Part Eleven - Dominique's Story.

Chapter 1 ...My life...

“You best hurry up! These kids wanna make these gingerbread men” Shanice said down the phone. “Well, I would hurry up if my daughter would! She’s looking for the picture she drew you” I replied. “Haha, alright” she said. “20 minutes tops” I said to her. Amelia was still looking for the picture so I decided to wait for her downstairs. I was sat on the second to last bottom step when the door knocked. I answered it but didn’t recognise the girl. “Hold on Shanice” I said putting the phone down on the telephone table behind the door. “Yeah?” I said to the girl. “Is Jerome in?” she asked me. “No, he’s not, who are you?” I asked her. “His girlfriend” she said. “Why lie? He’s been with me for 4 years babe” I said to her. “Mummy I found it” Amelia said hopping down the stairs. “Go back upstairs sweetheart, I’ll come and get you in a minute” I said to her. I watched Amelia go back upstairs before swinging for the girl. I wasn’t having my little girl seeing her Mummy like this. Not at her age anyway. I’d been having girls telling me they’d seen Jerome with another woman for the past couple weeks and it really was beginning to piss me off now. “YOU LIAR! WHY LIE?!” I shouted at her before punching her. “I’m not lying!” she shouted at me. “YES YOU ARE! STOP LYING!” I shouted punching her once more. I was fully beating her up when I saw Shanice’s car pull up outside my house. “DOM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING LEAVE IT!” Shanice shouted at me. Shanice dragged me off the girl. “Who are you exactly?” Shanice asked. “Jerome’s girlfriend” the girl said. “OH NOT ANOTHER ONE! WHAT’S WITH THIS JEALOUSY?!” Shanice asked her. “I’m not, I was telling you because he’s been lying to both of us” the girl confessed. “Wait, what’s your name?” I asked her. “Nicole” she replied. “Wait, did you ring him the other night?” I asked her. She nodded. “What time?” I asked her. “It was late, but he told me he was working away, it was like 11” she said. My heart started pounding and I began to cry.

Chapter 2 ...Complications...

“Sorry, and thanks for telling me” I said helping her up. I cried on Shanice like there was no tomorrow. I heard Amelia shout me from upstairs. “Yes darling” I shouted back up wiping my eyes so she couldn’t tell her Mummy was crying. “You’re going to go to Aunty Shanice’s for a little bit okay, Mummy will come and get you later” I told her kissing her forehead. “I’m not leaving you here all alone! Elliot can watch the kids for a few hours” Shanice said ringing Elliot. Within 20 minutes he was at mine ready to take Amelia away for the afternoon. “I’ll kill a man!” Elliot said. “Don’t tell him anything, he won’t come home otherwise” I said to him. 2 hours of more crying and I heard the door open. “Dom?” I heard Jerome shout. “I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL HIM!” Shanice screamed running to where Jerome was. “Shanice leave it” I said to her. “WHY! MY MANS BEING A DIRTY LITTLE STOP OUT! GIVE ME ONE REASON I CAN’T PUNCH HIM DOM!” she screamed at me. “Because, if he hurts you I can’t save you!” I shouted back at her. “Why can’t you?” she asked me about to punch Jerome. “Shanice don’t!” I shouted at her. She did it anyway and Jerome retaliated by pinning her up against the wall. “JEROME STOP IT!” I shouted at him crying. “ARE YOU MAD?! SHE WANTS TO HIT A MAN AND THEN YOU EXPECT ME TO LEAVE IT?!” Jerome shouted back at me. “FUCKING GET OFF HER!” I screeched at him. “SHUT UP!” he shouted at me. He was hurting Shanice and scaring her. I could see it in her eyes but Jerome couldn’t, it’s a girl thing. “GET OFF HER NOW!” I shouted at him trying to drag one of his strong arms off of her. Jerome let Shanice go and there was a knock at the door. Jerome charged for me but I had to protect myself. The person who was at the door was still knocking. “GET RID OF THEM INIT!” Jerome shouted. Shanice looked at me and I nodded so she did as she was told. Elliot came through the door. He took one look at Shanice and then a look at Jerome who was getting closer and closer to me. “OI! CALM DOWN!” Elliot shouted at him. Jerome finally got to me and pinned me up against the wall. Elliot grabbed him and Jerome threw me to the floor. Shanice ran over to help me up. I got up and looked at Jerome. I wanted to hurt him like he’d just hurt me. But how could I hurt the father of my unborn child?

Chapter 3 ...Forgiveness...

