It was the following day and Maria knew that she wasn't going to be sending the girl to school having seen just how upset the girl had been the previous night. Maria knew that she still had to go to work today as she didn't want to let her clients down but she was lucky that she lived directly above the salon. Ideally, Maria hoped to convince the girl to join her in the salon at least for the morning.

When Maria woke up, she made sure to turn her daughter's alarm off and let her sleep. She was shattered as she had been kept up with Grace moving about. Maria knew that the girl hadn't slept well and tired her best to stay awake to comfort Grace even if the girl was unwilling to speak to her.

Maria quickly and quietly got Liam ready before dropping him off at the childminder's house. Maria returned home to chaos. Grace had clearly woken up and got herself in a state about trying to get to school on time. Maria watched the mayhem for a moment before speaking.

"Grace, what's up?" Maria asked softly

"I'm late, I'm going to be so late" The girl started saying mumbling away to herself. Maria put her hands on the girl's shoulders to stop her. She looked down at her daughter, the girl still in her pyjamas with her school bag on her back. Having her mother stop her was enough for the girl to burst into tears and float down to the ground.

Maria dropped down to the ground with her daughter and pulled her into her arms. Grace allowed her mother to hold her but didn't react or move.

"Come on, go and put some comfortable clothes and then you can come with me to the salon" Maria stated.

"But can't I just stay here" Grace complained.

"I'd really like you to spend a couple of hours with me" Maria said and Grace huffed but reluctantly agreed. She knew her mother was only being like this because she really cared. Grace got ready quickly like her mother ask.

"Hi, sorry we have a little visitor with us for at least the morning" Maria said as she walked through the salon. Audrey nodded though did wonder why Maria hadn't just left the girl up the stairs. Maria helped Grace settle and then returned to Audrey.

"Sorry, I just don't want her being on her own. She's really not right but she won't speak to me" Maria explained

"Sorry if I put my foot in it yesterday" Audrey said instantly feeling bad.

"Don't worry about it, she's clearly had something on her mind" Maria said, and Audrey nodded. Maria got ready for her first client. She had a busy morning and then ended up with a no show just before her lunch hour.

"I'm just nipping home for lunch, I'll take the little madam with me" Maria explained and Audrey nodded.

"See you soon" Audrey said, and Maria told Grace to get her things together. The girl did as she was asked, and they walked up the stairs for lunch. Maria quickly made them both a sandwich and they sat at the table to eat it.

"How do you feel today?" Maria asked and Grace shrugged.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Maria asked and Grace shook her head.

"Can you tell me what's made you so upset?" Maria asked. She just wanted to know the area of the discussion.

"Just stuff that makes me upset" Grace said, and Maria nodded.

"What type of stuff" Maria asked.

"Things from the past" Grace admitted.

"Like the Freeburns?" Maria asked softly and Grace nodded.

"You do know you can speak to me about it" Maria said, and Grace sighed.

"But you don't get it. No one gets it" She snapped slightly. Not necessarily in an angry way more in a way of frustration.

"I know it's not the same, but I was attacked once. A man tried to hit on me and tried to put his hand up my skirt. I was able to fight him away, but it was scary. He raped another woman and was arrested. We went to court but sadly he was found not guilty." Maria explained, and Grace looked at her mum.

"Was she okay?" she asked softly, and Maria nodded.

"She got through it in the end, but she found it really difficult. She tried to commit suicide because of it." Maria admitted.

"Sometimes, I think that it's be easier if I wasn't alive" Grace admitted.

"Never think that. So many people love you Grace" Maria said really hurt that her daughter felt this way.

"How did your friend get through it?" Grace asked trying to get away from the feelings that she sometimes felt.

"She went to counselling. When she was raped, she called me and I supported her through the whole police investigation. She refused counselling at first but then realised she needed it" Maria explained.

"Do you think it might be easier if you spoke to someone whose been through a similar experience?" Maria asked and Grace nodded.

"Leave it with me" Maria said as she held onto her daughter's hand. She squeezed it and Grace gave her mother a tight smile.

Grace disappeared to the toilet and Maria took this opportunity to call Carla. Grace then returned from the toilet.

