"Is this your fault?" Amy demanded.
Katy jumped, pausing at the entrance to the gardens and turning back the way she had come. She frowned at her younger sister, wondering what she was talking about. "Is what my fault?"
"Mr Baptise won't tutor me any more." The eleven-year-old told her angrily. "Is it because of you? Did you say he had to stop?"
"What? No, of course I didn't. Why would I do that?"
"I don't know! Maybe because you always ruin everything!"
"Amy, calm down." Her older sister ordered, crossing the road and walking back towards their houses. She paused at the bottom of the steps leading up to the house where the younger blonde lived with their father. "It had nothing to do with me, alright? I think he was just a bit uncomfortable with your crush on him. I told him it was nothing, but he obviously decided it wasn't worth the risk."
"I don't believe you! I bet you told him to stop tutoring me!"
"You're being ridiculous." Katy rolled her eyes. "Why the hell would I even do that?" She shook her head. "Amy, you're eleven. Isaac is my thirty-three-year-old boyfriend. What were you seriously thinking would happen?"
"He told Dad that with you and Ruby and the twins he didn't have time to tutor me." Amy snapped at her. "He said you were too demanding."
Katy stiffened, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. "If anything, I'm the opposite." She replied coolly. "Clearly that was just an excuse so he didn't have to tell Dad the truth."
"He told Dad that he didn't have time to help me because of you." Amy continued angrily. "He said that you and the girls take up all of his spare time because you're always asking him to do stuff."
"Well he was hardly likely to tell Dad that he was quitting because you're making him feel weird with your stupid little crush, was he?" Katy retorted quickly. "But if you keep on, I'll tell him myself."
"Whatever. You don't scare me."
"If you carry on like this, Amy, I'll tell Dad the truth and then we'll see what happens. I'll tell your mum, too."
"I hate you!" The eleven-year-old shrieked, turning and storming into the house, slamming the front door behind her.
Huffing, Katy turned exhausted eyes skywards for a moment, before shouldering her bag more firmly and walking slowly towards the bar. She already had a headache and didn't need anything else to think about. The sight of Frankie and Tina laughing together about something or other didn't do much else to help her mood, either. Apparently Katy was jealous of her friend's friendship with the other woman, a realisation that didn't sit right with her.
"Rotas need checking over before I can send them out, Katy." Tina called, glancing up as the blonde headed past her in the direction of the stairs. "I emailed them to you."
"I'll do it now." Katy promised, not pausing or even looking in her direction.
"Oh… Nick was asking when you'd be in."
That information did make the younger woman stop, turning to frown at her housemate. "Yeah? Where is he?"
"One of the pumps is jammed in the top bar, so he's giving Sasha a hand."
"Right…"
"Rotas!"
Waving Tina's demand away, Katy hurried up the stairs. She caught Nick's attention as he chatted to the barmaid on the other side of the room and motioned towards her office. Getting the hint, he excused himself and followed her inside, closing the door behind him.
"Well?"
"I think you need to be careful, Ms Mitchell. That Williams guy has been mouthing off about the job he's planning again. My mate says he was talking about getting tooled up to do it."
"Right… any idea when we can expect him?" Katy asked, already thinking about who she could draft in as back up.
"Soon, is all I got." He told her with a shrug. "What d'you wanna do?"
Katy bit her lip, thinking. "Nothing yet. Just keep your eyes open when you're on the door and let me know if you hear anything else."
"Ms Mitchell, are you sure–?"
"I'm perfectly sure, Nick." She told him with a firm nod. "I can handle this."
"He sounded serious. I don't want to–"
"Trust me. I've got this." Katy told him, her eyes flashing with steely determination. "If Williams comes here to cause trouble, he's going to end up regretting it."
Sending her a look that clearly showed that he wasn't aware of what she was capable of, Nick nodded and backed out of the office. Katy chewed her lip for a moment, considering her options again. Her eyes flickered towards the safe where the gun she'd taken from the warehouse robbery was still hidden away. She knew what her next move should be; how well it would go down was the question.
Deciding to put off making the call, Katy resolved to do the other thing that she had been putting off. Since the news of Chantelle's death had rocked the Square, the blonde had been actively avoiding bumping into the young woman's mother. She felt terrible – guilty that Karen had been so kind and supportive to her – that she couldn't face speaking to her. She wasn't sure that she would be able to bear the other woman's grief.
A split-second before she opened the office door, Katy remembered her promise to sort the rotas for Tina and exhaled sharply, doubling back and accessing her emails. She cast her eyes over the document quickly, hesitating for a moment before altering a couple of shifts so that Nick would be working more often. She also put herself down for more hours, wanting to be on site in case anything happened.
Finally emailing them back to Tina, she grabbed her things and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her. Smiling fondly as her friend looked up questioningly, her mouth no doubt opening to ask about the rotas, Katy waved a dismissive hand at her and assured her that it was done. Then she gave a vague explanation of where she was going and left the bar quickly.
