(A/N): So, I know I have other fics I should be updating, and I swear I will, I'm just very inspired by this fic right now. If anyone here reads my other fics, my list of ones to get done is as follows: Through Thick And Thin, No Matter What, Back In Time, Daisy. The order may change, but I will get it done at some point.
A huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed or favourited this story (Yes, I know that 'favourited' is not a word, but in this kind of context, it should be). I love you guys to the moon and back. I hope you like this next instalment just as much, and please, let me know what you think! Reviews are like cookies; I just can't have enough of them!
HeavenSkye x
What The Heart Wants
Chapter 4
Rachel glanced at Alia in worry and concern as they ascended the school steps together, Rachel carrying her handbag and plastic bag of files, Alia carrying her school bag. Alia was biting her lip and looked almost terrified. Rachel sighed, taking Alia's free hand in her own and squeezing it in reassurance. Rachel wasn't quite sure about Alia's reaction, as Alia had never actually spoken about her schooling, only telling Rachel that she'd been at school when she'd gotten the news of her dad's death. "It'll be okay, Ali. I promise." Rachel said, not sure she could keep the promise, but Alia seemed to see the intention behind the words as she managed a small smile for Rachel.
"I know. It's just been a long time, Rach." Alia replied, taking a deep breath as they walked into the school. It was only eight o'clock, and the meeting didn't start until eight fifteen, with the school day starting at twenty to nine with form time, but Rachel had intentionally arrived early enough to get Alia comfortable with the school before the meeting, and so that she would have time to give the teenager a tour before form time started.
"If you're worried about lessons, you'll be fine, Ali. I've seen your test results when we've sent them to the boards. You're one smart cookie, love."
"Thanks." Alia flushed in embarrassment at the compliment as the pair started up the stairs closest to Rachel's office. "This place seems… different to my old school."
"A good different or a bad different?"
"Oh, a good different, definitely." Alia stopped at the top of the stairs and pulled Rachel to one side, despite them being alone in the school. "I forgot to ask this morning; how are you after my and Philip's bombshell?"
Rachel sighed, pulling Alia into a one-armed hug. "I'll be fine. I know we can't say anything until you get us some proof, and I'll try to act normal around them. I've had a lot of practice lately." She teased, smiling as she made Alia smile a little.
"What if Aunt Mel recognises me?"
"Well, your school records still list you as Alia Falan rather than Alia Mason, so at least at the beginning, you can answer to that instead." Rachel shrugged, knowing that whilst Alia had changed her name via deed poll from Alia Rosemary Falan to Alia Rosemary Mason, the school records still had her down as Alia Falan. Rachel had always intended to inform them of the change, but Alia had always questioned the point of it when she didn't even go to school. "Plus, when was the last time Mel actually saw you? Wasn't it like ten years ago or something?"
"But what if she does?" Alia persisted. "Oh, and how about I leave my name for this term, and if things go well, I'll convince the boards to change it all over to Mason for next term?" She added after a beat.
"Then we'll deal with it love." Rachel assured her as Alia and Rachel reached the latter's office, Rachel opening the door and emptying the plastic bag on the table. Alia approached the table and pulled Rachel's files from her bag, placing them on top of Rachel's other paperwork. Rachel moved over to her desk and pulled out a piece of paper from the top drawer, the top of which read Timetable for Alia Falan, Year 11. "Here," Rachel handed over the paper. "You're in the same form as Phil, and I've put you in top set for everything for now; we can move you as we find your capabilities. I recall your options being French, Business and Art, so I put you in for them along with the usual subjects."
"Thanks Rach." Alia quickly took in her timetable, almost groaning aloud when she realised that set lessons meant she couldn't learn what she wanted when she wanted, as she had been used to doing at home. Rachel smiled swiftly before gesturing to the mess of paperwork atop the table.
