bed before she crept across to Sascha and Will. "Do you know what happened…what happened to make her this upset?" Emma asked cautiously, sneaking a quick glance at Will.
"Yeah I've got a pretty good idea now. Will said he was taking her up to the cabin because you were tired and that as he carried her over to her bed she stirred and opened her eyes. See when Flo was about four she was first taken into care after it had emerged that she was being sexually abused by her father. One of the only things they got out of her about what had happened was that she remembered him carrying her over to the bed. When she woke up tonight she probably didn't recognise you through the darkness and just remembered what used to happen when somebody picked her up and put her in bed. She seems to have calmed down a bit now…can you get her to corroborate this Emma?" Sascha said softly.
Emma nodded and walked back to Flo's bed and sat down next to her again. "Flo can you tell me what happened?" She asked again.
The little girl turned her face up to Emma's and looked pitifully at her. "Will was carrying me…it scared me. It was like when Daddy used to put me in my bed." Flo said, her lip trembling.
"I know this is hard sweetie…but did Will do anything to you…or touch you?" Emma asked, a massive lump rising in her throat as she stumbled over the words, hearing Will move behind her somewhere.
"N…no. He just put me on the bed and ran away. I'm sorry…he scared me that's all." Flo wept into Emma's t-shirt that she reckoned could probably be rung out because of all the tears that had been cried into it.
"It's okay baby, you don't have to feel sorry. Nobody did anything wrong. Now are you going to get into your pyjamas and I'll read you a bedtime story." Emma said, letting out a deep sigh of relief which she heard Will mimic behind her.
Emma walked back across to Will and Sascha and wrapped her arms around Will happily. "I never doubted you…you know that don't you?" Emma asked as she saw Sascha smile and walk out of the cabin.
"Of course I do. Night darlin'." Will said kissing the top of her head and releasing her before he too left the cabin and headed back down the slope.
An hour later Beth and Sally entered the cabin silently with the other girls and after making sure they were all wrapped up warm in bed they crept into their room to see Emma lying flat out on her back, her eyes closed and the corner of her blanket clutched tightly in one hand. They slid into their own beds and soon enough both of them fell into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night Flo dropped off the side of her bed and padded through into Emma, Beth and Sally's room, her little soft toy being dragged behind her. She stopped at the side of Emma's bed and tugged on her pyjama sleeve. "Mmmm." Emma murmured, waking slowly and reluctantly from a pleasant dream. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom she made out Flo's face and managed to string a few coherent words together. "What's wrong toots? Are you scared?" She asked and Flo nodded biting her lip.
"My bed's cold and there's scary noises outside." She said, her voice wavering slightly.
"Why don't you jump in with me then?" Emma asked flipping up one side of the duvet for Flo to snuggle under. Emma wriggled over a bit to make room for her and sighed softly as she felt the little girl curl up next to her and reach out a hand to pat the side of Emma's face.
"Thank you…love you." Flo whispered and a small smile spread across Sally's lips as she heard Emma murmur back the same from the bed next to her, thinking how one little girl had changed her friend so much for the better.
Okay so I know there's not much SP in that chapter but that is the end of that little story so I'll be moving onto something else involving most peoples favourite characters in the next chapter which hopefully will be up Monday/Tuesday but I'm not promising anything. Any PM's that I send will hopefully indicate how soon it will be up over the next few days :P Reviews again are very much appreciated and make the next chapter come quicker xxxxxxxpippa
