As morning arrived and the house began to wake, Rachel softly knocked on Poppy's door. "Poppy, can I come in?" There was no movement from inside. Rachel regretted leaving Poppy last night, but she wasn't getting anywhere. Rachel opened the door to see that Poppy was in the same place as she was last night, still staring out of the window. Her tears had stopped, but Rachel didn't think that it would be a good idea for Poppy to go into school today. "Poppy, do you want to stay home today?" Poppy didn't answer. Rachel closed her door and went to wake Olivia. "Olivia, time to get up!"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes! Anyway, I need a word. Kitchen table, 10 minutes."

"Okay."

Rachel headed downstairs to the phone and dialled Eddie's number. "Hello?"

"Eddie, it's me."

"Rachel? What can I do for you?"

"Can you cover for me today? I need to stay at home."

"Okay, sure. Do you want me to pick up the girls on the way past?"

"Can you pick Olivia up? Poppy's not going in today."

"Okay. Is Poppy okay?"

"I… I don't know. She's not slept, she hardly speaks to me. She was crying last night, but wouldn't tell me what's wrong. All she does is sit in the window, holding a photo frame. I have no idea where she got it from because she didn't bring any with her when she came to stay."

"Has she been back to Chris and Jessica's? She might have got it from there."

"Not that I know of. She was with Mollie Smith yesterday, maybe she knows."

"I'll have a word with Mollie today. I'll pick Olivia up at 8, is that okay?"

"That's fine Eddie. See you then."
"Bye"

Rachel sighed as she walked through to the kitchen and heard Olivia coming downstairs. "Where's Poppy? She's normally first down to breakfast," Olivia asked.

"Poppy's in her room," Rachel replied.

"Why aren't you dressed, Mum? We've got to get going soon."

"I'm not going in today, Eddie's picking you up at 8."

"What about Poppy?" Rachel sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. "Mum? Is everything okay?"

"Something's wrong with Poppy. She won't tell me what. She doesn't think that anyone can help her."

"Was it her who was crying last night?"

Rachel looked up. "You heard her crying?"

"I thought I heard someone crying but I thought I was imagining it. I was so tired…"

"It's okay. It was Poppy who was crying. I'm going to try and get through to her today, that's why we're not going in."

"Oh, can I stay home too? Please?"

"No way, cheeky! You need to be in school!" Rachel smiled. "Now go on, go and get ready before Eddie's here."

It was around mid-morning and Poppy still hadn't been downstairs. Rachel decided to try again with her. "Poppy, can I come in?" she asked as she tapped on the door. She knew that she would get no reply. She walked in and saw that Poppy had been up, because she'd managed to get herself ready for the day. Rachel sat by Poppy. "Come on. Tell me."

"I... I can't" Poppy stammered.

"You can, Poppy. I know you can."

Poppy was silent, but then moved closer to Rachel who put her arm around her. Poppy loosened her grip on the photo frame so Rachel could see the photo. "Who's this?" Rachel asked as she looked at the photo.

"My cousins," Poppy replied.

"What are their names?"

"Lucy and George"

"How old are they?"

"In this photo, Lucy's 5 and George is 2. They're a whole year older now."

"Where did you get the photo from, Poppy?"

"Me and Mollie," she paused. "We went back to Chris and Jessica's yesterday. That's where I got it."

"And Chris didn't mind you two skipping school?"

Poppy was quiet. "He wasn't there."

"Oh." They were both quiet. "Do you want to tell me why you were crying last night?" Poppy shook her head. Rachel didn't want to push her any further. "Okay, I'm going back downstairs if you want me." Rachel went to leave but turned around before she left the room. "Poppy," Poppy turned to look at her. "Remember that you can tell me anything. With everything I've seen, nothing's going to shock me." Poppy forced a smile as Rachel walked out.

"Maybe I should tell her," Poppy thought.