Chapter 8
It was a Sunday morning and Rachel was doing a few jobs around the house while the girls were asleep. For once Ivy had slept in which meant Rachel got to have a little lie in herself before getting up.
She'd been up for about 30 minutes when suddenly Ivy appeared downstairs looking all sleepy still.
"Morning love, you must have slept well"
"I didn't get to sleep for ages last night"
"How come?"
"I was playing with my toys"
"Well no wonder you slept in then, ah well at least it's the weekend" Rachel said "You're going to go to grandmas later because I've got to go to a meeting"
"But it's a Saturday"
"Oh trust me I know" Rachel sighed, the last place she really wanted to be on a Saturday was stuck in some meeting, but she couldn't really avoid it.
Rachel got Ivy something to drink, before deciding to go and wake Gaby and Amy up
She went into Amy's room and must to her surprise she found her already awake
"Morning Rach"
"Hey love, I didn't expect to see you awake"
"I needed to be to fit in with my timetable"
"What?" Rachel said confused
Amy sprang out of bed and produced a piece of paper
"Look I made a revision timetable, so I know I can fit everything in before the end of year exams"
"Oh wow that's so organised, well done love" Rachel said "I'm so impressed with how hard your working lately"
"Well Miss Jones said all our predicted grades for GCSE and our sets for next year are decided by these tests, so I guess they must be pretty important"
"Well Miss Jones is right, although I don't think many people in your year have taken that message on" Rachel said sighing
"I need some help with quadratic equations, can you help me?"
"Oh Amy, much as I'd love to help you I don't know the first thing about geometry"
"Um it's algebra not geometry"
"Oh yeah" Rachel said laughing "See I'm proving my point, Grandad's good at maths he might be able to help you"
"Yeah I'll ask him later"
"I wish Gaby would do some work for her exams, the year 7 ones start tomorrow" Rachel sighed "honestly I don't know what's up with her lately, she seems so quiet"
"The year 7 ones aren't that important though"
"I know, I guess I just worry because of everything that's happened with her"
"All that's over though, I keep a close eye and she's got loads of friends"
"I know, I know, I just need to relax about her"
"All 12-year olds are a bit sulky Rach"
"Sulky is an understatement at the moment" Rachel said
She chatted to Amy for a bit longer before deciding to go and wake Gaby up
"Gaby it's nearly 10, it's time to wake up now" Rachel said
Gaby eventually stirred
"Go away" she mumbled
"Gaby you need to get up"
Eventually Gaby sat up in bed
"Are you going to do some revision today?" Rachel asked "Your maths and science tests are tomorrow"
"Maybe later"
Rachel sighed, Gaby used to be such a hard-working student but recently she just seemed tired all the time and didn't seem to want to put the effort in
"Gaby you need to do well in these tests" Rachel said "You might not think it but they are actually pretty important"
"Stop lecturing me, I've only just woken up"
"Hey, I am not lecturing you, I'm simply reminding you that it's about time you put some graft in"
Gaby sighed heavily and got out of bed before stomping downstairs.
She still wasn't eating properly, in fact she was eating less and less every day, she was clever about it though and so far, no one had noticed. Not eating properly was making her feel so miserable though and she couldn't help but snap at everyone all the time, it also made it nearly impossible for her to concentrate at school because she felt tired and dizzy all the time.
Rachel got all the laundry together and came downstairs with it to put it in the wash.
"Right what does everyone want for breakfast?"
"Toast and fruit please" Amy said
"Cornflakes please"
"Gaby" Rachel asked
"I don't like eating breakfast" Gaby said
"Since when?"
"Since forever"
Rachel rolled her eyes but couldn't be bothered to get into an argument about it especially not first thing on a morning.
The day seemed to pass pretty quickly after that, the girls went to their grandma's house at around lunch time while Rachel went on her course. Even though she hadn't really been looking forward to going on it, she actually did quite enjoy it while she was there.
Rachel got back at about 4 and the kids were dropped back off shortly after she got back.
"Mum thanks for looking after them today"
"Oh it's no bother, you know they're always welcome"
"Well I really appreciate it, has everything been okay?"
"Yeah all fine, Gaby's been pretty quiet, she hasn't been feeling well so didn't eat her lunch"
"Really" Rachel said sounding a little concerned
"Yeah she went to sleep at about 2 for an hour or so because she said she was feeling tired"
"Oh right, well thanks for letting me know, I'll keep an eye on her"
Rachel made her Mum some coffee and she stayed for a while before deciding to head off.
"Thanks again for having them Mum"
"No trouble"
Rachel said goodbye and then decided to go up to Gaby's room to check on her
She knocked and then walked in, she found Gaby curled up on her bed, not really doing anything just staring into space
"Gab, Grandma said you aren't feeling well, is everything okay?"
