The next morning Erin was up bright and early for school; still feeling slightly shaken from the past two nights events she was determined to put them behind her. She wanted to show Leo how strong she was and anyway she had double art that day and she wasn't going to miss that for the world
"Are you sure you want to go in today?" Leo asked her over breakfast
"Yes" Erin said through a mouthful of toast and was reprimanded with a look from Leo
"Don't talk with your mouth full"
"Sorry" she said swallowing the mouthful she had "I'll be fine"
"I think another day will do you good…"
"Leo!" Erin whined "I have double art today and Nate and I are meant to be working on our biology presentation"
"Okay" Leo smiled at her enthusiasm "But you make sure you come home straight away this afternoon"
Erin nodded and grabbed her school bag as she headed for the door. Leo watched her carefully and noticed a slight hesitation as she stepped outside. She turned back slightly and noticed he was observing her, blushing slightly she took a deep breath and stepped out into the morning
"Morning Leo" Nikki said brightly as the older man walked into the lab
"Nikki!" Leo smiled "What are you do here?"
"Charming" Harry chuckled as he looked up from his paperwork "I said you weren't wanted"
Nikki pulled a face at Harry and shifted Alice onto her lap "I wanted to come and see you, I haven't been here in what seems like an age" Nikki smiled as she left Alice with Harry and followed Leo into his office
"How's things then?" she said sitting down in one of the chairs
"Fine" Leo smiled "Good"
"How's Erin?" Nikki asked and Leo sighed
"Harry told you?"
Nikki nodded "Well I had to force it out of him. But is she okay?"
Leo couldn't help but smile at how strong Nikki's maternal instincts were, even for a child that was not her own
"I think she's getting there" Leo told her and Nikki visibly relaxed "She was a little jumpy this morning but hopefully Nora's gone for good"
"Good" Nikki nodded content at Leo's explanation "I was thinking we should all get together sometime, maybe for a meal, you could invite Janet…."
"Nikki…" Leo groaned "Stop trying to sort out my love life"
Nikki grinned "Well I've got one of the men in my life under the thumb" she motioned to Harry "Now all I've got to do is work on you" she said and Leo could see that her mind was already plotting away
Erin sat in her art class, absentmindedly staring out of the window, completely unaware of her surroundings
"Is there something interesting out there?" a voice came and Erin turned around to see Mr Peters, her art teacher, standing there with his arms folded across his chest
"Sorry Sir" Erin blushed
"Try to keep your focus Erin" he shook his head "Da Vinci didn't finish the 'Mona Lisa' by watching the clouds go by"
Erin nodded and turned back to the painting she was doing
"What did Peters want?" Nate said sitting down beside her once their teacher had gone
"I was daydreaming" Erin said and Nate chuckled
"Daydreaming Dalton" he teased and Erin just pulled a face at him "So where were you yesterday?" he asked her
"I was sick, it was a twenty-four hour bug" Erin said, disgusted at how easily the lie had come out
"Not an Oscar winning performance but I suppose it will do" Nate shrugged
"Will you two get on with your work!" Mr Peters said coming back over to them
"Sorry Sir" the pair chimed
The bell rang to signify the end of the day and the class scurried around packing their things away
"Erin" Mr Peters called as she started to walk out the classroom "Can I have a quick word?" Erin looked unsure for a moment "You're not in trouble" he assured her
"I'll tell Miss Harris where you are in registration" Nate told her and Erin smiled gratefully
She made her way back into the classroom and pulled out a nearby stool
"Erin, are you okay?" Mr Peters asked her leaning against one of the desks
"I'm fine" the lie just slipped off her tongue and Erin felt a knot of guilt twist in her stomach
"You just seem a little distracted today and your work isn't quite up to your usual high standard"
"Sorry Sir" Erin chanted "It wont happen again Sir"
Mr Peters sighed "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No Sir"
"How are things at home?"
There was a pause "Fine Sir"
"You know you can talk to me…"
"Yes Sir, it's just…" Erin paused and let her sentence trail off with a shake of her head
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing" Erin plastered a smile on her face which seemed a little too forced for the teacher's liking
"Alright" Mr Peters nodded, knowing it was unwise to push Erin any further "You can go now, but if there's anything, anything at all that's troubling you, please come and talk to me"
Erin nodded and slung her bad over her shoulder before exiting the classroom. Mr Peters frowned as he watched her go and made a mental note to keep a close eye on Erin for the next few weeks as she didn't quite seem herself. She had almost changed back into the quiet, shy little scrap that he had first met nearly a year ago
It had just started to drizzle as Erin made her way home, following the familiar route along the dismal streets
"Oy Dalton!" she heard a sudden cry that made her heart sink a little lower
She turned around to see Stacey and her cronies standing there looking particularly menacing
"I need to get home" Erin squeaked
"I don't like your tone" Stacey snarled and stepped forward cracking her knuckles
Erin fell to her knees waiting for the punches to rain down on her when she heard a sudden shout
"Leave her alone!" Erin looked up to see Nora standing there with a cigarette handing out of her mouth, holding Stacey by the scruff of the neck "You get out of here before you feel the wrong end of this" she motioned to the cigarette hanging out of her mouth
The girls scarpered and Erin tried to more but her body seemed frozen to the floor with fear
"Erin…" Nora cooed stepping towards the young girl
"Stay away from me" Erin scrambled back grazing her hands on the tarmac beneath her
"I just want to talk" Nora held her hands up
"You're not allowed to come anywhere near me" Erin squeaked trying to fumble around for the police woman's card. She internally screamed at herself as she remembered she had left it on her bedside table
"Look I did a good turn for you, now you've got to do a good turn for me" Nora said "All I want to do is talk to you and then I promise I will leave you and never come back"
Erin was suspicious but she knew that this seemed the only way to get Nora out of her life once and for all
"Okay" Erin reluctantly agreed
"I'm sorry for scaring you" Nora said but Erin was suspicious of this sudden plea for redemption "There's something I want to talk to you about"
"What?"
"Your father…" Nora said the word slowly
Erin felt her heart jolt in her body; Nora had picked the topic well knowing it would be the one thing Erin could not resist
"What about him?"
"Well after the death of your poor dear Karen…" Nora said and Erin shivered violently as the effects of the rain and the mention of her mothers name struck her
"I thought you should know the truth about your father…"
"You said he was useless" Erin said still very suspicious
"I didn't mean that" Nora said sweetly "I want to make amends, Look…" Nora fiddled around in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled photo and passed it to Erin
Erin smoothed out the old photo and gazed at it. There was a dark haired man standing there holding a small baby, all wrapped up in a blanket. The photo looked like it was taken in hospital and the man's pale grey eyes reflected a certain flicker happiness mixed with a distant echo of pain; a mixture that had resonance in Erin's own eyes to this day.
"Do you know who that is?" Nora asked
Erin shook her head, hypnotised by the photo in her hand
"That is Mark Lewis Jones" Nora said slowly emphasising each word "Erin, that's your father…."
