Ange had agreed to let Kisaiya have the day off school for Dom's wedding. She knew that the girl won't want to miss out and it meant that it was an extra hand in the morning as they were getting ready. Technically, Kisaiya would have managed to go to school and still make it for the wedding but she knew that the girl would hate the idea of them having family time without her.
"Now, you need to listen to Dom today" Ange said and Kisaiya nodded. Ange was working today and knew that she wouldn't be able to keep a close eye on Kisaiya so Dom had suggested that Kisaiya stayed with him. Ange agreed but exaggerated to Dom than Kisaiya was still a child. She was only 12, even though she did look a lot older.
Ange arrived for her shift and quickly got Kisaiya to Dom. She gave them both a warning glare before heading up to work. Kisaiya was excited to spend time with Chloe and Dom as it had been a while since she had seen her cousins. Chloe hadn't been around much which really wasn't like her.
Once they got the marque up, Ange and Carol came down. It was slightly over the top but Kisaiya loved it. Carol and Ange weren't so keen but they couldn't say that to Dom. It really did look like a winter wonderland and did look quite fitting being outside a hospital and bringing some light to the place.
Lofty arrived and Ange pulled Kisaiya back slightly to be against her. This was the first time that she realised that the girl had really shot up in height recently and was only a couple of inches smaller than Ange if that. Lofty was happy with it, he said that he loved it which was a massive relieve for Dom.
It was all going so well until Essie came over with adoption forms. Dom hadn't spoken to Lofty about it which made things slightly awkward. Ange quickly guided Kisaiya away and handed her some money.
"Go and get yourself a hot chocolate or something. Just give Dom and Lofty some space, yeah?" Ange asked softly and Kisaiya nodded. She knew what was going on and knew to get out of the way.
Ange disappeared back up to YAU, she noticed Ms Morrison's notes and read through it. She was sure that her daughter had mentioned working on her but there were no new notes. She questioned Chloe about it and got a snappy response. She wasn't so worried about that as it was quite common for Chloe.
"How are you?" Chloe asked instantly feeling bad for snapping at her mum. She hadn't even spoken to her recently. She was hiding from her. Her mum knew her too well and would work out that something was up and it wouldn't take long for her to work out what that is.
"I don't know" Ange said shaking her head. "Dom, look, he's upset Lofty, talking about kids, adoption. I don't even know what to say to him. I just feel like I'm still not much of a mum to him. Anyway luckily for me, he ran after Lofty. You know, struck a nerve. It's never the easiest conversation to have.
"No, no I can imagine" Chloe said.
"I've had to tell Kisaiya to get a hot chocolate. She's meant to be helping Dom but I needed to get her out the way. God only knows if she'll do as she's told" Ange said sighing again.
"She will, she's a good kid especially when she knows that other stuff is going on" Chloe said and Ange nodded. She was a good girl.
They then went back to speaking about Ms Morrison.
Meanwhile down the stairs, Kisaiya had just finished her hot chocolate and was looking around. She didn't know what to do. Her aunt had told her to give Dom and Lofty space but they had ran inside. She didn't even know if the wedding was still on at this point.
"Oi, Kisaiya" Lofty called and Kisaiya turned around.
"Fancy helping me?" He asked and Kisaiya nodded. She stood up and followed Lofty to the marquee. Kisaiya was helping with some of the decoration when she noticed Lofty walking off with Dom. She smiled, it must still be on she thought.
It wasn't long before Dom came back to help Kisaiya. They were trying to untangle the lights but were failing miserably. Dom messaged Ange asking her to help and she headed down.
"Thanks, I would have asked Carole but she is being weird with me and Kisaiya is useless" Dom said sticking his tongue out at the girl and Ange laughed.
"No, he won't listen to me so I'm not doing that" Kisaiya said and Ange laughed again.
"It's fine, I want to help" She said "Don't you have some burly men in hi-vis jackets for this"
"Well apparently they get something which is referred to as a lunch break I think?" Dom said.
"Are you okay?" Ange asked.
"You've known us for about a year now. How do we look to you?" Dom asked.
"Young" Ange asked. "In Love"
"Too young" Dom asked.
"For love?" Ange asked.
"For….all this?" Dom asked "For the miles we've put in already"
"Um…we'll that ones for you" Ange said "I don't know. I put the miles in when I was young"
"Yeah you did" Dom said. They spoke for a bit longer and Ange looked around for her niece.
"Did you see where Kisaiya went?" Ange asked and Dom shrugged.
"She probably went to the toilet or something" Dom said and Ange nodded. They turned the lights on and smiled. Ange looked at her son and pulled him into her arms. She was so proud of him but she wasn't sure if she was allowed to say that.
"Are you okay? She asked.
"Well we made it this far" Dom said.
As Dom had predicted Kisaiya had gone to the toilet. She was cold and bored. She also just didn't feel like part of the family just now. Ange had two children, she didn't need her as well. She walked around the reception of the hospital for a while and ran into Ange.
"You okay?" Ange asked and Kisaiya nodded.
"Just warming up and I went to the loo" Kisaiya explained and Ange nodded.
"Go and help your cousin, aye?" She said and Kisaiya nodded. She waited another 10 minutes before heading out. She saw Dom and Chloe. Chloe looked close to tears or maybe she was crying. It was hard to see from her. She couldn't walk over, not now. She couldn't hear what they were speaking about but from their body language she knew it was important. She hung back and grabbed a seat on the bench. She could see them but she was pretty sure she was out of sight for them to see her.
