Chapter 3
It was getting late on the Sunday evening, Amy was in her room, she was feeling awful about what had happened the other night still, as well as really embarrassed. Both Ivy and Amy were starting to feel nervous about going to school the next day too.
Rachel was downstairs getting some food ready for Ivy's packed lunch, when suddenly Gaby appeared in the kitchen
"Hey love, do you want some lunch making up for tomorrow or do you just want me to give you some lunch money?"
"Lunch money please"
"How much do you have on your account?"
"erm like £1 I think"
Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes "Honestly Gaby I gave you £15 just last Wednesday, what on earth do you spend it on?"
Gaby thought that it was best not to answer that question, given that she'd actually spent half her lunch money last week buying biscuits for Josh in the year above in exchange for energy drinks
"Guess I'm just hungry all the time"
"Well I'll give you a tenner, you better make it last though"
"Mum my stomach really hurts" Gaby said
"Really, when did that start?" Rachel asked sounding a little worried
"about an hour ago"
"where does it hurt?" Rachel asked
"Just kind of in the middle"
"Well see how it goes, if it gets any worse come and find me and I'll get you some paracetamol"
Gaby then left to go upstairs and started playing on her phone
By this point it was getting quite late so Rachel decided to go and put Ivy to bed. Rachel knew how nervous Ivy was about starting school tomorrow and wanted to make sure she felt relaxed and had a good night's sleep before it.
She found Ivy in her bedroom playing with some of her dolls, Rachel stood and watched her for a moment or so and smiled to herself, it was nice to see Ivy playing.
"Ivy love, it's time for bed"
Ivy put her toys away neatly and picked up her pyjamas and started getting changed, she handed her clothes to Rachel who put them in the washing basket
"Nip to the bathroom, then I'll come and say night"
Ivy wandered off to the bathroom.
As she was brushing her teeth, she suddenly started to feel really scared again about tomorrow, she was dreading going in to school
About 10 minutes had passed and Ivy still hadn't come out the bathroom, so Rachel decided to go and check if she was okay
"Ivy is everything alright in there?"
"Yeah" Ivy replied, however Rachel could sense how upset she sounded
"Are you on the toilet? Can I come in?"
Ivy paused for a second before unlocking the door and coming out
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked expectantly
"Yeah" Ivy mumbled
Rachel sighed before walking Ivy back to her room, thinking she could try and have a talk with her in there
"It is going to be alright you know" Rachel said putting an arm around Ivy
Ivy just shuffled and stared at the ground
"What is it you're so scared of huh?"
"I don't know"
"I can't help if you won't talk to me you know"
Rachel sat with Ivy for a bit longer however it was obvious that Ivy wasn't going to talk to her, so she decided to give her a bit of space
"Night Ivy, try and get a decent sleep"
When Rachel left Ivy instantly began to cry, she felt so scared about starting school tomorrow, she was terrified all the other kids would laugh at her because she wasn't as big as them or as clever as them
Rachel got on with some work for a bit before deciding to head upstairs to check on Amy and Gaby
She knocked on Amy's room before going in
She found Amy on her phone, sit was obvious she'd been crying
"Hey love, is everything okay?"
"No" Amy mumbled
Rachel sighed and went and sat down next to her
"Are you still upset about last night?"
"I can't believe how much of an idiot I must have looked"
"Oh love, you made a mistake, that's all you can't go beating yourself up about it forever can you?"
"I know but I just feel so stupid"
"I know but give it a week or so it'll all be forgotten, someone else will get insanely drunk at a party then the focus will all be on them"
Amy knew Rachel was right, but she still felt so upset about it all, she also couldn't believe how kind her auntie had been to her over the last couple of days and it made her feel bad for being so horrible to her when she first started living here
"Rach?"
"Yeah"
"Thanks for being so nice, I never realised you were like this"
Rachel smile slightly "What you're shocked to discover I'm not actually a mean old witch"
"No it's just … no one's ever cared before"
Hearing this caused a lump to form in Rachel's throat
"Well I care Amy, very much" She said, "I know things were bad between your dad and me, but I still thought about you a lot"
"why did you fall out with him?"
