"Is their a problem" Mrs Wallace said looking at Mike as she reached the pair. "Who the hell are you" Mike said stepping back from his daughter.
"I am Natasha's teacher" Mrs Wallace said putting her arm around Natasha. "Yeah" Mike said walking away "Well your welcome to her"
"Who was that" Mrs Wallace said helping Natasha pick up the washing up. He..." Natasha said taking a deep breath "Thats my Dad".

...Wild One...

...Chapter Fiftythree...

"Are you alright" Billy asked looking concerned across at Julie who was sitting on the sofa wiping her eyes with a tissue.

"Oh Billy he seemed so angry" Julie sobbed "All those years of dreaming of our baby and now its all over."

"Well what did you expect" Phil said sarcastically "Happy familys"

"Well we didn't expect that" Billy said getting defensive "he agreed to meet us, surly he could have been at least tried to be civil"

Julie shrugged her shoulders "Maybe Phil is right" Julie said in a shaky voice, "what else can we expect"

"He seems a right creep anyway" Phil said sitting down and picking up a news paper "I don't like Glenda's brat, but even she doesn't deserve a father like that"

"Are we going to tell her" Julie asked.

"Tell who" Billy said already knowing what Julie meant.

"Are we going to tell Natasha" Julie said "Maybe we can't have relationship with Micheal but..."

"Wait wait" Phil shouted looking over his newspaper "am hearing right, you want a relationship with that little bully..."

"Well maybe we should keep it quiet for a while" Billy said looking at Julie "Maybe get to know her a little better"

"Yes yes" Julie said "your right, And when she trusts us we will tell her... I want her to know that we would be their for her if she needed us."

"Exactly" Billy said feeling slightly comforted that even though his son didn't want to know, His Grandaughter was just living across the square "I mean she was homeless when she first turned up, we would be their for her if she finds herself in that situation again"

"What" Phil said "are you off your heads, that kid is red hot, you wouldn't be able to handle her"


"Is that normal behavior from your Father" Mrs Wallace said walking into the Laundrette with Natasha.

Natasha thought for a moment before answering "Not really, he was just annoyed"

"Mrs Wallace sat and watched Natasha sort through the clothes and bundle them into two machines. "So your Dad doesn't live with you does he"

"Noooo" Natasha answered as if it was an obvious answer "I used to live with him, but now I live with My Mum and Sister" Natasha was feeling strangely relaxed in Mrs Wallaces company.

Mrs Wallace looked at Natasha "Did you choose to live with your Dad when your parents separated"

Natasha shook her head "I don't think they were ever together... not living together or anything like that, I think they just had a sexual relationship" Natasha said "Thats what My Dad always used to say"

Mrs Wallace was slightly taken back by the girls answer "So when did you move in with your Dad"

"When I was eleven, just before I started secondary school" Natasha said putting money in both machines choosing the wash cycles and pressing the start buttons, before coming and sitting with Mrs Wallace on the bench.

"Was that when attended Heywood oaks school" Mrs Wallace asked trying to get a picture of Natasha past.

"Yeah, My Dads place is just around the corner from that school" Natasha said looking slightly confused by her teachers interest but felt like getting a few things off of her chest.

"I never wanted to go and live with My Dad" Natasha said looking down and screwing her face up slightly "I never really liked him"

"Didn't you" Mrs Wallace said smiling at the girl "How come you ended up their then"

"It was because of..." Natasha paused for a second "My Mum had this bloke called Jed"


"Why do they think I am not capable" Glenda said pacing the floor obviously wound up by the teachers visit. "I have had four children for goodness sake"

"They never said that Mum" Roxy said feeling irrated "And anyway you abandoned three of us, the only one you actually brought up was Danny, and look how he turned out"

"Well Thank-you very much" Glenda snapped feeling hurt by the past being thrown in her face once again. "And for your information I didn't abandon Natasha... I had no choice"

"Their is always a choice" Roxy said.

"Well their wasn't one believe me" Glenda said still pacing the floor "I... I was in a violent relationship, I took her to her father for her own saftey"

"Her own Saftey" Roxy said shaking her head "He beat her and treat her her like dirt"

"I didn't know at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing" Glenda said sitting on the sofa.

"So what about this relationship you had" Roxy said "I want to know about that"

Glenda sighed deciding it was about time she came clean with her daughter about her past before someone else told her "His name was Jed... and we worked together at the casino"

"And" Roxy said after Glenda took a long pause.

"I got close to him" Glenda said "But he was married, Danny was eighteen at the time and Natasha was ten, the relation ship lasted for about eighteen months, Things were fine at first the children seemed to be happy with him popping around, he would stay over and tell his wife he was working the late shift and he helped out with the bills and things like that"

"Go on" Roxy said wanting to know more about the years her mother was missing from her life.

"He started to get more and more demanding, first shouting then pushing, not with the children with me" Glenda said full of shame.


