The summer holidays were over and the usual school routine was back in place. Rachel had had a good week at work but was now really looking forward to the weekend.
Eddie's brother was coming to stay with them for a few days, as he was having his kitchen renovated, with his two daughter's. They were staying at Rachel's as Eddie's house wasn't big enough for them all to stay comfortably. Eddie had practically been living at Rachel's since they got back from Greece anyway.
Rachel went and picked Daisy up from school before going home as quickly as possible so she could have a quick clean before they arrived.
By the time they got back Eddie was at Rachel's. He gave her a hand to do a bit of cleaning which Rachel was really grateful for.
Rachel was hoovering the lounge when Daisy came in.
"Rachel please can I go out and play?"
"I don't think you've really got time. We need to get you ready for tonight and Richard will be here soon with Imogen and Poppy"
"Can I go out tomorrow then?"
"Well we'll have to see what we're doing but I'm sure you can at some point"
"Do you promise?"
"I can't promise but I don't think we'll be out all day so I'm sure there will be time. I'm just going to finish this hoovering and then I'm going to go upstairs to get changed before Richard comes. Are you going to get changed now?"
"Yes and then will you do my hair?"
"Of course I will"
Daisy went upstairs so Rachel went back to the hoovering. Once she was done she went up to get changed as Richard was coming in about half an hour with the girls.
When she got to her bedroom Daisy was sat at her dressing table waiting for her.
Rachel did Daisy's hair, which took longer than Rachel would have liked because Daisy was very particular about how she wanted it.
This meant Rachel didn't have time to have a shower like she'd wanted to. Instead she got changed and touched up her makeup. She was just running the straighteners through her hair when Richard arrived.
Eddie was just about to get in the shower so Rachel went down to let them in.
"Hiya, come on in"
Richard and the girls came inside with all of their stuff.
Rachel admired how good a Dad Richard was to Imogen and Poppy. Richard's wife had died 4 years ago when she'd been involved in a serious accident at work, so it had been down to Richard to look after the girls on his own after that.
"Thanks so much for letting us stay Rachel, I'm sure we could have survived on takeaways for a few days"
"Don't be daft, it will be nice having you all to stay"
Rachel took them all upstairs to show them where they were sleeping. Imogen was going to share with Lexie and Poppy was going to share with Olivia and Richard was in the spare room.
Rachel left them to get settled and went down to the kitchen. She was about to pour herself a glass of wine when Imogen came in.
"Do you fancy a glass of wine before we head out?" Rachel asked Imogen
"Yes please"
Rachel poured them a glass of wine each.
"Take a seat" Rachel said to Imogen who was still standing. She could be quite a shy girl sometimes so was feeling a bit awkward
Rachel and Imogen both sat down at the breakfast bar.
"Is Lexie nearly ready to go too?"
"Yeah she's ready, she's just FaceTiming Matt quickly"
"Ahh okay. So are you excited about going to uni?"
Imogen was starting at Durham uni next week.
"Yeah, a lot of my friends have already gone now so it feels kind of weird still being here"
"I'm sure you're going to have such an amazing time"
Rachel talked to Imogen for a while before Eddie, Lexie and Steve came into the kitchen. Although Imogen was normally fairly quiet, she seemed even more so than usual and Rachel was beginning to think there might be something up.
"Allison should be here with Michael any minute now" Eddie said
"Okay. I'll go and get Liv, Daisy and Poppy then"
Daisy was in the lounge watching something on YouTube so Rachel told her to get her shoes on before going up to Olivia's bedroom.
She knocked on the door being going in. Poppy was doing Olivia's makeup for her. Despite Poppy being 2 years older than Olivia, the two of them got on really well.
"Are you nearly ready girls? We're leaving as soon as Michael gets here"
"Yep I'll be done in 2 minutes and then we'll be down" Poppy replied
Poppy was a lot more outgoing than her sister and seemed to have much more confidence.
Rachel quickly put some lipstick on before heading downstairs.
As soon as Allison dropped Michael off they all headed out for dinner.
When they got to the restaurant they were shown to their table and handed menus.
"These cocktails look good. Do you fancy one Imogen?" Rachel asked
"Yeah okay, which one are you going to have?"
"I think I might have the French 75. Which one would you like?"
"I'll have the same as you"
"Can I get one?" Lexie asked hopefully
"Are you 18?"
"No but you're allowed a drink with a meal if you're 16"
"Well you can have a glass of wine when the food comes if you're lucky can't you?"
The waiter came and they ordered some drinks and a few nibbles for the table whilst deciding on what to have.
It didn't take long for their drinks to come. Imogen had a sip of her cocktail and really liked it.
