Chapter 22

Sunday morning, the girls rose early to get everything packed for the next 6 weeks of school, Gabbie was trying her best to concentrate on packing, but was too distracted by the thought of the upcoming FaceTime with Nessa.

Eventually Lucy told Gabbie to go downstairs and make some breakfast, while she was out of the way Lucy packed all Gabbie’s stuff as well.

Downstairs Gabbie was still all of a flutter, Lucy looked outside and noticed the sawhorse and had an idea to get Gabbie thinking about something else.

“Come with me,” she said as Gabbie looked at the Nutella jar as if trying to figure out why it was in her hands.

Gabbie looked up, surprised to see she wasn’t alone, “sorry, what did you just say, I was a million miles away.”

“I know you were, put the jar down and come with me.”

Lucy opened the back door and Gabbie followed her out to the garden.

“Ok, hang on there, I’ll be back in a minute,” Lucy said as she disappeared behind the pool house, she returned a couple of minutes later with a large hammer in each hand.

“These were left behind after the workmen extended the wine cellar under the garden, I thought you could use them to reduce that sawhorse to atoms.”

Gabbie’s eyes lit up.

“Just don’t hurt yourself, or me.”

“You’d better stand well back then, because this ain’t going to be pretty.”

Lucy did as Gabbie suggested and moved back to the patio, she was soon joined by Diane, who asked “what’s going on?”

“Gabbie is about to vent her frustrations on a piece of DIY furniture.”

“Ahh, yes. I hope she doesn’t make too much mess.”

“I can’t see how she’ll avoid it.”

“Oh well, I suppose we can just burn the big bits and pick the smaller pieces up with the lawn mower. Do you want a coffee?”

“Yes please.”

Gabbie was sizing up the task, she moved around the wooden sawhorse, resting the big hammer on her shoulder, wondering where to hit it first.

“I’m trying to work out which end he did it, he’d lean me over and handcuff me to one leg, but I don’t know which one it is.”

“Put the hammer down a sec and I’ll come and have a look.” Lucy said, as she walked forwards cautiously.

Gabbie put the hammer down as Lucy stepped up to the sawhorse and bent down to look at the legs.

“Ahh, there, look, there’s marks like something has rubbed the legs, that’ll be the end you were handcuffed.”

“So this end is where I’d be, and he’d stand here, step back Lucy, because that’s the bit I’m hitting first.”

Lucy ran back quickly as Gabbie raised the big hammer and brought it smashing down on the wooden horse, splintering the wood, smashing the top and driving the legs into the ground.

“Ahh shit, that’s the lawn ruined,” Diane cried.

“Sorry mum, but she needs this.”

“I know honey, I guess it’ll fix itself by spring. We’ll be putting a marquee out there for your wedding party, so we want the ground nice and flat. No odd holes for people to fall into when drunk.”

“Ahh, sorry. I’ll get her to stop.”

“No you will not, I want her to work this rage out, it’s another step along the road to recovery. When she tires you can go take over, if we have to rip up that section of the lawn and re-lay it, I don’t care, pound that thing until there’s nothing bigger than a toothpick.”

Gabbie was really working the sawhorse, the top was down to mere splinters, the legs were broken into tiny pieces, she was breathing hard now but still hitting the remaining fragments hard.

Diane and Lucy were now sitting in loungers on the patio drinking coffee.

“Will she ever stop?” Diane asked.

“Probably not until she’s completely spent, she’s flagging now, won’t be long.”

Another few minutes and Gabbie dropped to the floor, Lucy jumped up and ran over.

“Are you ok sweetie?”

“I’m fucking knackered, but woo, that was exhilarating. Did I do ok?”

“Well, you did some serious damage to the lawn, but there’s not a whole lot left of the sawhorse.”

“Oh shit, yeah, the lawn is fucked. Shit, what’re we going to tell Diane and Jerry?”

“Not much, Diane watched it all.”

“Ahh, does she think I’m insane?”

“Just the opposite, she saw it as it was, working out frustrations, exorcising demons.”

“That’s it exactly. I feel so much better now.”

“Good, now give me a hug then go get cleaned up, you’re calling Nessa in half an hour.”

“What are we going to do about the mess?”

“Not your concern, go have a shower.”

Gabbie ran into the house as Lucy pondered the devastated lawn.

