(A/N): Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates on anything recently. I've been super busy with real life. I've got a job that I'm working loads for, uni started back up and I've been to what feels like a million events recently. I really just haven't had the time or the motivation. I have a question for you guys. Do you like my writing style? Do you think I could write a good book? Like a real fiction book type thing?
Still, on to this chapter. More bombshells are let loose, but I swear, I WILL get to Alia and Jack's less than legal activities in the next chapter. I threw some Reddie moments in there too, as I cant wait to get rid of Mel haha
Still don't own squat, sorry.
Hopefully I'll see you soon,
HeavenSkye x
What The Heart Wants
Chapter 8
The next two days followed a pattern. Philip would travel to school with his aunt and cousin, preferring their company to his mum's and his grandmother's. Eddie had steered well clear of Melissa after that first morning, not wanting to hear any more vile things from Fiona, or any of Melissa's whining excuses about it. Rachel did her best to avoid Fiona, but in the instances in which she couldn't, she was always rescued by a duo from a list of students consisting mainly of Chlo, Alia, Maxine, Janeece, Donte, Philip, Flick, Marley, Bolton and Paul.
On Friday afternoon, Fiona was supposed to be in Melissa's classroom, watching her teach the adult learners, but the older woman became easily bored, and decided to walk around to see what she could stir up for her eldest daughter. After five minutes of searching, she found the year eleven drama class in the main assembly hall, with half the students on the stage and half on the ground, with the teacher, Matt, directing them in various improvisation exercises.
Fiona cleared her throat, causing the entire class to cease their acting and turn to look at her. "Sorry, I was just trying to get a feel for the school." Fiona claimed. Matt nodded warily, gesturing a few students over and telling the rest to get back to their improvisations.
"I'm sure these kids can tell you a bit." Matt told her. Fiona looked over the students that Matt had called over. Alia and Philip stood in the middle, with Paul on Philip's free side and Bolton on Alia's free side. On the other side of Bolton stood Katie, and on the other side of Paul stood Danielle.
"So… What do you all think of the school?" Fiona started slowly, determined to poison the students against their headmistress. She knew that the easiest way to set the entire student body aflame was to start the rumour off with a few of them, and let speculation do the rest.
"It's just school, innit." Bolton shrugged as the other fifteen to sixteen year olds agreed with him. Fiona smirked.
"Surely there must be something you like."
"Teachers are alright, I guess." Katie mentioned.
"What, all the teachers?" Fiona faked surprise. "What about your headteacher?"
"Miss Mason's cool." Bolton defended instantly, with Alia and Philip nodding firmly, both aware of what their grandmother was most likely to be up to.
"Really? She's a prostitute, dear. Don't you think that having a prostitute run your school is wrong?" Fiona asked sweetly.
"Gran, shut up!" Philip hissed, flushing red in anger. Bolton growled and stepped forwards, ready to punch the woman for daring to spread rumours, only for Alia to physically jump on his back, grabbing his arms and pulling them back to prevent him from being able to use them and get himself into trouble.
"Ssh, just stop. She wants a physical reaction to throw more aspersions on Mason's character. Don't give the ammunition to her." Alia whispered urgently into his ear, making Bolton force himself to relax.
"Thanks, Ali." He murmured, helping Alia to climb off his back and stand back on the ground.
"Ms Fenshaw, I think you should leave now." Alia told her firmly.
Fiona shook her head. "I won't be told what to do by a mere slip of a girl."
"Oh yeah?" Alia laughed, deliberately making the sound sinister as she tied her hair up, fully aware that by doing so, she was exposing a long white scar travelling from the underside of her ear down to her collarbone. "Wanna bet?" She asked dangerously, slowly stalking her way towards Fiona, not even realising that she was being flanked by Bolton and Paul, both trying to make themselves look as menacing as possible. Alia smirked evilly as the three of them backed Fiona up out of the hall and into the corridor as Rachel and Eddie were walking down the corridor together. Fiona blinked a little before turning to the adults and pasting on her best wounded face.
"Oh, Rachel dear, please control these feral children." She said, her voice dripping with false niceness. Alia rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please, we aren't feral. We're just a little rough around the edges." She smirked again. "And you were just leaving."
"Oh no I wasn't young lady."
"Yes, you were." Bolton practically growled.
"Or we spread some rumours of our own." Paul added. Fiona glanced between them all, before fleeing down the corridor back to Melissa's classroom. Alia turned to Rachel, looking apologetic, but she jumped as she felt a finger running down her scar, turning to glare at Bolton, who held his hands up in surrender.
"Sorry, Ali, but what the hell happened to you there?" Bolton asked incredulously. Alia blushed self-consciously and untied her hair, allowing it to fall back over her jaw and neck, hiding the scar from view.
"It's nothing." Alia muttered before turning back to Rachel and Eddie. "Uh, sorry about that, miss, sir, but Ms Fenshaw was trying to spread round that you were a prostitute."
Rachel nodded understandingly, though she'd gone pale at the knowledge of how far her mother would go to ruin her life. "Alright, thank you, all three of you. You all better get back to your class."
"Miss, why's she trying to ruin everything to do with you?" Bolton asked.