I looked at Jerome who was now sat on the wall outside my house with Elliot calming down. “Dom, are you okay babe?” Shanice asked me. I didn’t answer I just carried on thinking about my life. What would happen if he flipped out at Amelia when she was older? What would happen if he actually harmed me in front of Amelia and his unborn child? Shanice still didn’t know. I planned on telling her today whilst we was at hers but that plan failed quite obviously. I charged for Jerome. “Dom, what are you doing?” Shanice shouted after me. “I need answers Shanice!” I shouted back to her still charging for him. Jerome got up and Elliot did too. “I’m sorry” Jerome said. “Do you love me?” I asked him. “Yeah, I do! You know I do!” he replied. “SO WHY IS SOME IDIOT TRYING TO COME TELL ME THAT YOU’RE HER GIRLFRIEND!?” I asked him. “She’s lying!” Jerome said to me. I wanted to believe him but something inside of me was making me not believe a word he was saying. “I don’t believe you Jerome” I said to him. “Well, don’t then, I’m sorry” Jerome said. “Sorry for what? Why are you apologizing?” I asked him.  “Because it’s true, I’m not going to lie to you anymore, but I’m sorry, I dumped her a week ago, and she told me she was going to tell you, I didn’t really think she’d do it though” Jerome said. I felt sick to my stomach. “I loved you!” I shouted at him before running back inside my house. I ran up to my room and sat on my bed crying. Why had I been such a fool? I felt like I did when Harvey broke up with me. Shanice came in my room, sat next to me on my bed and hugged me. I had to tell her. “Shanice I need to tell you something, but you can’t tell ANYBODY else, not yet” I said to her. “What?” she asked me. “When I said I couldn’t save you earlier, it’s because, well, I’m pregnant but I couldn’t let him hurt you” I said to her. Her whole facial expression changed from being worried to being angry, upset and looking like she was going to kill Jerome. “I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!” Shanice shouted. “No! You promised me!” I shouted after her. I got up to chase her but my stomach started hurting bad. I was just about to grip onto my bed when I noticed the blood on the sheets. It was official. I was losing mine and Jerome’s baby. Shanice came back into the room after hearing me screaming.

Chapter 4 ...2 days later...

I’d just gotten home for the first time after that grave night. I wanted to change things but I just couldn’t. Shanice had been such a good friend ever since it happened. She’d looked after Amelia for me whilst I was in hospital. She also came to see me most days accept the days she couldn’t get out of work. Elliot looked after the kids when Shanice was with me as it was the first week of the summer holidays. I walked over to the sofa and sat down. I wanted to cry but I’d been crying for 2 days straight. I’m not even going to lie but I’d thought about suicide a few times whilst being in hospital but I couldn’t leave my little girl all alone in the world. I wanted to see her smile again because that was the only thing that made me want to live. All those times I wanted to die I thought about her little smile and how it would turn to a frown if anything ever happened to her Mummy. I finally began to cry and Shanice came and sat next to me. “I feel like it’s my fault, if I never hit him then you wouldn’t have had to get involved” Shanice said. “No babe, it’s not your fault! Don’t you blame yourself! Jerome was just being a nob” I told her hugging her. I calmed down a little bit when Shanice went to get Amelia from hers and bring her to mine for a few hours. I’d only seen her for half an hour yesterday and was missing her like crazy. I’d just gotten a shower and some fresh clothes on when I heard the door open. “MUMMY!” I heard Amelia shout. I was sat at my dressing table doing my hair when she came running into my room. “Hello sweetheart, have you been good?” I asked her. She nodded and hugged me. “Dom, I’m going shop, will you be okay for like an hour?” Shanice asked me. I nodded. “Yeah” I said. She left for the shops so me and Amelia went to watch a DVD. 45 minutes passed and I heard the door knock and went to answer it. “I’ll be back in a minute sweetheart” I said to Amelia. She nodded whilst her eyes were fixed on the DVD. “Shanice, why are you knocking for?” I said opening the door. However, it wasn’t Shanice. A male stood there. “Can I help you?” I asked. “Dom?” the guy asked me. He said it in a way that made me know who it was straight away. It was my teenage and first love, Harvey.

Chapter 5 ...Old love...

I’d not heard a thing from him the past 6 years. So I didn’t know why he was walking back into my life now. “What do you want?” I asked him. “To talk, I know this is weird because we haven’t spoken for so long but I just wanted to know, did our baby survive?” he asked me. “She’s nearly 6 Harvey” I said to him. “Ahh, well I just wondered, can I see her?” he asked me. A part of me wanted to say no but I couldn’t just turn him down, Amelia was his daughter too. “10 minutes and you’re my friend, I don’t want her getting attached for you to leave her again” I said to him stepping aside to let him into my house. “Alright, and I wanna make it up to both of you, I was young and stupid” he said to me stepping into the house. He looked scared and a part of me wanted to kiss him and tell him it was all going to be okay but where was he when I needed him? I walked into the living room Harvey following me. I turned the telly off and Amelia reacted. “Hey! I was watching that!” Amelia said when I turned off the telly. “Amelia this is Mummy’s friend Harvey” I said to Amelia who was screwing her face at me for turning the telly off. “Hello” Harvey said to Amelia. “Hi, now Mum turn it back on! It was getting to the good bit!” Amelia said. “Fine, only because I love you” I said to her turning it back on. “Thanks, Mum when’s Daddy coming back?” Amelia asked me. “I don’t know darling” I lied. Truth was he was never coming back. Harvey just stared at her for ages. “Can we talk please?” Harvey finally asked me. “In there, raise your voice to me once and you’re gone” I replied. He walked into the kitchen first and then I followed him. “Amelia if the door knocks its Aunty Shanice alright, don’t answer it though” I said to her poking my head round the corner of the door frame. “Don’t worry I won’t Mummy” she said to me. I closed the kitchen door. “Who’s this Daddy then?” Harvey asked me. “My ex, he’s gone now” I said to him. “Oh, alright” he said. “So when can I see Amelia again?” Harvey asked me. “Thing is Harvey, I don’t want you coming in and out of her life when it pleases you, she’s nearly 6! Why didn’t you try contact me sooner?” I asked. “Every time I rang your Mum she told me you didn’t want to see me and you’d moved on, I’d sent loads of letters before but they obviously never got here so I stopped trying” he said. Now I knew Mum would normally be here at the crack of dawn before the postman came. I thought it was a bit strange. The door knocked again. What happened next, even I couldn’t have suspected that.

