Consequences

Chapter 26

By the time Zoe had left to pick up Grace, Connie was back in bed, fast asleep; leaving her a note and grabbing Connie's spare house keys, Zoe headed to the school where she was stood outside the gate as Grace came running out to her.

"Is mom okay?" Grace asked, worried as to why her mom wasnt there to pick her up.

"She's fine Grace, i promise; she was a little tired after her check up so i offered to pick you up so she could have a nap. How was your first day back?" She asked, as they got into Zoe's car and started to drive off.

"Fine; is mom really okay?"

"I promise; her body still needs time to recover. She cant wait to hear all about your day though; i wouldnt mind either?"

"Nothing to tell" she replied, looking out the window for the rest of the journey.

When they arrived back at the house, Zoe let them in and checked on Connie before heading back to work; Grace got changed before lying next to her mom as she watched her open her eyes and smile at her.

"Hey baby; did you have a good day?"

She shook her head and let the tears fall; as the sobs overtook her body, Connie held her daughter close and kissed her forehead.

"Sssh, baby; i've got you. What happened?" She asked, stroking her hair.

"It was horrible mommy" she wept. "They...kept laughing at me..."

"It's okay"

"I dont wanna go back..."

"What if i talk to your teachers?" She suggested.

"No...i dont wanna go..." she cried.

"It's your first day back; dont you want to see how it goes?"

As Grace's sobs continued and intensified, Connie held her close; she kissed her against and whispered soothing words until her daughter had cried herself to sleep.

It was later that evening when Connie woke her daughter so she could eat something before going to bed; plating up some beans on toast for them both, they sat up to the table and ate.

"Sweetheart, i need you to eat something; even if it's only a little bit, okay?"

Eating half of her dinner, Grace went and laid in Connie's bed, holding her bear close; when Connie had finally joined her, having tidied up and locked up downstairs, her daughter was struggling to hold back the tears again. Quickly changing into her tank top and bottoms, she slid in next to her daughter and held her close; she let Grace cry out her emotions before wiping away her tears and kissing her hair.

"Do you really not want to go back to that school?" Connie asked.

Grace nodded.

"Okay; then we have two choices. Either, we look at another school...or...we get you a tutor and you be home-schooled; what would you prefer?"

"Home" she whispered.

"Okay...i will in call the school in the morning and get the number to discuss what we need to do; then...we'll look for a tutor but you have to promise me Grace, you wont bottle things up. And you cant be putting off your schoolwork all day just to play games or on the trampoline"

"I promise"

"Okay; try and get some sleep. You can stay here tonight; you wake me if you need to though, okay?"

Grace nodded and snuggled into Connie as she drifted off; Connie, however hard she tried, didnt. She spent the night watching her daughter, wondering when her misery was gonna end; by the time the next morning came around, Connie was more than exhausted. Her brain had gone into overdrive throughout the night and she'd used her phone to make relevant notes concerning Grace and what she needed to so; the trouble was, if Grace was to be home-schooled, it would make working extremely difficult but if it was what her daughter wanted, she would make it work. Feeling Grace shift in her arms, she looked down and kissed her forehead; with the young girl settled once again, Connie looked at the clock and got out of bed. Pulling on her dressing gown and slippers, she headed downstairs and grabbed a coffee before sitting up to the table with her laptop, notebook and pen as she made the necessary calls. By the time Grace had come down the stairs at just after 11, Connie had everything sorted; she got Grace a glass of juice and some toast before joining her back at the table.

"Have that and then we'll talk; i'm just gonna grab a shower, okay darling?"

Grace nodded as Connie kissed her forehead and went to leave the room.

"Mom, i'm sorry" she said, not looking at her.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for; i'm sorting it out, i promise"

Grace nodded again before Connie left the room; after grabbing her shower, Connie got dressed into her jeans and black and grey striped jumper and pulled her hair back into a messy bun before finding Grace sat on the sofa, reading a book.

"Ready to talk?" Connie asked as she sat next to her daughter.

Grace nodded and looked at her.

"Okay, getting you registered for home-schooled is simple enough because we can use your panic and anxiety attacks as a reason; everything you have been through over the last six months has had a huge influence on your health and well-being and for my part, i am truly sorry"

"It wasnt your fault"

"Yes... it was; you wanted my attention and i was too busy with work to notice." She said, pushing her daughter's hair behind her ear. "You are my world Grace and i would do anything for you; i know i havent always shown it, especially over the last few months but...i will put you before myself anytime. You are clearly not happy at school and if been home-schooled is what you need right now then i will find a way to make it happen; i need you to talk to me though darling and i want you to promise to think about a club you want to join so you can try and make some friends. People that dont know your background and can get to know you for you because i know you are a very special young lady and anybody that wants to be your friend eould be very lucky"

"What happens now?" Grace asked.

"Now...i find you a tutor but in the meantime, your school has emailed some work over to keep you going so you need to get started on that" she answered before starting to cough again; she had done a lot of talking that morning and it was starting to affect her.

"I'll get you some water" Grace said as she put her book down and went into the kitchen; grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, she handed it to Connie before snuggling against her.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" She asked softly, wanting to rest her voice.

"No, just wanna cuddle"

"Okay but just for a little while" she murmered as they leant against the back of the sofa; it wasnt long before Connie had drifted off. The lack of sleep from the previous night had finally caught up with her so Grace pulled a blanket over her and sat up to the table, doing the work Connie had printed off.