Poppy handed the taxi driver £10 of her emergency money before heading inside the café to meet Mollie. Poppy spotted Mollie in the corner of the café and headed over to join her. Poppy couldn't ignore the steams of tears that were falling down her friends face. "Mollie, what's wrong?"

"Everything. I've done something stupid, Poppy."

"It's okay, Mollie. I've done a lot of stupid things too. Start from the top and we'll try to fix it."

"This can't be 'fixed' Poppy." Poppy stayed quiet to allow her friend to continue. "I had a 'friend.' His name was Sam. He said he loved me, all the time," she paused. "I'd do anything for him, including favours for his mates."

"What do you mean by favours?"

"Just… stuff. Silly things, but it didn't mean anything. Anyway, last June he asked me to do another favour. I said no. He doesn't like it when you say no. He tried to sweet talk me round, but he wasn't getting anywhere. That's when he… when he…" Mollie broke down in tears again. Poppy put an arm around her shoulder, aware of other customers glancing over to them.

"Come on," Poppy said. "We're not far from Chris and Jessica's. He's probably not in and I know where the spare key is."

Meanwhile, Steph Haydock was beginning to wonder where Poppy had got to. Eventually, the bell when for the end of the lesson and she could get away from the classroom. "Tom!" she called as she ran down the corridor. "Are you teaching now? Can you watch my class for a while?"

"Why, Steph?" Tom called after her.

"I've got a missing kid!" she called as she tried to run down the corridor in her heels.

Steph swiftly arrived at Rachel's office. "Rachel!" she called before she reached the door. "Rachel, I need a word. We've got a missing kid."

"Okay, Steph. Who are they and how long have they been missing? They can't have gone far."

"It's your Poppy. She said she was going to the toilet at the beginning of last lesson. She's not back."

"Okay, Steph. That's unusual for her. I saw her when she said she was going back to class. You go back to your class and I'll start looking for her."

Poppy unlocked the front door and could see that no one was home – or had been home for some time. She and Mollie sat down at the kitchen table while they waited for the kettle to boil. Mollie had composed herself and was ready to tell the rest of her story. "He held me down, Poppy. I couldn't get away. He pulled a knife from his pocket and held it to my throat Said he'd push it down harder if I tried to get away." Poppy was horrified. She knew how scary it was when her dad got angry and lashed out. "I'm stuck with him now. He's gone, I don't know where, but he'll always be here. There's a little piece of him inside me, and it makes me feel sick to even think like that."

"What do you mean, Mollie?"

"I'm… I'm pregnant, and it's his baby."

"Mollie… It's okay. You need to tell someone. They can help you. What about your Mum and Dad?"

"I haven't told you. My mum and dad were killed in a car accident when I was 4. I live with my gran. She can hardly look after herself, let alone me and a baby." Poppy was quiet for a moment while she was thinking.

"Come back to school with me. You could tell Miss Campbell or Miss Mason. They'd help you, and I'll be there. Friends stick together." Mollie gave Poppy a smile and knew that things were going to be okay. Poppy washed up the mugs and made it look like they'd never even been there.

"Come on, if we leave now, we'll make it back for lunchtime and it'll be easier to blend back in," suggested Mollie.

"Alright, just a minute," Poppy said as she ran upstairs. Poppy went into her room and picked up a picture frame from the bedside cabinet before returning downstairs.

"What have you got there?" Mollie asked.

"It's a picture of me and my cousins, Lucy and George. Lucy's 5 years old and George is 2. It's the last picture we had taken together."

"They look sweet. Why the last picture?"

"I was moved to live with Katie and Mark, they were also taken into care and moved to a different foster family. Katie and Mark said that I can visit them when I next see them. But, gosh, I miss them so much." Poppy slipped the picture frame into her school bag and her and Mollie walked back to school.

They returned to school and were greeted with a very angry Miss Mason. "You two. My office. Now."