Chapter 6 ...Little boy in a big man’s body...

“MUM IT’S DADDY!” Amelia shouted. I opened the kitchen door and saw Amelia looking out of the living room window. Jerome caught sight of Harvey and opened the door himself. “OH! SO YOU CAN MOVE ON THAT QUICK THEN CAM YOU DOMINIQUE?!” he shouted at me. “Don’t talk to her like that!” Harvey shouted back standing in front of me. “Mummy what’s going on?” Amelia asked me. “Come here” I told Amelia who then ran into my arms. “Dominique do you want me to get rid of him?” Harvey asked me. “ABOUT GET RID OF ME! TRY IT FAM! I’LL KILL YOU! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” Jerome shouted back. Amelia began to cry and that set Harvey off. “We take this outside, I’m not having Amelia see fighting, not at this age!” Harvey said maturely. Jerome took one look at me. “You can have her, man don’t want a grim as a wifey, I bet that youte wasn’t even mine!” Jerome said. Harvey really was getting angry now as his fists started shaking and his eyebrows were starting to rise. He chased Jerome outside and they started fighting. I began to cry and soon enough Shanice was back from the shop. “What’s going on?” she shouted running into the house. “Who’s Jerome fighting? Want me to ring Elliot? Get him to come back Jerome?” she asked me. “Jerome called me a slag, told me the baby wasn’t even his! And that’s HARVEY!” I said to her. Shanice looked at me shocked. “Fuc...fudge me” she said remembering Amelia was still in the room. “YOU BEST MOVE! IF YOU EVER COME NEAR DOMINIQUE OR AMELIA AGAIN I’LL KILL YOU FAM!” Harvey shouted. I ran to the front door to see what was going on. Jerome was laying on the floor bleeding. He then got up, took one look at me then drove off. “WATCH! YOU’RE GONNA PAY!” Jerome shouted. Harvey turned round to look at me, his face bleeding and lip busted. He’d just fought for me and his daughter; the least I could do was let him see her again.

Chapter 7 ...Understand...

“Let me clean you up” I said to Harvey. “I’m alright” Harvey said. “Don’t be silly! Come here” I said to Harvey. He smiled at me. The same smile he shot me across the school yard when we were in year 7. It made me melt like it did the first time I saw him. I led him to the bathroom and he sat down on the side of the bath. “Thanks, and you can see Amelia whenever you want, just don’t let her down like you did me Harvey, or you will NEVER see her again” I said to Harvey. “I won’t, I can give you my word now, I wanna be here for you both” Harvey replied. I smiled at him and he smiled back. “Ouch” he said. “Quit being a big baby” I said to him wiping away the blood from his cheek with an anti-septic wipe. After a while Harvey decided to ask me about me and Jerome. I told him everything, about that night, about how much he’d hurt me and about much of a fool I felt. I began to cry and Harvey got up and hugged me. It felt so good to be back in his arms again. I looked him deep in his eyes and he looked deep in mine. Our lips joined and we kissed. It felt just as good as our first time. As I pulled away from him I noticed Shanice standing in the door with one of her eyebrows raised. “WOW” she said sarcastically. Shanice still didn’t like how Harvey acted a couple of years back but we were both young and stupid. I looked at Shanice. “Shanice please...” I said trying to reason with her. “No, you can save it, Amelia’s tired, do you want me to take her with me or leave her here?” she asked. She didn’t understand. Amelia needed a Dad in her life and Harvey was offering to be here now, after all it was better late than never. “Leave her here please” Harvey said. “I wasn’t talking to you was I?” Shanice said. Harvey looked hurt. “Shanice, I’ll ring you if I need you babe” I said to her. “Yeah, you don’t need me now loverboy’s back do you Dom? WHO WAS THERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU HAD AMELIA?! ME! NOT HIM!” Shanice said storming out of the bathroom. “Shanice wait” I said running after her. My stomach started to hurt and I began to cry. Shanice came running back up the stairs. “Dom, what’s up?” Harvey asked me. “The doctor told me not to run or do anything to strain my stomach, I kind of forgot” I told Harvey. “We need to talk” he said to us both. “About what? You left her when she needed you!” Shanice said quite rightfully. “We all love Amelia don’t we?” Harvey said. Shanice nodded and I did too. “Well then, let’s just try make this work for her sake” Harvey said. I agreed and so did Shanice. I wasn’t going to tell Amelia just yet though; she was still very young and wouldn’t understand.

Chapter 8 ...2 months later...

