This chapter has triggers for references to sexual abuse
Also I have decided to make Farah 11 going on 12, instead of 12 going on 13. I just feel that its easier to make her slightly younger.
"May-Li, you need to come and help"
May-Li opened her eyes and saw Jody leaning over her.
"What's wrong?" She asked. Children only came into the staff bedroom during the night if it was really important. May-Li usually woke up at any movement in the house.
"It's Farah" Jody said, and May-Li jumped out the bed without any further information. She grabbed her dressing gown and wrapped it tightly around her before following behind Jody. Entering the room, she noticed Farah. The girl was making the humming noise, that May-Li could now identify as the sound she made when she was scared. Her eyes were shut, and she appeared to still be asleep. The rocking action then started.
"Farah, wake up" May-Li said as she softly shook the girl. It took a couple of minutes for Farah's eyes to pen but as soon as they did she flung herself across the bed and squashed herself as far against the wall as she could.
"It's just me" May-Li said softly, and Farah nodded. She was embarrassed and got back under the covers. She turned away and wouldn't even look at her. May-Li turned and looked at Jody. The girl was still standing watching the interaction.
"Thank you for getting me, try and get some sleep now" May-Li said.
"What if she does it again?" Jody questioned.
"If it happens again, come and get me. And I'll come up with another sleeping arrangement" May-Li said, and Jody nodded. May-Li waited until Jody was in bed and then returned to bed herself. May-Li knew that Jody was a deep sleeper and it worried her as to how long Farah had been having the nightmare for before Jody woke up. She was worried that the girl had also been having them prior to moving in with Jody. She hated the thought of any child having a nightmare without any support or comfort.
May-Li struggled to get back to sleep as she was still concerned about Farah. She got out of bed sharp at 6:15 and quickly showered before checking on the rest of the children. She quickly made her way to Jody and Farah's room and crept inside. She noticed that they were both still sleeping so tiptoed over to the alarm clock and turned it off. They had both had interrupted sleep and looked shattered. She would wake them at 8:30. That still gave them plenty of time to get ready.
May-Li returned down the stairs to supervise breakfast. Where she stayed until 8:30 when she went back up the stairs to wake Jody and Farah. She was relieved that neither of them complained about her turning off the alarm clock. They both washed and dressed, and Jody headed down for breakfast while Farah stayed hidden in the room.
May-Li allowed the girl some privacy in her room before going to see the girl at 10 o'clock.
"Don't you want breakfast?" May-Li asked "I've been waiting for you to come down"
Farah shook her head. She wasn't hungry.
"How do you feel about seeing your dad?" May-Li asked softly sitting on the bed next to Farah. The girl shrugged keeping her head down looking at her hands in her lap. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Farah pulled the notebook from the cabinet beside her.
Will you stay with me the whole time?
"Of course, your dad has supervised contact which means that myself or Mike will be there at all times" May-Li explained.
"Promise?" Farah whispered and May-Li nodded.
"I promise that I will not leave you today when your dad is there" May-Li said, and Farah nodded. She felt just a little bit better now.
"Do you fancy going to see Carmen. She said that she would help you find something to wear for today" May-Li suggested, and Farah nodded. Together they went to Carmen and Kazima's room where Carmen was sat reading through a magazine.
"Carmen, would you help Farah find something to wear today? Her dad is coming for contact" May-Li said and Carmen nodded.
"Of course, I've got lots of clothes that would look amazing on you" Carmen said instantly taking charge. Carmen put a range of outfits on the bed and started holding them up against Farah. They decided on two final outfits before placing them on the bed to decide.
"Which one do you like best?" Carmen asked and Farah pointed to the top with jeans. Carmen looked at her.
"Really, I think the skirt one is better" Carmen said looking at Farah and holding it up against her. She nodded not wanting to disappoint Carmen. She picked up the clothes and walked to her room to get dressed. Once dressed, she returned to Carmen's room and the girl helped her fix her hair.
The doorbell went just as they were finishing up, Carmen sensed Farah instantly clam up.
"Don't worry, May-Li will be with you at all times" Carmen said "I know what contacts like. It's scary at first but just remember its not your fault that you came into care. Your dad won't hold that against you"
Farah took a deep breath and walked down the stairs with Carmen. May-Li had answered the door and taken her father, Shaun, into the quiet room.
"I was just coming to get you" May-Li said "Don't look so worried I will be with you at all times"
Farah nodded and walked into the room staying as close to May-Li as she possible could. She noticed her father, his long scruffy ginger hair still the same as always. May-Li looked between the two of them. You'd never guess they were father and daughter. She guessed it was because Farah's mother was Thai and she had some of her features.
The atmosphere was very tense, and May-Li had to lead the conversation. Farah didn't say a word. Instead she looked down at her hands the whole time. Shaun took over the conversation and May-Li made the decision to move from the sofa to the table just across the room. She felt that her presence was too much for Farah and resulted in her relying on her too much, rather than speaking to her father.