"He used to yell all the time, mostly at Mum but sometimes at me and my Brother, We were both afraid of him" Natasha said to her teacher remembering the events of the past. "It was mostly in the night, I didn't know why... she made him angry at night" Natasha said putting her head down.

Mrs Wallace blinked "Did he ever hurt you Natasha."

"Well not on a purpose" Natasha said "But after a while he started hurting Mum, the first thing I remember was him just grabbing her by her arm, and then one afternoon he dragged out of the flat by her hair, I started screaming my head off" Natasha closing her eyes.


"I hope you got rid of him when turned violent" Roxy said.

"It wasn't that easy" Glenda said "I had lost my Job by then and I had no money no Job, two kids, rent to pay"

"But surely your saftey and Natasha's happiness, was more important then hand outs" Roxy said.

"It wasn't that easy, Things got worse" Glenda said "He had always been a heavy drinker, and the more drank the more hostile he became, He used to tell people I was a prostitute, He would scream at the children, I used to tell Natasha to stay in her room and be as quiet as she could but she was so afraid I could see it in her face"

"What did you do" Roxy asked.

Glenda shook her head "At that point nothing, Friends stopped coming around, he started telling Daniel and Natsha that I was no good, a prostitute, they already had very little respect for me, I felt so alone"


"I used to lay in bed in the middle of the night listening, waiting for him to kick off, then I would hear my Mum begging him not to, and my whole body used to shake, I was to scared to even breath loudly" Natasha said

"How did he hurt you" Mrs Wallace said "Was it an accident"

"One night he came over and drank loads, And after I went to bed I asked mum to read with me I was afraid of what he might do when they were alone, When mum was in my room I was trying everything I could think of to get her to stay with me... I was being a really naughty really"

"What did he do" Mrs Wallace asked "Needing to know if Natasha had been abused or was even still in danger.

"After a while he came in and started shouting, he dragged mum of my bed, I felt like my stomach twist inside me, I knew it was all my fault" Natasha said "He hit her, and was calling her names, It was really really bed I thought he was going to kill her, so I climbed out of bed walked over to them, He started banging her head against the wall, and I screamed out"

"Only go on if you want to" Mrs Wallace said realising the girl was starting to get distressed by going over the past"

"I tried to push him away from my mum" Natasha said "But he didn't see me and elbowed me in the face, he broke my nose, It was an accident, I went to the hospital. I kept saying sorry to Mum, it was all my fault I knew that, I thought I was going home but she dropped me off at my Dads and left me their, she had made her choice, and it wasn't me"


"She was just trying to keep me away from him, protect me I guess" Glenda said "but he exploded one minute he was whacking my head against the wall the next thing I knew Natasha was covered in blood"

Roxy gasped "Whether it was an accident or not, I would have killed him"

"I knew I had to get her out of it" Glenda said "Danny was a old enough to look after himself but Natasha was just a little girl, I forced Mike into taking her, I knew he didn't want her but I never thought he would hurt her"

"Why didn't you just report Jed" Roxy said "Get rid of him"

"It wasn't that easy" Glenda said "I told him I didn't want to see him again but he wouldn't listen he still carried on coming he knocked the door off its hinges on one occasion eventually his wife found out and he stopped coming"

"And Natasha" Roxy said "Why didn't you fetch her back then"

"Well I used to visit" Glenda said "But she became so distant with me, I knew she blamed me, she didn't want to know me"


"What about your Dad Natasha" Mrs Wallace said "What ws he like with you"

Natasha suddenly decided to stop being so open "Ok... He was a bit of bully yelling all the time... thats all"

"Is this Jed around now" Mrs Wallace asked.

"Nooo" Natasha said trying to smile "Mum is far to old for sex now"

Mrs Wallace smiled "And you get on with your Mum ok?"

"Not all of the time" Natasha said "But I love my Mum, I like being with her, I shouldn't have told you all of that, I don't know why I did" Natasha was shocked with herself for opening up about her past especially to a teacher.

"Do You know what Natasha" Mrs Wallace said "I think we are going to turn you into such a good girl, your Mum won't reconize you" Mrs Wallace understood Natasha a little more and felt reasured that she wasn't in any danger.


Mrs Wallace gave Natasha a little hug before saying goodbye, which slightly embarrest Natasha but at the same time pleased her Mrs Wallace was the first teacher that Natasha had felt like by.

Natasha finshed the laundry and returned home "Have you finished darling" Glenda said smiling as Natasha walked into the livingroom.

Natasha nodded "I think I had better make a start on my homework" Natasha said.

"Well their is a little suprise for you on your pillow" Glenda said as Natasha left the room.

Natasha walked into her bedroom and a smile spread across her face as she saw her ipod lying on her pillow with a note from Glenda "You deserve this back, I love you xxx".

"Thanks Mum" Natasha shouted from the bedroom through the living room "Thats ok" Glenda shouted back.