Ok, so tomorrow is my birthday so I'm hoping that will be an incentive for you to give me a nice big review! :D :D A huge thank you to all those of your who took the time to review the last chapter, it really does make it worth while! Anyway, I'm still embracing my inner cliffhanger so get ready... :) Enjoy! xx
Natalie blinked into the dimly lit room, frowning as she fought to decipher the strange noise which seemed to be floating above her.
There was a sense of numbness about her surroundings, a quiet thumping sounding continuously through her ears and making her think she was somehow underwater.
"Natalie!"
She jumped, wincing as her body protested violently to the movement and glanced at the door. It took her all of three seconds to realise that her hair was pasted to her head with sweat, the front of her pink sweater wet with vomit.
"Oh God," she whispered shakily, pressing her hand to her stomach.
Glancing to her left, she saw the scrunched up piece of foil, its edges burnt and curled. Her arm throbbed and she looked down, grimacing when she saw the small but prominent bruise resting in the curve of her elbow.
"Natalie!" the voice boomed again. "Open this fucking door now!"
Shoving herself to her feet, she stumbled and pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, tasting bile and praying she wasn't about to throw up again. One look at the now vacant chair in the corner of the room informed her that Jake had gone and taken his bag with him.
She didn't know whether to be grateful or angry.
The door rumbled menacingly and she knew that someone was throwing themselves at it. Panic swept through her and she quickly stripped off her sweater, grimacing as the wet patches of vomit brushed her skin and with a girlish squeak threw the offending article into the clothes bin before pulling on a crisp blue shirt, buttoning it up and making sure it covered her arms.
"Breathe," she told herself, looking into the mirror and fighting back any tears. "You're fine, for fuck sake, just breathe,"
It was at that very second that the door finally gave way, swinging open with a bang and allowing the light from the hallway to seep in.
"Natalie?"
Lara ran into the room and stopped, fighting the urge to gag when she saw the vomit on the floor; the whole room smelt stale and she had to force herself not to turn and run back out.
"What the fuck have you done?" she demanded, latching her eyes onto the brunette stood still facing the mirror. "Answer me you little bitch," she shouted, walking over and grabbing her arm.
Natalie cried out in pain but Lara ignored it, instead holding up the syringe in front of her glazed eyes and shaking her head.
"Tell me this isn't yours," she hissed. "Tell me that this is all a big fucking mistake and that you're seriously not this selfish,"
"Easy, Lara," Dave told her, attempting to pull her back from the younger girl but she held strong.
"No," Lara snapped. "That's the problem here…everyone's been going too fucking easy on her and I'm not doing it anymore," she looked at Natalie in disgust. "Pete and Allie let you stay here because they cared about you and you had to fuck it up, didn't you?"
Natalie stared back at her motionlessly but than only seemed to anger the red head even more.
"Answer me, damnit!" she shouted, shaking her a little.
"It hurts," was all she whispered back, her eyes clouding over before all the energy evaporated from her body and with a loud, painful sounding thud, she fell unconscious at Lara's feet.
Pete rested back against the cold tiled floor of the bathroom, the only sound coming from the faint traffic on the streets way below him and of Allie's breathing as she lay panting next to him.
Smirking when he remembered that they'd only come in here to brush their teeth and start getting their stuff together, Pete made a note that they had to do this more often.
"I need another bath now," Allie panted next to him, lifting a hand and grimacing at her sweat drenched and slightly tangled hair. Turning her head to the side she laughed. "You might have to come with me," she smiled at Pete. "I could probably drown in that thing,"
"I'll make sure you stay on top," Pete told her with a smirk, making her laugh at the blatant innuendo as he rolled onto her once again and kissed her passionately. His hands rested either side of her head as she trailed hers down his body, making him moan loudly into her mouth.
His lips travelled lower down to her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut as the unbelievable pleasure washed through her. She wasn't sure how much more her body could take though, she was worn and sore. Grinning to herself as she caught the red marks on Pete's wrists left by the handcuffs, she realised that she wasn't the only one suffering.