"Oh love it was all a long time ago"
Rachel didn't want to get into the details of this with Amy, she just didn't feel right talking badly about her Dad in front of her
"You don't have to protect him for me, I don't give a crap about him"
Rachel sighed before saying "We fell out when I was 25, by this point he'd already been in prison once for beating up this guy and I knew he had a drug addiction, he tried asking me for money and of course I said no and then he got violent with me, I was pregnant at the time"
"With Gaby?"
"No not with Gaby" Rachel said quietly "it was a year or so before I fell pregnant with her, I was only about 12 weeks along and he punched me in the stomach and I lost my baby, I've never spoken to him since"
Tears filled Amy's eyes "He's an evil bastard"
"I thought he would have changed when he had you"
"No, he's always been a shit. It got worse though after Ivy was born, that's when he got really violet, he'd punch me and when Ivy was about 4 he started on her too"
Rachel shook her head in disbelief
"I can't understand how anyone could be so cruel" Rachel said, "Did no one ever get suspicious, your teachers or anyone?"
"No not really, I coped with it well, hid all the marks he left"
"You shouldn't have had to" Rachel said gently "What about Ivy?"
"Well that's how they found out in the end, he hit her quite badly one day and then she had to go into school, she got herself into a right state she was sick everywhere and I think she must have kind of fainted or something and then her teacher got worried even though Ivy wouldn't say what had happened. Ivy got sent home and the teacher must have reported it to someone. Dad picked Ivy up though and he must have hit her really badly, social services came around later and found her in such a bad way. That's when we got taken off mum and dad"
"Poor Ivy no wonder she's so terrified of school, I guess she'll just have really bad memories of it"
"Yeah, she hated it, the kids in her class used to pick on her because she was so small and quiet, and because her clothes were never clean" Amy explained
"It must have been so awful for you both"
"Ah well it's over now" Amy said
"Amy, you do know you're safe, here don't you? You and Ivy?"
"Yeah, I know, I didn't feel it at first, but I do now"
"I'm glad, and if ever you want to talk about any of it, you just come and find me yeah?"
"Yeah" Amy said, "What time do I need to be up tomorrow for school?"
"Well unfortunately it'll be even earlier than usual because we'll have to get Ivy sorted, so maybe about 6.30"
"Ew that'll be so grim"
"You'll get used to it soon enough" Rachel said smiling
"I hope so" Amy said
"Well I'm going to check on Gaby then have my bath, so I'll leave you to it, don't stay up too late okay?"
"I won't, night Rach"
"Night love, sleep well"
Rachel then went off, she wanted to check on Gaby but when she went in her room she realised she was already asleep, Rachel smiled before closing her bedroom door
It was about 11 and Ivy was having a restless night's sleep, she woke up suddenly and realised she'd wet the bed. She instantly began to panic as she was scared about what Rachel would say when she found out, the couple fostering her before Rachel had been so angry with her about it, and Ivy had been so relieved when it hadn't happened at Rachel's house.
She didn't know what do and just sat there in bed for a while feeling all cold and uncomfortable
In the end she decided to go and see Amy however when she went into her room she realised she was fast asleep. Ivy knew she'd have to tell Rachel about it, she just felt really scared to.
Rachel's door was closed. Ivy stood there for a good minute or so shaking with fear, she felt sick about having to tell her auntie. In the end she took a deep breathe and knocked on the door
Rachel had just got out the bath and didn't have any clothes on when she heard the knock
"Just a second" She called
She quickly wrapped a towel around her hair and put some pyjamas and a dressing gown on before opening the door
Rachel saw Ivy looking all scared so crouched down next to her
It was weird for Ivy seeing Rachel without all her makeup and hair done, because normally she'd be ready before Ivy got up
"Hey Ivy, what's up?" She asked
"I'm sorry" Ivy said before bursting into tears "I couldn't help it, I didn't mean to"
"oh ivy I'm sure you didn't, what is it darling?"