"Right come on missy, you are going to spend the afternoon in the factory" Maria said, and Grace made a face. Why was she going to do that? She agreed non the less and headed to the factory with her mother.

"Thank you for having her this afternoon" Maria said as they walked into the office.

"It's no problem. You could help me if you want, do you know how to enter information into a spreadsheet?" Carla asked and Grace nodded.

"Can you do this for me then?" Carla asked and Grace agreed. She quickly sat down on the spare computer and got it loaded up. She got started straight away. They worked in silence for almost two hours before Carla glanced up at the girl. She was impressed with how hard the girl had been working and she really was committed to helping.

"I might be able to find you work for a couple of hours each week if this is how much you are going to help me. This takes my staff 2 days to do what you have just completed in 2 hours" Carla said and Grace smiled.

"I enjoy doing this" Grace said softly. Carla smiled.

"Shall we go and get something to drink from Roy's? Do you like hot chocolate?" Carla asked and Grace nodded. She loved a hot chocolate from Roy's. She always got cream on the top. She saved the work she was working on and then grabbed her jacket. They walked into Roy's and ordered at the counter.

"Can we get it in a takeaway cup just in case?" Carla asked and Roy agreed.

"Do you want whipped cream and marshmallows?" Roy asked Grace who nodded sheepishly. She hoped that was okay with Carla. They then went and found a seat.

"Is everything okay? Your mum said you've been having a bit of a hard time recently which is why you are off school today." Carla asked as they sat down. This wasn't Carla's normal approach, but she was worried about the girl. She could just tell that something wasn't right with her. Grace shrugged, becoming concerned about how much her mother had told Carla.

"Don't worry your mum didn't say much. She just said that maybe I could help you" Carla said and then it clicked for Grace.

"It's you, you are the friend my mum was speaking about" Grace said shocked and Carla was just confused.

"My mum told me about a man who attacked her and then attacked her friend worse" Grace whispered, and Carla nodded.

"That's true, he raped me. Do you know what that means?" Carla said and Grace nodded.

"One of my foster parents wasn't very nice and did bad stuff to me and my foster sister" Grace admitted. Carla was shocked but nodded.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that" Carla said, and Grace just looked down.

"It's hard isn't it, but it does get easier" Carla admitted.

"I was only like 6 when it started and then 8 when it went to court. I didn't understand it properly then but now I know how bad it is. I understand it more." Grace admitted, and Carla nodded.

"Do you think that there are somethings you went through but didn't really speak about because you didn't understand it's impact. But it might help to speak about now?" Carla asked and Grace shrugged.

"I suppose so, it's like I didn't really talk about it. I did play therapy because I was younger, but it was like draw what he did and stuff" Grace admitted.

"You can also speak to me about it if you need to. I'm sorry I wasn't aware of this before. I hope you know that you can speak to your mum too. She is so supportive" Carla said.

"Mum said that she helped you" Grace admitted.

"She really did. Your mum came around straight after it happened. She came with me to the stations. I stayed at hers that night as well. When I moved back to my flat, your mum stayed a couple of nights too but then I was horrible to her. I understand how sometimes you want to push people away but don't. I pushed her away when I needed her, and I tried to commit suicide. Your mother stayed beside me and continued to support me. I moved back in with her for a couple of days and got through it" Carla explained, and Grace smiled.

"I'm glad you had my mum to help you. I wish I had my mum at that time" Grace said as she played with her hands again.

"I know sweetie" Carla said as she reached over and took the girl's hands.

"Shall we go back to my office to chat?" Carla asked and Grace nodded. She was starting to relax with Carla but didn't want everyone knowing what had happened to her.

They wandered back to the factory and walked into the office.

"Come and join me on the sofa" Carla said "Remember you only need to say what you want"

Grace agreed and took her coat off. She sat down on the sofa next Carla.

"Did it happen more than once?" Carla asked after a couple of minutes of silence. She knew Grace didn't know where to the start. Grace nodded.

"I was 6 when it started, I didn't realise at first. Like I didn't know it was wrong. I suppose, I never really did. It started with him touching me in the bath and it just got worse from there" Grace admitted, and Carla nodded.

"It went on for almost a year. It only stopped because my social worker turned up one day and I was walking funny. She asked me why and I told her that I was hurting. She told me to show my foster mum but then I told her that it was Dave who bathed me, and Karen wasn't allowed. Gemma took me and Hannah away" Grace explained.