There was a knock at the door and Amelia went to answer it. “Mummy, Shanice’s here” she said. Today was the day Amelia was meeting Tyla and the first time I was going to see her since me and Harvey broke up. Shanice, Aaliyah and Armani came round too as Shanice hadn’t seen her in all that long either. “What times Harvey coming? And does Tyla know where she’s coming?” Shanice asked. I shook my head as it was a surprise. I wondered if Tyla would even recognise me or Shanice. The last time she saw me was when I was 16 when I had long brown hair. However, after a straightening accident which included Shanice testing her new strengtheners on me, we both had to have our hair cut. Then I decided to keep the short look, I say short my hair was now just past my shoulders whilst Shanice’s was still long but she now had dark brown hair which suited her more. “Why don’t you 3 go into the garden? I’ll watch you from the kitchen window” I said to them. As they were playing outside I put the kettle on ready because Harvey had just texted me to tell me he was on his way with his Mum. “Remember the time we were doing the school show? And I was sick because I was nervous?” Shanice said. “Yeah, you can run to the downstairs toilet you tramp” I said to her. “No you fool, I’m more nervous than that!” Shanice said and I laughed. The door knocked and I got up. I couldn’t do it alone. “Shanice come with me, I’m scared” I said. “You know you Dom! You’re just something else! Give me your hand” she said taking my hand. “What are you doing?” I asked her. “Praying man, praying this will all work out for you and Harvey for Amelia’s sake” she said. She said a short prayer. “Amen” we both said. We went to answer the door together. “Can I take this blindfold off yet Harvey?” Tyla asked her son. She looked exactly the same as I’d last saw her, still beautiful just a little bit older. “No, you two can do it” Harvey said looking at me and Shanice. “You do it” I said to Shanice. “You’re such a scardy cat” Shanice replied taking the blindfold of. Tyla blinked a little and waited for her eyes to adjust. She looked at both me and Shanice. I knew she wouldn’t recognise us. “Erm, I don’t follow” Tyla said. “You’re telling me you’ve known them since they were 7 and you don’t recognize them?!” Harvey asked. “Dominique?” Tyla asked me. I nodded. “Shanice?!” Tyla asked Shanice and she nodded. “OH MY GOSH! MY ADOPTED DAUGHTERS!” she said hugging us both.

Chapter 9 ...Lost time...

We all sat down at my kitchen table and talked. “How’s Holly?” Shanice asked. “She’s fine, engaged to a very lovely guy, not long had a little boy, he’s about 2 weeks old” Tyla said smiling. I smiled back. She still hadn’t met Amelia after all this time. Just then the door swung open and the 3 of them ran inside, Armani trailing behind. “Mummy, can we watch a DVD?” Amelia asked me her eyes fixed on mine. She didn’t like strangers and was kind of weary of them. “Yeah, say hello to Tyla” I said to her. “Hello” Amelia said smiling. “Hello Harvey” she said to Harvey. “Eh-hem!” Shanice said. “Mummy I think Aunty Shanice needs some Calpol, she doesn’t sound too well” Amelia said a cheeky grin on her face. “Two minutes” I said to them all. “I can do it, you ladies have a catch up” Harvey said getting up. I sat back down and had a serious talk with Tyla. She told me about how some girl had been giving Holly trouble but she couldn’t fight back as she’d not long had a baby. “I’ll bang a bitch” Shanice said. “You riding Dom?” Shanice asked me. I looked at the clock. It was still only 12 so we could have made it to Birmingham and then back before it hit 8 with 4 hours to spare. “Alright” I said. “What about the kids?” I asked Shanice. “Elliot’s not at work, he can watch them, he’s not doing much anyway” she replied. We waited for Elliot to come and pick up the kids. After he’d been and gone, we set off for Birmingham in Shanice’s car. She was following Harvey’s car back to Birmingham whilst singing along to the radio with me. Harvey dropped his Mum off then got in the back of Shanice’s car. He told us where to go and Shanice followed his directions. We pulled up to a house. “Who is this girl anyway?” Shanice asked. “Remember those girls Mia and Sharna had trouble with” Harvey replied. “Yeah?” Shanice asked. “Their little sister, Louise” he said. Rage started to bubble in my veins and I got out of the car. This bitch had been bullying Holly for as long as I could remember. “Wait, has she got kids living with her?” I asked Harvey. “No, she hasn’t got any, she lives alone with her dude” Harvey said. “Good” I replied. I had morals and I wasn’t going to fight this bitch in front of her kids. I knocked on the door and a girl came to answer it. “Are you Louise?” I asked her. “Yeah, why who’s asking?” she asked. “I AM!” I said launching her in her jaw. I was punching her, scratching her, booting her. Anything I could to make her feel like Holly did for the past few years whilst me and Shanice were away. Hurt, scared and alone. “FUCK YOU!” Shanice said putting her two pence worth in. Shanice was going for a good 2 minutes then I decided to get her off the girl. We got back into the car and Shanice sped off. To say we were all in our early 20’s we still didn’t like to be messed with. “Where’s Holly now?” Shanice asked Harvey. “At Mums” Harvey replied. I looked at Shanice and Shanice looked at me. We both wanted to see Holly but didn’t know how she’d react. “Can we see her?” I asked Harvey. “You know, all these years she wanted to contact you both but didn’t know how you’d both react, so I don’t see why not” Harvey said. Shanice drove back to Tyla’s and we all got out. Harvey walked in and beckoned us both to walk in after him. “Mum where’s Holly?” Harvey asked his Mum whilst me and Shanice took off our shoes. “Nipped to the shop for me, she’ll be back in 2 minutes though” Tyla replied. I sat down on the sofa next to Shanice and my heart pounded. I felt so nervous I felt sick. I looked at Shanice and I know she felt the same. The door swung open. “MUM!” I heard a female voice shout. It sounded like Holly.

Chapter 10 ...Friends...