Imogen was really enjoying being out but she wished she could stop thinking about everything she had on her mind. Rachel really didn't think she seemed like herself so when Imogen got up to go to the loo, Rachel decided to go with her.
They went into the toilets and both went to the loo.
Rachel came out first so washed her hands before waiting for Imogen to come out.
"Is everything okay Imogen?" Rachel asked whilst Imogen washed her hands
"Yes fine thank you"
"Are you sure? You seem like you have something on your mind"
"No I'm okay"
"Well if there is something on your mind, make sure you talk to someone about it. You're off to uni next week so I'm sure all of that must seem a bit worrying"
"I'm fine honestly" Imogen said wanting the conversation to end as she was feeling quite embarrassed
"Okay, if you do want to talk though you know where I am love"
Imogen and Poppy both went to Waterloo Road so had known Rachel for a little while now but it did still feel a bit strange being with her outside of school.
By the time they got back to the table their starters had come.
Rachel was half way through hers when Daisy tapped her on the shoulder.
"What is it?" Rachel asked
"I need a wee" Daisy said quietly
"Oh Daisy I literally just went to the loo, couldn't you have said then?"
"I didn't realise I had to go then"
"I can take her Rach, I could do with going anyway" Lexie offered
"Thanks love"
They all had a really nice meal out together.
Imogen was feeling really tipsy after the cocktail and the wine she'd had with her meal. It was obvious she'd been drinking as she was a lot more chatty than normal.
Lexie and Imogen went to the toilets.
"Are you feeling drunk Imogen?" Lexie asked now they were away from the adults
"Maybe a little bit" Imogen said giggling
"I can't believe Rachel only let me have one glass of wine. I didn't get ID'd so I could have got away with having more"
"We should have wine when we get back to Rachel's. She always gives me wine whenever we come over"
Lexie felt excited to have a few drinks with Imogen when they got home.
After they'd both been to the loo they headed back to the table and before long they all left to go home.
Rachel took Michael and Daisy up to bed as soon as they got home. They both tried to persuade her to let them stay down but Rachel knew how tired they'd both be tomorrow if she let them stay up.
Whilst Rachel took the little 2 up to bed, Eddie poured some drinks. He poured a glass of red for him and Richard.
"Do you want a glass of white Imogen?" Eddie asked
"Yes please"
"I'll have one too please Eddie" Lexie said
Eddie didn't think anything of it and poured one for Lexie too.
Poppy and Olivia decided to go upstairs to Olivia's bedroom but Lexie and Imogen went into the lounge.
Rachel came down not long after.
"Did they go off to bed alright?" Eddie asked
"Yeah eventually. I hope they don't stay up too late talking" Rachel said as Michael was sleeping in Daisy's room tonight
Imogen had a couple of glasses of wine at Rachel's so was beginning to get really drunk.
"Imogen, I think it's time you went up to bed" Richard said realising that his daughter had had too much to drink
"But it's still really early and I'm having fun"
"I can see you're having fun. I'd say it's definitely time you stopped drinking and got some sleep"
"Rachel tell Dad to stop being so boring. We want to stay up and talk don't we"
"Well I don't think you need any more wine. I think you're going to have a sore head in the morning as it is but we can stay up and talk for a bit longer if you like"
"At least Rachel's not boring. You can go to bed Dad if you want to be boring"
Lexie was finding Imogen hilarious. She knew she'd feel embarrassed about it in the morning though.
Even though Imogen stopped drinking she was still very drunk.
She needed a wee so headed to the downstairs loo.
Rachel went and waited outside whilst Imogen went as she knew she needed to get Imogen up to bed as she wasn't listening to Richard.
Imogen opened the door and saw Rachel stood there.
"Rachel shall we get some more wine? Dad said I shouldn't have any more but he's being boring"
"I think your Dad's right love, you've probably had enough to drink. Shall we go up to bed?"
"But I'm having fun talking with everyone"
"I am too but you're staying here for a few days so we've got plenty of time to chat. Let's get you up to bed, come on"
Rachel eventually persuaded Imogen to go up to bed so went up with her.
"Is Lexie coming to bed soon?"
"Yep she will be, we all will be"
Imogen went into Lexie's en suite and cleaned her teeth so Rachel sat on the bed and waited as she wanted to make sure Imogen went to bed and didn't try to go back downstairs.
Once Imogen was ready for bed she sat down next to Rachel.
"Rachel can I ask you something?"
"Of course you can"
"Do you think I shouldn't be going to uni?"