"Yeah I'm okay" Gaby said sounding small
"What's up, is it a stomach ache?"
"Yeah"
"It's not your period again is it?"
"No" Gaby said, cheeks flushing slightly
"Okay, well take it easy then"
"Yeah I will do, thanks Mum" Gaby said, this was the nicest she'd spoken to Rachel in a while, it made a change from her snapping at her
Rachel smiled slightly, she was about to leave when she turned back around
"Gaby, you do know you can talk to me don't you" Rachel said "You can tell me anything"
"Yeah I know"
"Okay"
Rachel couldn't help but feel a bit concerned but decided to leave Gaby to it, she knew from experience the worst thing you could do to Gaby was try and push her.
She went downstairs and started cooking tea, she decided to do a spaghetti bolognaise as she wanted something quick and easy.
About 30 minutes later she shouted everybody down.
Gaby sat down at the table and instantly started panicking, she found it easy to avoid meals at school but at home It was more difficult.
"Don't worry Gaby yours is with Quorn mince" Rachel said misinterpreting why Gaby looked so worried, much to her surprise Gaby had actually kept up being a vegetarian, Rachel thought it would just be a passing stage.
"It looks so nice Mum, I just still feel a bit sick"
"Just eat what you can, but you've got to try a bit, you didn't eat breakfast, so your stomach will be completely empty"
Gaby stared at the big plate in front of her, she started trying to count up how many calories would be in her meal. She was trying so hard to stick to less than 1000 calories per day, if she ate this it would ruin her whole routine.
It did look so tempting though, maybe a forkful wouldn't hurt. Gaby lifted the fork to her mouth. It tasted so good, her Mum always did make fantastic spag bol.
Before long Gaby had finished off the whole plate.
"Good to see you've got your appetite back" Rachel said smiling
Gaby couldn't believe she'd eaten it all, she just hadn't been able to stop herself. She couldn't believe she'd had all those calories. She knew she had to get rid of them.
"Excuse me" She said before quickly getting up from the table and rushing to the upstairs loo.
She'd made herself sick a few times before and she hated it, but she couldn't think of what else to do.
Rachel had followed her up and heard her being sick.
She waited outside for a minute before coming in, she found Gaby all white and shivery by the toilet.
"Oh love, were you sick?"
"Yeah I felt really bad after I'd eaten all that food"
"Maybe something dry might have been better, do you want to have a quick shower to freshen up?"
Gaby nodded so Rachel turned the shower on and got it to the right temperature
"Right you get yourself sorted, maybe just have a rest tonight yeah?"
Gaby nodded her head.
As soon as Rachel left, Gaby started crying, she hated feeling like this all of the time.
Rachel had just poured herself some wine when there was a knock at the door.
She sighed, she wasn't really in the mood for visitors, she just fancied a relaxing night before school tomorrow.
To her surprise when she answered her door she saw her sister Mel and her ten-year-old daughter Hannah.
"Mel, is everything okay?"
"Not really, I've had a big argument with Mick and I need to sort things out, I know it's last minute, but could you have Hannah tonight"
Rachel sighed, she couldn't believe her sister was doing this again, it was so unfair on Hannah to keep dumping her wherever she fancied. Hannah was such a sweet girl who was so eager to please everyone, but very young for her age and was struggling quite a bit at school at the minute. Rachel thought the best thing for her would be some stability.
"Hannah, why don't you go through to the living room, Amy's just through their she'll be able to help take your stuff upstairs, we'll get a bed made up for you"
"Thanks auntie Rachel" Hannah said cheerfully before going through
As soon as Hannah was out of ear shot, Rachel turned her attention to Mel
"You cant keep doing this, it's so unfair on Hannah, it must be so unsettling for her"
"Rach don't start"
"It's not okay Mel, you know how Hannah's struggling at the moment, she needs some sort of stability"
"Okay, but please, just for tonight"
"fine, but I mean it Mel it's just for tonight" Rachel said "You know I love having her, but you can't keep just taking her out of her home"
Mel said thankyou to Rachel before going off.
Rachel shook her head before going back inside.
She went into the living room
"Hey Hannah, should we go and unpack your things"
Hannah nodded and followed Rachel upstairs
"I can do them if you want auntie Rachel"
"It's okay love, I don't mind" Rachel said "So did Mum and Mick have another argument then"
"Yeah they were shouting loads"
"That can't be very nice for you"
"It's okay, I don't mind, I just go upstairs and play with my dolls"
Rachel smiled to herself, Hannah really was a lovely girl.
She helped unpack her things
"Have you had some tea?"
"Yep I had beans on toast"
"Okay, well do you want anything extra, we've got spag bol left from earlier"
"I'm okay thankyou" she said happily "Can I go and see Gaby"
It always shocked Rachel when she thought about the fact Gaby and Hannah were only 2 years apart, Gaby was just so much more mature.