“Yes Ellie” Tyla replied. A teenage Ellie walked into the living room. “WHOA! 60 million people up in my house now yeah? Gosh” she said looking at me and Shanice. We looked at each other and laughed. “Oh be quiet, we’ve known you since you were like born Ellie” Shanice said to Ellie. “Oh, aup, anyway” Ellie said. “Some idiot’s just tried it with me she was like ‘arr are you Holly’ and I said no but then she didn’t believe me, so I think you need to ring Holly to make sure she’s okay” Ellie continued. I heard shouting and ran outside. I looked down the road and a girl was about to hit another girl who wasn’t really retaliating. She just stood there. I realized it was Holly, I ran back in and put my shoes on, Shanice did the same and grabbed my hand, we both ran down to the girls and grabbed the one who was arguing with Holly. Shanice grabbed her in a headlock whilst I punched her repeatedly. “ARE YOU DUMB?!” I shouted at her. “I’m sorry!” Louise said crying. “Save it” Shanice said. I punched her a few more times then finished her off with a punch to the stomach. She fell to the floor. Shanice then booted her and Louise screamed in pain. “DO NOT EVER! EVER! FUCK WITH HOLLY! YOU UNDERSTAND ME! YOU’RE FUCKING WITH US TWO IF YOU FUCK WITH HER YOU GET ME!” Shanice shouted. Holly looked at us both gone out like she didn’t recognize us. Her memory was always bad but I didn’t think she would have a problem remembering her two ex-best friends. “Who are you two?” Holly asked us. “Your Mum said the same thing! You’ve known us 14 years and can’t remember us! Gosh!” Shanice said. “Shanice? Dominique?” Holly asked. We both nodded. She began to cry and I hugged her. Shanice then hugged both of us. I bet it looked pretty weird, 3 grown women hugging each other in the street whilst another one lay on the cold, hard pavement. “I’m so sorry” Holly said. “Its okay” I replied. We all walked back and it felt like we’d never been away. “Why didn’t you ring us? We’d have sorted that bitch out for you Holly! You fool!” Shanice said. “I didn’t know how you’d react!” Holly said. “You’re our girl! Nobody fucks with our girl” I said to her. “Thanks” Holly said to us both. We stayed at Tyla’s for another hour before setting back for Manchester but we promised we’d keep in touch. Shanice picked Amelia up on the way home and dropped us both back home. I got Amelia ready for bed as she had school tomorrow and I had work. The next morning was the normal rush at the office where I worked. The time had finally come for me to go pick up Amelia from her after school club. When I got there the playgroup leader, Hannah, looked rather confused. “Her Dad came for her about an hour ago, he said you knew” she said. My heart pounded. “Jerome?” I asked her. “Yes, Amelia was quite happy to see him” she continued. I wanted to cry right there on the spot. Jerome had taken my little girl away from me.

Chapter 11 ...Already taken...

I got back in my car and rang Shanice. She’d have just finished work so I rang her mobile. “Yes Dom! Was just about to ring you” Shanice said. She heard me crying. “What’s up babe?” Shanice asked me. “Amelia, Jerome’s taken her” I said down the phone stuttering because of the tears. Shanice agreed to meet me at mine. I got there before she did and found a letter on the doormat. It’d been hand delivered because there was no postal mark on it. I tore it open and it read

“I’LL MAKE YOU FEEL HOW I FELT! YOU TOOK AWAY MY CHILD I’LL TAKE AWAY YOURS.”

It was written in big bold capital letters. I screamed at dropped the letter on the floor. I saw Amelia’s scarf on the other side of the hallway. I walked over to it and picked it up. I was still in my work clothes but I didn’t care. My tights made it even easier to slump next to the stairs. I cried into her scarf. Shanice came running in the house. I’d still left my door wide open but I didn’t even care I just wanted my little girl back. “DOM?!” she shouted. She was just about to shout me again when she spotted me crying. She dropped to her knees. “Dominique get up, we’ve got to call the police, have you rang Harvey?” she asked me. I didn’t answer just carried on crying. “DOMINQUE! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER! We’re going to find Amelia okay!” Shanice shouted at me shaking my shoulders. “No I haven’t rung either one of them” I told Shanice. She got up and ran across to my home phone. She rang the police whilst I rang Harvey. The police arrived first, they asked me and Shanice loads of questions before sending out a search party. Harvey soon arrived and comforted me. He looked like he’d been crying too. It felt so good to be in his big strong arms again. I cried into his chest and he reassured me that they’d find her. “What was the child’s relationship with the suspect?” PC Rose asked me. “THE CHILD?! You’re talking about my daughter! HER NAMES AMELIA!” I shouted before breaking down crying. “He was nothing to her, not blood related, I’m Amelia’s Dad” Harvey said. With that the police left to look for her. I felt so useless so I decided to check all the parks nearby. I had no luck and still couldn’t find my baby. I didn’t sleep for days; work said I could have compassionate leave with everything going on. Harvey stayed round mine most of the time which was a big help because I knew he could handle Jerome better than I could. I often had dreams that they’d find Amelia but she was no longer with us. I’d wake up screaming and Harvey would come running in from the spare room. He’d comfort me and I’d fall asleep crying in his arms. These dreams carried on for the next 2 months and still they hadn’t found her.

Chapter 12 ...Abduction...