Katy made her way hastily towards the Taylors' flat, hesitating on the step before ringing the bell. She waited a long time for someone to answer it, finally coming face-to-face with her cousin as Tiffany opened the door. The redhead blinked out at her, clearly wondering why Katy was there, until the older woman smiled weakly and asked whether her mother-in-law was in.
"Hi…" She murmured as Karen turned to see who had disturbed them. Seeing the Mitchell in the doorway, she burst into a fresh flood of tears and Katy moved to perch on the sofa beside her. "I'm so, so sorry…"
There was no time for her to react before Karen had leant into her and buried her face in the younger woman's neck. Katy rubbed her shoulder slightly awkwardly for a moment, before sighing and wrapping an arm around her. She muttered soothing nonsense, not really sure what – if anything – to say in order to offer the slightest amount of comfort to the other woman.
A long time passed and all Karen seemed to need was her presence. Katy let her cry into her shoulder, doing her best to let her know that she sympathised without speaking at all. Finally, Karen wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and straightened, mumbling an apology as she did so.
"Don't…" Katy smiled sadly at her. "You don't need to apologise for grieving. I've done enough of it in my time to know that if you keep it bottled up it'll start to destroy you. And losing a child, however long you've known them, is one of the most soul destroying things you could ever imagine."
"You…?"
Smiling weakly again, the younger woman told her about her son. Karen blinked at her a couple of times before reaching for her hand and squeezing it tightly.
"I'm not comparing the two," Katy told her quickly, "I didn't know JJ… he wasn't in my life for anywhere near as long as Chantelle was in yours, but… he took a bit of my heart with him and that I can relate to."
"No parent should have to bury their child, however old they are."
"No."
"I just… Gray and those kiddies need me and I just…"
"Gray…" Katy furrowed her eyebrows. "How's he coping?"
Karen looked at her for a moment. "He's devastated."
"Really."
"What are you talking about? Of course he is. His wife has just died. They loved each other so much… I don't know what he's going to do without her."
"Mmm…" Katy smiled weakly at her again and shook her head. "No, sorry… of course."
"What aren't you saying?"
"I just… I know she wasn't happy and I… it's easy to spot the signs when you've been there yourself; when you feel trapped in a relationship and can't see a way out. I just… I kept expecting to hear that she'd left him." Seeing the expression on Karen's face she shrugged. "I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well… you should be." Karen's tone was suddenly cold and hostile. "My Chantelle was happy… she loved Gray."
"I'm sorry. I should go." Katy repeated, standing up and moving towards the door. "I didn't mean to upset you. If there's anything you need…"
She left the flat so quickly that she was in danger of stumbling and falling down the stairs. Outside in the fresh air, she leant heavily against the stone pillar outside the house and inhaled sharply. The feeling that she couldn't have messed that particular conversation up more if she'd been trying to upset Karen rushed over her like a tsunami.
Making a snap decision, Katy turned and strode in the direction of Turpin Road. She pushed her way into Ruby's and went straight to the office. Barely waiting for her mother to call her in, Katy stepped inside and pushed the door firmly shut behind her.
"Mum…. I'm sorry." She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself defensively. "It's been a month… I miss you."
Ronnie immediately surged forward and wrapped her daughter in a tight hug, cupping the back of her head and holding her close. Katy's eyes slipped closed and she buried her face in the crook of the older woman's neck, fisting her hands in the back of her jumper. They stood for a long moment, drinking in the feeling of comfort they got from being at peace with each other again.
"Has something happened?"
The younger woman shook her head quickly. "No, I just… Amy and Ruby are both being little shits at the moment and it just made me think about the fact that I need you on my side more than I need to be angry with you. Especially after Chantelle…"
"Oh, baby…"
"There is something I need to tell you, though."
Ronnie didn't look remotely surprised by the admission. "Go on…"
"I'm… I…" Katy swallowed thickly. "I'm…"
"You're what?" Ronnie's eyes flashed with concern. "What's wrong?"
"I'm… thinking about ending things with Isaac." Katy said, mentally kicking herself for chickening out of telling her mother she was pregnant. "It's just not working." Pre-empting the older blonde's words about giving things a go and not giving in at the first hurdle, she held up a hand. "I've tried; I really have. But you were right… I don't love him. I've never loved him. I don't even like him sometimes. We're just not in the same place. We have absolutely nothing in common. He wants nights out and more of my time and attention than I can give him. The kids will always be my main focus."
"If that's what you want to do, then I'm right behind you." Ronnie promised her, cupping her face gently. "I just want you to be happy."
"I should never have let things get this far… I just didn't want to fail again."
"You haven't failed, sweetheart." Ronnie told her seriously. "It's far harder to get out of a relationship that's not right, than stay with someone just for the sake of it. You're doing the right thing."