It had been four months since Rachel Mason resigned as Head Teacher at Waterloo Road but daytime food shopping on a weekday was still something she couldn't get used to. Taking a break from work and enjoying married life was high on her list of priorities at the moment. Only a few moments after lugging handfuls of bags of shopping in from the car there was a knock on the door. Another unusual occurrence. Rachel moved towards the front door with caution and was stunned at the person before her when she opened it.

"Lindsay?" she gasped "What are you doing here?" The girl before her didn't speak, she just lifted her head to look her ex-headmistress in the eye. "What on earth has happened?!" Rachel quickly went from shock to worry when she saw the girl's unwashed and tear-stained face.

"Miss…" Lindsay stammered but couldn't manage anymore.

Rachel reached out an arm and ushered her inside. "Come on, come in" Rachel led the way into the living room and gestured towards the sofa "Ok, take a seat" before sitting beside Lindsay. "It's ok Lindsay, whatever it is"

"No, it's not" Lindsay replied through fresh tears.

"Tell me"

"Miss…I don't know where to begin"

"Try the beginning, take your time" Rachel placed a comforting hand on Lindsay's.

"I just can't take it anymore, I thought I could handle it, it was ok at the start but now it's getting too hard and I can't go back there and I just don't know what to do" Lindsay blurted out quickly, not making much sense.

"Alright, slow down and let's go back to the beginning" Rachel replied, confused. "Where can't you go back to?"

"Home"

"Why not?"

"I tried to but it's where he…you know…hurt me and it's where I…where I killed him and there's too many bad memories and I just can't be there" Lindsay cried harder.

"I understand, a lot happened there. You said it was ok in the beginning but now it's too hard. What did you mean? Your mum said you hadn't been back to the house"

"I haven't"

"So where have you been staying?" Rachel asked.

"Well that doesn't matter" Lindsay snapped.

"Lindsay, it does matter, I need to know you're safe. You've come to me, you're clearly upset and if something has happened then I need to know so I can help you"

"You can't help me, you're not my teacher anymore"

"So why did you come here? How did you even know where I live?"

"I sort of followed you from the supermarket" Lindsay confessed "I'm sorry I didn't mean to, I didn't plan to find you, it's just that I saw you there and I just didn't know where else to go, I didn't know what else to do"

"Please, tell me what's wrong" Rachel begged, taking hold of both of Lindsay's hands in her own.

"I was in the supermarket car park because that's where I've been living, I've been on the streets for months. It was ok to start with, it was warm and people gave me money but now it's so cold and people just rush straight past me and I'm so tired and hungry and cold and…" Lindsay broke off as she looked at Rachel's horrified face.

"And what?"

"And it's scary out there, on your own, at night"

"Ahh love, why didn't you tell someone? Your mum, Emily, anyone?"

"I was ashamed, I knew I could never live in that house again and I've already caused so much trouble. I shouldn't have even come here, I'm so sorry" Lindsay jumped up and made for the door but Rachel wasn't far behind her.

"You've nothing to be sorry for and you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about" Rachel told her, stopping Lindsay in her tracks. "Stay, please, let me get you something to eat at least huh?"

Lindsay nodded "Thank you"

"Go on, go and sit down, I'll be back in a minute"

No sooner said than done, Rachel was back with a sandwich and a cup of tea to which Lindsay devoured in seconds.

"Thanks Miss, I really appreciate it"

"It's only a sandwich" Rachel smiled.

"No it's not, you've been so good to me, you never gave up on me, and I was a right cow"

"What you went through was horrific and you were not responsible for any of it. I just wish you had talked to me sooner or that I'd figured it out, I missed all the signs" Rachel began to beat herself up all over again.

"You missed the signs because I wanted you to. I wish I had told you sooner but at the time I didn't even want to admit it to myself never mind anyone else but I'm glad it was you, I know I can trust you. And that's why I came here today, because when you're here…I feel safe"

"Oh Lindsay" Rachel sighed "Of course you can trust me and you will always be safe with me, I'll always do my best for you. But right now I think we need to call your mum and let her know what's been going on"

"Please don't, please don't call my mum, she's barely coping as it is and she'll want me to go back and I just can't, I can't go back to that house, please miss, please don't call her" Lindsay begged, fear and tears in abundance.

"Lindsay, your mum loves you very much and she will just want to help you. You know you are very lucky to have such a loving and supportive family, so many people don't have that, and it really hurts, believe me"

"What was your family like Miss?"

"That's not important now" Rachel tried to shift focus from her own life.

"No go on, tell me, please?"

"I never felt loved or cared about by my parents and still hurts, even after all this time"

"Is that because of what you did…working on the streets?"

"No, it's because I had such a hard home life I did what I did, to get out of there" Rachel confessed, surprised at how comfortable she felt talking about her past. "But once I'd left there was no going back"

"I'm sorry"

"What for?"

"Everything you've been through, you didn't deserve any of that" Lindsay smiled for the first time in months.

"Neither did you" Rachel smiled back. "Don't be sorry for me, I got out, I got a new name, got a degree, a career and I made a life for myself and you know what, you will too!"

"But how?"

"There's plenty of time to decide what you want to do with your life, whether you want to go back to school, go to university, what job you want to do but right now we need to get you somewhere to stay. Everything will seem so much better after a good night's sleep, I promise you"

The intimate moment between the pair was cut short by the sound of the front door opening.

"Hi love" Adam called as he entered the hallway.

"In here" Rachel replied.

"I was thinking…" Adam broke off when he saw his wife had a visitor. "Sorry, didn't realise you had company"

"Adam this is Lindsay, Lindsay James, from Waterloo Road, I told you about her. Lindsay, this is Adam, my husband" Rachel introduced.

"Nice to meet you" Lindsay smiled at the man in front of her.

"Hi" Adam replied, avoiding eye contact with either woman. "Rachel, a word" she followed him into the hall.

"What is she doing here? She is not your problem anymore Rachel" Adam snapped.

"She needs my help Adam, she's been through so much and I just want to be there for her" Rachel tried to explain. "Look, she's got nowhere to go, she's upset and she needs a friend"

"Rachel, you used to teach her, she is not your pupil anymore and she certainly isn't your friend. She's got family, they need to be there for her, not you"

"What is your problem?" Rachel asked, getting irritated now.

"I don't like having a murderer in my house!"

Rachel was about to reply when she heard the front door slam shut. "Lindsay!" she called, running after her. "Please, wait, wait a minute, where are you going?"

"Carpark. If I don't hurry someone else will get my spot" Lindsay replied flippantly, pretending she wasn't hurt by Adam's comments.

"You're not going anywhere, you're staying here for tonight and we'll make a plan in the morning"

"Am I?" Lindsay asked.

"Is she?" Adam asked at the same time.

"Yes, she is and if you don't like it you know what you can do" Rachel shot a look at Adam to which he immediately retreated inside the house. Rachel wrapped an arm around Lindsay's shoulders "Now my love, let's get you a nice hot bath, some clean clothes and I'll get some hot food on. How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect, thank you"