"When I was asleep I wet my bed"
Rachel felt really sorry for Ivy as she seemed so upset about it and she could tell how embarrassed she was having to come and tell her this
"okay love, don't worry, it's no big deal"
"Are you cross?"
"No not even a little bit, unfortunately it's not something that can really be helped is it, come on sweetie let's go and get you sorted"
Rachel took hold of Ivy's hand and they went through to her bedroom
"I'm going to nip downstairs and put everything in the wash, take your pyjamas off love I'll get you some fresh ones"
Ivy quickly took them off and handed them to Rachel
"There's some fresh ones, why don't you go and have a quick wash in the bathroom, I'll be back up in a sec"
Rachel was downstairs putting Ivy's stuff in the wash when suddenly Gaby came down
"Oh my god you made me jump"
"Sorry I heard you come down, what you doing?"
"Ivy had an accident, I'm just sorting her stuff out, only don't say anything to her"
"I won't is she okay?"
"Yeah I think she's just probably got upset about school" Rachel said "are you okay"
"My stomach still hurts"
"I'll get you some paracetamol" Rachel said going in the medicine cupboard and getting two out
"I'm going back up to bed, night mum"
"Night love you"
Rachel then went back upstairs and into Ivy's room, she found her looking all upset on her bed
She went and sat down next to her
"Ivy it really doesn't matter you know" Rachel soothed
"I really didn't want to do it"
"Of course, you didn't Ivy, but you couldn't help it. Look love, everyone's wet their bed a few times in their life"
"But I do it all the time"
"And is it any wonder with everything going on at the moment, you're just feeling a bit unsettled darling that's all. Between you and me, when I was even older than you were I used to do it more or less every night, so you don't have to feel embarrassed love"
"Really"
"Yeah really, it's just one of them things" Rachel said, "Have you been worrying about school huh?"
Ivy nodded
"I know how scared you are but it'll all be fine I promise" she said, "Look how about you come in with me for tonight"
Ivy liked the sound of this
"Come on then"
Ivy followed her auntie through to her room
Rachel quickly dried her hair off before getting into bed
They were both tired so fell asleep straight away
The alarm went off far too early for Rachel's liking the next day, she laid in bed for a few minutes before dragging herself up
She quickly started to get ready and do her hair and makeup before waking Ivy up
"Hey darling, did you have a good sleep?"
"Yeah" Ivy said, "Your bed is so comfy"
"I know it makes it hard to get out of in the morning though, come on lets get you ready for school, I got you a uniform last week"
Ivy got changed before brushing her teeth
"Should we plait your hair"
"Yes please"
Rachel did a neat French plait in Ivy's hair before going to wake Amy and Gaby up
She knocked on Amy's door and then walked in
"Amy" she said however she didn't wake up, so she shook her awake
"It's night time go away" Amy mumbled
"It's time to get up for school"
Eventually Amy sat up ad flicked her light on
"Breakfast in twenty minutes"
Amy could tell her auntie was becoming less like Rachel and more like miss mason, it was going to be weird for her seeing Rachel in school
When Rachel went into Gaby's room she was surprised to find her awake clutching her stomach
"Hey, is your stomach still bad?"
"It hurts so much"
"Where does it hurt"
"All in my right side"
Rachel was about to say that Gaby could have the day off school today when suddenly she remembered something
"And this stomach pain has absolutely nothing to do with the year 7 maths assessment that's happening today huh?"
"What? No, it genuinely hasn't mum, I'd completely forgotten we even had it"
"I wasn't born yesterday, look I know maths isn't your favourite subject but that doesn't mean you can skip school for it"
"But it's really sore, why don't you believe me?"
"What like how your head was really sore last time it was the maths assessments" Rachel sighed "You're going to school and that's final"
Gaby realised there was no point in arguing, even though she was in a lot of pain
About an hour later they were all in the car on the way to school, they arrived at Ivy's school first, so Rachel got out and took her in
Rachel was surprised how calm Ivy seemed, she'd expected her to be a lot worse, but as they got closer ivy's grip on Rachel's hand became tighter
"It's alright ivy, look doesn't the school look nice?"
