Rachel woke up, she got a fright when she felt a pair of arms around her stomach. She turned around in fear. Was last night a dream? She noticed dark brown hair over her shoulder and sighed. It was her mom, she couldn't believe it.
"Mom" She said quietly just to test the word out. She smiled and giggled to herself. It sound good, special and gave her goose bumps. It was now her favourite word, she could say it over and over again.
Rachel lay still for a couple of minutes before realising she really needed the toilet. She needed to go now but wasn't sure how she would get out. Gently Rachel nudged Shelby hoping to move the woman. When her mom didn't move, Rachel moved the woman's arm and Shelby started to wake up.
"Rachel?" She asked confused.
"I am sorry, I just em, I need to go to the toilet" Rachel said. "I didn't mean to wake you"
"Hey, it's okay sweetie" Shelby said as she moved over so that Rachel could get up. Rachel clambered out of the bed and walked into the bathroom where she had her shower the night before. Shelby smiled watching the petite girl walk out of the room before moving so she was sitting upright. Shelby swore she had just had the best night sleep of her life and she knew it was because her baby girl was there. Shelby lay thinking about the girl. She noticed just how skinny she was and Shelby just wanted to cuddle her all the time but she knew she couldn't. The girl had seemed embarrassed this morning to realise that her mother had slept with her.
Rachel returned to the room and stood awkwardly. It took Shelby a minute or two to realise that Rachel wanted to get up. She quickly got out of bed and looked down at herself realising that she was just in a light tank top and pair of short shorts. She hadn't intended on sleeping with the girl or she would have put more decent pyjamas on.
"I'm just going to grab me dressing gown" Shelby said walking to her room. Rachel followed and stood at the door way watching her mother closely.
"Do you want some breakfast?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded.
"Let's go through then" Shelby said as she started walking through to the kitchen.
"Do you want pancakes?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded before looking down. She hadn't eaten properly in days and she was very hungry now. She wanted something to eat last night but didn't know how to ask.
Shelby started making the pancakes and Rachel sat up on the breakfast stool watching her mother carefully. It wasn't long before the pancakes were ready and Shelby put two pancakes on a plate and handed them to Rachel. She had cut up some fruit and also handed over some syrup.
"Is that nice?" Shelby asked smiling as Rachel ate the food quickly and she nodded.
"Do you want some more?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded again and smiled. Shelby sat watching her daughter in amazement. They both jumped when the doorbell rang.
"I'll just get that" Shelby said moving to answer the door. "Don't worry, it's probably just Kelly"
Shelby could see the fear in the girl's eyes. She peered through the eye whole and noticed that it was in fact her assistant, Kelly.
She let the woman in and they walked into the kitchen.
"I picked out some clothes for you. I wasn't sure what you would like but I thought it would be enough to last you the next few days" Kelly explained and Rachel nodded.
"We will go shopping shortly sweetie and get you a completely new wardrobe" Shelby explained and Rachel nodded.
Kelly handed Rachel the bag and the girl smiled.
"Thank you" Rachel said.
"I'll go and get dressed" Rachel said deciding that she had finished her breakfast. Shelby nodded and Rachel walked back into the guest room and got ready.
She looked through the clothes and found a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. She put on the new panties that, Kelly had gotten her and they fitted perfectly though it was a little uncomfortable as she had a bit of a red rash due to wearing her dirty panties for so long.
Rachel looked in the mirror, she looked horrible. She needed something to cover her arms. Shelby would sent her back if she saw her arms. They were disgusting, nobody would love her. Relieved feel over Rachel face as she noticed a hoodie at the bottom of the bag. She put the hoodie on before going back to the kitchen.
She sat down on the stool again.
"Can I brush your hair?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded.
"Take your hoodie off so I can do it properly" Shelby said and Rachel shook her head.
"It's just so that I can brush it without it getting tangled in the hood" Shelby explained going to pull the girl's hoodie further down.
"No, I can do it" Rachel shouted before running to her bedroom. Both Shelby and Kelly was shocked at the girl's outburst.
Shelby decided to let Rachel calm down and stood speaking to Kelly for a while. She had managed to book Rachel in for a doctor's appointment. They needed to leave soon or they would be late. Kelly quickly left leaving the mother to deal with her emotional daughter.
Shelby walked over to the guest room door which had been slammed shut. She knocked on the door.
"Rachel, sweetie we need to go to your doctor's appointment. Shelby waited a minute or so but she didn't get a reply. She opened the door and noticed the almost 10 year old sitting on the bed. She wasn't crying but she looked upset.
"I don't want to go" Rachel mumbled "There is nothing wrong with me"
"Sweetie, I'm sorry but the CPS say that you have to go" Shelby said. Rachel sighed.
"Come on, the quicker we get going to quicker it will be over with" Shelby said holding her hand out for her daughter. She knew she was going to have to speak to the girl about the earlier incident but at the moment they needed to get to the doctor's appointment. Rachel stood up.
"Sweetie, come on. We don't need to speak just now but we will be speaking later" Shelby explained and Rachel nodded but kept her head down.