"Are you nervous?" she whispered, licking her lips and frowning when he stopped what he had been doing. She didn't remember asking him to stop.
"Nah," Pete laughed, tucking some hair behind her ear. "I've done this before,"
"Not that," she slapped his shoulder. "I mean, y'know…today, the match and everything,"
Pete knew exactly what she was talking about. He hadn't been to a football game since before his accident last year and if he was honest, yeah, it was slightly daunting. What was he supposed to do now that he wasn't the leader of the GSE?
"Its gonna be weird," he told her honestly, settling back against the bathtub with her in his lap. "Y'know last time I went to a match I was still the Major," he shook his head at the memory. "I don't know how I'm supposed to just go there..."
"Just as Pete," she finished for him and he met her eyes.
"Yeah," he nodded, licking the taste of her off of his lips. "Something like that,"
"Just have fun," Allie told him with a shrug. "I mean, it wasn't always about the fighting, right?"
"Nah," Pete shook his head. "Course not. I remember the first match I ever went to; my old man took me and Steve for his birthday, I think I was only about 11."
Allie leant forward and rested sleepily against him, pressing her lips to his shoulder as she nuzzled into the warmth of his body.
"It's that first roar of the stadium you get when you're going through the gates," he shook his head in wonder. "I remember seeing all these massive blokes, my dad's mates, the original GSE, all of 'em crowdin' round me and Steve making sure we were alright,"
He didn't remember those days as often as he should; back when everything was normal, before his dad hit the bottle hard and got deeper into the world of firms, quite literally digging himself an early grave.
"I always used to think that when I 'ad a son, I'd do the same thing," he kissed the top of Allie's head. "'Course that was back in the day when I still thought my dad was a hero who could do no wrong,"
"You can bring Poppy to a match one day," Allie giggled.
"And spend the entire 90 minutes fighting off all the blokes who are trying to chat her up?" Pete snorted. "I don't fucking think so,"
He looked at her bashfully for a moment and concentrated on her shoulder so that he wouldn't have to see the look in her eyes if she laughed at him.
"D'you reckon she misses us?" he asked. "I mean I know she's only 7 months but d'you think she knows we're not there?"
Allie felt her chest tighten and fought the urge to close her eyes; if ever there was any doubt she was in love with this man, she'd just done it all over again in that one second.
"I bet she misses you," she told him, brushing her lips over his cheekbone. "She's such a daddy's girl; I'm just there to provide the milk." She joked.
"Bollocks," Pete laughed. "She loves you and you know it, every time you walk into the room she starts screeching. She almost flung herself out of 'er highchair that night you came in late from work."
"I know its sounds stupid but sometimes, I forget she's ours," Allie laughed. "Y'know, like that perfect little thing belongs to us…we made her,"
"I know," Pete smiled. "We did good, didn't we?"
"Yeah," she kissed him. "We did good,"
"But as much as I love that girl," Pete shook his head. "She still ain't coming to no football match with me, in fact no leaving the house till she's at least 25. And if any fucking bloke so much as looks at 'er, I'll kick the shit outta him."
Allie laughed again and lifted herself up more so she was looking into his face again, her hands gently massaging his shoulders as her eyes locked onto his.
"I just want you to have fun today," she told him, kissing him lightly. "You've got the boys with you so think of it as being just like old times," she smirked at him. "Just without the savage beating to round off the night,"
Pete laughed and traced the lady bird tattoo on her hip, his fingers dancing over the lines and making her shiver.
"That does sound pretty good," he nodded and then glanced at the small clock on the wall. "Shit, I've only got two hours before I 'ave to meet 'em."
A part of him was gutted, quite frankly he was having a pretty good time where he was.
"Well then," Allie grinned, wriggling against him and making him keen out her name when she brushed a particularly sensitive spot. "We better make the next hour count,"
Pete laughed and crashed his lips down onto hers, picking her up placing her on the edge of the bath before reaching around her to switch on the taps.