"Can you give me a hand sorting this lot out before everyone else gets here?" Rachel asked. Instead of answering, Alia simply dropped her bag and moved to help Rachel sort things out into the piles she needed them in, all too aware of Rachel's filing system after disrupting them several times in the last three years. After they were done, Rachel smiled her thanks at the teenager. "Thanks Ali. If you want to go wait outside the office until the meeting has finished, then I'll come and find you for your tour before I'll have to leave you at your form room, alright?"
"Alright." Alia stood up and walked to the door before turning back to Rachel at the last moment. "Rach?"
"Yeah love?"
"It'll be okay, I promise." Alia assured Rachel before walking out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Rachel waited a beat before her shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes in defeat. No matter what front she put on, she knew Alia always saw through it, even if no-one else did. Rachel sighed before forcing the tears back. Maybe her day wouldn't be so bad, knowing that she had her daughter close and that both Alia and Philip were rooting for her. Maybe.
…
Alia perched herself on the window sill outside the main office, her bag beside her as she watched the stairwell with interest. She'd only seen one student walk up the stairs in the two minutes she'd been out of the office, and they hadn't paid her any attention, simply walking past to what Alia assumed was probably the library. She straightened with interest as she saw her aunt walking up the stairs hand in hand with a well-built, kind-faced man in a shirt and jeans, his dark eyes and greying hair lending him an authoritative air. Alia quickly deduced that the man must be Eddie, or as she was supposed to call him, Mr Lawson. The couple made their way past her towards Rachel's office when the man stopped, staring at Alia speculatively.
"Sorry, but I don't recognise you. I'm Mr Lawson, Maths teacher and Deputy Head." Eddie introduced himself, holding out a hand that Alia shook hesitantly. She didn't know Eddie, and whilst Rachel spoke of him in only the highest terms, Alia wanted to form her own opinions on the man, especially when she knew her mum was well on the way to being in love with him, if she hadn't fallen already.
"Alia. I start today. I'm waiting for the head to give me a tour before the day starts." Alia provided, not sure which surname to use for the man Rachel seemed to trust a lot.
"Alia what?" Eddie pressed, noticing that the child hadn't provided a last name. Alia shrugged, noticing Melissa walk into the outer office, clearly bored with the conversation. Once she was sure her aunt was out of earshot, Alia smiled hesitantly at Eddie.
"Uh, Alia Falan. I think I'm supposed to be in Year 11."
"Ah, well, my… friend, Ms Ryan, has a son in Year 11, Philip. I'm sure you'll fit right in." Eddie gestured in the direction Melissa had disappeared in as Alia nodded.
"Okay, thank you sir." Alia replied, almost biting her tongue when she addressed him as sir. Eddie sent her another kind smile before moving into the office, leaving Alia alone once again. Alia curled herself further up onto the window sill as more students began piling into the school, thankfully most not needing to go past Alia. After about three or four minutes, a dark haired man practically ran up the stairs followed by a blonde girl and a dark haired boy, the teenagers both having rings on their hands, suggesting they were married. Alia vaguely recalled Rachel saying something about a Chlo and Donte that were in sixth form and married, the girl being the stepdaughter of the English and PE teacher, Tom Clarkson, kind of.
Tom sent a tight smile in the direction of the teenagers. "I'll see you guys later. Rachel will have my head if I'm late to the meeting. Donte, look after Chlo for me, okay?"
"Of course, Tom. She is my wife." Donte replied with a grin as Chlo rolled her eyes at the pair of them. The two teenagers turned and walked in the opposite direction as Tom spotted Alia sat atop the window sill and sent her a tired smile.
"Hi, I'm Mr Clarkson, head of Pastoral Care, and an English and PE teacher."
"Alia Falan." Alia introduced herself for the second time that morning. "Is it that obvious that I'm the new kid?"
"Only a little bit." Tom teased as he threw a quick look in the direction of the office. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a management meeting. Still, if you've got any problems Alia…"
"I'll be sure to come and find you." Alia finished for him with a smile that Tom returned before hurrying off in the direction of Rachel's office.
Alia settled herself back in for a wait, absently seeking out her phone from her pants pocket and sending a quick text to Philip.
To: Phil.