"Why would I think you shouldn't be going to uni?" Rachel asked not really understanding what Imogen meant
"Do you think I should be staying home to be there for Dad and Poppy. I feel awful for wanting to leave"
"No love of course you shouldn't feel like you need to stay at home for your Dad and sister. Your Dad's thrilled for you going off to uni and he most definitely doesn't want you to stay home for him. Of course they're both going to miss you but they will be okay"
"I feel so bad for Poppy though you know not having a Mum and now not even having me" Imogen said beginning to cry
"She'll still have your Dad though"
"Yeah I know but there will be some things she won't want to talk to Dad about. Like last weekend she went to a party and came home all upset. She told me why but she wouldn't tell Dad and I just don't want her to be at home really upset with no-one to talk to about it"
"From what I can tell your Dad's a pretty good listener so she could talk to him. But I do get there are some things you're never going to want to talk to your Dad about but just remember she can call you anytime she likes and she's still going to have all her friends"
"I know but I just don't think I should be going. Maybe I could live at home and just go to Manchester instead"
"Don't be silly sweetheart. You had your heart set on Durham and I'm sure you're going to have such a great time. I know you're going to worry but Poppy will be fine. You've managed to get through the last 4 years and you've been the best big sister to Poppy and yes it's going to be a big adjustment for all of you but it will all be okay"
"How do you know?"
"Because Poppy's a strong girl. I know how hard it is growing up without a Mum, but unfortunately it's just something the two of you have had to cope with and you moving out is another thing Poppy will get used to"
"I wish Mum was still here and then I wouldn't be worrying about all of this" Imogen said crying quite a lot
"I know. Not having your Mum around really does make everything a lot harder. I know I never met your Mum but I'm sure she would have been so proud of you going off to uni" Rachel said making Imogen cry even more
"Oh love I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry even more, come here"
Rachel wrapped her arm around Imogen and Imogen cried into Rachel's chest. It felt so nice being comforted by a woman again, it had been so long.
Rachel was rubbing Imogen's back when Lexie walked in.
"Can you just give us 2 minutes love?"
"Yeah sorry" Lexie said before going out again
"Right I think what you need now is a good nights sleep but we can talk again in the morning okay?" Rachel said once Imogen had calmed down a lot
Imogen nodded her head before pulling away from Rachel.
"I'm really glad you're with Uncle Eddie, you're so nice. I was so sad when you broke up but I'm really happy you're back together now"
"I'm glad you think so. I really like you as well Imogen, you're a lovely girl so caring and considerate of others. Anyway, into bed"
Imogen got under the covers and Rachel passed her a glass of water and some paracetamol.
"Here take these, you'll be glad of it in the morning I'm sure"
Imogen took the tablets and had a big gulp of water before lying down.
"Night night, sleep well"
"Night Rachel"
Imogen closed her eyes so Rachel went to find Lexie who was in the main bathroom taking off her makeup.
"Sorry about that, you can go in your bedroom now"
"What's wrong with Imogen? She looked so upset"
"She's just a bit worried about going to uni and leaving Poppy and her Dad"
"I bet Poppy's going to miss her loads"
"I'm sure she will but I've been trying to reassure her that Poppy will be fine when she's gone. Anyway I'm off to bed, I'm absolutely shattered. Sleep well love, see you in the morning"
"Night Rachel"
Rachel quickly checked on the other kids before getting ready for bed herself. It was a lot later than she'd intended on going to bed.
The next morning Imogen woke up with a bit of a fuzzy head. She remembered being really drunk last night and getting all upset in front of Rachel so immediately felt embarrassed.
It was still quite early so Lexie was still asleep. Imogen laid there trying to go back to sleep but she couldn't because she couldn't stop thinking about everything she'd said last night. She wasn't sure how she was going to face Rachel now.
Lexie woke up about an hour later so decided to go downstairs. Imogen stayed in bed though as she wanted to avoid seeing anyone.
Much to her dismay, a couple of minutes later Rachel came in.
"Morning love, Lexie said you were awake"
"Morning"
"How's your head this morning?"
"It's not hurting but it does feel a bit weird"
"We ended up having quite a lot of wine last night didn't we" Rachel said laughing
"Yeah I know"
All of a sudden Imogen's eyes started filling with tears. She was just feeling so awful about last night.
Imogen really wished she hadn't started crying in front of Rachel again but she just couldn't help it.
"Oh sweetheart are you still upset about what we were talking about last night?"
Imogen shook her head.
"I just wish I hadn't had so much to drink."
"Hey it's okay. We've all been there, I know how easy it is to get a bit carried away sometimes"
"I'm sorry for being all upset"
"You really don't need to apologise for being upset. I know part of the reason you were so emotional is because of the wine but I also think you've maybe been bottling up your worries about your Dad and Poppy when you go off to uni for a while now, would you say?"
Imogen shrugged her shoulders.
