Gracie Rose | tracy beaker returns {on hiatus}

4

TRACY'S POV

I followed Mike downstairs to the office, so I could take a look at Gracie's file. Lily had told me that Gracie was interested in getting to know me, but she was way too nervous to come and ask. I'd been working here for a few weeks now, and she was still really nervous about speaking to me, unlike the others, which made me think, because I looked at her file and there was nothing next to her health. It was as if I was imagining it, but it was obvious that she had a bit of an issue, it just wasn't in her file.

"Mike? Have you ever considered getting Gracie checked out?" I asked.

"Well, not really. Why?" he replied.

"It's just, I've been here a few weeks now, and she's still really anxious and quiet around me," I said.

"She's always been like that, don't worry," Mike told me.

"But don't you think you should get it checked out? She might have issues that weren't confirmed when she was at home. They might not have developed until after her dad died," I said.

"Hmm, that is possible. We'll keep an eye on it. If it becomes more apparent then we can speak to someone, but for now we'll just watch it. Thanks for bringing that up, Trace. Do you want to take that upstairs and read it over? You can bring it back downstairs in the morning." Mike said. I took the opportunity and closed the file, ready to take it upstairs.

"Goodnight, lovely," Mike said, stroking my head. I walked up the stairs quietly, so I wouldn't wake the kids, and closed the door when I got to the staff bedroom. I got myself into bed and opened up Gracie's file. I started to read about why she was brought here. Her dad passed away in a serious car accident, two years before she arrived here, when she was seven. It said she and her dad were really close, which broke me. She lost the person that meant the most to her. But then I carried on. Gracie's mum was perfectly normal, and they had an amazing bond before everything happened. She had turned to drugs and alcohol just a month after the accident, and constantly hurt Gracie. She stopped her from ever mentioning her dad, meaning that she was unable to talk about it if she missed him, because nobody would understand. Gracie began to run away from home, and stay at a friend's house quite a lot, because she couldn't bear to be at home when her mum was taking drugs and getting drunk every day. Her mum used to even forget that she had a daughter, because all she did was focus on drugs and alcohol. That bit made me tear up. It really hit me. Gracie's mum forgot about her and hit her and called her all sorts of names. I used to think my mum had forgotten about me, but not because of anything like this. I read through some of the abuse that took place and couldn't stop myself from crying. No wonder she'd always felt nervous around me. I'd only been here a few weeks, and she hardly knew me. What if she thought I was going to hurt her? My cries turned into heart wrenching sobs, but I hid my face in my pillow, so that nobody would hear me. This girl needed some good looking after, and being here was the best place for her. I just wanted to be able to help. Hopefully I'd be good enough.

THE NEXT MORNING

I went downstairs about 20 minutes after I woke up. I could hear Gina walking through the door and Mike greeting her, so I knew it was safe to go downstairs with the file. I knocked on the office door and walked in, putting Gracie's file back in the drawer.

"Morning, Tracy!" Gina said, smiling at me. This was very different to usual but I went along with it.

"Hiya, Gina," I replied.

"Morning, Trace. Did you read all that last night? She's a good kid, you know, even after everything she's been through at such a young age." Mike said.

"Yes I did. I must admit, it was hard. What state was she in when she came here?" I asked curiously.

"She wasn't too bad, actually. She was just upset, understandably, but after a while she started to settle in." Mike told me.