She watched them speak and then heard her name.
"Kizzy" Kisaiya looked around. She knew that voice.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I need to see you" She said.
"Why?" Kisaiya asked.
"Because I'm your mother, isn't that enough?" Clemmie said.
"You're my mother but you're not my mum. My mum is Ange" Kisaiya said and Clemmie shook her head.
"It's true. She has adopted me now because we couldn't get in touch with you" Kisaiya raised her voice slightly.
"Kisaiya I want you to come back with me" Clemmie said.
"Why?" Kisaiya said pulling a face.
"My new boyfriend, we are in trouble and we need someone little like you" Clemmie said.
"Woah, so you want me for your little thieving gang. Not happening Clementina" Kisaiya snapped "Anyway I'm not so little anymore. I'm taller than you"
"But you are good looking, that's enough and so slim. You'll fit into small spaces and you'll never get searched" Clemmie started to beg.
"Just piss off. I never want to see you again" Kisaiya said.
"If you don't come with me. I'll kill myself" Clemmie said and Kisaiya stormed off to the toilet. She burst into tears. What if her mum was telling the truth? She couldn't go with her though. She couldn't.
Meanwhile outside, Ange came out to check on Dom. She wanted to know what she could do to help.
"What can I do?" Ange asked.
"You need to go and check on Chloe" Dom said.
What? But this is a one off" Ange said.
"Trust me, I've done this once before. It's fine. She needs you more right now" Dom said and Ange was confused but agreed. She walked off to find her daughter.
It didn't take Ange long to find her daughter and Chloe asked her mother to help her get ready. Of course Ange agreed. Chloe got the clothes out and nipped into the toilet to get changed. Ange frowned slightly. That wasn't like Chloe. Usually when it was just the two of them, Chloe would get changed in front of Ange no problem. Once changed, Ange did Chloe's hair. She was surprised when Chloe asked her about the conversation they had about her dad and if she had always planned on telling her. Ange knew what her daughter was talking about almost instantly.
She answered the question honestly, like she had always done. That was when Chloe blurted out that she was pregnant, and it was Evan's from that night. Ange pulled her daughter into her arms and held her as close as she could. She had hoped that this won't happen to her daughter but of course she knew all too well that this was possible.
They sat together and spoke until Chloe felt a bit better. She wasn't going to push her daughter but she knew that there would be a lot of conversations they needed to have and this wasn't just something that would go away. Ange was adamant to show Chloe that she was not alone and had all of her support.
Once they were ready and Chloe had dried her face. They walked down to reception to find Dom. They were shocked when Dom explained what had happened at the wedding and instantly Ange felt horrible.
"Are you okay?" Dom asked Chloe. Chloe nodded giving a small smile.
"Where is Kisaiya?" Ange asked.
"I've not seen her in a while. She wasn't at the wedding" Dom said. He had been so preoccupied with other things. Ange nodded. She was panicking but knew to stay calm.
"Carol, can you help me look for her?" Ange asked and Carol nodded.
Ange decided to head up to her office first. She knew that Kisaiya found that place secure. Ange punched the digits into her office and opened the door. She noticed the girl curled up on the ground crying.
"Is this because of Dom and Lofty?" Ange asked confused and Kisaiya shook her head.
"What's wrong then sweetie?" Ange asked.
"Clemmie" She admitted.
"Your mum" She said shocked.
"She's not my mum. You are" She said strongly and Ange nodded.
"What happened?" She asked.
"She wanted me to join her. Be apart of her gang. She didn't even care about me just that I was slim and little said it would be good. She said if I didn't go with her that she would kill herself" Kisaiya admitted removing the tears from her eyes.
"Oh baby" Ange said as she sat down with her niece and pulled her into her arms.
"You do not believe a word that woman says" Ange said rocking the girl. Kisaiya nodded.
"Mummy, I love you" She mumbled and Ange mumbled into her hair soothingly. She waited until the girl had calmed down before they both stood up.
They wandered down the stairs and bumped into Chloe.
"Can I have a word mum?" Chloe asked and Ange nodded.
"Can you go to the nurses' desk for me? I'll be two minutes" Ange said and Kisaiya nodded. Chloe explained to her mother than she didn't want children and that was just who she was. It wasn't because it was Evan's, it was just the way she felt. She then asked Ange that if she booked an appointment would the woman go with her. Of course, Ange agreed and pulled the girl into her arms. Chloe sank into her mother's arms.
They went and grabbed Kisaiya and headed to the car.
"Is Chloe coming with us, Mum?" Kisaiya asked and Chloe made a face and looked at Ange. Ange gave her a look and Chloe knew not to say anything else.
"Do you want to come with us, Chloe?" Ange asked and Chloe nodded.
"Can I stay for a few days?" Chloe asked.
"Of course you can" Ange said as they clambered into the car. It had been a long day. Ange had ensured that she continually texted Dom to ensure that he was okay. They arrived home and were all shattered.
"Right, into your pyjamas and then we can watch a film" Ange said and both her daughters nodded. They got changed and then snuggled up on the sofa. Ange laughed as she noticed her space in the middle available and both girls looking up at her. Ange got in between them and pulled the blanket over them. They snuggled down and watched the film drifting into a gentle silence.
Hope this is okay :) Does anyone have any other ideas?