Hey, I'm in school today, for the first time in forever, or so it seems. Don't worry about a thing; me and Rach will sort it. None of this is your fault. Don't forget to delete this text after you've read it Bean. You know aunt Mel still looks through your phone. Ali x
After a moment she got a reply.
From: Phil.
Hey, Ali, thanks. You'll do brilliantly, I know it. See you soon, Philip x
…
Rachel immediately straightened up as Melissa walked into her office and sat down in the seat opposite her sister, flashing the elder a smile that Rachel found hard to return, though return it she did. "Where are Phil and Eddie?" Rachel asked simply to make conversation. Melissa shrugged.
"Phil's decided to walk in today, and Eddie's out there talking to some new kid. Alia, or something. Kinda like your kid, Rach."
"Huh?" Rachel asked, eyes wide, though Melissa didn't seem to see anything amiss with her elder sister.
"Yeah, well, your Ali is called Alison, and this girl's called Alia. Pretty freaky, right?"
Rachel frowned. Alia had never been called Alison, but when Rachel had finally decided to tell her parents about Alia, her mother had refused to accept that her daughter had called her own child Alia, and had insisted that Alison was a better name for the granddaughter she'd never met. When Melissa had finally seen Alia for the one and only time when Alia was five, she'd called Alia Alison, despite the multiple times Rachel had insisted that her name was not Alison. Surprisingly enough, as far as Rachel was concerned, the one person that didn't fight her over Alia was Rachel's dad.
"Dad, why aren't you siding with mum over Ali?" Rachel asked her dad as she walked into the kitchen, where her father, Johnathan Fenshaw, stood with a cup of coffee. Johnathan looked at his eldest daughter carefully before setting down his coffee cup.
"Look, Rachel, I know we never made life easy for you, especially as a kid." Johnathan said uncomfortably. Rachel nodded, though she knew none of it had ever really been her dad's fault. It had been all her mum's doing, and her dad had simply backed his wife up rather than backing Rachel up. "When you were Amanda, we never really… appreciated you. I know your mum put you in an awful position when you were seventeen, and then when you left… Well, I know you didn't have to come back, but you did, for Mel, even if Fiona did disown you." Johnathan took a shaky breath, knowing he had to get it all out in the open. "I failed you, my daughter, but I refuse to do the same for little Alia. You didn't have to tell us about her, or what you're called now, but you have, and I won't waste the chance to make things up to you." Johnathan took a step towards Rachel. "I am so sorry, Mandy, for everything. Please, allow me to be the dad I should have been when you were growing up, and let me be a grandfather to your little Alia."
"But, dad, mum is insisting that Alia should be called Alison, and pretending like the disownment didn't even happen."
"And? Ignore her, Rachel. Alia is your little girl, no-one else's. Remember that." Johnathan sighed. "You should probably be the first to know, after your mum, you know. We're getting a divorce."
"What? Why now?" Rachel blurted out before slapping a hand over her mouth for her unintentional slip. Johnathan chuckled.
"Oh, I hope Alia gets your bluntness, Rachel. And in answer to your questions; I just can't do it anymore. I've put up with a lot over the years, and yet recently, she's done more than she ever has before, and I just can't take any more, my dear." He ran a hand over his face. "She cheated on me with her yoga instructor, and she keeps talking about me going to the solicitors and taking Alia away from you, saying that we'd be better parents to her than you would." Johnathan quickly moved and took Rachel in his arms at the sight of tears falling down his daughter's face. "Don't worry, I set her straight and informed the officials that she was crazy." His teasing brought a choked laugh from Rachel as she looked up at him.
"Dad, I don't think I can forget everything I went through, especially in this house." She took a deep breath. "But I think I can give you another chance. Just one, mind you, but a chance all the same. Do you want to meet Ali?"
"Yeah, that'd be good, Rachel." Johnathan hugged his daughter tightly. "And remember, I love you so much, Star."
