IN THE SHADOWS - (TNN - SIOBHAN/SARA/VARIOUS)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" Reece was yelling and waving his arms around. Siobhan was sat at her desk and he hadn't even considered the fact that he was towering over her. When his hand moved closer to her face she flinched away from him. The panic in her eyes made him feel like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, as he realised that she'd thought he was going to hit her. His arms dropped down to his sides as he desperately said "Siobhan I'm so sorry, I'm not angry at you, I'm just angry about what that man did to you." He took a step back, sensing her need for space in that moment. For several seconds, Siobhan looked up at him and all he could see was pure terror. Suddenly she stood up and bolted from the office, leaving the door wide open in her wake.

Reece so desperately wanted to go after her, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and fix the mistake he'd made. He knew however that the last thing she'd want would be the arms of the man who'd frightened her, trapping her body against his. He sighed before closing the door and sitting down at his desk, proceeding to lean down and put his head in his hands. Sometimes Reece wondered if he had the capacity to turn into his father, he'd always had a temper and sometimes he couldn't quite control it. He logged back onto his computer and tried to focus on his work but all he could think about was Siobhan, cowering in her chair and backing away from him.

Eventually, the office door crashed open and when Reece looked over at the doorway he was surprised to see Mia standing there. Before he had a chance to speak she snapped at him aggressively "do you realise that Siobhan is crying in the toilets? She's just told Char and I that you shouted at her." Reece felt a stabbing pain in his chest as he imagined Siobhan desperately trying to soothe herself. "Mia, I made a mistake but did she tell you why I was angry?" When the red head shook her head, he proceeded to repeat what Siobhan had told him about her date the previous night. Once he'd finished, Mia still looked absolutely enraged but the cause of her anger had clearly shifted. "I understand Reecey. I know I've said this to you before, but you really need to get help for your anger issues." Mia was looking at him intently and as he looked into her eyes, he saw the one thing he hated the most - pity. He nodded in response before whispering "I know."

Just at that moment Charlotte and Siobhan entered the office, causing Reece to stand up immediately. "Siobhan, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that, you know I'd never hurt you, don't you?" Reece was speaking at a million miles an hour. Siobhan smiled weakly before replying "I know. The situation just triggered me, that's all. I'm working on it." She sighed heavily before adding "I'm sorry I broke my promise, I should have told you about the date." Reece shook his head slightly "don't worry about that. God I wish I could get my hands on this guy, I want to rip his head off." Suddenly, Mia piped up "well, about that. I have an idea." The red head was smirking in such a way that confirmed she was most definitely choosing violence.

Mere minutes later, Mia had finished creating her dating profile. She had carefully selected several of her most enticing selfies and created her suggestive 'about me' snippet. The entire group huddled around Mia as she swiped no on every man she came across - there was only one man she wanted to match with. When Siobhan said "that's him!" Mia swiped yes but it didn't indicate that he'd matched her back yet. She'd only come in to meet Charlotte for lunch but she was happy to stick around, so when Charlotte returned to the toddler room Mia remained in the office. It didn't take long for her phone to buzz and as she checked it she smirked once again and said "you might just get your wish after all Reecey." She began to type away furiously and as Reece watched Siobhan's eyes widen in shock, he could only imagine what Mia was saying to lure Steve into her web. After several minutes, Mia simply said "he thinks I'm up for it and he's coming here to pick me up at six thirty."

Reece grinned as he picked up the desk phone and dialled The Knight Nursery's number.

Autumn and Marjorie just had to get in on this.

A/N - I have once again yapped too much, I will upload the next chapter ASAP.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how we can give Steve a big welcome? 😈

Also don't worry, we will get back to Shibara, I just thought we could use some recreation time after so much drama.

How did Siobhan feel waking up in Sara's arms?