Scared to love (Waterloo road)

10

previously****************

There was a knock at the door and in walked max, he looked to Millie and they held eye contact for a moment, he felt as if his heart was breaking "Tillie, we need to talk now, its important" max said and Millie closed her eyes and sighed before following max. If only max knew just how much he was going to hear

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Millie followed max into the office and he shut the door. Max stood pacing with his head in his hands "look tills, I know that your mad at me but....I need to know something" max said "okay?" Millie said as she crossed her arm over her chest.  "show me your arms... Tillie" max asked and Millie frowned "what? dad, im not self harming if that's what you mean" Millie said and max said as he walked over to Millie taking her hands in his "Millie..please I need to know, I need to know if what I've heard is true...show me" max said "please don't hate me" Millie said as she took her cardigan off and max looked at his daughter to see, her arms were covered in bruises, he could see the make up she had applied to cover up the bruises but it was started to fade. Max brushed her hair away and looked to her neck, to see finger tip markings on her neck "what happened?" max asked "please don't make me tell you" Millie said "Tillie, please is Jennifer responsible for this" max asked and Millie wiped away the tears in her eyes and looked to her dad "yes" she said as she started to sob "she wont ever hurt you again, Tillie, I promise, your my baby girl and I promised to protect you" max said .

Millie had broken down in max's arms, years of torture and abuse and she just cried, she was glad he knew, there was apart of her that always wanted to tell him, but she was scared on how he was going to react. He was scared that he wouldn't believe her and that he would blame her, like Jennifer did. Max sat on the settee in the office next to Millie "how long has it been going on" max asked his daughter , Millie looked at him "from the start,  was rude I was disrespectful, so I got it" Millie said quoting Jennifer "you were six...Tillie, you did not under any circumstances deserve what happened to you, she abused you, she was meant to be a mum for you, not someone to hurt you its the only damn reason I married her" max said as he stood up and paced in front of her "i trusted her with my daughter and she does this, why didn't you tell me" max asked her, looking at her tears bearing in his ears. Millie looked to her father, she knew he was hurt, she had hurt him by no telling him "i don't know..i was afraid I was scared you wouldn't believe me, I was scared that you would think I deserved it, because I was a brat, I was scared that you would take her side over mine" Millie said as a tear fell down her face. Max knelt down in front of Millie and took his hands in hers, "i would never , blame you for this. why would she do this?" ma asked and Millie shrugged "i don't know...she use to say I was ungrateful and I needed to be taught a lesson, it started with her burning me with a tea spoon and then a few hits over the ear and as I got older it got worse, she would kick me, punch me, slap me, you name me. I didn't know why I thought I deserved I thought I had done something to deserve it" Millie said and max placed a hand on top of her "it got worse once I discovered my voice...I stood up for myself I thought it would stop, that's when I started rebelling, staying out all hours, drinking. She beat me to a pulp dad, Brooke walked in on her and she stopped Jennifer, that's when I refused to come home...I just....I didn't want to be anywhere near her" Millie said and max hugged Millie as she sobbed.

"Brooke told you didn't she?" Millie asked and max sighed "no...not really she just said something about Jennifer and I put the pieces together" max said and Millie nodded "don't be mad with her, she was only looking out for you" max said and Millie sighed "im not mad with her, im slightly narked but im not mad "Millie said as max smiled at her, truth was part of Millie was grateful of her letting slip as it meant Millie hadn't had to tell max himself, as she knew one day he would find out "don't worry about Jennifer, ill sort it and you can come home" max said kissing her forehead "i don't want to dad, there's too many bad memories its not my home" Millie said and max sighed "okay...we'll get a new place okay...let me deal with Jennifer, okay" max said and Millie sighed and nodded as max walked out of the office leaving Millie alone.