"I've got a few ideas on how to do that," he told her, lowering his lips back to hers and pulling her closer, both of them so caught up in the feel of each other that they completely missed the sound of both their phones ringing incessantly in the other room.
"Heroin?" Lara gasped, her eyes wide as she looked up at the short, baby faced nurse in front of her. "Are you sure?"
"We've got her on a saline drip," the nurse nodded. "We had to pump her stomach as she'd had a fair bit to drink as well but she should be fine within a few hours." Jotting something down on her clipboard, she eyed the red head suspiciously. "You do realise she could have easily died had you not found her in time?"
Lara nodded slowly, the thick lump in her throat doubling in size as the nurse walked away and left her there on her own once again. Sinking down onto one of the chairs, she clamped her shaking hands in between her legs and let out a deep breath.
What if she hadn't found her in time? What if Poppy had been in the house? What if Natalie had flipped out and done something stupid? What if-…
"She's still asleep then?"
Lara looked up at Dave as he sat down next to her, his hand coming to rest comfortingly on her shoulder as he handed her a cup of watery looking coffee.
"You can go in and see her soon," she told him, taking a sip and grimacing.
"Me?" Dave raised an eyebrow. "What about you?"
"I don't want to see her," Lara snorted. "I don't ever want to be in the same room with her ever again,"
"Lara…" Dave shook his head.
"No," she turned to face him. "Dave, come on, she's not a God damn kid, she knew what she was doing when she took that stuff,"
"I ain't defending her, darlin'," he explained.
"She brought drugs into my home," she stressed the word 'home'. "It's not just about me ok, a baby lives there. What if Natalie had gone into Poppy's room when she'd been in there or something? I mean, would you want to explain that to Pete and Allie because I sure as hell wouldn't,"
Dave nodded, conceding slightly. There was no denying that what Natalie had done fell into the realms of the seriously fucking daft but he didn't want to be the one to yell at her, more than anything else, it wasn't his place.
Suddenly, Dave's phone started ringing and he sighed seeing that it was Swill.
"I gotta take this," he told her, flipping it open and putting on his best impression of a normal person.
"Alright fatty?"
"Fuck off," came the voice on the other end. "Where are you, you twat? It's ten to now and we're all waiting for you at Victoria,"
"Shit, the match," he hissed out loud, rubbing his temple.
"What's going on? You ain't still with Lara are you?"
"Yeah, she uh…" Dave looked at his red headed companion who vehemently shook her head. "She 'ad a fight with Harry last night and got pissed, I 'ad to go pick 'er up,"
She shot him a look as though asking if he was crazy but then nodded, seeing that it was the lesser of two evils.
"Did she puke on ya or try and shag ya?" Swill laughed.
"Neither," Dave smirked. "She just passed out, but I 'ad to stay with her and make sure she didn't piss herself or nothing,"
Lara promptly whacked his arm and he fought the small laugh bubbling in his throat, temporarily forgetting where he was and why he was lying to his friends.
"Alright, well how long's it gonna take you to get 'ere?" Swill asked him.
"Uh…" he glanced at the clock. "Look, I'll meet you lot at Upton Park, yeah? It'll make it easier for all of us that way,"
"Alright mate," Swill told him. "You ain't wearing that you prick,"
"What?" Dave frowned.
"Not you, son," Swill laughed. "The Scotsman's just come out of the taxi with a fucking Chelsea scarf of all things,"
"Nah, let 'im wear it," Dave heard Bovver snort. "If he gets killed, we won't have to put up with him coming out with us again,"
"Yeah but if I die then who'll service your mum twice a week?" Benjamin shot back. "And God knows she's a big lady, so she needs all the lovin' she can get,"
Laughter rang out on the other end of the phone and Dave actually had to hold it away from his ear until it calmed down.
"Listen, I've gotta piss off but I'll see you soon, yeah?" he chuckled, the sounds of Bovver obviously trying to beat up Benjamin coming through.
