I am so sorry
So, about the Gus´ chap, after I´d written that, Gus´ big episode aired, and we got to know that he was in care because of his dad moving to Germany, so, I`ve changed a few bits of the ending in it.
Dear Jade Hamlet, please, if you read this story, write the reviews as if you were writing them to me (which you are) and not like you were talking to the characters… you know they can´t see what you´re writing.
Carmen Howle
"Carmen sweetie, I´m leaving now." Helen Howle shouted into the flat, to her nine- year- old. Carmen came out in the hallway and looked up at her mum.
"Mum?" She began. "When can I meet Lee for the first time?"
"I don´t know," Helen said. "Maybe some time soon."
"Okay,"
"So… there´s food that you can warm up in the microwave in the fridge, and if I´m late, don´t stay up too long."
"Okay."
"Come here sweetie," Helen bent down and gave Carmen a slight kiss on her forehead, and then she turned around, and walked out the door, Carmen locked the door after her, and walked to the living room to watch some TV.
At the same time, Helen was on her way to a date on a fancy restaurant, with a man she had met up with loads of times now. Lee Collins, she walked up to a fancy restaurant, where Lee was waiting outside the restaurant. Helen stopped around the corner, she had decided this was the day she was gonna tell him about Carmen, and she was nervous, because she knew he didn´t like children very much. She took a deep breath.
"This is it," she thought. "I´m gonna walk straight over to him, and the first thing I´m gonna say is that I need to tell him something, then I´m gonna tell him about Carmen." She took another deep breath, and walked around the corner and over to Lee. He was dressed jeans, a dark- blue blazer, a white button- up, and a stripy tie in dark- blue, dark- green and gold- colored, hanging loose around his neck. When Helen got closer, she opened her mouth to say something, but before she had, Lee had used his arms and hands to spin her around and tipping her backwards.
"Helen Howle," he said. "You are the woman of my dreams" he pulled out a red rose of his back- pocket and gave it to her.
"You´re such a romantic," Helen said, took the rose, and stood up again.
"So, shall we go in and eat some dinner?"
"Yeah." Helen took Les hand and they walked into the restaurant.
After they had eaten their dinner, Helen still hadn´t told Lee about Carmen, but Lee had noticed something was up with her.
"Everything all right honey?" he asked. "You´re so quiet."
"Yeah… yeah everything´s fine."
"Okay, well, would you like to leave or…?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Excuse me," Lee stopped a waitress, "could I have the bill". The waitress nodded, and a few minutes later she came back with it. During the waiting, Lee and Helen discussed whether they should go to Lee´s flat, or Helen´s.
"We always go to mine," Lee said. "Can´t we go to yours, just now?"
"No, please can we go to yours?" Helen protested.
"Is there anything you wanna hide from me darling?" Helen sighed.
"Look, Lee, there´s something I haven´t told you…"
"You know I´ll love you no matter what."
"Well" Helen took another deep breath. "I suppose, that we could just go home to mine, and you´ll see for yourself," Helen stood up, took her jacket, and walked out of the restaurant, Lee put money in the bill grabbed his blazer and ran after. When they were outside Helen´s flat, Helen unlocked the door and they both stepped over the threshold. Helen locked the door behind her and then they both could hear Carmen´s voice from the living room.
"Hello? Mum?" Lee looked to Helen with a confused look.
"Mum?" He almost whispered, and with the blazer still on, he walked out in the living room before Helen. Helen put her shoes to the side and then walked after Lee to the living room, where he was leaning against the door frame, with his arms crossed over his chest, and a scowl on his face.
"Sweetie," Helen turned to Carmen first. "This is my boyfriend Lee, Lee… this is Carmen, my daughter." Lee had his lips pressed together, and nodded slowly.
"Look, Lee, I´m sorry for not telling you…" Helen tried, but Carmen interrupted.
"YOU DIDN´T TELL HIM?" Carmen stood up.
"Carmen, calm down now." Helen tried.
"You didn´t tell him," Carmen said again. "Mum, I´m the most important person in your life, and you didn´t have the guts to tell him, afraid of what he might think."
"I…I…" Helen stuttered.
"No" Lee began, the scowl was almost gone now, but he did not look very happy. "She didn´t tell me, but I´m sure she had a reason. And I´m sure we could make it work… can´t we… Carmen?" He looked into Carmen´s eyes, and she nodded slightly.
