One Chance At Happiness

Chapter 28

"Right I'm off up to my room. Want to meet for breakfast in the morning. Clara you ringing Lise and getting an update on things?" H asked as Claire shrugged. 
"I'm not sure, I thought she'd ring if there was anything." Claire said as H kissed her on the cheek and gave Lee a friendly pat on the shoulder. "She'll be okay. It might not be a quick fix but she'll get there." He said as Lee nodded. H headed off to bed leaving Claire and Lee to chat. As the eldest and youngest in the group Lee and Claire had always had a fairly sibling like relationship and at times found it easy to speak to one another about certain things. "What?" Lee asked as Claire studied him thoughtfully. "You know she won't always be afraid of blokes. It's been hard for her reliving everything but she isn't going to be like that forever." Claire said as Lee sighed. "I wish she just knew that I would never hurt her." Lee mused as he swirled the dregs of his beer around the glass. "She'll realise it soon enough. I know it's hard watching her relive things but at least she has regained a lot of her past. Even if she doesn't fully get it. If she's up for visitors tomorrow I thought we could take over the DVD's. Then I suspect I'll be heading back to London. I mean when her folks arrive I can't imagine they'll want to be stuck here. Would surely be better for her to be at her home or at least with them."

"Hi Mam, how is she?"
"Asleep, I reckon it took a lot out of her today, finding out about the past, dealing with the fact she had been through something so traumatic and well the exposure to the cold. She's alright but there's a lot playing on her mind." Jan said as she muted the TV, a episode of Midsummer Murders on the TV. "Will she be up for us coming over tomorrow?" Lisa asked still fretting about her friend. "I'll see in the morning. She perhaps would be open to you and Claire popping in, I'm not sure about the lads though." Jan said sadly. It hurt to know that the woman asleep upstairs was genuinely afraid of two men who had worked with her for almost 5 years. "Alright well take care Mam, give me a ring in the morning." Lisa said as she ended the call. 
She snuggled up against Johnny who kissed her temple. "You alright?"
"Yeah, just I want her to be okay." Lisa said softly as she wrung her hands together.

"I'll be glad when we get back to the UK. Honestly, what was meant to be a nice weekend away has turned into this." Dorothy said as they arrived at the train station in the South Coast of France. "I just hope she's not told them everything. God know what they'll think." She mused as Angus looked at her astonished. "What?"
"Well trying to overdose when she was in the late stages of pregnancy. I know they care about her, that they love her like a sister but it's hard to take. She wouldn't cope if they fell out with her, if they judge her." Dorothy said knowing her youngest cherished the close friendships she had with the former members of Steps. That had been what had caused the most hurt for her in the immediate aftermath of the split. After the pregnancy, overdose and short spell in the psychiatric unit she had stopped seeing a lot of her old friends, closing herself off from her former peers.

"Faye, Kelly rang earlier and wants to know if you want to go to the new club opening on Queen's Road." Dorothy said as Faye looked up rather disinterestedly from the magazine she was reading. "Nah I'm okay." She said as she looked back at the article on this season's make up trends. The baby weight had come off fairly quickly thankfully, though her breasts still ached as she supposed a normal mother would be breastfeeding. "Love, it'd be good for you to get out, see your friends. Try and get a bit of normality." Dorothy ventured as Faye let out a small sigh. "Normal, none of this is normal. You really think Kel's invited me for any other reason to get the gossip." Faye snapped angrily. "None of them even care to come round do they. No one wants to be labelled as friends with a freak!" Faye said as angry tears graced her blue eyes. "Oh darlin'."
"No Mum, you don't understand. I can't stay round here. People look at me like I'm some wierdo." Faye said as she slammed the copy of Vogue on the coffee table. "I can't even contemplate going to work somewhere and having them gossip about me. About what I did." Faye said as Dorothy went to hug her angry and hurt little girl. True Faye might be 18 almost 19 but she was a hurt little girl in that moment. "Love you're panicking about something that isn't likely to be an issue. Yu get a job a few miles away they won't even know anything." Dorothy said as Faye wiped her teary eyes. "A few miles away, I don't think so. I've seen something bu..but it's not a few miles away." She said as she sniffed.
"Oh?"
"It's abroad. A dance company, they want dancers aged 17-25 for various locations in Spain, France and Sweden." Faye said as Dorothy bit her lip.
"I'm not sure that is the best idea darlin'. What about your therapy sessions. It's a lot for you to handle living away from home."