"Yeah, catch ya later, mate," Swill told him, hanging up the phone and condemning Dave back to reality once again.
"The match?" Lara frowned at him.
"Oh, Pete's birthday present from Allie," he told her and she nodded in understanding.
"Are you going to tell him about any of this?" she asked.
"I can't, love," he shook his head. "Nat needs to talk to him, not us,"
"But what if she lies?" Lara demanded. "She's hardly going to confess it, is she? 'Oh hey Pete, happy birthday, by the way while you were out this weekend I did some heroine and coke,"
"Fair enough," Dave nodded. "We'll give 'er till Tuesday and if she 'asn't sorted herself out then, then we talk to Pete."
"Ok," Lara agreed, rubbing her sweaty palms onto her jeans. "So what'd we do now?"
"Well they said she can go home today, right?" Dave waited for her to nod. "So I guess we just wait for her to get discharge and take her back,"
"And do what?" Lara snorted. "Play happy families until Pete comes back and she can start lying to his face?"
"No, love, I'm just saying-…"
"Lara Knight and Dave Whitfield?"
They both looked up at the stocky orderly who was scanning the corridor for them.
"Yeah," Lara stood up and brushed her shirt down over her stomach.
"I just thought you should know that Miss Dunham is now awake," he told her.
"Oh," she tried to look relieved. "Thanks,"
"D'you wanna go in?" Dave asked her, nudging her arm gently.
"Not really," she snorted. "But I don't have a lot of choice, do I?"
Together they started down the hall, their footsteps sounding almost unnaturally heavy in the vacant corridor.
Lara looked down at Dave's watch and noted that it was only an hour before Moira was due to drop Poppy off at the house.
Great, she thought, I've got a baby to look after in an hour and yet here I am still living out the lyrics of a fucking Amy Winehouse song.
"This is it," Dave told her, stopping beside one of the doors and pointing to it. "Ready?" he asked her.
"Sure," she sighed and shrugged her shoulders as though squaring up for a boxing match. "Let's go get ourselves a drug addict."
Allie cut the engine of Pete's car and squinted out through her window, her stomach tensing at the sight of the hundreds of men crowded around the tall iron gates of Upton Park stadium cheering and shouting to each other, most of them carrying some form of alcohol.
"Jesus, this is a football stadium?" she shook her head.
"Don't let the outside fool you," Pete told her with a grin. "Its got marble staircases and chandeliers on the inside," he laughed when she raised an eyebrow at him. "Not to mention the 24 hour on hand butler we get given,"
"Always the comedian, aren't we, Dunham?" she laughed.
"Its all part of the charm," he winked at her. "You sure you'll be alright getting back home on your own? You didn't need to actually drive me 'ere, y'know?"
"I wanted to," she smiled as he rubbed her knee. "Besides, it was my fault you were running late so I couldn't then force you to get the train, could I?"
"I wasn't exactly complaining," Pete grinned, leaning across and kissing her cheek softly before tilting her head back with his hand so he could get to her mouth.
"Call me later and I'll pick you up from the station, ok?" she whispered into his mouth, sighing happily when his tongue glided over her bottom lip.
"Yeah," he nodded, slowly and teasingly pulling back from her. "And thanks for yesterday, last night…fuck it, the past five years," he smiled at her and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'd be lost without you, y'know."
Allie laughed lightly and prayed that he couldn't see the tears stinging her eyes; Pete wasn't overly great with words which was fine with her as she wasn't one for being called baby and hearing 'I love you' every five seconds. Plus it meant more because when he did say those words, she knew that he was doing it because he meant it, not out of habit.
"I love you," she told him, kissing him one last time before pushing him back. "Now go on, sod off and have fun,"
Pete grinned at her and kissed her again, before jumping out of the car and winking at her as he strolled into the crowd.
He watched her subtly without her knowing, smiling to himself as she started fidgeting with the radio stations before putting the car into gear and pulling away from the curb, already singing to herself.
