Moving on (Waterloo Road)

Chapter 8

Rachel ran over and knelt next to her again as she struggled to get Nikki to come round; she pulled her mobile out of her jacket pocket and rang for an ambulance. When it arrived, she stayed with Nikki and held her hand as the doctors examined her; Nikki started to come round as the doctor came back into the cubicle and pulled the curtain round.

"Are you a relative?" The doctor asked Rachel.

"I'm her headteacher, her mom's in Intensive Care and her nan's on the way."

"Okay; Nikki, can you hear me?" He asked as he shone the light in her eyes and checked her obs.

"Yeah." She grumbled.

"Good, you've got a drip in your arm; she was severely dehydrated and her sugar levels were low. She'll be fine in a couple of hours."

"Will she be kept in overnight?"

"I don't think so; I'll be back in a little while to check on her."

"Thank you."

As the doctor left and pulled the curtain back round, Rachel turned back to Nikki and took her hand.

"You gave me a scare."

"You don't care." Nikki said as she pulled her hand away and turned her head to face the other way.

"Don't I?" She questioned.

"No, you don't."

"Is that why I'm sat here? Why I've dropped everything to support you through this? Why would I do all this if I didn't care?"

Nikki sighed as she turned back to Rachel, tears in her brown eyes.

"I know you're struggling, I can see that but your mom and nan need you to stay strong and keep going; you need to eat and try to get through it without shutting people out, running off or telling me I don't understand because I truly do; you know that I am probably the only person that understands how you're feeling so...don't...push me away."

"I'm sorry." She cried.

"It's okay."

"It's my fault."

"No, it's not; don't ever think that, okay?"

"It's all my fault."

"It's gonna be okay."

"It's not." She wept. "It's not."

"Your mom is going to be okay and your dad is never going to hurt you again so why is it your fault?"

Nikki sighed and wiped away her tears as she looked away form Rachel again.

"That morning, I told mom what he was doing to me; she..." her voice starting to break. "She said...she was going to get us out; we were going to leave that afternoon. She wouldn't be in here if I hadn't have told her." She sobbed, looking at her.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay."

"Nikki, honey." Her nan said as she came into the cubicle and took her hand. "Is she okay?"

"She's going to be fine; she's just dehydrated. She can go home in a few hours; can I have a word with you outside?" She asked.

"Course; I'll be right back honey." She said, kissing her forehead before leaving the cubicle with Rachel.

"Nikki's told me a lot of stuff today and personally, I don't think she's coping with any of this at all." She said as they sat down.

"She's barely said a word to me; she just locks herself in her room."