“Shit mum, I didn’t expect this to happen, I didn’t think it through properly, I just saw Gabbie moping around, worried about calling Nessa, then I looked outside and noticed the sawhorse and thought it would take her mind of things for a while.”

“It’s ok, seriously, don’t worry your pretty little head about it, go in and help Gabbie on the call and I’ll talk to Jerry about the lawn. The garden is his business, not mine.”

“Will he be mad?”

“He’ll be upset, but it’s just a lawn, he can hire himself a mini-digger and have fun digging it all up and laying a new one, you’ve probably done him a favour.”

And in answer to Lucy’s question, Jerry stepped out of the kitchen onto the patio, “what the fuck?” he asked, surveying the debris of his once beautiful lawn.

“Ahh, I can explain...” Lucy started, but Diane stopped her, “you go inside, I’ll sort this.”

Lucy scurried past her dad and into the house, as Diane explained just what had happened, and how it would give him the opportunity to lay a new lawn, or do some landscaping, maybe a nice stepped patio with outdoor kitchen. She left Jerry drinking his coffee, staring thoughtfully at the garden with new eyes, planning some renovations.

Lucy made a fresh pot of coffee before going upstairs and poured them both a mug, she also grabbed a couple of bags of Doritos and some Wagon Wheels, this may be a long call.

Gabbie was on the bed when she got upstairs, her phone on her knees scrolling through Instagram.

“How’s it going? You feel nice and fresh after a shower?”

“Yes, I feel good now, thanks for that.”

“Jerry didn’t look too happy when I left,” Lucy said as she put the tray down and gave Gabbie a mug.

“Oh shit, I really didn’t want to upset anyone.”

“It’s fine, mum said she’d smooth it over, well, not literally, but she’d stop Jerry from blowing his top.”

Gabbie opened her pack of Doritos and took a sip of her coffee, “you know Lucy, every single day for the rest of my hopefully long life I’m going to look at you and thank you for saving my life. So often these last months you’ve picked me up when I’ve fallen. Right from that first day when I literally barged in on you while you were pleasuring yourself, you’ve been so kind to me, instead of telling me to fuck off you invited me into your life, and for that I can never thank you enough.”

“And for your part, you brought some reality into my life. I’d never properly appreciated just how lucky I am, I was just cruising through life, always being near the top of the class, always nice clothes, a nice house. I never struggled Gabbie, I never had to try hard for anything ever. You did that for me, you’ve made me appreciate life Gabbie, you’ve opened my eyes to stuff outside my circle. And you brought me love, proper, heart racing, pulse pounding, mind bending, pussy tingling love. Not just lust, proper love, I hurt when you’re not around, and that’s love, proper, true love.”

“It is, isn’t it.”

Lucy climbed onto the bed and snuggled next to Gabbie, “oh shit, look at the time Gabbie, it’s 11.”

Gabbie took a deep breath and opened FaceTime and called Nessa.

“Hey Gabbie,” Nessa said brightly as she answered the call, she was in a dressing gown and her hair looked wet.

“Did I get you up early?” Gabbie asked.

“Oh no, I’ve not been to bed yet. Had to do an extra shift, so I got home about an hour ago, I’ve just had a shower to wake myself up, I have to go shopping with mum, buying some new clothes for my time in Germany.”

“Ahh yes, how are you getting on learning German?”

“I’ve started an online course, German in 30 days. Doing an hour a day, it’s coming along ok. Hallo mein lieber, wie war deine woche.”

“Pardon?”

“Hahaha, that was German for ‘hello my dear, how has your week been?’”

“Oh right, sorry, I do know a bit of German, but not much. Well, my week started off shit, became the best week ever, then we had horrible again. Now I’m feeling great.”

“Wow, a proper roller coaster.”

“You could say that, on the bad side, we found out that my dad may have killed several people, but it wasn’t just him, it may have been happening for generations.”

“Oh my fucking god! You’re kidding.”

“Nope, the police have found bodies, I showed them some of the torture equipment he used on me and between us we worked out it’s pretty old, they were getting some archaeologists in as we left on Friday. And the kid he killed last week, that was his own daughter, the mother, she’s only 14, I had no idea, I thought she was my age at least, but that’s because she had the kid when she was 11, she’s been forced to grow up. He may well have killed her mother as well, because she’s nowhere to be found.”

“Shit, this is so bad.”

“So, that’s why I went dark. I’ve had to get rid of my old phone, all my socials are gone, and my email address, I’ve had to close everything down.”