Content that she was on her way, Pete turned his attention back to the crowd, pulling his phone out of his pocket and flipping it open.
Suddenly, someone shoved him hard enough to send him stumbling forward and he spun around, his fists already clenched at his sides.
"Don't be looking at me like that pretty boy," the dark haired man told him. "Or you won't be pretty no more,"
Pete laughed and yanked Benjamin into a hug, clapping him on the back as they parted and frowning when he saw the Chelsea scarf around his neck.
"Are you trying to get done?" he laughed, whipping it off and shoving it against his chest. "There're blokes here who'd have your balls ripped off in a second if they saw this,"
"I like to live dangerously," Benjamin winked, falling forward slightly when Swill practically jumped on his back, grinning when he saw Pete and holding a can of Fosters out to him.
"Oi, Oi, it's the birthday boy!" he shouted, gesturing to Bovver and the rest of the lads who Pete could just about make out through the crowds.
"Hey Pete," Matt smiled, coming to stand next to him and clapping the taller man on the back. "Happy Birthday man,"
"Cheers lads," he winked, cracking open his beer and taking a long sip. He'd nailed a fair amount of wine last night with Allie and his body hadn't quite yet recovered so he figured hair of the dog was the best way to go.
"Where's Dave?" he asked with a frown.
"Dunno mate," Bovver shrugged. "Something to do with Lara,"
"She alright?" Pete asked semi-urgently, remembering how she had been trying to call both him and Allie this morning.
"Fine," he shrugged. "Apparently she 'ad some tiff with Harry and got pissed out of 'er tree so Dave 'ad to sit with her for a while,"
Pete frowned but didn't say anything; that didn't really sound like Lara. She was more of the stand your ground and scream until your lungs give out kind of girl when it came to fights, she'd never been one for the crying and drowning your sorrows.
"Ere, we better get moving," Swill slapped Benjamin in the face with his ticket. "Not long till kick of now and I wanna get a hotdog before it starts,"
"Aw, mate those things are fuckin' rancid," Pete grimaced. "How can you eat them?"
"It might be made of horse arse and mashed up pigeon but it tastes great," he shrugged making Pete laugh. "Dave better show up soon, he usually pays for it,"
"What's gonna 'appen to you when I die and you 'ave to start buying your own food and beer you cheeky fuck?"
They turned to see Dave pushing his way through the crowd, looking as though he was about to pass out from tiredness.
"Christ, what 'appened to you?" Pete half laughed, regarding his friend seriously.
"Nothing that can't be fixed with one of these," he quipped, taking a beer from Matt and draining most of it in one gulp.
"How's Lara?" he asked.
"Lara?" Dave frowned and then seemed to catch on. "Oh Lara, right…yeah, she's fine and dandy mate, just 'ad a bit too much to drink,"
"Yeah," Pete nodded, eyeing him suspiciously. "So I 'eard,"
"Right, are we going in or what?" Dave shouted a little too cheerily, the smile pasted on his face seeming to fool everyone except Pete who he could almost feel staring at him.
Pete shuffled forward with the rest of them, occasionally nodding in greeting to the men who used to frequent the Abbey back when Pete controlled the GSE. Having heard various versions some of them looked surprised to see him walking, others surprised to see him alive.
Smiling at one of the older men who Steve used to run with as he clapped him on the back before stepping through the gates, Pete returned his gaze to Dave who was still looking everywhere but back at Pete.
Something was definitely wrong…he could feel it. Now all he had to do was find out what it was.
Allie stepped through the front door and dropped hers and Pete's bags on the floor, grinning when she saw Poppy's car seat propped up against the antique coat stand, signally that Moira had already dropped her off.
"Hello?" she called. "Lara?"
There was a sudden thud from upstairs and Allie froze wondering what the hell was going on. Suddenly, the all too familiar dainty looking feet complete with neon pink nail polish pounded down the curved staircase, Lara finally coming into view with her hair blown onto her flushed face, looking a little confused.