"That's horrible but I understand why you didn't say anything earlier" Carla said, and Grace nodded. She pulled her knees up to her chest and tears slipped down her face as she started to remember some of the events that she'd went through. Although she did feel comfortable speaking to Carla, she didn't yet feel comfortable telling her the things what happened. She found it hard as these things that happened to her were her first. She'd never done them before, both her mother and Carla had clearly had sex before and knew more about the events.

Carla pulled the girl into her arms. She held her close.

"I wish Dave was dead. Karen knew, Karen knew and she didn't say anything. She knew, she walked in on him doing stuff to me and she said nothing. Even when the court asked if she knew, she said that she didn't. She was meant to protect me" Grace said before bursting into tears. Once the tears started running, she couldn't stop them.

"Oh sweetie" Carla said pulling the girl into her arms.

"I want my mummy" Grace mumbled through floods of tears.

"I'll text her" Carla said as she reached over and grabbed her phone. She quickly sent Maria a text asking her to come over as soon as she could. Carla continued to hold the girl hoping that her friend wouldn't be too long.

As expected within 10 minutes, Maria stormed into the office and sat down on the sofa pulling her baby girl into her arms.

"Mummy, mummy" Grace mumbled getting as close to her mother as she possibly could.

"Mummy is here" Maria said, and Grace just continued to snuggle into her mother. Maria stayed there for a couple of minutes.

"Come on baby, let's go home" Maria said when she noticed Grace's breathing slow down and the sobs stopped. Grace nodded and stood up. She collected her things from her seat.

"Thank you, Carla" Maria said.

"It's no problem. Grace, remember that you can always talk to me. Just text or call me" Carla said, and Grace nodded.

"I'll add Carla's number to you phone" Maria said, and Grace nodded. She loved how her mother was never offended if she spoke to other people. It made growing up just that little bit easier.

Maria kept her arm around Grace as they walked to the flat. Maria had just about finished her last client when Carla messaged so Audrey had said that she would finish the client and Maria could go home.

As soon as they got home, Maria knew exactly what Grace needed. She threw her bag on the floor and pulled the girl onto the sofa with her. Grace fell on top of her mother and snuggled into her. She pulled her whole body up so it was tightly against her mother. She needed her mum, her mum was the only person she needed.

"Mummy, keep me close. Don't leave me" Grace mumbled into her mother's arms.

"Baby, I'm holding you. I've got you. I'm never going to leave you" Maria said as she kept her daughter in her arms. Grace was getting heavy on her and she wasn't the most comfortable, but her daughter needed her. She had to keep the girl close.

"Mama, I want to talk about what happened. I need to talk about what happened. It goes round and round in my head and I can't cope anymore" Grace sobbed, and Maria nodded.

"Baby girl, you tell me. You tell me whatever you need to" Maria said as she moved her daughter's hair from her sticky face. It was then that Maria saw that she wasn't looking at her 15-year-old daughter, she was looking at her baby, at the baby girl that she had given birth to 15 years ago. The baby girl that she held and looked after for 4 days before her parents decided it was for the best that she was put up for adoption.

Maria kept the girl close until she felt her relax into her arms and then pulled away slightly so that they could sit up more.

"Mummy, what if I tell you something you don't want to hear?" Grace mumbled.

"I'm telling you now, you can tell me anything. There is nothing that is too much detail or any thought that you have that is wrong or not acceptable. I am your mother; you tell me anything and everything" Maria said, and Grace nodded.

"Can I tell you how it started?" Grace asked, "And then go from there? I don't know how much I'll be able to say."

"Of course," Maria said softly as she sat up but still kept the girl within arm's length from her.

"I moved in with the Freeburns in the February, I was six. It started almost straight away. Dave would bath me and then he started touching me. Then when he was drying me, he would dry me really roughly and start feeling me up. Bath time was the worst. I tried to get in the bath myself, I would lock the door but he always unpicked the lock" Grace explained.

"Is that why you feel like you need to do more than just locking the bathroom door?" Maria asked and Grace nodded.