I woke up and got myself showered. I then did what I did every day, cried on my bed for a few hours, spent a few hours in Amelia’s room, and then acted as if I was fine when I was around Shanice or Harvey. I wanted my little girl back and wasn’t going to give up until I got her. It was getting kind of late so I decided to lock my front door but as I went to do it, it knocked and I thought it was Harvey. I went to answer it and a guy stood there blacked off. “Scream and I’ll kill you” he said to me putting a gun to my head. I didn’t know what to do so I just obeyed him. He put me in the back of a van and I cried and cried. He took me to a warehouse and dragged me out of the van. “What do you want with me?” I asked him. “Shut up bitch” he said. “Or what? You’ll kill me will you? DO IT BIG MAN!” I shouted at him. He raised the gun to my head and was about to pull the trigger. “YO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” I heard someone shout from in the darkness of the warehouse. Just then shots were fired and I ducked for the floor. The guy who’d abducted me laid there in a pool of his own blood. I felt sick, shocked and scared. Another guy walked over to me. He was all blacked off too. Jerome. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS JEROME?!” I asked him. “Because I can” he said to me dragging me up from the floor by my arm. “I’d be a very good girl if I were you” he said to me. “Where’s Amelia?” I asked him. “She’s safe” he said. “TAKE ME TO HER NOW!” I shouted at him. “Be a good girl and I will” he said to me. “What do you want from me exactly?” I asked him. “You know what I want!” he said unzipping his trousers. He forced himself on top of me and I cried as he entered me. “Co-operate and I’ll take you to her” he said to me. I did as I was told as I’d have done anything for my little girl. He’d finally finished with me a couple of minutes later. “Suck it bitch” he said to me. I’d never given head in my life but I guess there was a first time for everything. He put his dick in my mouth and I had a sudden urge to be sick. I was sick on the floor next to me. Jerome laughed as I cried. “GET UP BITCH!” he said getting me off the floor. He blindfolded me and pushed me in the back of a car. We finally stopped and he got me out of the car. He then pushed me into a dirty, disgusting and dingy smelling house. I caught sight of a little girl. It was my little girl. Amelia. She was fast asleep on the sofa. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly. She woke up and smiled at me. She must have thought this was all a big game. Little did she know the tables were about to turn and we were going to win our freedom.

Chapter 13 ...Harvey’s chapter...

I parked my car outside Dominique’s and her front door was wide open. It was around midnight but I did tell her I was going to be late coming to hers tonight. I ran inside and couldn’t find her. I rang Shanice. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!” she shouted down the phone at me. “You need to get here now! DOMINIQUE’S NOT HERE!” I shouted back down the phone. I waited for Shanice to arrive. I rang the police and they were here in minutes. Shanice was here just after the police got here. She looked like she’d been crying as her eyes were red and puffy. “Where is she?!” she shouted running into Dom’s house looking for her. “We’ll find them both” I told Shanice. “Will we really though?” Shanice said. “Don’t give up hope” I said to her. “You’re right, Dom and Amelia wouldn’t want us to” Shanice said. After hours of searching around the areas Mum, Holly and Mia turned up to help me, Shanice, Dominique’s parents and Demi search for Dominique and Amelia. We couldn’t find them so we decided to head back to Dominique’s and hope for the best. The best never came. Within 2 weeks it was a national story. I couldn’t turn on the TV, read a newspaper or go out of my own house without hearing about it. The whole nation was looking for them both but nobody could find them. I never even got to tell Dominique how much I loved her and how much I really cared about her. Not really anyway. She’d been the one I wanted to marry ever since I was younger. Ever since I laid eyes on her back in Year 7 in the school yard with my sister I knew. I wanted to make things right with her and now I might not have gotten the chance to. I loved Dominique Baker and that was that. I just wanted to hold her in my arms again and to see her amazing smile. The same one she’d given me after our first date. I just needed to track her and our little girl down and I was prepared to die for it. 2 more months passed and we still hadn’t found them. I kept ringing her phone just to hear her voicemail. Her voice made me cry every time I heard it. I’d missed so much of Amelia’s life I wanted to make it up to both of them. I wanted to make me and Dom work. I wanted to make her Mrs Dominique Johnson and I was 100% sure.

Chapter 14 ...Back to Dom’s world...

It’d been 2 month’s since Jerome took me hostage. He’d raped me most nights and made me do other stuff. I hadn’t really been eating and didn’t really care about myself anymore. I just lived for Amelia. I felt sick to my stomach and just wanted to get away from him but he told me he’d kill me if I even tried it. He then told me he’d kill Amelia too so I wasn’t going to risk her life, mine maybe but not hers. I wanted it all to be over once and for all so that night I plotted to escape. I’d been plotting it for ages but never really knew what to do. Each day Jerome went out and someone would come and watch me and Amelia. This guy was stupid and would have fallen for any trick in the book so I decided to play a trick on him. The night before when it was just me and Amelia awake I told her to do something. I told her to ring 999 and whisper into the phone her name and to tell them to help us. All I had to do was get the guy out of the room long enough for Amelia to do it. I offered him sex whilst Jerome was out and he jumped at the idea. I led him upstairs and he put a condom on before we got down to business. I felt sick but had to act like I was enjoying it. Just then I heard the door swing open. Jerome. “OI WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU LITTLE BITCH?!” I heard him shout at Amelia. I ran downstairs to protect my baby, the guy who was meant to be watching us following. Jerome held the gun to her head. He pulled the trigger and I pushed Amelia out of the way. He’d shot me in my stomach. “MUMMY!” she screamed. The guy who’d meant to be watching us was long gone. He ran out when he had the chance. Jerome pointed the gun at Amelia once more. I had to save my baby as Jerome had just killed our second one. I’d known I was pregnant a couple weeks back but didn’t tell Jerome because I was scared what he’d do. So I just kept it to myself and hoped I’d be able to keep this baby but obviously not. I got myself up and protected my baby. “Jerome please don’t harm her” I said to him sobbing. The pain from my stomach was unbearable but I’d feel more pain if he killed my daughter. He pulled the trigger.