"Allie-Cat," she panted. "You're home,"
"Yeah," she laughed, reaching out and sorting out her friend's hair. "Pete's gone to the game so I thought I'd come hang out with my two favourite girls,"
"Oh," Lara smiled a little too brightly. "Great, sounds…great,"
"Sometimes it baffles me how you didn't get into drama school," Allie laughed, knowing when her friend was covering something up. "What have I walked in on?"
"What?" Lara frowned. "Nothing, I was just upstairs getting Poppy's bed stuff,"
"Bed stuff," Allie shook her head. "Why?"
"Oh," Lara winced, cursing herself. "I've put her to bed in the guest room," she gestured to the large room just off of the main hallway where Pete had stayed back when his leg was broken.
"Why?" Allie asked again.
"She just…she likes chilling down stairs but she fell asleep," Lara shrugged. "And unlike you, I don't trust those baby monitor things for shit so this way I can just like…pop in whenever I want,"
"Okay," Allie nodded with a laugh. "How come you're so high strung today?"
"How come you're so nosy?" she shot back.
"Yikes," Allie laughed. "I'm making you a coffee," she looked Lara up and down and grinned. "Decaf might be best,"
Walking over to the bedroom, Allie peeked around the door and was greeted by the high pitched squeal of her daughter as she stood up in her crib, clinging precariously to the bars.
"There's my gorgeous girl," Allie grinned, running over and hoisting her out of it, blowing a raspberry on her neck and making the baby laugh, her podgy legs kicking in the air.
"Oh, I missed you, little lady," she told her, sitting her on her hip and brushing her faint head of her sandy coloured hair back. "And what's this? Granny bought you more clothes, didn't she?"
Allie shook her head at the ridiculously cute dress with snowflakes all over it and made a note to get Moira a bunch of flowers.
"Let's go see if we can get Auntie Lara to spill the beans on why she's being weird, shall we?" she laughed when Poppy reached up and touched her face, talking to her in utter gibberish as she played with the rough cut green stone pendant on her necklace.
"Unless you feel like telling me?" Allie raised an eyebrow at her daughter who stared back up with Pete's eyes, the huge blue orbs saying what her mouth couldn't: quit asking dumb questions and feed me.
"Ok, fine," she sighed, kissing her on the nose and making her giggle. "It was worth a shot though,"
Lara watched nervously as Allie reappeared in the hallway with Poppy before she made her way into the kitchen and started pouring water in the bright red kettle.
"So," she raised her eyebrows, resting back against the counter and shifting Poppy onto her other hip. "I took your advice and bought Pete a gift,"
"What advice?" Lara frowned. "You should know better than to listen to me,"
"Oh no, trust me," Allie laughed. "I owe you one for this, between the handcuffs and that Dior baby doll thing I stole from work the poor boy didn't stand a chance,"
Lara laughed lightly, casting her eyes upward when she heard movement.
"Is Natalie in?"
The question tore through the red head like a blade, making her insides go cold as she realised that she was about to do the one thing she had never before done to Allie: flat out lied to her face.
"Uh, yeah, in bed I think," Lara told her casually. "You know what these youngsters are like,"
"She's four years younger than us, Lara," Allie laughed, walking over and putting Poppy down in her high chair and taking her favourite teething ring out of the fridge for her to chew on.
"So how was she?"
"How was who?"
"Ok, seriously, what's going on with you?" Allie shook her head. "Look at you, you look like you're about to drop dead from exhaustion and you're jumpier than a squirrel on speed,"
"Me?" she squeaked. "I'm not jumpy…I'm just stressed."
"About what?" Allie cocked her head.
"Oh y'know," she waved her off and reached for the biscuit tin. "Politics, global warming, whether or not I should watch the Hollyoaks omnibus…"
Allie laughed and handed her one of the mugs of steaming hot coffee, picking an Oreo out of the tin and crunching into it as she took a seat at the counter, holding her hand out to Poppy so she could play with her wedding ring as she always did.