“I’m so, so sorry Gabbie.”

“But it’s not all bad, I get to live with Lucy now,” Gabbie moved her phone so Lucy showed on screen, she waved to Nessa.

“Oh hey Lucy, how are you doing?”

“I’m great thanks.”

“And the best news is,” Gabbie continued, “I’m getting married, to Lucy.”

Nessa’s face was a picture, shock obviously, but also a big smile.

“Oh. My. God. Seriously, you’re getting married?”

“Yes, seriously, we’ve got the date booked, bought rings and dresses.”

“This is fucking fantastic news. What’s the date so I can book some holiday?”

Gabbie told her the date, “and I was wondering, would you like to be my bridesmaid?”

“Oh shit, of course I would, I’m honoured.”

“This is such a relief, you wouldn’t believe how nervous I was about speaking to you this morning. All week I’ve been thinking, I need to speak to Nessa and something’s happened and it’s slipped my mind.”

“Why were you nervous?”

“Well, we had such a special time last week, then me telling you a week later I’m engaged...”

“Ahhh, don’t be silly. We had a special time, but I wouldn’t presume to hold any illusions that you would be mine, or me be yours. Your heart belongs to Lucy, that much was obvious from just watching you last week, Lucy was constantly watching out for you, an almost motherly level of protection, and you were constantly catching Lucy’s eye, seeking reassurance that you were doing OK. I work with the public every day, I know when someone is a real couple or when they’re just in the hotel for an illicit liaison.”

“But, I do love you Nessa...”

“And I love you Gabbie, you’re a super special person, but I’m not the person you want to, or even should, spend the rest of your life with, that person is next to you right now. You’ve made the right decision and I’m absolutely delighted for you and would love to be your bridesmaid. Is Steve being Lucy’s best man?”

“Well, kind of, it’s a bit weird,” Lucy answered, kind of, “we’re both being brides, there’s no groom substitute like some same sex weddings. We’re going to be in matching wedding dresses. So Steve will be more like the Ring Bearer, but not in a Frodo sense, obviously.”

“Brilliant, this will be such a fun wedding, are you getting married in church.”

“Oh no, I mean, we could, it’s totally legal, and the vicar at the local church is a gay woman,” Lucy said, “so I’m sure she’d have no problems marrying us, but it would be hypocritical, because I don’t believe in god, and neither does Gabbie, so we can’t really get married in church.”

“We’re getting married at the registry office, the registrar was quite excited about it, he loves the thought of same sex weddings”

“And mum is going to do a function in the garden afterwards, hiring a marquee and everything,” Lucy added, “providing dad can fix the lawn Gabbie destroyed by then.”

“Well, it was you that said I could do it,” Gabbie said defensively.

“What did you do to the lawn Gabbie?” Nessa asked.

“Ahh, well, there was this thing my dad used to lock me to while he, you know ... So I brought it home and Lucy told me to smash it into tiny pieces with a big hammer, and in the process, well, I may have done some damage to the lawn.”

“Oh, shit. I don’t know what to say.”

“No need to say anything, this is part of the healing process, and let me tell you, it was exhilarating beating the shit out of it, I was feeling pretty low this morning, and that cheered me right up, I was thinking about him being tied to it while I smashed it up.”

“So, what else has happened this week?”

“Oh wow, I completely forgot. Do you have Spotify?”

“Yes, I do, why?”

“Search for Gabbie Temple.”

“Ok, let me open my iPad.”

Nessa disappeared from the frame as she located her iPad. When she returned she pointed the iPad screen at her phone.

“Fuck me, is that you?”

“It is, I had the absolute best birthday, Lucy arranged for her dad, who’s a musician to do a recording session with his band. He has a full recording studio set up in the basement, it was brilliant, I did some songs, and they filmed some video, then they set me up a Spotify and YouTube account.”

“Wow, I’m listening to these songs right now.”

So the rest of the call was soundtracked by Gabbie’s songs as they discussed the next few weeks at school, the possibility of travelling to Berlin over the Christmas break to visit Nessa, the wedding. They only ended the call when Nessa’s mum came in her room to remind her they were supposed to be going shopping.

“Ok Nessa, we’ll let you go, I promise we’ll come and see you soon.”

They blew each other kisses then Nessa cut the call.

“Phew, I didn’t need to be nervous at all did I, so much worrying over nothing.”