As she got up, she walked with her back to Farah for a marginal second as she pulled out the chair, as she went to sit down, she heard humming from Farah. This was Farah's way of telling her something was wrong. As soon as she heard the noise, she whipped around to see Shaun's hand traveling up Farah's skirt. She leapt into action.
"Mike" She screamed "Phone the police"
Shaun froze in shock and May-Li took this as her opportunity to position herself between Farah and Shaun. Mike entered the room already on the phone to the police.
"Keep him in here" May-Li said as she pulled Farah into her arms and guided her towards the door. Mike noticed the hesitation on Shaun's face and knew he was going to make a bolt for it.
"Don't you think about going anywhere" Mike said standing tall as he stepped up to allow May-Li and Farah to exit the room. He closed the door behind him and made sure both doors into the room were locked. He needed to contain the beast.
He turned around to see Farah screeching on the sofa. She was now stood on the sofa and wasn't allowing May-Li near her. Mike noticed that the girl was trying to pull her skirt down and hold it together between her legs, almost like trying to make it into shorts.
"Mike, get Carmen to get Farah leggings or something. I don't think a male presence is helping Farah just now" May-Li said, and Mike agreed. He disappeared to find Carmen.
"It's just me and you, Farah. The police are on their way to get your dad, you are safe here" May-Li coaxed as she started to make her way to Farah.
"Look, Carmen has some leggings for you. Do you want to change into these?" May-Li asked handing them over to Farah. The girl nodded and placed them on underneath her skirt before taking her skirt off. She drifted down to sit on the sofa and this time allowed May-Li to sit beside her. Carmen left as soon as she had handed the leggings to May-Li. She knew that something had happened and that they needed privacy.
"Come here" May-Li said as she opened her arms and for the first time, Farah sank into May-Li's arms. The woman put her chin on the top of Farah's head. They sat there until Farah's breathing had returned to normal.
The doorbell almost set Farah off again, but May-Li was there to soothe here. Mike spoke to the police officers before entering the office.
"They need to know what happened" Mike said, and May-Li nodded.
"I have told them about what I saw and why Shaun was here, but they need to know why you shouted for me" Mike said.
"I turned my head for all of 30 seconds and when I turned back, he had his hand on her thigh and was moving up her leg" May-Li said, and the police nodded.
"We will be arresting him for sexual assault of a minor, but we will need both of you to make a statement. Would you be able to come down to the police station?" He asked and May-Li nodded.
"I'll bring Farah done behind you. We need to phone her social worker. She should be able to meet up there" May-Li explained, and the police officer nodded before leaving with Mike.
"You are going to have to be a super brave girl and speak to the police officers" May-Li said, and Farah shook her head.
"What your dad did there was really bad. Has he done anything like that before?" May-Li asked, and Farah nodded her head.
"He needs to be punished for what he did, Farah and the only way that will happen is if you tell them" May-Li explained.
"Write?" Farah questioned.
"I'll check but I would think you would be able to" May-Li said. "Do you want your notebook just now?"
Farah nodded and May-Li shouted through and asked Jody to get it for her. Jody returned nervously walking into the room. None of the young people knew what was going on but they knew that it was serious as to how upset Farah had been, hearing May-Li shouting for Mike and now the police officers. The police officers were currently in the quiet room with Shaun and Mike. For once none of the children were crowded round trying to find out what was going on. They knew this was serious, they knew to show respect.
May-Li handed the notebook to Farah along with a pencil and the girl quickly wrote before showing May-Li.
You said you would be watching. I thought I was safe.
"I didn't mean to take my eyes off of you. I'm so sorry, if we'd known that it was your dad who did this to you, he would not be allowed contact. It's important that you tell us anything like that. I know that you find it hard to trust us, but I wish you could have told us. Do you think you can be honest now? We want to help you, but we can only do so when you are completely honest" May-Li explained, and Farah nodded.
Can you come into the police meeting with me?
"I'll have to ask. I know that you are allowed an adult in with you but its normally your social worker" May-Li explained.
"I'd feel a lot better if it was you" Farah whispered, and May-Li smiled and pulled the girl into a hug.
"We need to go down to the station now, but is there anything you want to talk with me about before we go?" May-Li asked, and Farah shook her head.
"Good girl" May-Li said as she kissed the top of her head. They quickly got their jackets on and shouted that they were leaving. May-Li put Farah in the back of the car and climbed into the front. She looked at the girl, although she looked worried. She was no longer as hysterical as before.
Farah watched May-Li as she drove. She liked it at Ashdene Ridge. She made the decision there and then that she was going to be as honest as she could during the questioning. She didn't want to get into any trouble, but she hoped they'd allow her to leave and return to Ashdene Ridge.