"Do you want a hug?" Shelby asked and Rachel rose her head slowly. She looked at the woman who had her arms opened and stepped into them. Shelby put her arms around the small girl and Rachel although tense at first, relaxed into her mother's hold and put her arms around her. Shelby didn't let go of the girl until she felt her pull away gently. Shelby stood up and they walked out the penthouse and got a lift down to the car which was waiting for them. Shelby was glad that no one had found out about Rachel yet but noticed that there was a small number of photographers there to take pictures of her. She hoped that they would just assume Rachel was her niece. Shelby rushed Rachel into the car. Once they were safely in the car, they headed to the doctors.
Once they arrived at the doctors, they checked in before going to wait in the waiting room to be called. Shelby noticed how nervous the girl was.
"Hey it's okay sweetie" Shelby said taking a hold of the girl's hand and squeezing it tight.
It wasn't long until Rachel's name was called.
"Are you coming in with me?" Rachel asked surprised as Shelby stood up with her. Shelby nodded.
"If you want me to leave at any time I will though" She explained and Rachel nodded.
They walked along the corridor until they arrived at Shelby's doctor's office.
"Hello Shelby and nice to meet you Rachel" The doctor said. Kelly had filled the woman in on what had gone on and she knew what she needed to complete in order to keep the CPS happy.
"Rachel, I am going to give you a full physical today so I need you to change into this gown" The doctor explained handing the gown to the girl. Rachel looked at Shelby who nodded.
Rachel went behind the curtain and changed into the gown. It was massive on her and the sleeves reached passed her elbows. Rachel held the gown and went behind the curtain. Both the doctor and Shelby made small conversation before Rachel returned.
"So if you jump up on the bed, I will just check you over" The doctor explained and Rachel backed into the corner of the room.
"Come on sweetie" Shelby said as she walked over to Rachel but the girl just backed away even more.
"Rachel, I will speak through exactly what I am doing. Now first of all I am going to take your temperature" The doctor explained. Rachel didn't mind this. She allowed the doctor to check her weight and height aswell.
"Now I am just going to check over your body. I will start with your head and work my way down" The doctor explained. She checked Rachel's head first before moving to her neck and shoulders.
"I just need to roll up the sleeves to check your arms" The doctor explained and Rachel backed away.
"Rachel" Shelby scolded. Rachel shook her head before bursting into tears.
"Hey, what's the matter? We just want to check you are healthy" Shelby explained as she went and sat down on the bed. She pulled the girl into her arms.
"I'm just going to roll these up" The doctor explained again. Rachel thrashed about but Shelby kept her still enough for the doctor to roll up the sleeves. Rachel knew she would be in trouble now. "Rachel, I am just going to take a picture of this" The doctor explained. Shelby looked over her daughter to see what the woman was on about and was shocked to see the state of her daughter's arms. It made sense now, this was why she didn't want to take the hoodie off. Now that Shelby and the doctor had seen the bruises, Rachel knew there was no point fighting.
She sat silently as the doctor checked her over. She checked her other arm and legs.
"Can I open the back of your gown to check your back?" The doctor asked softly and Rachel didn't say anything other than more around allowing the doctor to check her back. She pushed herself off her mom's knee to sit on the bed alone. Shelby got up and walked back to the seat.
Rachel's back was worse, it was in Shelby's eye line and she was trying so hard not to sob out loud. The doctor placed her hand gently on a fresh cut on Rachel's back and the girl nearly jumped off the seat as she screamed.
"It's okay, baby" Shelby said walking back over to Rachel and facing her. She held her hands tightly.
"It hurts" Rachel cried.
"It's okay, sweetie" Shelby said rubbing the girl's hand with her thumb. The doctor took some notes and pictures with the help of a nurse she called in before moving onto the girl's stomach. The girl really didn't like this. It was awkward, she was only 9 so didn't have much of a chest but it still felt embarrassing as the woman felt her ribs.
"Okay, you can put the gown back on" The doctor said "I now need to do a pelvis examination"
Shelby nodded, at first she hadn't expected this but as they continued through the appointment it had become apparent that Rachel had been abused.
"Rachel, you need to take your panties off for the doctor" Shelby explained. "She just needs to check you"
Rachel shook her head.
"I know that this is a bit embarrassing but she just needs to check that there is nothing wrong with you. She will be as quick as she can and I will be right here" Shelby explained. It took a little more persuading but eventually she did what her mom asked. Rachel nervously put her legs up on the bed allowing the doctor to assess her. The doctor was as quick as she could be before walking away to write some points down.
She looked at the scared little girl, she couldn't figure out exactly what had happened but she knew that the girl had clearly been neglected.
"Thank you Rachel, you can get changed back into your clothes" the doctor said and Rachel nodded. Shelby looked at the doctor.
"It is clear that Rachel has been physically abused, I assume that you were unaware of this before today" The doctor said and Shelby nodded.
"Because of her age, it is difficult to work out whether she has been sexually abused or not. I have taken swabs for testing just in case." The doctor explained and Shelby nodded trying to keep her tears at bay. Just then Rachel walked back in.
"I am going to give you some cream for Rachel's back and also some separate cream for her groin. Rachel did you have to wear the same panties for a long time?" The doctor asked carefully and Rachel nodded.