"She's actually not feeling too well love, I'm sure Amy and Ivy would love to see you though"
The rest of the evening passed quickly and before long it was time to put Ivy to bed.
Rachel let Hannah stay up a bit later then took her up to bed.
"Night my love, shout if you need anything"
"Okay, night Rachel, thanks for letting me stay"
"Oh love, you know you're welcome any time"
Poppy read her book for a little while before going to sleep.
Rachel and the two older girls stayed up a bit longer before deciding to go to bed.
The next morning came around far too quickly and everyone was still rather sleepy
Gaby in particular was very hard to get out of bed.
Rachel dropped off Poppy and Ivy and then headed to school
"Are you ready for your exams Gaby"
"Yeah I guess"
"What have you got first?"
"Maths"
"Well it'll be nice to get that one out the way won't it huh?"
"mm" Gaby replied clearly not really listening, she was just staring off into space
When they got to school Gaby went straight off
The morning seemed to pass quite quickly and before long it was time for Gaby to do her maths exam. She really wasn't feeling that well, she hadn't eaten properly in days and it was making her feel all shivery and dizzy.
Even in year 7 the exams were taken pretty seriously, they all had to go into the hall.
Gaby found her table and sat down, she wrote her name and before long it was time to start.
She looked at all the questions but nothing was making sense to her anymore. All the words were just swimming round on the page, her head felt all foggy. Tears started to form in her eyes, she tried to brush them off and continue with the paper but she felt like she was going to faint. Shaking she put her hand in the air and one of the teachers rushed over.
"Miss I don't feel well"
"Gaby your shaking and you've gone white as a sheet"
"Can I go to the toilet please"
"Yes of course"
Gaby got up and rushed out. As soon as she walked out she became even more dizzy and suddenly she fell to the floor.
The next thing she knew there were loads of people around her, she recognised her Mums voice
"Gaby, Gaby can you hear me" Rachel said sounding really worried
Gaby finally came around and opened her eyes
She was confused when she saw loads of faces around her
"Right back of everyone, give Gaby a bit of space" Rachel said "Gaby are you okay, you had me worried?" she asked gently, cupping her hands around Gaby's face.
"What happened?"
"You fainted love" Rachel explained "The school nurse is coming to check you over in a minute"
"Oh" Gaby said still feeling quite out of it
A minute or so later the nurse came along
"Hi Gaby I'm jenny, we're just going to do a few checks on you, see if you need to get checked out in hospital" She said "Do you think you can stand up for me?"
Gaby got up to her feet
"Right let's go to the medical room"
Rachel helped Gaby along and they all went along to the nurse's room
"Can you remember what happened in the exam Gaby"
"I just felt really dizzy, I think it's because I was nervous"
The nurse started doing a few tests
"she was sick last night" Rachel said
"Your blood pressures rather low, did you have any breakfast this morning"
"No, I did tell her to have something"
"Have you been eating properly Gaby" the nurse asked, she couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious, she'd taken Gaby's BMI and it was pretty low
"Yeah"
"Have you started your periods?"
"Yes" Gaby said blushing slightly
"When was your last one"
"A few weeks ago"
"Right, maybe we should see about getting some blood tests done, check you're not anaemic, it's pretty common in girls your age"
"Can I go home now"
"Okay, but you need to make sure you eat breakfasts properly, especially if you were sick last night, you can't do exams with nothing on your stomach" Jenny said "It's my guess it's the nerves and not eating properly over the last few days that made you faint"
"Oh, can I go home now"
The nurse looked at her, she wasn't entirely convinced there wasn't more to this.
"Yes I guess so, have a rest today and see how you feel tomorrow okay?"
"Yeah"
"Thanks for seeing her" Rachel said "Come on love, lets go and get your stuff and we'll go home"
Gaby and Rachel left, they collected her bag and went to the car
On the way back, Gaby felt Rachel staring at her
"What?" Gaby said sounding annoyed
"You've lost weight"
"No I haven't"
"Yes you have, Gaby are you eating properly?"
"Yes" she said "The nurse already asked me that"
"well I'm asking you"
"I'm fine"
"There's always an excuse about why you don't want to eat, your feeling ill, your too full, you'll eat later. When was the last time you ate properly"?
"Mum I can't be bothered with this"
"Answer the question"
"I ate all my food last night"
"Yes and then you were sick afterwards"
"I can't help it if I'm sick"
"unless you made yourself sick" Rachel said
"First I'm anorexic, then I'm bulimic, make your mind up Mum"
"Gaby I know there's something you're not telling me" Rachel said sounding worried
"Mum leave it" Gaby sighed
"You fainted in your exam, and don't tell me it was just nerves"
Gaby didn't even bother to reply
As soon as they got home Rachel opened the door and Gaby went straight up to her room and slammed the door behind her.
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