Rachel smiled internally. Despite Melissa only seeing Alia once, and her mum, Fiona Fenshaw, not at all, Johnathan had seen Alia much more, and came round to Rachel's house every two weeks to see Rachel and Alia, though Rachel didn't mention that to Melissa, as Melissa hadn't seen Johnathan in two years after a particularly nasty argument between the two in which Melissa sided with her mother over her father. Alia loved her Grampa John, and Johnathan loved Alia, the two getting along in a way that Rachel had only ever dreamed of before. Even Rachel and Johnathan's relationship had improved to the extent that Rachel had forgiven him completely for her childhood, and Johnathan had made sure to spend time with her when Alia had gone to bed, the pair being utterly childish and just generally having fun. Remembering what Melissa had said, Rachel opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when Eddie walked into the office with a smile on his face.
"Hey Rach."
"Eddie."
"You know there's a new kid out there right?" Eddie checked as Rachel nodded. "A new year 11 kid called Alia, I believe." He continued.
"I know, Eddie." Rachel smiled. "I'm giving her a tour after this meeting."
Tom walked in, throwing a tired smile to the room at large. "The new girl seems like a good kid." He commented. "Maybe she'd like to try out for the girls' football team."
"You'd have to ask her that, Tom." Rachel returned with a grin before her face morphed into a concerned expression. "You alright, Tom?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired. What with Chlo and Donte asking me questions every two seconds and the flaming Kellys next door with music blasting until three in the morning, I've had about two hours sleep." Tom complained whilst throwing Rachel a grateful glance in regards to Chlo and Donte's situation, to which Rachel blushed ever so slightly, leaving the other two in the room confused at the exchange.
"I'm sorry Tom." Rachel returned sincerely. Tom shrugged.
"Eh, it's not your fault Rachel. Anyway, what's this meeting about?"
Rachel then proceeded to hand out various pieces of paperwork to each member of staff and the conversation turned entirely professional as all four discussed and debated on various issues before Rachel glanced up at the clock and saw it was half past eight, and they were pretty much finished anyway. "Okay, I think that's it for the day, unless anyone else has any items?" She asked, before continuing as the other three shook their heads in the negative. "Okay, well, have a good day and let's get to it."
All four teachers stood and exited the office, Eddie and Melissa hand in hand in front of Tom and Rachel. Rachel was almost out of the office door when Tom stopped her and shut the door, leaving the pair in Rachel's office. "Rachel, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Tom. Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just…" Tom trailed off looking uncertain before gathering up his courage once more. "I know you like Eddie. I'm just wondering how you can stand to see him with Melissa."
"I-I don't know what you're-"
"I hated Davina being with Jack, especially when she was thinking of going to Dubai with him." Tom reminded Rachel with a sad smile as he placed a hand on Rachel's arm. "I'm not saying you need to do something or whatever, but I'm here if you need me. You've helped Chlo so much, and I don't know how you managed it. I owe you so much."
"It was nothing, Tom." Rachel played it off but Tom shook his head.
"No, something you've said has got Chlo's head screwed back on. She gets this faraway look before she kind of smiles and gets her head back down working. She even told me she reckons she can pass her A levels and get to uni at this point. You've done more in one conversation than I've managed in a year."
Rachel sighed but shook her head. "Don't worry about it Tom. You've got yourself a good kid there, one who'll go as far as she chooses to." She opened the door and the pair stepped out and into the outer office where Bridget smiled at her in greeting, which she gladly returned. "Now, I've got a student to show around. Alia will be in your form by the way, Tom."
"Alright, I'll look out for the kid, Rachel." Tom walked off to his classroom as Rachel stepped out of the outer office, smiling automatically when she saw Alia perched on the window sill, earphones in and staring out of the window.
"Ali." Rachel said, moving towards her daughter as Alia's head turned quickly to see Rachel stood before her. Alia took out her earphones and put them in her blazer pocket along with her phone, which had been put on silent.
"Rach." Alia returned in a voice just above a whisper, sure to get lost in the bustling crowds of students, but just loud enough to be heard by the woman it addressed.
"Ready for that tour?"
Alia jumped off the window sill onto the ground and picked up her bag. "Sure."
"Well then, let's go."
TBC?