"I wish I knew, Bolton, I wish I knew." Rachel responded tiredly. "Don't worry, we'll find a solution."
"Alright." Bolton wandered back into the hall with Paul, but Eddie prevented Alia from following the boys.
"Alia, what happened to your neck? Are you in some kind of trouble?" He asked in concern. Alia blinked up at him and shook her head.
"I caught it on a barbed wire fence a few years ago. I'm fine; it just stands out when I tie my hair up. Can I go now?" Alia replied slowly, hazel eyes wide as she internally pleaded for Eddie to believe her. Eddie sighed, but unblocked her way, allowing Alia to rush off back to her lesson. He turned back to Rachel, to find her dialling a number on her phone.
"Hey." Rachel greeted as the line was picked up.
"Rachie, what's wrong? Is it Ali?"
Rachel allowed herself a small smile. She enjoyed talking to her father nowadays, especially as it was such a difference to her childhood memories. She knew Eddie couldn't hear the other side of her conversation, but she hoped he'd wait long enough for her to find a plan of action, at least in regards to her mother. "I'm fine, dad. It's Fiona."
"My ex-wife? What's she done this time?"
"She's at the school, dad, and she keeps… ugh… She's doing my head in."
"I seem to have gone back in time." Rachel noted that her father sounded vaguely amused. "How did she even find you?"
"Mel works here and brought Fiona in with her."
"Oh, yeah, I warned you not to hire Mel."
"You and everyone else apparently." Rachel muttered. "What do I do, dad? You've known her longest."
"It sounds to me like she wants something. But, there's only about a half hour left of school today, so how about I meet you at your home at half past four and we'll figure something out?"
"That sounds good. I'll see you soon, dad. And thank you."
"See you soon, Rachie."
Rachel hung up with a small smile as she turned to Eddie, who seemed amused. "What?" She asked self-consciously.
"Hearing you talk to your dad, makes me think of what you were like as a teen. 'But dad, it's so not fair'." Eddie mimicked in an attempt to copy Rachel's voice. Rachel snorted in laughter and pushed at his shoulder.
"Stop. I was nothing like that. I bet you were though. 'Why do I have to do this? It's just so not fair'." Rachel mimicked in return as they continued down the corridor, laughing together and mimicking the other all the way back to Rachel's office.
…
"Grandpa John!"
"Li!" Johnathan Fenshaw lifted up his granddaughter and span her around with a wide smile as Rachel opened the front door for the three of them. "How's my favourite singer in the whole wide world?" He asked as he carried her into the house.
"What are you talking about? She's the only modern singer you know." Rachel corrected teasingly as she closed the door behind them. Johnathan set Alia back on her feet before engulfing Rachel in a tight hug.
"It's good to see you too Rachel. How are you doing?" He asked warmly. Rachel hugged him back, feeling herself relax after the hectic week she'd had.
"I'm alright, dad. I promise." Rachel assured him as he let her go and stared at Alia with wide eyes.
"Li, when did you start going to school again? You swore you never would."
"Uh, it was… very recent, gramps." Alia replied awkwardly as she picked her school bag up off the floor, where Rachel had carried it in for her. "Well, I've got homework and I'm assuming you'll stay for tea."
"You bet, kid. Me and your mum have some catching up to do first, and then I want to hear you play for me, Li."
"A new song?"
"You know it."
…
"I'm sorry, Rachie." Johnathan told her after Rachel had poured out the whole story regarding Fiona and Mel and Eddie and Alia and Philip, not sparing any details, even in regards to Melissa's bigamy. "You said you've got Alia finding the proof in the Mel and Eddie thing?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah, her and Jack. They said they'd do it next week."
"Why am I not surprised? Jack's practically your second child, even if it's obvious that the boy will end up with your daughter."
Rachel smiled. "I know, and they love each other, they've told me so. But they don't want to do anything yet. They're best friends and they want a childhood before they decide anything. I'll let them have their strange relationship."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, Ali could do a whole lot worse than falling for Jack."
"Anyway, back to the original point in hand. Li and Jack are taking care of one part, but what happens when Eddie finds out about Li? And then finds out Li's other identity?" Johnathan asked gently.
Rachel blinked. "I… don't know. Does he have to know?"
"If you really love him, then yes. You know this, Rachel."
"I just, well, I don't want to. He already hurt me, dad. I don't want to give him the power to hurt Ali too."
"Alia is a big girl now, Rach. She can handle it."
"But the issue right now is what do I do about mum? She's driving me insane! The only good thing is that the kids are firmly on my side."
Johnathan looked pained as he answered. "I have one way. Mention a name to her. Mollie Dean."
"Who's Mollie Dean?"
Johnathan sighed. "The other reason I divorced your mother. Mollie was, is, your little sister. I think she's about nine or so now. She lives with her dad. Fiona got pregnant with her yoga instructor and tried to pass it off as mine. She was forty six when Mollie was born, and she'd thought that she couldn't get pregnant and became careless. What she'd forgotten was that I had a vasectomy when Melissa turned six." Johnathan shook his head sadly. "Mollie knows about us, and her dad does too, but Fiona pretends that Mollie doesn't exist. I visit the child when I can, but…"
"It's difficult when your daughter and granddaughter don't know about her." Rachel finished for him sadly. "Oh dad, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I don't know. But your mum never told Mel either and she'll do anything to keep it that way. Including laying off being awful to you, sweetheart." Johnathan sighed again as he pulled Rachel into another hug.