"It has left a red rash so mom will just need to put some cream on it to clear it up" She explained and both Shelby and Rachel nodded.
"Come on, sweetie let's go home" Shelby said kissing the top of the girl's head.
Rachel nodded and Shelby grabbed the girl's hand and they walked out of the doctor's office and into the car. Shelby looked at the girl. She noticed a wall being build up and Shelby was desperate to knock that wall down.
"What shall we do now?" Shelby asked and Rachel shrugged. She had been quiet since the doctors.
"Do you want to go home and watch a film?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded.
They quickly arrived back at Shelby's penthouse.
"You can go and pick a film while I get some candy sorted" Shelby said and Rachel nodded. Rachel disappeared into the living room to pick her film. She decided on "Funny Girl"
Rachel sorted out the DVD before sitting down on the sofa. She didn't want to make a mess of the lovely sofa so she sat upright making sure her feet weren't on the sofa. Shelby walked through and looked at the screen.
"I love this film. It is my favourite" Shelby exclaimed.
"I've never seen it" Rachel said softly.
"You can take your shoes off and get comfortable" Shelby said as she sat back on the sofa. Rachel took off her shoes but didn't move. As the film went on Shelby noticed that the girl was starting to move. She turned to notice the girl lying down on the sofa using a pillow to keep her head up. Shelby smiled and gently moved the pillow. Rachel just looked at her. Shelby indicated to the girl to put her head on her lap instead. Rachel shifted gently up towards Shelby at first she placed her head on with tension. Shelby gently started stroking the girl's hair and Rachel relaxed.
One the film finished, they stayed there for a bit longer neither of them wanted to move.
"Sweetie, you do know that you can speak to me whenever you are ready. I am never going to leave you again, no matter what you say. I thought I was leaving you with a loving pair of men but I was wrong. I am not going to force you to speak to me but I just want you to know that you can trust me. I just want you to be happy baby" Shelby said tears softly streaming down her face. She hoped Rachel won't noticed. The girl sat up slightly and turned to face her mom.
"Thank you Shelby" She whispered and Shelby pulled the girl into her chest. She sat like this for about 10 minutes before she heard her daughter's stomach rumble.
"Do you want pizza?" Shelby asked and Rachel smiled.
"I haven't had pizza in forever" Rachel said and Shelby smiled.
"There we go, that's us sorted" Shelby said as she called the local takeaway.
They just sat cuddled up together in silence for a bit longer before they were interrupted by the intercom. It was the doorman saying that the pizza had arrived. Shelby nodded and went down to pay for the pizza just leaving the girl alone for a minute.
Shelby ran from the lift to her apartment.
"We can eat in here but it's just a one off" Shelby said and Rachel nodded.
They sat eating their pizza in silence. They spoke briefly.
"So I need to think about a few things so we are going to stay here for a bit before I will decide what we are going to do. It might led to us having to go to Dublin to live with my family for a bit" Shelby explained and Rachel nodded.
"I can't go back, it's next to Lima, my dad" Rachel said.
"He is not going to be there" Shelby said "He hurt you, didn't he?"
Rachel bit her lip before nodding.
"He is going to get in a lot of trouble for hurting you" Shelby explained. Rachel just looked up at her.
"Right, little miss, I think you need to have a shower and then go to bed because it is nearly 9'clock" Shelby explained.
"Can I maybe have a bath?" Rachel asked nervously.
"Of course, you can. I'll go and get it ready for you" Shelby explained and Rachel nodded.
Shelby disappeared and called Rachel through 10 minutes later.
"Can you do my hair?" Rachel asked as she walked into the bathroom and Shelby smiled.
"Of course baby" Shelby said. They both stood.
"I'll let you get changed and in first" Shelby said walking away. She knew the girl was still not comfortable for her mom to see her naked and Shelby knew it would take a while for Rachel to feel that she could trust her.
Shelby returned a couple of minutes later and started doing Rachel's hair.
"I love this" Rachel said and Shelby smiled. Her father's never washed her hair and she dreamed of having a mother to do this for her.
"So do I sweetie" Shelby said.
They spoke for a bit longer before Shelby left to let Rachel finish getting ready.
Rachel returned to the living room about 20 minutes later in her pyjamas and her hair brushed.
"Shelby" Rachel said and Shelby lifted her head to look at her daughter.
"Can I sleep with you again tonight, please?" Rachel asked and Shelby nodded.
"Okay, sweetie but just until you are settled" Shelby said and Rachel nodded.
"I'll be through in about an hour" Shelby said and Rachel nodded going into her mom's room and getting into bed.
Shelby got up to date on her emails before deciding it was time to do to bed. She walked into her room and noticed the 9 year old girl already deep asleep. Shelby smiled changing into her pyjamas and climbing into bed with the little girl.
She lay down and suddenly she felt the girl cuddle up with her. With her daughter in her arms, it didn't take her long to fall asleep.
Hope this is okay. I have changed a few things in this chapter but there will be more changes in the future chapters. Please review and tell me what you think :) This is the last time I will be updating for 3 weeks as I will go on holiday :)