"So," Lara smiled, trying to act as normal as possible. "How was the concert?"
"Amazing," Allie told her, leaning forward excitedly. "And the hotel was incredible, our bed was like…the size of this counter,"
"Uh-huh," Lara smirked. "Bet that came in handy,"
Allie blushed and threw a chunk of cookie at her before shaking her head, her green eyes wide.
"Crap, I forgot, I brought you something back, it's in my bag," she hopped of the stool and smiled when Poppy made a sound of distress as she moved towards the door. "I'll be right back, baby," she wiggled her fingers at her, her heart breaking at the sadness on Poppy's little face.
Making a point to be quick, Allie crashed down next to her bags and began to sort through them for the Zutons shirt she had bought her, knowing that her best friend was almost as big a fan of them as Pete was.
Rocking back on her heels, she grabbed onto the coat stand for support, tilting her head when something bright caught her eye. She frowned at the bright yellow sheet of paper sticking out from Lara's coat pocket and moved to take a peek at it, jumping slightly when she pulled on it and a bottle of pills fell out.
"What the hell?" she whispered to herself, picking up the bottle and examining the label.
Miss Natalie Dunham
Diacetylmorfine 10mg
Allie's body went cold and she glanced up towards the stairs where the movement from above had momentarily ceased. Opening the yellow form, she scanned it quickly, her breath coming out in sharp bursts as the anger pulsed through her veins.
Wrapping her fingers firmly around the pill bottle, Allie stood up and started across the hall, jumping slightly when Lara poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled at her.
"Hurry up woman," she laughed. "Me and Poppy want the goods,"
Her whiskey coloured eyes widening when they caught sight of the hospital form which was currently scrunched up in her fist.
"Allie," she gulped, standing up straight and walking further into the hall.
"Tell me you didn't know about this," the blonde demanded, her green eyes darker than Lara could ever remember seeing them, her voice shaking with anger.
"It only happened last night," Lara told her. "I wanted…Dave said we should let Natalie tell you what happened, I only found her, Allie. I came home and there was blood on the floor," she felt tears stinging her eyes and bit her lip. "I was scared, I didn't know what to do,"
Shaking her head in disgust, Allie jogged up the stairs, her hands shaking as she reached for the banister.
"Allie!" Lara called after her, moving behind her and trying to think of a way of stopping whatever was about to happen.
Ignoring her friend, Allie stopped briefly outside Natalie's door, her throat contracting when she saw the spots of blood on the floor and door frame.
Cursing under her breath, she ripped the door open and grimaced at the smell which hit her. They'd obviously attempted to cover up the stench of vomit with air fresheners and anti-bacterial cleaners but it only seemed to emphasise it.
The girl in the bed lay facing the window, her back to Allie and Lara as she slept fitfully. Eventually as though sensing the company, Natalie rolled onto her back and squinted through the sunlight pouring through the doorway.
"Lara?" she croaked painfully.
"Get up."
Natalie felt her stomach quake with fear at the sound of Allie's voice. Had the situation not been so serious, she would have laughed; never in her life would she have thought she would end up scared of the Sloaner.
"Are you deaf?" Allie hissed, walking over and yanking the bed covers onto the floor. "I said get up,"
"Allie," Natalie moaned, forcing herself upright and to her feet. The room swayed around her but she stood steady. "Listen, I know that this seems bad…"
"Bad?" Allie hissed, her eyes narrowed. "You took drugs in my home, you left a needle out in the hallway a few feet from where my daughter sleeps and you think that this is bad?" she laughed. "No, sweetheart, this is worse than bad,"
"I'm sorry," the brunette whimpered. "I didn't know what I was doing…I didn't mean for it to get this far, I just panicked…"
"You're seriously mistaking me for someone who gives a fuck," Allie snapped, reaching for her duffel bag and throwing it at her. "You've got half an hour to pack up everything and get out of here," she pointed at her. "And if you're not gone by then, so help me God, I'll kill you with my bare hands,"
"Please," she begged. "Don't make me leave, I…I need help, I need to talk to Pete…I can't deal with this," she sobbed and hated herself for it.
