Chapter 2

It was nearing 7pm when Steve arrived home that evening. He stopped off at a supermarket on the way home to make sure there was food in the flat. Lately he had been working so often at the office on extra long days; he hadn't done a full food shop in weeks. He just bought food on the go for immediate consumption. Luckily he had managed to sort out the spare key for Lottie ahead of time which he had given her earlier that day so he could let himself in with his usual set and hope he didn't wake her. Luckily he managed to do just that. Rather than asleep in her room he found her asleep curled up on the sofa under a blanket. Her glasses sat on an open book pinning down two pages and an un-drunk cup of tea sat on the coffee table. Knowing that he couldn't put the food away without waking her thanks to the open plan flat layout so he resolved to waking her himself before making a load of noise.

"Nushka?" he asked softly stroking her hair and exposed cheek. It was a trick that had work to both wake her up and send her to sleep since she was little. He remembered when he was eleven and being told that his mum was pregnant and being appalled by it. He thought he would never come to love his sibling or get along with them. Little did he know that when he was twelve Lottie would become his closest relative and he vowed from the moment he first saw her he would protect her at all costs.

Lottie's eyes fluttered open and once her eyes were focused she smiled at him.

"You haven't called me Nushka in ages."

"It's a long time coming."

She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room. "What time is it?" she asked.

"7pm."

"Shit, I made a cup of tea four hours ago." She sat up and stretched. "Good day at work?"

"The usual. Wanna help me put this food away?" She nodded, put on her glasses and the two began to unpack the shopping. Steve did most of the putting away given he knew where everything went. That was something Lottie mentally reminded herself. Steve was a neat freak. Everything had its proper place whilst she was more of a haphazard 'that will do' kind of a person. Match made in heaven for roommates she laughed to herself in her head.

"You were right about dickhead Dot. How do you deal with him?"

"It helps having Kate as backup. He really didn't like being shown up like you did and to be honest I didn't like it either. You could have been a bit more tactful."

"Sorry about that. I just didn't like being called a young girl. I'm a woman now."

"Not quite yet I'm afraid" he corrected her and she rolled her eyes. No matter her age she would always be a baby girl to Steve.

"Did I get you into trouble?"

"No but thanks to you we now have a new possible point of interest and Dot acted like he had a stick up his ass all day. How did you know that about the bike brake cable?"

"You don't remember? I thought you had the memory of an elephant. Remember when I was about six or seven? A neighbor sold their kids' bike to mum and dad for me when they moved away. Their kid was left handed and first time I slightly squeezed the left break while riding, the bike stopped so quickly I nearly flew over the handlebars and crashed the bike into a tree. Basked up my wrist and you thought I had broken it."

As she said it the memory came back to him. She hadn't broken her wrist but she had a nasty bruise and swelling which took a week to go down. He had felt really guilty as he was meant to be watching her but his then girlfriend distracted him in the park. The fact that he had forgotten concerned him. Had he reached that point where he was forgetting things? No, he was far too young for that. It must have been work causing his memory loss; work was to blame for everything of late.

"Oh yeah. I forgot."

Lottie chuckled at his somewhat confused and concerned expression. "Well it's nice to know my childhood traumas were so memorable."

"So you have the rest of this week off before you start college on Monday right?" he clarified.

"Yep and before you ask I've already started looking for part-time jobs as well per our agreement. I'll see if it is possible to get any interviews lined up this week."

"Good. So, we need to talk house rules." She let out a groan of annoyance.

"Really? Now? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"No. It's really quite simple Lottie. You contribute to rent when you have a job, no boys, no skipping college, 10:00pm curfew, you keep this place tidy and you follow my rules to the letter. My way goes, got it?"

"Got it" she muttered. "When did you stop being fun?" she asked crossing her arms.

"You made the choice to come live with me Lottie. Welcome to the midlands where I'm not the one you run away from mum and dad to when you get told off. I'm your guardian here now so my rules go. You hungry?" she nodded and he pulled out a chargrilled vegetable pizza from one of the shopping bags which made her smile.

"What's this? Have you turned to the dark side to join me in vegetarianism?"

"Fuck no, this one's yours, I have my own." She watched him pull out a pepperoni pizza from the shopping bag as well. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her seriously. "I want to make this work Lottie." She nodded understanding what he really meant with those words.

"Me too but let's take it one day at a time?"

"Deal."

For the rest of that week Steve and Lottie would have lunch together on a bench outside of the AC-12 building. That way Steve actually had a break from work and she could update him on how her search for a job was going. On the Friday, Steve came downstairs as usual to see Lottie through the glass doors looking at the various plaques for fallen police personnel through the decades in the memorial garden outside the front of the building. There were multiple plaques all with different years stated on them. He remembered looking at them himself on the first day of working at AC-12 but hadn't look at them since. The day although cool was beautifully sunny and her copper hair caught the sun perfectly to transform her into a fiery redhead. She was wearing a bohemian style long dress with a bold print along with a leather jacket, a cotton eco friendly bag on her shoulder carrying their lunch. Today her hair was more tight curled than usual and her look that meant every man who saw her couldn't help but look but she didn't take notice of them. He'd have to keep an eye on her when it came to that he thought to himself. When he left the building he smiled seeing her excitement.