“Nessa is special to you, I know, so naturally you were nervous about speaking to her after so much has happened.”

“Well, yes, so much has happened these last two weeks, I’ll be glad to get back to school for a rest,” Gabbie laughed.

Just then Diane called up the stairs reminding them of the time.

“Shit, it’s 12, I was so useless this morning I don’t think I’ve packed anything,” Gabbie said.

“It’s ok, I’ve packed for us both, it’s all downstairs ready to load into the car.”

“You are such a lifesaver Lucy. One day I’ll get my head together and make a useful contribution to this relationship.”

“You make a full contribution Gabbie, you make me happy, you make me laugh, you feed me, you make my heart beat faster, you complete me Gabbie, so don’t ever think you are not contributing to life.”

“I’m not convinced, but anyway, I’m hungry, that packet of Doritos won’t keep me going all day, I think I’ll warm up those curries I bought yesterday. If nobody wants to join me I’ll eat them all myself.”

The smell of the warming curry brought everyone to the kitchen, so Gabbie unfortunately had to share the food, and Diane had to reluctantly agree that these takeaway curries from a backstreet kitchen were almost as good as the expensive curry from the restaurant. Super tasty, not too spicy, lovely.

Steve and Lucy loaded everything into the car as Gabbie washed up the dinner things, Jerry brought her the plates.

“About the lawn,” Jerry started, then she saw Gabbie’s head fall forwards as her shoulders sagged. “oh shit, I’ve approached this wrong again haven’t I. It’s ok Gabbie, really, don’t panic. I’m just saying that Diane spoke to me, she explained what happened. It’s fine, I can fix it, actually, it’s an opportunity to remodel the garden, I’m going to turn that area into a split level patio, it’ll be great, and I’ll have it all done before Easter I promise, we’ll put the marquee on the other lawn, it’s not quite as level but it’ll be fine.”

Gabbie turned round, she was smiling so much Jerry’s heart broke at the thought that Gabbie’s life up to now hadn’t been all laughter and smiles, that the devastation she wrought on his lawn was only a fraction of the devastation her own father had wrought on her life.

Jerry held out his arms and Gabbie hugged him tight.

“I’m really sorry, I keep messing things up for everyone, but I’m trying to be better. I’m glad you can fix it though, use my mess to make the garden better.”

“Exactly, and while you try to get better, I’m going to try to be more understanding, you’re so different to Lucy and Steve, I need to work out how to be your father without saying things that might upset you.”

“It’s ok, I need to work out how to stop overreacting to stuff, because you shouldn’t have to be walking on eggshells all the time, after all, you just enquiring about why the fuck I’d wrecked your lawn shouldn’t have ended up with you apologising to me. I’m trying hard to work stuff out, I’m getting there, I think. So if you accidentally upset me, please don’t apologise or change tack, just let me learn to react more reasonably. Because at the end of the day, what are you going to do to me beyond tell me off for wrecking the lawn. You’re a decent man Jerry, you can’t even begin to comprehend how he made me feel, and I don’t want you to try to think about it. You say whatever you like to me, it’s my job to learn that nobody around here wants to do me harm.”

Jerry bent down and kissed Gabbie tenderly on the forehead, “I’ll wash up, you go and get ready for the drive to school.”

Gabbie gave Jerry another hug, “I know why Lucy is such a special person, because she has parents who really, genuinely care,” then she left the kitchen quickly before Jerry saw the tears in her eyes and started to worry again.

She bumped into Lucy in the hallway, Lucy took hold of Gabbie’s hand and pulled her into a hug.

“I heard what you just said to dad, it was wonderful, I’m so proud of how strong you’re getting.”

“You’re healing me, it’s like Sophie said, you’re a healer, and every day I’m with you I’ll get a little bit stronger.”

“And I like the new stronger you a lot. I think Jerry will appreciate what you told him, he is a good man, just not very good with new people though. I think he likes you though, and he should, everyone should like you, it should be a law.”

“Definitely, and when you become Supreme Leader you can make that law, but until then, it’s just your family that like me.”

“Our family, they’re not just my family, they’re our family.”

“I keep forgetting, it’s something I never expected to happen, to have a proper, loving family.”

“You’ll get used to it soon. Anyway, I came back to tell you we’re all set, go put your trainers on and grab a coat.”

90 minutes later Diane pulled up outside the girls’ boarding house after Steve had been dropped at his house over the other side of the school.