"Are you okay?" Angus asked his wife as they headed to the small B&B by the harbour where the ferry would be setting off from early the next morning, due to be back in the UK for just after lunchtime. "Just thinking. We do need to talk when we get back, properly talk instead of brushing awkward topics aside." Dorothy mused as Angus nodded. He had detested the somewhat uneasy moments there had been in the past decade at times with Faye. He hated the fact that he still remembered finding her, her still body and for a few fleeting moments he thought he had lost his baby girl. He still didn't understand why she had gone to such extreme lengths. Sure they hadn't been thrilled about her getting pregnant when she was still just a teenager but to hide it from them and then try and harm herself and the baby when they had shown they were willing to adapt to things still tore at him. "Just don't go in butting heads, you and our youngest can be far too alike at times." He said softly.

Johnny had headed up to bed and left Lisa, Ant and Jamie watching some trashy top 50 Christmas moments programme on TV. "So what did Mum say, she is okay isn't she?" Ant asked as Lisa nodded. "Yeah, she's fine, just tired after today. Look thanks guys for helping to find her and Jamie, I know you like her but maybe just let things lie for now. She's been through a lot." Lisa said as Jamie bristled a little. "That's true I guess. She's a sweet girl though and well eventually she'll be looking to venture into a relationship. Would it be so bad if it were with me? At least I know what happened in her past."
"Aren't you meant to be a doctor, surely you can see that's not appropriate right now." Lisa said as she flickered her gaze in annoyance towards her second cousin. "Not right now no, of course not. But in the future perhaps. Would it be so bad to have someone who understands what she went through? Has some idea of the trauma she experienced." Jamie reasoned as Lisa bit her lip thoughtfully. She wanted Faye to be happy, she truly did and Jamie surely didn't mean he would be dating Faye any time soon. "I suppose you have a point. Least I know you, right now I'd want to vet any guy that wanted to ask her out." Lisa said protectively. Jamie smiled slightly as he suspected that his words had affected Lisa somewhat. Making her think about the type of man who might try something on with her friend.

"Night Lee, I'll see you down there for breakfast about 9ish?" Claire said as Lee nodded kissing her cheek as they reached her hotel room. "Yeah, see you then." He said as Claire headed into her suite. He headed to his own room and flicked on the TV to a old episode of Only Fools and Horses, he smiled slightly as he strongly suspected his folks would be watching, the programme been a firm favourite in their house. He scrolled to his parents home number on his phone and dialled through hoping they'd pick up. After today he just wanted to hear his parents voices. Speak to someone outside the little bubble they had been in for the past few days. He waited a few moments as the phone rang. "Mum hi........ yeah well she's getting there. I was wandering if I'm still okay to come and stay for a few days.............. She's a little wary at the minute. Big groups are unsettling her so I thought perhaps I could drive to you and Dad tomorrow night. I think her parent's will be picking her up anyway tomorrow or the day after." He reasoned as his mother sounded excited to see him. "Well I'll see what pans out but keep the bed made up for me." He said as his mother chattered away about everyday things including the dogs latest escapades. It maybe was bad of him to consider leaving but right now it hurt to think Faye hated the thought of him and other men round her and he wasn't sure he would cope seeing her so broken and unable to comfort her. Besides he was hardly going to be leaving her without a network support in place. Jan, Lisa and Claire would no doubt be around to offer comforting words and things until Faye's parents arrived.

Lisa had gone into the 2nd guest room at her gran's place snuggling up to her husband who was laid against the pillows reading. "Hey you what's up?" Johnny asked sensing that his young wife was mulling something over. "Nothing, I'm sorry that our married life has started out like this. Running around in the snow looking for my friend who apparently decided not to tell me about something that affected so badly in the past." Lisa said a little bitterly. She had thought that she and Faye had told one another everything, they'd been like sister's from almost day one and even though she was loathe to admit it, it hurt that Faye had hid things so huge. "She was probably scared th...that you might not understand." Johnny reasoned as Lisa shrugged.
"I don't fully understand it. Wh...why if what Jamie says happened, why did she not tell anyone. It wasn't her fault if she was raped was it." She said picking at a thread on the duvet.
"Of course not, but Faye had by all accounts repressed everything. She was likely worried that you might hate what she had done and lose any friendship she had with you, with the others. In a job like yours was, well it would have been horrendous for her to come to work each day and then think you were all judging her." Johnny reasoned.
"When did you get so smart hmm." Lisa said teasingly as she snuggled against him.