"He used to try to bite my nipples and I'd cover my chest. He'd stand me up and I'd continue to cover my chest, so he used to use the shower head and turn on the cold water. Then I'd scream and drop my arms and he'd pin me to the group and bite me" Grace explained, and Maria closed her eyes slightly to stop herself from crying. She couldn't believe he did that.

"Dave said he wanted to have sex with me, but it would make it easier for people to find out. So, he just did everything else instead. He licked and fingered me, used different objects. He'd give himself a hand job while thrusting against me and cum all over me" Grace said letting tears slip down her face. Maria was surprised by her daughter's knowledge of sexual behaviour but knew it was important that she got it off her chest. Grace must have sensed this in her mother as she was quick to defend.

"I looked up what he did to me maybe like 2 years ago or something. Some of it I learnt at school and from other people. But I did google some of the terminologies just so I knew" Grace said embarrassed.

"I don't blame you, I understand that you'd want to know exactly what he'd done to you. But I hope now you know if you have any questions, you can ask me rather than relying on google" Maria said supportively. She also knew how important it was that she showed Grace that it was okay for her to speak in this much detail to her.

"Mum I think I'm going to be sick" Grace suddenly said, and she tried to get up. She managed to rush to the toilet just in time and Maria stood behind her holding her hair back. She comforted the girl until she had stopped being sick.

"I was sick because it brought back memories of the time he put his willy in my mouth" Grace said turning around and sobbing into her mother. Grace was trying so hard to be mature and use the correct terminology, but she just couldn't do it when she was so full of tears.

"Oh my baby" Maria said holding her daughter tightly. She guided them back to the sofa.

"Mum, if I tell you this do you promise not to be mad?" Grace asked and Maria agreed.

"I will never be mad at you for things that have happened in the past" Maria said.

"When I went out with James, I asked him to show me his penis because I only ever had Dave's in my mind. I don't know why, I just. His was so big and disgusting and I didn't get how you could have sex cause to me it was too big. I'm not saying James' was small but it was smaller than Dave's and I don't know why, it just made me feel better" Grace admitted.

"I can see why you did it. Did you do anything else with James?" Maria asked and Grace shook her head.

"No, I did show him my boobs because he showed me. We made out and he touched my breasts but that was all" Grace said, and Maria nodded. She was glad that she was clear on what her daughter and her ex had been up to.

"How did they find out?" Maria asked softly.

"Gemma, my old social worker went into my school to do a surprise visit with me. The school told her how concerned they were with my attendance, so Gemma did a surprise visit on the Freeburns. When she arrived, only Dave was home with both of us. He'd done stuff with me the night before and I was in so much pain I could barely walk. Hannah was there too" Grace explained.

"Gemma asked me what was wrong and told me to show Karen. I told her that it was Dave who bathed me and saw me there and she was concerned. Dave looked angry so Gemma locked me and Hannah in the bathroom with her. I understand now but Hannah was crying because she kept saying she was bleeding, and it wouldn't stop. Every other time, it had stopped after a few hours. Gemma realised that the bleeding Hannah was currently having was her period but was concerned about the other bleeding Hannah had had. Gemma called the police and then we were taken to the police station" Grace explained. She wiped her eyes as the silent tears slipped down her face.

"That must have been very scary for you" Maria said and Grace nodded.

"I was confused when we were at the police station and I think it was more Hannah who managed to say enough to get him charged. Then Gemma took me and Hannah to a really nice foster carer. She only did short term foster caring but we were with her for 8 months while the court case happened. Once the court case was over, they had to look for long term foster care for both of us. Hannah stayed with Maggie. She only had two spare bedrooms and often took the hardest of cases. Hannah needed her more" Grace explained, and Maria nodded running her hand through Grace's hair.

"Then I turned bad, really bad. I couldn't comprehend what had happened and I was mad that Hannah had gotten to stay with Maggie and not me. I went to play therapy, but it didn't really help. I didn't tell them everything that had happened, not really. They just got stuff from the police interviews and Hannah" Grace explained "I wasn't happy, and I played up at every home I went to. In the end, I was too challenging for any of them and I went into Tabby House until an experience carer became available"

Maria nodded wanting to show the girl she was still interested.