Miss Warner came out to meet them, “don’t unpack girls, it’ll be easier if you drive round to the other side of the building, your flat is on the private side, so you can unload there, although when school starts you’ll have to use the girl’s entrance and walk through.”

The girls walked round with Miss Warner as Diane got back in the car and reversed it back up the road and round to the private entrance.

“There’s no other girls around right now, so no-one will see you unloading. We’re telling the students that you had a family tragedy over the holidays, so you need privacy, and Lucy is supporting you.”

“Thank you, Miss Warner,” Gabbie said.

“You can call me Millie you know, pretty much all the girls call me Millie, why do you two always call me Miss Warner.”

“I’ve no idea, I even call my mum and dad by their names, but I’ve never felt right calling teachers by their names.”

“And I’m the new girl,” Gabbie added, “and I just followed whatever tradition Lucy started.”

“Ok, whatever floats your boat, just know that I won’t be upset if you call me Millie.”

The rear hatch slowly opened as Diane backed the Audi up to the doorway, and Millie helped the girls unload all their stuff, bags of clothes, bags of books, bedding and other stuff.

“I need to go see Mrs Anders, will you be ok taking everything into your room?”

“We’ll be fine mum,” Lucy said.

“She said she wants to see me first, then you two later, so I’ll give you a ring in a bit.”

“There’s loads of cars up near her office, so just leave yours here, it’ll be fine,” Millie told Diane.

“Thanks, and thanks for being so kind to my girls, it’s very much appreciated.”

“Not a problem, they’re two of my favourite girls, it’s a pleasure to help.”

Between them it only took a couple of trips to move everything into their flat. They now had their own bedroom, sitting room and bathroom, but no kitchen, so they’d still have to eat with the rest of the house. Unless anyone notices them going down the hall to the private wing nobody should realise they’ve got their own room.

“I thought I should tell you,” Millie said as the girls started to unpack their stuff, “the site team have dismantled the treehouse because they trimmed all the trees behind the tech block.”

“Oh really,” Lucy said, trying not to sound too interested, “we didn’t know about that.”

“Ok, be like that, I just thought you’d like to know we found bedding from this house, and a bra that would be way too big for everyone else in this house.”

“Shit,” Lucy said.

“It’s ok, because I pulled that bra out of the pile, so no-one else has seen it. I’m only telling you this because there will be questions asked, so get your story straight, you don’t know about it, you don’t know anyone else who might have been using it.”

“Oh thank you so much Millie,” Gabbie said.

“It’s clear there’d been a boy in there, which confused me, because, well, you are clearly a couple.”

“We were, err, exploring our sexuality?” Lucy tried.

And it worked, “well, I’d rather you kept that kind of exploring off the premises, no boys in this part of the house, you know the rules, boys are only allowed in the common room on Friday evenings.”

“Understood.”

“And Mrs Heald is in the next room, she has very good hearing, just so you know.”

“Ha, thank you, we’ll keep our music down.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“We’ll be quiet, promise.”

“I trust you Lucy, you’ve always been the most sensible girl in the house, I was a bit shocked by the treehouse, please don’t let me down.”

“I won’t, you will not believe how much we’ve all changed in the last few days.”

“I’ve heard a few things off your mum and Dot Anders, I understand some of what’s happened. I’m two doors down if you ever need to talk to someone closer your age than Dot.”

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind. I’m still not sure how much I want to tell people, because frankly, it’s not something I like thinking about.”

“Ahh yes, of course. Still, the offer is there if you need it, and I have an excellent coffee machine in my flat.”

“That’s always good to know,” Lucy laughed.

Millie turned to leave the room, “I’ll leave you to get yourselves organised. Tea is at 5, everyone needs to be there for registration.”

“We’ll be there,” Gabbie said.

“Oh yeah, that was a very pretty bra, I’m sure you didn’t want to lose it, so I put it in one of the drawers.”

“Thank you, you’re an angel Millie.”

“I know,” Millie laughed as she danced out of the room.

With the door closed Lucy pulled out her phone, “fuck, I’d better tell Steve. Millie didn’t say they had any clues about who the boy was, and without running a DNA test on the bedding I can’t see how they’d be able to find out, but still, he needs to know.”

