Chapter Nineteen

A/N: I am sooo close to finishing this fic (as I write a few chapters in advance)! I have two chapters left to write which I am hoping to have finished in the next couple of days, as after then I am not going to have my laptop with me for about a week. All this means is that you'll probably get all of the last chapters coming at once! You should get this chapter today and then hopefully chapters 20, 21 and 22 tomorrow. Enjoy!

The sun shone through a gap in the pebble grey curtains and it beamed down onto Annabelle. She'd completely lost track of the days. Was it Saturday? Or was it still a week day? Michael soon opened the door to his daughter's room which must have meant it was a school day.

"Hi Annabelle. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Yes thanks. Do I have school today?"

"Yes sweetheart. It's Friday though, so only one more day." Annabelle sat up and nodded. "I've got to go in. The school can't run itself, but if you want to stay home I don't have a problem with it. Just for today."

"No it's fine. I don't need special treatment or anything. Not now that I've got a normal family again."

"Okay. Your uniform is in the dryer which is in the room to the right, and once you're dressed, come through to the kitchen and we can have breakfast." Annabelle picked up the clothes from the room next door and got changed. Once in her clean uniform, she brushed her hair back into a low ponytail and then consulted the full length mirror in her new room. The bruises on her face hadn't gone down since yesterday, much to her disappointment, however like yesterday they could be covered with minimal makeup. The bruises on her body were covered by her tights and jumper, for which she was grateful it was January and still weather appropriate to wear more layers.

She headed downstairs and was greeted by Micahel making eggs.

"Hey, I'm just making scrambled eggs. There's enough for you if you want, or there's cereal or toast."

"Eggs are good."

"You ready for today?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's only been my first week and already more has happened than at my other schools combined. This is going to take some getting used to."

"Well it should start to settle down now. No more secrets, eh."

"Yeah, well you never know, today I could find out that Mrs Diamond is pregnant with my half sister, or something!" Annabelle obviously meant this as a joke, as she didn't know about Michael's feelings for Sian, however this almost made Michael wish she was. Even though it was impossible. The pair soon finished up breakfast and set on packing their bags.

"Got everything?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Right, let's get going then!"

The drive to Waterloo Road was a short 5-10 minutes, the whole of which was spent father-daughter bonding. Common interests include: literature, science, 'one direction' and David Attenborough!

"Well here we are!" Michael exclaimed with a somewhat joyous lilt. "What lessons do you have today?"

"Music, double maths, English and physics."

"Good, well if you want a lift, I usually leave around 5, but today's Friday so I try to be finished by 4."

"Okay thanks. I might stay in the library after school to catch up, I've missed a few lessons obviously."

"Great, well I'll see you later Annabelle."

"Anna."

"Sorry?"

"My close friends and my family call me Anna."

"Alright, see you later, Anna."

Annabelle was one of the first to arrive to her form room. Before Miss Cartwright and before Scout, Rhona and Shona. The only people there were Emily, Denzil, Phoenix and a few others. She spotted a conversation happening between Emily, Denzil and Phoenix as she entered the classroom. The three kept briefly glancing over at her, and Annabelle was curious as to what they were talking about, but decided not to but into their conversation.

"Just ask her out Denz!" Phoenix practically begged, "Save us both from this misery of you banging on about her all the time.

"Stop being such a baby!" Emily mocked.

"What if she doesn't like me back?"

"We'll cross that bridge if we get to it. She's literally eyeing you up now!"

"Okay fine. Fine. I'll ask her."

"Denzil. Were you just talking about me? Sorry, I just can't help but feel like I was being stared at!"

"Uh yeah. Sorry. Um… I like you, Annabelle. I was kinda hoping I could take you out or something."

"Sure! Why not. That'll be great." Emily approached, "Uh, hi Emily."

"There's a party tonight. Housewarming for Ronan and Vicki. They're in sixth form. People in our year to year 13 are invited. Why don't you and Denzil come?"

"Yeah! I haven't been to a proper party in ages!"

"Great. See you there!"

After more flirting between the two, and the entrance of Annabelle's other friends, and the gossip from them, Phoenix and Emily to follow, Miss Cartwright finally came into the classroom.

"Right class, settle down!" The now familiar sound of Miss Cartwright's voice broke the chemistry between the pair, as they exchanged one last smile and took their seats.