Six months later
Lee promised he would try to make it work, he lied. He haven´t tried at all. I had known him for like two days when he started talking about me and mum moving in with him. We did that about two weeks later. As I´ve written before, Lee´s flat have only got one bedroom, so I´m sleeping on the couch in the living room, and all my stuff is still packed in black bags that stands in the corner of the living room. Lee´s acting like an angel every time mum´s home, but when we´re alone he doesn´t. He´s even hit me once. I had a black eye, and he told mum I walked into a door. Several times they have left me alone for a full weekend. But this time it´s worse than ever, it´s in the middle of July, other children are celebrating the summer holidays with their parents, going to the beach, going on other activities, and I´m stuck here, all alone, because Lee didn´t want me to come with them on their trip to Ireland. They just left, they´re coming home in nine days. I guess it´s no big deal though, they´ve left plenty of food, and I´ve got money and loads of stuff to do.
I just feel so lonely, like all alone in the whole world.
Carmen
Carmen locked her diary, and although she was the only one home, she hid it under her pillow. She gazed over the table, plenty of her stuff laid that, there was coloring books, books, the remote for the TV, Helen´s laptop, pencils and sweets. Everything a nine- year old girl could play with. Carmen laid down in the sofa and pulled the covers over herself, a couple of minutes later, she was sleeping.
The day after, Carmen decided to do some shopping at the mall, about noon, she walked outside, and with money in her pocket, she walked down the street.
She took another way then she usually did, and soon she was lost in the streets. She looked around, and spotted a big house, in front of the house, there was a mini- bus, a group of children and younger teenagers, along with three adults, were on their way into the minibus. The kids had beach- toys and rucksacks with them, and they seemed happy. In front of the big house, were a sign that said "elm tree house" Carmen wanted to walk over to them, and ask for the way, but stopped at the pavement, and stayed looking at all the kids, that were laughing, and so happy. Carmen swallowed, when one of the adults, a bald man in his middle- ages, opened the door to the driver´s seat, he spotted Carmen, he stopped for a second. And then said something to another adult, a dark woman. He came over to Carmen.
"Hi." He said. "I´m Michael Milligan, very nice to meet you." He reached out his right hand, but Carmen didn´t shake it.
"Carmen… Carmen Howle, very nice to meet you too… Mr. Milligan…"
"Please… say Mike… everyone does. Hey, you know, you look a bit lonely… and we´re going to the beach… this is a care home by the way, maybe you would like to come with us… if your mum agrees."
"I… I probably shouldn´t…"
"Come on, it´ll be loads of fun."
"No thanks."
"Okay, well, have a good day." Mike turned around and walked towards the bus, but before he had reached it…
"Wait." Carmen almost shouted. "I wanna come with you… if it´s not too much trouble." Mike turned around, smiled, and gave her his phone
"Suppose you better call your mum and tell her where you´re going." Carmen nodded pressed her mum´s cellphone number, but didn´t call, and then she lifted the phone to her ear, pretending to be talking to her mum.
"Oh, hi mum… yeah I´m good… listen, a man that works in a care home have offered me to come with them to the beach… yeah he´s really nice… okay, bye mum… love you too…. It´s okay I can come." The last thing she said to Mike, while handing his phone back. He nodded laid his hand on Carmen´s back and led her into the minibus.
"So, everyone," he shouted in the bus. "This is Carmen Howle, she´ll be coming with us today, Carmen… I´m the head care worker, this is Gina," he pointed to the dark woman Carmen had spotted earlier. "This is Damien, or trainee care worker," he pointed to a blonde boy in his later teens. "And this is Toby," a ginger. Boy. "Johnny and Tee, siblings." He pointed to a girl and a boy, both with jeans and blue shirts. "Liam and Frank.." two boys, one in a purple hoodie, and one boy that obviously had cerebral palsy. "Murray and Sheila, also siblings." He pointed to a boy, about fifteen, and a girl about five. And so it went on, Harry, Sapphire, Lexy, Gus and Suzie. Carmen sat down alone in the back of the bus, but after a couple of minutes, the girl in blue clothes came to sit with her… Carmen tried hard to remember her name.
"Hi," she said. "You´re Carmen right?"
"Yeah… and… sorry… I don´t remember your name."