Lucy quickly sent Steve a message on WhatsApp, he replied straight away ‘I was just about to send you a message, there’s all kinds of rumours floating around, the consensus is it’s someone from your house. There’s loads of names been mentioned, yours isn’t one of them weirdly, everyone seems to know you two are a couple, so the evidence of a boy on the scene has really thrown them off the scent.”

Gabbie and Lucy read Steve’s reply, “oh wow, that is lucky,” Gabbie said, “and it seems everyone knows about us, word gets around.”

“It’ll be Joel, he’ll have told people as a reason why you dumped him, doesn’t make him look like a loser if people think he was dumped because you’re gay.”

“Yeah, until I start telling people I’m gay because of him.”

“Brilliant, I’ll back you up if you do want to tell people that.”

“Nah, I’m done with him, he means less than nothing to me, there’s no point wasting energy to put him down.”

“I’m going to tell Steve that Millie found my bra and still didn’t tell anyone on us. I know he likes Millie, it’ll make him realise how nice she is.”

“You can’t be fixing him up with a teacher!” Gabbie said, slightly horrified.

“Why not, she’s only like, 23, this is her first job out of university. You know, she was a pupil here, in this house.”

“Really, I never knew that, I didn’t know she was so young as well.”

“Yep, only about 5 years older than Steve. Do you think she’s pretty?”

“Well, she’s not my type, but she is pretty I suppose,” Gabbie replied.

“She’s got a nice figure too, I think Steve would like her, but would she like Steve?”

“Would she be able to handle Steve? That’s the more important question.”

“That’s a very good point Gabbie, and I think we may need to chat with her one night, over a bottle of wine or two. See what she likes in a guy.”

“Oh Lucy, you are so naughty.”

The meeting with Dot was quick and painless, she assured Gabbie that all the staff had been given the briefest possible explanation about what had happened during the holidays, nothing about the past though. All reception staff and anyone with an external phone line had been told that under no circumstances were they to talk to the press, or even acknowledge Gabbie attended the school.

They discussed the therapist Dot had found; Gabbie’s first appointment was on Wednesday afternoon during the usual sports lessons.

She asked them about their new accommodation, they both told her it was perfect, they were very happy. Dot wished them all the best and assured Gabbie that she could talk to her any time.

Diane walked back to the boarding house with them.

“So, how’s your new bedroom?”

“It’s great, we’ve got a sitting room with a TV,” Gabbie answered, “so we won’t have to watch TV in the common room with the other girls if we don’t want to, and we’ve got our own bathroom, so we don’t have to share with 20 other girls.”

“That’s good news,” Diane said.

“It is, because some of the girls aren’t very clean, you know, and the showers, well, let’s just say it’s best to be the first in.”

“Urgh, well, at least you have your own facilities now.”

Back at the house the girls hugged Diane at the door, “will you be OK?” she asked Gabbie.

“I’ll be fine, I think. If anything bad happens Lucy will pick me up, I always feel better after we’ve had a good cry and a cuddle.”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine mum, it’s amazing what the school have done to help Gabbie, they’ve been so kind and understanding.”

“Ok, keep in touch.”

“We will mum, don’t fret.”

“I always do, but I’ve hidden it in the past because I know it annoys you Lucy, with Gabbie though, I’m extra worried.”

“We’ll be fine, honest,” Gabbie said.

“Right, I’m going, see you in 6 weeks.”

Diane climbed in the car, then she wound the window down, “I’ll keep you updated about the dresses, as soon as Mel sends me pictures, I’ll send them on.”

“Thanks mum, I can’t wait to see them,” Gabbie said.

They both kissed Diane quickly and she drove away.

Lizzie walked past as the girls waved Diane away and Lucy went into the house to finish putting all their stuff away while Gabbie hung back to chat with Lizzie.

“Gabbie, that was Lucy’s mum, did you just call her mum?”

“I did, it’s a long story.”

“Is this about what happened during the holidays?”

“It is, I can’t really go into details, because it’s messy and upsetting, but for now Diane is my foster mother, so Lucy is my sister.”

“And you girlfriend,” Lizzie added.

“Yes, and my girlfriend, which I admit is a bit weird, but totally ok, because we’re not actually related.”

“And they moved you and Lucy out of our room.”

“Yes, we’re sorry about that, but there are concerns about my health, and Lucy understands me best and doesn’t freak out when I have panic attacks.”

“It’s ok, I totally understand, I’ve heard rumours about your mum and dad, if they’re even close to the truth I’d be freaking out.”