"Do you realise how lucky you are that Lara found you?" Allie asked her, stepping forward and meeting her eyes. "If it had been me, I would have left you to die like the piece of shit you are,"
Natalie sobbed again and looked down at the floor as Allie once again forced the duffel bag into her hands.
"Now get out,"
With that, she walked past Lara who was staring at her helplessly and moved towards the stairs, her foot frozen above the first step when the voice rang out behind her.
"No!" Natalie shouted, running sluggishly after her. "I can't leave,"
"I'm not asking you to leave," Allie snarled. "I'm telling you to, so you can either leave with whatever little shred of dignity you think you have left or I can throw you out, the choice is yours."
"God, it must be so easy to look down on the likes of me from up on your high horse," Natalie spat at her. "Pete's perfect little princess never makes a mistake, does she?"
"A mistake?" Allie screamed. "You took a needle full of heroin and shoved it into your fucking arm! That's not a mistake Natalie, it's a choice and it's about fucking time you grew up and realised that choices have consequences. This is yours,"
"Pete won't…"
"Pete is an idiot when it comes to you," she snapped. "He always has been because however you did it, you someone painted yourself in his head as this little girl which a slightly crooked halo who can do no wrong and its bullshit,"
Allie took a step closer and really got in her face. "Do you honestly think that he'll hold your hand and tell you its ok once he knows that you did drugs in the same house as his wife and daughter? Do you honestly think that he won't mind that you brought a dealer back here and scored across the hall from where his little girl sleeps?"
Allie shook her head.
"You'll be lucky if he doesn't fucking kill you,"
Natalie reached out with strength she didn't know she had at that moment and grabbed hold of Allie's arm.
"Where am I supposed to go?" she shouted. "I don't have anyone else,"
"Why not try going back to your little friend with all the needles," Allie told her sweetly. "It's not like you haven't got anything in common, is it?"
"You think this is easy for me?" Natalie screamed. "You think I like that this is how my life is turning out?"
"Oh boo fucking hoo," Allie snorted. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to realise that maybe I'm being a bit harsh with you, give you a great big hug and tell you that none of its your fault?" she laughed. "Don't hold your breath, Natalie. As far as I'm concerned, people like you are lower than scum and I'll be fucked if I'm going to watch my family take a hit just to protect the likes of you,"
With that she turned to walk down the stairs again but Natalie grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving.
"Don't talk to me like you know me, you fucking whore," she snapped. "Life for you has never stretched beyond the pages of your little magazine and these four walls, so don't you dare stand there and read the rights to me because you don't have a fucking clue what I'm going through,"
"No, I don't," Allie snapped. "But more to the point, I don't give a shit. See, I'm not here to understand you, I'm here to protect my daughter and my husband and if that means throwing you out on your coked up arse then so be it,"
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Natalie screamed. Allie flinched as she heard Poppy start to cry downstairs, her shrill screech echoing through the foyer as she cired for her mother. Instead of letting her go like she wanted her to, Natalie yanked harder on her arm, making the blonde cry out in pain as she fought to shove her back.
"Get the fuck off of me!" Allie shouted.
Lara watched the scene unfold with her heart bouncing up into her throat as she realised what was going to happen though it was too late for her to do anything. She watched in horror as Natalie swayed on the top step, crying out in a mixture of fear and pain as her ankle slipped on the edge of the step and twisted, leaving Lara with nothing else to do but scream and make a run for them as Natalie fell backwards down the the stairs, bringing Allie with her.
Dun, dun DUNNNN! :D I quite like being evil...its very underrated I feel. Anyway, remember that as tomorrow is my birthday it would be darn right mean of you not to leave me a review. And try to be nice, no one wants to be grumpy on their birthday, do they?? hehe. xxx