"It´s all right, I know it´s loads of names at once, I´m Tee."
"Is that your real name?"
"Yeah." In the front seat, Mike and Gina were talking.
"But Mike, why did you let her come… you know the rules."
"Yes, I do, but I have a feeling she needs our help." Mike drove out of the driveway and onto the road. And he drove… and drove… and drove…
"Where´s the damn beach…" Mike mumbled to himself… gosh why could he never find it. "Oh great… now it´s raining as well… hey kids." That last was more of a shouting.
"Yes Mike." Came from everyone.
"It´s raining now… so what would you say if we just got some burgers and chips, and just hang out together in the car… could be fun that too couldn´t it." The protests were wild.
"kids… kids…"
"KIDS." Came from Gina, and then it went silent.
"It´s not like we have much choice, we can´t bath in the rain… and I know you´re all hungry."
"I think it sounds all right," said Lexy, a girl with golden- brown, long hair, fifteen years old.
"Here´s McDonalds," Mike drove onto a driveway. And in the pouring rain, they all ran towards the station.
Half an hour later, they all sat in the car, laughing, chattering and eating. No one cared about that they hadn´t reached the beach, everyone were just having a great time. Mike stood up after finishing his meal and walked over to the back were Carmen and Tee were sitting.
"Tee." He said. "Would you mind if I talk to Carmen a little… in private."
"No…" Tee stood up and walked over to Johnny. Mike sat down next to Carmen. And even though she was looking down at her food, that she had barely been eaten of, Mike smiled towards her.
"Look… Carmen… I´ve checked my phone… I know you didn´t call your mum."
"…and…"
"… is there anything you´d like to tell me… "
"No… what would it be?"
"I don´t know… Carmen… is everything all right?"
"Fine…"
"Okay… well, if you want to talk…" Carmen suddenly looked up, she had tears in her eyes, and with almost a whisper, she told him everything.
"My mum used to be the best… then she got a boyfriend… Lee… we moved in with him, and since then I´ve had all my stuff packed up in black bags, he´s nice as soon as mum´s there, but not when we´re alone… he even hit me once. I sleep on the couch ´cause there´s only one bedroom, and now mum and Lee have left me alone for over a week, because he didn´t want me to come with them on their trip to Ireland. " Carmen stopped talking. Mike looked scowl.
"Carmen," he said with a calm voice. "I´m gonna help you with this okay, I promise, and until you mum and her boyfriend comes back… You can stay at Elm Tree house all right? It´s getting pretty late and there´s gonna be a few hours before we´re home, I guess you can lend some of Tee´s clothes for tonight and tomorrow, then I´ll help you to take your stuff there." Carmen nodded. Mike clapped Carmen´s shoulder, but embraced her when she buried her face in her hands.
"There dear," he comforted her. "It´s gonna be okay." He held her like that for a while. And then a police- man knocked the window to the bus. Damien opened it.
"Is there a problem sir?" The man asked.
"Ehrm," Damien began. "We´re a bit lost… but we just need to find our way to the high way, and then we can find the right road ourselves." The police man told Damien how to drive, Mike shouted to Damien that he was the driver and he stood up and then…
"AAAH," Damien tripped on something, he fell, and knocked over both Harry´s and Murray´s boxes with burger´s and chips in them. They flew over him and one of them landed right on his head. Carmen, who had just stopped crying, bit her lip not to crack up laughing. Damien lifted the box of his head and stood up, he said he was okay, and then Carmen couldn´t hold it anymore, she began laughing so hard the others gave her really weird looks. Damien threw chips on her, and then she began laughing even more, the others began too..
"Just…"Lexy gasped after laughing for a couple of minutes. "Just… just a regular day at the dumping ground."
So… this is one of the longest chapters I´ve written… like ever. But that´s the end… this holds a couple of OC:C
Sheila and Murray, siblings, doesn´t appear in any other story, but may be mentioned further in this. Suzie the same (that named popped up in my head, because I was watching the ER and little- Suzie appeared) Damien, the trainee (before Tracy´s time), and Lexy, the head character in nothing goes my way, and she also appears in sisters in arms.
Oh, and they never got to the beach. Well I was thinking about the line Mike says in a day on the beach "I wouldn´t mind actually getting there this year."
Yeah, I am gonna stop writing but first... I´ve got another poll for this story on my profile... go vote..