"Since when did having sandwiches on a bench make you so giddy?" he asked.

"Since I got a job."

"Well done. That was really quick."

"Marks and Spencer were doing interviews on mass and I passed all the tests and interview. I start in two weeks. One weekday evening every week as well as every other weekend. Plus I might have found a place who are looking for a singer to perform covers and such who are willing to talk to me this afternoon. If all goes well I'll be on a trial basis and then it could lead to something permanent so two jobs in one day."

"Impressive. Well done sis." He pulled her into a quick hug. "Proud of you."

"Thanks, me too." As they pulled apart Kate appeared at the door putting on her jacket.

"Kate, hi! Good to see you" Lottie said slightly pushing Steve aside for the more interesting party member.

"You too Lottie. How are you doing? Back on GMT schedule now?"

"Good thanks. I'm celebrating. Got two jobs in one day."

"Wow, that's great. You should come out for a drink tonight so we can celebrate. We tend to go to the pub or a bar after work on a Friday. You in?"

"Do I get a say in this?" Steve asked and Kate shook her head.

"Nope, she's my guest. So you in Lottie?"

"Hell yeah. Thanks Kate."

"No worries. Got to go, I'm off on a coffee run and if I'm not back with the gaffers drink in the next five minutes it will be a tough afternoon. See you tonight Lottie!" Kate explained before rushing off to the nearby café.

"Two jobs, a drinks evening invite and a new friend in one day. Not bad" Steve commented.

"What can I get you?" Dot asked Lottie. His annoyance over their meeting earlier in the week was clearly no longer an issue given his smile and pleasant tone.

"Gin and tonic please," Lottie smiled not realizing that Steve was behind her.

"Without the gin," he added sitting down next to Lottie.

"Oh, come on Steve. That isn't fair!" she complained. The AC-12 team along with Lottie had gone to The Winslow, a favourite drinking spot for them. It was a pub Lottie had never been in and she liked its cosy yet modern tone.

"No, it's illegal if I let you have it." Lottie rolled her eyes as she sat down.

"Wait, hold old are you?" Katie asked trying to remember the date of birth from the passport but was ignored by the bickering siblings.

"I'm sixteen now."

"Congratulations, it's not happening." Frustrated, Lottie turned to Ted.

"How do you put up with him every day?"

"I take it on an hour by hour basis," was the reply making Lottie laugh. She and Ted clearly got along like a house on fire and Steve liked Lottie was enjoying the company.

"Thanks Sir," Steve smiled. Dot came back shortly after with a round of drinks. A tonic water for Lottie as instructed.

"Wait so you're sixteen and you're twenty eight?" Kate asked looking to Lottie and then Steve respectively.

"Yes," the siblings said in unison.

"You don't look alike. So are you adopted?" Dot asked Lottie.

"No," the siblings said in union again.

"We get this all time as you can tell. Steve takes after dad's side of the family, I take after mum. I was an unexpected surprise if that's how you want to put it."

"So what brought you here then?" Ted asked.

"Australia and school. After getting my GCSE results back in June and getting accepted to various colleges to do my A-Levels, I sort of rebelled a bit."

"In what way?" Kate asked.

"The day after I got my results I turned sixteen. The day after that I got on a plane to Australia without anyone knowing." Kate noticed that Steve seemed a little uncomfortable next to her about this conversation but she didn't react to it.

"I had a wobble I suppose you could say" she added before taking a sip of her drink. A sudden memory of a conversation between Kate and Steve popped into both their minds in that moment but neither reacted to it.

"Bloody hell. Must have had a good excuse," Dot remarked.

"Oh the best. Wait for it … I needed to find myself." Dot groaned at hearing those words.

"Cringe!" he commented.

"Tell me about it. It made sense at the time. I have a friend who lives out there so I was quickly found. There were a lot of angry phone calls but when things calmed down we came to the agreement that I could spend the whole of the summer holidays before studying my A-Levels in Australia if I studied here under Steve's supervision. Apparently being outside of London is what's best for me."

"Exactly, so no alcohol until you're eighteen." Lottie rolled her eyes.

"You are such an asshole, Steve, you know that?" Seeing the looks of surprise Lottie chuckled to herself. "Sorry, we communicate by cursing each other out. So don't expect squeaking clean language around us. You know something is wrong if there is no swearing involved."

"Noted." Kate said. "So what are your hobbies?"

"Top three right now are singing, writing songs and music, music being my biggest passion in life. It's what keeps me grounded, keeps my mental health on track. Steve will tell you I constantly have spotify playing on my phone or have one of my many vinyl's playing in my room. He isn't that fond of my collection."

"To clarify you have good taste in music it is just that you jump around so much I can't keep track and have no idea what's coming next. Who can jump from Metallica to The Carpenters?" Steve explained.

"It's the way my multi-faceted mind works Pim, deal with it." Steve went slightly wide eyed hearing her call him that in front of his colleagues.

"Pim?" Ted asked.

"It's my nickname for him. He knows why. He calls me Nushka."

"Nushka? Is that Russian?" Kate asked. Both Lottie and Steve smiled softly. Steve then nudged Lottie who nudged him back.

"No. She knows why." Steve said.