"May-Li, will I get arrest?" Farah asked.
"Why would you get arrested?" May-Li asked confused.
"Because Dad said it was my fault. That I was bad and that's why he used to do it to me" Farah explained. May-Li pulled into the police station and turned to Farah.
"Farah, you were not bad. Your dad was the bad one. The things he did to you, he should have never done" May-Li explained, and Farah nodded. They arrived and Helen was already waiting for them. May-Li thought that Helen might be apologetic for allowing contact, but she wasn't.
"I hope this isn't going to take long" She huffed.
"Well, they said they will interview me first and then the two of us can go in with Farah" May-Li explained, having just spoken to the officer on the front desk. Helen huffed and then sat down. Farah took a seat next to May-Li and sat as close to the girl as she could. An officer appeared to take May-Li's statement.
"Sweetie, you have to stay here but I will be as quick as I can" May-Li said, and Farah nodded. She knew she had to be brave and held her notebook tightly in her hand.
May-Li was interviewed in about 20 minutes and then returned to Farah.
"Ready?" May-Li asked, and Farah nodded. She stood up and followed behind the woman.
"Farah is selective mute and the receptionist said it would be okay for her to write her replies" May-Li explained. The officer nodded.
"Do you have a medical diagnosis?" He asked and May-Li nodded before looking at Helen for reassurance.
"Yes, we do" Helen said. They got started by asking questions about today. May-Li was very impressed with Farah co-operation as she wrote out exactly what happened which matched May-Li's account. They then moved onto issues in the past. Farah wrote how her father had touched her since she was 7. It was only him and she used objects, his fingers and his tongue. May-Li's heart went out to the poor girl, yet she wrote this quickly without showing any emotion on her face. Due to her co-operation the interview did not take long. Helen also answered questions on the health report from the doctor before they left. Helen said a quick goodbye before leaving.
"Farah, I am so proud of how you handle that today. Please remember when we get home. If you ever need to talk, then just come, and get me. We can find a private place to talk" May-Li said, and Farah nodded blushing.
"Hey, it's not embarrassing. You can talk to me about anything" May-Li said, and Farah nodded before getting into the car. May-Li looked at the young girl, she was only 11. How had she been through so much already?
They arrived home and Farah ran up to her room instantly. The rest of the children looked worriedly at May-Li.
"Don't worry guys, Farah will be okay. We just need to be there for her but just now I think she just needs some space" May-Li explained, and they nodded.
"Jody, can I have a word?" May-Li asked, and Jody nodded following the woman.
"It's Mike that's staying here tonight but please if Farah does start to have a nightmare. Go and get him" She explained, and Jody nodded.
"Will she be okay?" Jody asked. They still didn't know what was going on but they knew that Farah and May-Li had been to the police station.
"Be kind to her" May-Li said not wishing to say anymore. May-Li quickly had her lunch as she was starving now. She took food up to Farah but left it just inside the room.
May-Li returned down the stairs and went into office to speak to Mike. She went over what was spoken about during the interview and Mike was able to support her. It had been a great shock what she had found out.
"Helen just annoyed me so much" May-Li said. "She didn't offer any comfort to Farah. The girl did so well with writing it all down and she got nothing back from her social worker. Why was contact even granted?"
"I don't know but we are going to have to bring that up" Mike said.
"I've never known a parent to get given contact so easily especially after neglecting his child and refusing to admit she existed. This is very messed up" May-Li ranted, and Mike nodded.
"I agree, which makes it even more important that we are there for Farah. We have no idea what that girl has been through" Mike said, and May-Li nodded.
"I hope she doesn't push us out again" May-Li said, and Mike agreed. They spoke for a bit longer before continuing with their work.
The day continued and yet Farah stayed in her room. May-Li headed up to say goodbye to the girl before her shift finished.
"If you need me, text me no matter what time it is" She said and moved Farah's hair to get the girl to look at her. She waited for a response from Farah. The girl nodded and then sat up. She put her arms around May-Li's neck and the woman hugged her back.
"Don't spend the whole evening up here, it will be worse if you are on your own" She said kissing the top of the girl's head before leaving. Farah nodded but turned back around once May-Li had left.
About an hour later, Mike returned to the room.
"Come on, we don't like the idea of you being alone when you are upset. Come down the stairs, I think Tee and Carmen are watching some show you like" Mike encouraged. Farah nodded and took a couple of minutes before following Mike.
She nervously sat on the floor with her shoulder and back near Tee's leg. The girl put a hand on the girl's shoulder supportively.
"We are here if you want to talk. You don't need your biological family, you have us now" Tee said, and Farah nodded and smiled at her. She was glad to have been placed here. This really could be her new home.
So what do you think? Do you like May-Li and Farah's relationship? Do you want it to continue? Love hearing your reviews and ideas :)