Ivy did feel slightly more relaxed when she looked around, the school was so pretty, and all the children were playing happily together
Rachel signed in with reception and after a brief appointment with the head they showed Ivy to her class
By the time they'd left the school, Rachel felt a lot happier, even though Ivy was nervous she felt comfortable leaving her
Rachel then got in the car and started driving to school
"You're quiet Gaby" Amy commented
"It's because I'm not letting her have the day off school" Rachel said
"No it's not it's because my stomach genuinely hurts and you don't believe me" Gaby said tears filling her eyes
"Oh Gaby cut the melodramatics" she sighed
"you're so unfair I literally hate you"
Rachel just rolled her eyes in response to this, she was beginning to feel a bit bad though about not letting Gaby stay home as it was unusual for her to make this much of a fuss over nothing
When they got to school Gaby just ran inside
"It's always lovely to get a nice goodbye isn't it" Rachel sighed "Right come up to my office we've got some paperwork to sort out"
Rachel spent a while getting Amy her timetable and everything
"I'll show you to your first class, don't worry it's a really nice group you're with I'm sure you'll make friends in no time"
Amy felt nervous as she walked into her classroom
It didn't take long however before she got talking to a group of girls
A couple of hours passed, and Gaby was sat in English, she was in so much pain now and it was getting worse and worse
She could barely concentrate on her work and she felt all faint, she didn't even notice Mr smith speaking to her
"Gaby" he said loudly causing her to jump
"Perhaps you'd like to answer the question on the board"
Gaby didn't reply and just stared out the window
"What's up with you today"
"I really don't feel well" Gaby said before packing her stuff up and running out the classroom
Mr smith followed her out, however he saw Gaby going into the toilets
He was relieved when he saw Rachel coming down the stairs
"Rachel" he called causing her to turn around
"Hey what's up?" she asked
"It's Gaby she's just ran out of my lesson, she really didn't look very well, she's in the toilets just over there"
"Oh, okay thanks for letting me know I'll go and check on her now"
Feeling pretty worried, Rachel went into the toilets
She found Gaby by the sinks doubled over in pain
"Hey Gaby, I think we need to get you seen to don't we huh?" Rachel said, putting an arm around Gaby
"My stomach really hurts I'm not lying Mum" Gaby sobbed
"I know you're not and I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, let me go up and grab my bag then we'll go to hospital"
"Am I really ill?" Gaby said sounding scared
"I don't know love, it could be appendicitis"
Rachel rushed to grab her coat and then helped Gaby out to the car
She drove to the hospital as quickly as possible
By the time they got there Gaby had got even worse and the colour had drained from her
"Alright darling we're nearly there" Rachel soothed as she helped her walk in
Rachel checked into reception, and within about 10 minutes they were told to go through
A doctor examined Gaby and explained that he expected it was appendicitis, but a blood test and ultrasound would be needed
"Will I have to have an operation" Gaby asked
"probably, we'll operate as soon as we can. Don't worry you'll be asleep for all of it though"
After the doctor took some blood from Gaby and then her and Rachel went through to ultrasound
"Oh Gaby I am so sorry for not believing you"
"I'm scared"
"I know but the doctors know what they're doing love, you've got to trust them"
About an hour or so later Gaby's results were back and they confirmed appendicitis
Rachel felt so scared for her daughter but knew she had to stay calm
"We'll get you down to the surgical unit where your mum will have to sign some consent forms for surgery and then you'll be wheeled to theatre, the operation should only take about an hour"
Gaby felt absolutely terrified as she got ready for the operation
"It's all going to be fine love I promise" Rachel soothed "you might be a bit sore afterwards, but you'll be completely safe I promise"
A few tears escaped from Gaby's eyes, so Rachel brushed them away for her
"I'll be right with you as soon as you come around"
A few minutes later the porter came along and wheeled Gaby away
All Rachel could do was watch as her daughter went into theatre.
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