"Mick?!" Linda exclaimed, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped in shock.
"L..." Mick spoke his eyes full of surprise.
"What the hell?!" Linda screamed as she rushed over to Ollie.
"Mum.. Please don't get mad. Think of Annie." Ollie pleaded as he looked over at his sister who was sitting on a swing, watching everything unfold.
"Oh screw Annie, I need the truth!" Linda screamed, shaking Ollie's shoulders.
"Stop!" Ollie yelled, pulling himself away from her.
"I'm not going to speak to you like this. You're terrifying Annie. I'm taking her home." Ollie spat angrily, storming over to Annie.
"Come on peanut." Ollie ordered firmly as he held out his hand for her to take.
"Carry please." Annie pleaded.
"Always." Ollie smiled slightly as he lifted Annie into his arms so she could wrap her arms around him.
"Ollie-" Mick went to say as Ollie shook his head.
"I'm taking Annie home. If you both want to talk, then come back home and we can all talk there. But I won't have Annie even more traumatised than she already is." Ollie ordered as Annie hid her head away from Linda.
Sighing, Ollie walked back home.
"Go play in the your room okay?" Ollie suggested as Annie nodded, slightly shaken at what her mum had done to Ollie.
"Are you okay?" Annie asked as Ollie placed her back on the ground once they'd walked up the stairs to their bedrooms.
"I will be. But I don't want you worrying okay? It's not for you to worry about." Ollie said as he bent down to Annie's level.
"But who looks after you?" Annie said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Ollie asked, slightly confused.
"You've always looked after me, and after mum too. But who looks are you?" Annie said as she placed her small hand on Ollie's cheek.
"We look after one another." Ollie said softly, pulling Annie's hand away and kissing it.
"Now go find your power ranger toys. I'll come check on you in a bit." Ollie smiled as Annie skipped off to find her toys.
Sitting down on the sofa, he finally had a chance to breathe. The last 3 days had been emotionally draining and he'd never felt so exhausted before in his entire life!
He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard his parents arguing as they came up the stairs.
Shaking his head, he sighed once more. Why couldn't they just talk? Why did everything always have to result in some sort of argument?
"Guys!" Ollie yelled as he came out of the living room.
"Shut up. I've only just managed to get Annie settled. She hates arguing, and seeing this is really unsettling for her."
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are talking to?!" Linda spat at Ollie.
"My mother! Not that you've been much of one. Pissed out of your mind constantly!" Ollie retaliated.
"How dare you!" Linda screamed as she slapped Ollie across the cheek.
Ollie held his cheek in shock, his eyes full of hurt and anguish.
"I hate you! You can both burn in hell for all I care. As soon as I can, I'm taking Annie and we are getting the hell out of here." Ollie spat as he rushed into his room, slamming the door.
The argument between Mick and Linda continued for over another hour.
"Stop it!" Ollie heard a small voice called out.
Annie.
Mick and Linda both looked to see who had spoken and both their hearts dropped.
"You're meant to be the grown ups! Act like it!" Annie pleaded emotionally, tears running down her face.
"I just want my mum back. I want a dad. And I want Ollie to be happy again!" Annie yelled.
"Annie sweetheart-" Linda said as she took a step closer to her daughter in an attempt to comfort her.
"Get away from me! I don't want you anywhere near me!" Annie screamed as she ran back into her room.
Ollie then appeared from his bedroom.
"I tried to warn you." Ollie sighed as he rolled his eyes.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mick asked.
"To open up. Unlike you two, I actually want to make a living for myself and someone has to keep a roof over our heads." Ollie said as he called for Annie.
"Ready to be chief bar cleaner again?" Ollie smiled as he saw Annie's tear stained face and he swore he could feel his heart actually break.
"With you? Always." Annie said quietly, not making eye contact with her mum or Mick.
"Come on then. Let's leave them to to their own devices." Ollie encouraged.
"Race you!" He teased as he ran down the stairs.
"No fair! I wasn't ready!" Annie grinned as she chased after him.
With that for the first time in 10 years, Mick and Linda were left alone.
YOU ARE READING
Hearts aren't meant to hurt like this
General FictionAn EastEnders story. Ollie Carter is 16. All he's ever wanted since he was little was for his dad to come home. On the eve of his 17th birthday-Things change forever. His family is suddenly fractured and everything he once knew, is gone. Follow Ol...