Chapter 15 ...The great escape...

Nothing happened. No shots were fired and nobody was hurt. He did it a further 3 times before turning the gun on himself. I heard a bang as I felt blood splatter all over my skin. Amelia was screaming. “MUMMY! MUMMY! DADDY’S DEAD!” she screamed. I turned around and Jerome lay there on the floor. His eyes were wide open and his mouth shocked with a hole on the right side of his head. I didn’t know what to do but I had to take this as my chance and get out of here. I got a tea towel from the kitchen and tied it around the shot to stem the bleeding a little bit. I then ran back into the living room, grabbed Amelia, took one last look at Jerome and ran for it. I ran outside and didn’t recognise where I was. I just ran down the road with Amelia running by my side. I kept looking back to make sure Jerome hadn’t miraculously woken up from the dead and came after us but he never. A car screeched to the side of me and Amelia. I thought it was one of Jerome’s men so I told Amelia to run faster. “DOMINIQUE! AMELIA! IT’S OKAY!” the person shouted after us. I ran until I couldn’t run no more. My stomach was hurting me so bad and my eyes were beginning to feel droopy. I kept fighting the urge to sleep because of my little girl. The same car came speeding round the corner and stopped right in front of us. “I love you Amelia” I told my daughter. A female got out. She looked in her middle 30’s. “Dominique and Amelia isn’t it?” the woman asked me. I nodded. “You’ve got the whole nation looking for you both!” she said to me. Just then my stomach started hurting and she spotted the blood on the tea towel. “OH GOOD GOD! Get in the car! I’ll take you both to the hospital!” she said. She helped us both into the back of the car and drove us to the hospital. “Amelia you know if I tell you something, promise me you’ll believe what I say” I said to my daughter. She nodded. “You know Harvey?” I started. She nodded. “Your friend Harvey?” she asked. “Yeah, well he’s more than just a friend really, he’s your real daddy, so if anything happens to me, you’ll live with either him or Shanice okay” I told her. “Okay Mummy, but I don’t want nobody but you” she said starting to cry. We got to the hospital and the woman who’d helped us shouted someone over to help her get me out of the car. They put me on a stretcher and wheeled me into A&E. I made sure Amelia was okay before closing my eyes. I saw a friendly looking nurse see to her so I gave Amelia a faint smile before letting them close. I could hear shouting. “WE NEED TO GET HER INTO THEATRE NOW!” a doctor said. I had a flash back of all the milestones in my life. I thought way back to my first day at school, I also thought about when I first met Holly, then Shanice then Harvey. I thought about the night I lost my virginity to Harvey and how scared we was someone would come back to his. I thought about when I nearly lost Harvey that night and the same night I had Amelia with Shanice by my side. I thought about all the things I would miss when I’d die.

Chapter 16 ...Those closest...

I woke up to my phone ringing. I looked at the phone and it was a number of the detective taking care of Dominique and Amelia’s case I answered it still half asleep. “Is that Shanice Hunter?” he asked me. “Yeah, why?” I asked him. He told me the best news ever. They’d found them. Then he told me that they were in hospital and Dom was in a critical condition. I rang Harvey and got Elliot to take us both to the hospital. Dom’s parents were already there waiting. “Where’s Amelia?” Harvey asked Amelié, Dom’s Mum. “On the children’s ward, Demi’s with her” Amelié replied. Harvey looked at me. “Put your phone on vibrate and I’ll text you if anything” I whispered into his ear. Harvey ran down to the children’s ward.

...HARVEY’S THOUGHTS...

I got onto the ward and a nurse directed me to the room. Amelia sat upright in the bed crying. Demi hugging her. Amelia caught sight of me. “HARVEY!” she said perking up. She still didn’t know I was her Dad and didn’t really think Dom would want her knowing so I wasn’t going to tell her the truth. I hugged her tightly. I wanted to hold her in my arms forever where nobody could hurt her. “I love you Daddy” Amelia said to me. “What did you just call me?” I asked her. “Daddy, that’s what you are to me, Mummy told me when we was on our way here” Amelia said. I looked at Demi and she began to cry too. I hugged them both and my phone started to vibrate. I ran back up to the ward and Shanice was hysterical. I asked Dom’s Dad, Andre to explain what was going on. They’d saved Dominique’s life, however they didn’t know if and when she was going to wake up. They’d also told us that it would be hard for her to have kids in the future because of the shot to her stomach. I prayed for a miracle to happen that night but it never did come.

Chapter 17 ...3 weeks later...

I’d just picked up Amelia from Shanice’s. She was going to stay with me for a little bit until Dom had woken up. “If you need me then ring me yeah, I believe in you though!” Shanice told me. “Thanks” I said to her putting Amelia’s bags in my car. I had my own flat back in Birmingham but it wasn’t really child friendly so Shanice thought it’d be a better idea if I just stayed at Dominique’s with Amelia instead. Amelia hadn’t been home since the morning before Jerome took her so she was quite pleased to be at home. “Daddy when’s Mummy coming home?” she asked me. “Soon sweetheart” I replied. “Yeah, you said that ages ago” she said rightfully. I sat her down on the sofa. “Jerome’s made Mummy very ill but she should be home very soon okay, the doctors at the hospital just need to make her better for us” I said to my daughter. She smiled at me and kissed me on my cheek. Over the next 2 weeks we bonded a lot more. I made sure I picked her up from school every day myself and we’d come home, have dinner, do Amelia’s homework together, she’d then get her bath, watch some telly with me then I’d read her a bedtime story. Shanice and her kids would come round from time to time and I’d have a word with Shanice whilst Amelia would play with Aaliyah and Armani. Shanice put the kettle on and made us both a hot drink. She then sat down and from the first time in her life was actually nice to me. “You know, I thought you was going to bail out and leave Dominique on her own again Harvey, but you’ve really changed your ways! I’m proud of you” she said to me. “I just want her back, I want to make her mine forever” I said to Shanice. “Propose to her then” Shanice said. “I will, when she wakes up” I replied. “She liked my ring a lot but said she would have gotten it in pink diamonds” Shanice said to me. I looked at Shanice’s ring and the next day we went shopping for a ring for Dominique.  The one we chose was a similar one to Shanice’s expect it had pink diamonds in it which Dominique wanted. The kids were at school so we decided to take the ring to the hospital but we had a very nice surprise waiting for us.