Jan woke up the next morning and found Faye already up and sipping a cup of coffee. "Sorry did I wake you. I didn't mean to." Faye said as Jan smiled softly.
"You didn't love. I usually wake up around now. Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah, though it's weird like I remember certain things really clearly then other memories are hazy. Like the whole Steps thing, I don't really remember it not properly right now. I know it happened, I can see pictures and I read through some interviews but it still seems like some odd dream." Faye said as Jan nodded.
"You've had a lot to take in. Your Mum text me and said her and your dad are getting the ferry back from France this morning early on, they should arrive at Dover for around noon and then be on a train here by 5ish. I offered to have them stay here but your Mum thought you might find too many people a little overwhelming again." She said as she went to make a cup of tea. "Do you want some toast?" She asked Faye who nodded slightly.
"Please." Faye responded as she raked a hand through her curls. "I'm sorry." She ventured as Jan looked at her oddly. "What have you got to be sorry for?"
"For everything. You should be having a nice chill out after the wedding an..and you've had to look after me. You didn't have to."
"Faye listen to me, I'd hope if I couldn't be there for my children when they were in pain or hurt that someone would stand in for me." Jan said as she grabbed the butter from the fridge.

"Morning Lee, good workout." Claire said as she knew Lee had been to access the in hotel gym facilities. He'd always been the same, a brisk workout wherever he could back in the days of touring. "It was alright. Erm I spoke to my folks last night, I might go and stay with them for a bit."
"What why?" Claire asked as she poured a glass of orange juice from the large jug on the table. Lee sighed. "She's scared of us, well at least me and H. I can't sit around knowing she's hurting and not been able to do anything." Lee said as Claire sighed.
"But leaving now, it doesn't allow her to get used to you. I hate to say it bu..but you've seen how Lisa's cousin likes Faye. What if whilst you head to your parents he manages to worm his way into Faye's affections hmm." Claire said as Lee's brown eyes flickered slightly.
"That's not going to happen, she's no where near ready to look at dating. Not yet." He said as Claire sighed. "I get it, it must be difficult for you to watch and know she's hurting bu...but is been miles away helpful."
"Claire, she's likely to be going home with her folks anyway." Lee reasoned. Claire frowned slightly but sensed not to argue. "Lise text. She said me and her could pop round this morning. Mum says she thinks Faye will still be a little reluctant to you and H." She said as Lee nodded.
"See, that's why it's irrelevant if i stay right now."

"Lisa and Claire are coming in a little while, is that okay?" Jan said as Faye looked unsure.
"Are you sure they won't judge me, for what I did?"
"Sweetheart, they adore you. They just want to help. I'll be around if you feel uncomfortable but I promise you they just want you to know how much you're cared about." Jan said as Faye toyed with the sleeve of her sweater. "I suppose."

"Hi Lise, thanks for the lift, I'm not sure my car is as good a drive in the snow." Claire said as she slipped into the passenger seat of the 4x4. "It's okay. Mum said Faye slept okay but she's a bit worried about how we'll act around her." Lisa said as she headed out of the hotel carpark.
"Do you think she'll be up for Lee and H visiting anytime soon?"
"I dunno, why?"
"Lee's on about going to his parents instead of staying round here. I just well even if Dorothy and Angus get here today I can't see Faye wanting to go any time soon. She feels safe with your Mam." Claire said as she started to tap her fingers along with the radio.
"Yeah but her parents will be here. Mum's fine for a stand-in but I'd thik she wants her own parents around." Lisa mused as she headed onto the street where her parents house was. 

"Hi Piers, listen we have made real progress on the story here. We got loads of juicy info from last night. I'm going to write up at least 2 pages for the paper. Whilst we're here I'm going to see if I can get anything from any other sources." Ellie said as David was busy seeing if he could hack into the CCTV system of the hotel for the past few days. See if there was any interesting CCTV content of the popstars staying there. "Well if you put the small little gossip comment in the paper today then it means this hasn't been wasted. Just adds some clout to the story." Ellie said as David beckoned her over to look at something on the monitor. "I need to go, I think David has spotted something." She said as she ended the call.