"Have you talked to your Dad about how you're feeling at all?" Rachel asked and Imogen shook her head
"I think you should have a talk with him about it all then"
"There's no point. He'll just say it will all be fine but I'll still be worried"
"Well obviously I'm not going to force you but I do think it might help. But as I said last night, Poppy and your Dad will manage just fine without you. Everything will work out okay"
"I hope so"
"Last night you said you're worried about Poppy needing someone to talk to but not wanting to tell your Dad. Would you like it if I said to Poppy that she can come to me anytime she's feeling upset or needs something that she can't tell your Dad about? Either at school or out of school"
Imogen nodded her head.
"Okay I'll have a little chat with Poppy over the weekend. But aside from worrying about your Dad and Poppy, is there anything else you're worried about?"
"That's the main thing. I'm a bit worried about making friends and stuff too but that's not what's making me not want to go"
"I really think you're going to have such a great time. I think you just need to get there now rather than worrying about all the changes"
"Yeah I've been a bit worried about it for a while but over the last couple of weeks it's been on my mind all the time" Imogen admitted
"You'll be there before you know it and I think everything will work out just fine. Once you're settled in I'd love to come up and see you with Uncle Eddie"
"That would be really nice"
"We'll arrange that then, maybe some time in November. Anyway I need to go and make some pancakes, are you going to come down for breakfast?"
Imogen nodded her head but was a bit nervous about facing everyone.
She went down with Rachel though and they all had a bit of a laugh about some of the things Imogen had done last night which were quite funny.
Once everyone had breakfast and were dressed they decided to go out for a walk.
After lunch Eddie and Richard wanted to watch the football so Rachel agreed to go shopping with the 4 older girls. Daisy and Michael stayed at home.
Rachel parked up in town so they all got out of the car.
"Right then, what's the plan?" Rachel asked
"Please can me and Poppy go off and meet you later?" Olivia asked
"Yes that's fine"
Imogen and Lexie decided to stay with Rachel so she didn't have to be on her own when she hadn't really wanted to come shopping in the first place.
"Is there anything you girls want to get in particular?" Rachel asked
"I want to get a couple of new outfits for freshers week"
"I don't really need anything but I'd quite like some new wintery pyjamas" Lexie said
Imogen really enjoyed shopping and talking with Lexie and Rachel.
After doing some shopping they decided to go for coffee.
Rachel paid for the drinks and cake before taking it to the table. She noticed Imogen was rubbing her stomach and it looked like she was in a bit of pain.
"Are you okay Imogen?" Rachel asked
"I have a bit of a sore tummy"
It was unusual for Imogen to be so open but Rachel was glad she was starting to feel a bit more comfortable around her.
They hadn't been in there for long when Poppy and Olivia came to join. After they'd all had some cake they decided to head home.
Rachel found Eddie and Richard in the kitchen drinking a beer.
"Did they win?"
"They sure did" Eddie replied grinning
"Where are Daisy and Michael?"
"Michael is watching a film in the lounge and Daisy went out to play"
"Did you give her a time to be back by?"
"I said 5"
"Okay. I didn't see her outside, did she say if she was going to Millie's or Ben's?"
"No she said she was going to ride her scooter outside with her friends. She hasn't been gone for long, I was going to check on her in a minute"
"I'll go"
Rachel went outside and couldn't see Daisy anywhere so went over and knocked on Millie's door. Millie's Mum Sam answered.
"Hi Sam, how are you?"
"Good thanks, how are you?"
"I'm good thanks. Is Daisy here?"
"No she's not, Millie's been at her Auntie's for the afternoon. I'm about to leave to go and get her"
"Oh right. She came out to play but I don't know where she's gone. She can't be at Ben's because they're away for the weekend"
"Oh that's strange. Maybe she's just in your garden"
"Yeah I'll go and check. Thanks Sam"
Rachel was starting to feel a bit concerned about where Daisy was now.
Daisy knew if she was playing out she was only allowed to the end of the road and that she had to tell Rachel or whoever was looking after her if she was going to someone else's house. Normally Daisy was really good with the rules which was why Rachel was feeling worried.
Rachel went straight home and searched all over the house.
"Eddie I don't know where Daisy is. Can you help me look for her?" Rachel asked sounding really panicky
Everyone started looking everywhere they could think of to find Daisy but she didn't seem to be anywhere.
Rachel was really panicking now.
"I'm phoning the police"
"I'm sure she's here somewhere Rach" Eddie said
"Tell me where she is then, you were meant to be looking after her" Rachel snapped
"She really hadn't been gone for long when you got back and I was about to check on her"
"I'm sorry. I'm really worried Eddie, we've looked everywhere. It's not like Daisy to just go off like this"
"I know. You're right, let's ring the police" Eddie said realising this was actually quite serious
Rachel felt sick to her stomach thinking of all of the things that could have happened to Daisy.
To be continued...