"I was away to turn 12 so I just stayed in my room. Got into trouble at school but just stayed out the way in Tabby house so they said I could stay. That's when I started looking up what happened to me. I'd look at other people's stories and look up like sexual interactions to get an idea of the names. God, I bet that sounds so pervy now" Grace said embarrassed.

"Grace, it really doesn't. Clearly, you had been through a really difficult time and didn't understand the events that had taken place. Of course, you were going to look for information. I wish I was there, that you had had someone to speak to" Maria said feeling terrible.

"I didn't let anyone in. Gemma left and everyone said it was because of me and Hannah's case. I got Rachel when I was like 11. I like Rachel, I really do but I just couldn't trust people. I was so scared that something would happen, and I'd be put with another family again who would hurt me" Grace told her mother and Maria nodded.

"I'm so proud of you for telling me all of this" Maria said pulling the girl into her arms.

"I feel better, I don't have anything else going through my mind just now. Like I might in the future, sometimes someone will say something, or something will happen, and it reminds me of an event, and I might want to talk about it" Grace admitted.

"If, I mean when that happens you find me, and we can sit down. Then whenever you are ready, you can tell me what happened" Maria said, "You can always talk to me about a memory you have, or anything that's in your mind".

"I suppose, I'm a bit scared that you might have enough of me wanting to talk about it" Grace admitted.

"Never, this is something that will always be in your memory. I want you to feel you can talk about it whenever you need to" Maria said, and Grace smiled.

"I'm so glad I spoke to you about it now" Grace said. She felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders now.

"I'm really proud of how maturely you've handled this conversation" Maria said pulling her daughter into her arms. Grace smiled, she loved it when her mother told her how proud she was of her. Maria snuggled up on the sofa with her daughter and messaged Marcus asking him to pick up Liam for her.

Maria kept her arms around her daughter until they really had to move. Marcus and Liam had just walked in and Marcus had collected fish suppers for them all. It was noticeable that Grace had been crying but he knew not to say anything.

They all sat at the table and ate their fish suppers. Marcus offered to put Liam to bed for Maria. The woman accepted the offer, it would give her a chance to speak to Grace.

"Do you mind if Marcus stays over tonight?" Maria asked and Maria was quick to see Grace's face drop. The girl nodded anyway.

"Hey stop, I saw your face drop" Maria said putting her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"You can tell me" Maria said "If you aren't ready for Marcus to stay over it's fine".

Maria only wanted him to stay so she could speak to him, not about Grace but just go through some of the emotions she was feeling after finding all this out from Grace.

"Mum, it's not that I'm not ready. It's just that, I'm scared, and I think that I might need you tonight" Grace admitted embarrassingly.

"Oh sweetie, I understand. Do you want to come in my bed tonight?" Maria asked and Grace nodded her head.

"I just don't want to wake up scared" She admitted.

"I'm so proud of you for telling me that" Maria said kissing the girl on the head. They spoke for a bit longer before Grace disappeared to her room for some time alone. Marcus and Maria spoke but Maria knew not to speak to Marcus about what has happened with Grace.

"What's up with you tonight?" Marcus asked "I can tell that there is something on your mind"

"I'll tell you later, I can't do it just now" Maria admitted eying over to Grace's room and Marcus agreed. They hung out for a bit longer before Marcus left and Maria told Grace to get ready for bed. The girl did what her mother asked and went through to her mum's room. She clambered into the bed and Maria said goodnight to the girl promising that she would be back shortly.

Maria sat down on the sofa and checked her phone.

I'm here if you need to speak. I didn't realise how much Grace had been through.

It was a message from Carla, Maria smiled. She was lucky to have friends. She sat back on the sofa and encouraged Ozzy onto her knee. She messaged Carla back thanking the woman knowing that she might need to take the woman up on her offer at a later date. She hated thinking about what her daughter had been through. It upset her and made her feel like she had let the girl down. She was the one who had put her up for adoption in the first place.

After 20 minutes of staring into space, Maria removed herself from the living room and walked into her room. She laughed when she saw her daughter taking up nearly all the bed. She moved the girl slightly so that she could fit I the bed as well and pulled the girl into her arms. Grace slept through the movement and in her sleep snuggled tightly against her mother.

Hope this is okay :) Please review if you are still reading :)