Rachel sat in silence for a couple of minutes before she twisted around to look up at her dad. "Dad, can I meet Mollie? I'm sure Ali would want to meet her too."
"Are you sure? How would Li even react?"
"She'll be alright. I do know my own daughter, dad. What shall we have for tea?"
"How about we order in and have a kebab each?"
"Sounds good."
…
The following morning, Rachel sat Alia down on the couch at ten in the morning. Johnathan had agreed to bring Mollie around at half past eleven, and Rachel wanted to prepare her daughter before that happened. "Ali, there's something I have to tell you."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. See, my dad told me something I hadn't known before. I, uh, I have a sister."
"Yeah, Melissa." Alia frowned. "You work with her Rach. Hell, you became a prostitute for her. You should already know that she's your sister."
"No, not Melissa. Another one." Rachel took a deep breath. "Her name is Mollie and she's nine."
"But you're like thirty odd." Alia pointed out. "How's that even possible?"
"Fiona was twenty when I was born. You were five when Mollie was born. Fiona thought she couldn't get pregnant that old, but she was wrong. Hence Mollie."
"Alright." Alia replied slowly. "So Fiona screwed up and Mollie was the result. Is that why Grandpa John divorced her?"
"Yes and no. Yes, he divorced her, though mainly because she cheated on him, but he still goes to see Mollie as much as she can. Mollie lives with her dad, the yoga instructor."
"Right. So, why are you telling me now?"
"Because my dad is bringing her around to meet us in an hour and half." Rachel admitted. Alia blinked in shock. "Mollie always wanted to meet us, apparently, and I want to know her, if that's okay with you."
"Uh, yeah, I guess." Alia blinked rapidly. "Alright. I'll try to behave my best."
"Alia. If you don't want this…"
"I don't know her. I don't like a lot of people that I don't know." Alia pointed out. "But I'll give her a shot. It's the least I can do for you, mum."
…
Johnathan shot Mollie a reassuring smile as he knocked on the front door. Mollie bit her lip nervously, looking up at Johnathan with wide emerald coloured eyes. Her light brunette hair was tied back in two long French braids that ended halfway down her back. "What if they don't like me?" She whispered.
"They'll love you just as much as I do, Molls." Jonathan assured her softly. The door opened, revealing Alia wearing a white top and dark blue jeans with black Mary Jane wedges. Even though she wore Ugg boots to school and when she was tired, she still wore heels the rest of the time, to help her stay used to them for the next interview, meeting or tour she had to do. "Alia! How're you this morning?" Jonathan asked brightly.
"I'm fine gramps." Alia sent Mollie a small smile. "You must be Mollie. Nice to meet you. Come on in. Rach is in the kitchen." She opened the door wider to allow the pair into the house, closing it behind them gently. Halfway down the corridor, Mollie stopped and squealed in delight at one of the pictures on the wall. Rachel had insisted that some pictures of Alia as Lia Rose be put up on the walls as the former was so proud of Alia's achievements as Lia. The picture in question was of Lia after a concert with her long blue hair haphazardly tied up away from her face as she was grinning at the camera, her manager on one side and Jack on the other, all three making silly poses for the camera.
"You know Lia Rose!" Mollie practically squealed. "She's my favourite ever!" She turned to Alia with shining eyes. "How did you even get backstage? It's the most difficult thing to do at her concerts and I've been to three! Did you know she's releasing an album soon?"
"Uh, yeah, I did." Alia managed to get out without laughing. "Rach, gramps and Mollie are here!"
Rachel walked into the hall to see Mollie bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement whilst Johnathan seemed a little guilty and Alia seemed amused. "What's going on?"
"You guys met Lia Rose!"
Rachel exchanged looks with Alia, who shook her head slightly. "Uh, yes, we did, love. That was a while ago though. You must be Mollie. I'm Rachel."
Mollie calmed down enough to send Rachel a shy smile. "I know. John told me all about you and Alia. I'm really happy to meet you both."
"As we are with you. I uh, I made chicken burgers for dinner. Is that okay?"
Johnathan nodded. "That's fine. We're hungry, aren't we Molls?"
Mollie nodded and Rachel led the way into the kitchen, with Johnathan and Mollie following soon behind. Alia slipped upstairs into her room and hunted around various stacks of paper left on her desk. Not finding what she was looking for, she rushed up the second set of stairs that led to the rooms she practised her music and such in. Hunting through a few further stacks of paper, she found what she was looking for. Scrabbling around for a pen, she penned a quick note and ran back downstairs.
The three occupants of the kitchen looked up as Alia entered the room. Hesitantly, Alia handed Mollie the sheet of paper. "Here. For you."
Mollie looked down at the paper. It was an A4 headshot publicity photo of Lia Rose, on which Alia had written, All The Best, love Lia Rose xxx
TBC?