Chapter 18 ...Back to Dominique’s Story...

I’d not long woken up and found myself just laying there trying to piece together what happened that night. A doctor came and spoke to me. He told me it’d be hard to have another baby but apart from that I’d only be left with a few scars. He said it like it was nothing. I cried so hard when he’d left. The door swung open and two faces I never thought I’d see again were stood there with a nurse. Shanice and Harvey. Shanice ran over to me and hugged me gently. “I love you so much!” Shanice said crying on me. “I love you too!” I replied. Harvey just stood there looking at me and I saw a stray tear fall down his cheek. I looked at him and smiled. Shanice went to get the kids from school and take them back to hers. Harvey then sat down on the chair next to the hospital bed. “I love you Dominique” he said looking deep into my eyes. “I love you too, I never stopped” I said to him. “I want us to work! I’ve been spending time with Amelia; she’s been raised in the best possible way!” Harvey said. “I want us to work too, not just for Amelia’s sake but for ours” I replied. “I love you more than anybody could ever know, I want to protect my girls from any other bad things! You’ve both been through a lot and I just want you both to feel safe again! I don’t want us just to work for Amelia’s sake but for ours too, truth is I never stopped loving you either Dominique” Harvey said to me. “I need to ask you something” I asked him. “Yeah? Anything” he replied. “Would you move in with me and Amelia? We need you now Harvey more than ever” I said beginning to cry. “On one condition” he said. I nodded. “You get yourself better and well enough to come home! Amelia keeps telling me I’m making her Ribena wrong!” he said jokingly. “Don’t worry! I got it wrong up until a couple of months ago” I replied. Now we were going to be the proper little family. Just me, my childhood lover and our daughter.

Chapter 19 ...Life changing...

Things were finally back to normal and after 5 months I finally felt settled into my old routine. Today was my first day back at work after so long. It felt weird to be back at work but it felt a good weird. I’d just got home to find Harvey and Amelia already there. The dinner was already in the oven so I chilled on the sofa for a bit with Amelia. Harvey had been quite amazing the past few months and he’d really made up for lost time. He was always there for me when I needed him and was there for Amelia at all times. We finally felt like a proper family. It was Christmas soon so me and Elliot went to get Amelia’s presents the next day whilst she was at school. We brought her so many new toys it was unreal we had trouble hiding them from her before we had to go get her from school. I was just about to get her from school when my phone rang. “I’ll get Amelia from school if you want and take her back to mine for a little bit” Shanice said. “Alright then” I said to her. I knew something was going on from when Harvey said we were going to have something nice for dinner tonight that he was going to cook. He made me a proper nice 3-course meal. We decided to have desert watching telly. “Turn the DVD player on, the DVD I chose is already in there” Harvey said from the kitchen. I turned it on and sat down on the sofa. Harvey had put together a video of us both. It spanned from when we’d first been friends up until now. It had our song from way back playing in the background. “Harvey what is this?” I asked him. “Just watch it! You want chocolate sauce on this sorbet yeah?” he asked me. “Yeah please babe” replied. I carried on watching the DVD. The music stopped and Harvey appeared in the camera. He told me how much he loved me and how he’d realized he’d been stupid for leaving me to raise Amelia on my own. He also told me that he was here to protect us both. He said a whole other stuff but I was crying so couldn’t really take it in. “Come here” he said on the video camera. Amelia came running from out of nowhere and sat on his lap. “WE LOVE YOU MUMMY” she said. I began to cry even more. I was so sweet and original. Harvey came in with two bowls of strawberry sorbet mine drizzled with chocolate sauce. I got up and hugged him so tightly. “I love you Harvey” I said to him. “I love you too” he said to me. I finally let him go before the sorbet melted. I then sat down next to him and looked at my sorbet. There was a Haribo ring in the middle of it. “Why is there a Haribo ring in my sorbet?” I asked him. “You’d have eaten the real one” he said pulling a box out of his pocket. “Marry me” he asked me getting down on one knee.

Chapter 20 ...Things get better, through whatever...

The past couple months had been crazy. It’d been a year since I’d first seen Jerome for what he really was. I’d just left work and got home to my new husband and our daughter. Me and Harvey got married last month and it was the most perfect day ever including the wedding night. Mum offered to take Amelia back to hers for the night so me and Harvey got down to business. “MUMMY!” Amelia said running up to me like she always did. “Hello sweetheart, how was school?” she asked me. “Fine! It was great! I learnt a new word” she said to me. “What word was that then?” I asked her. “Alliteration” she said sweetly. “What does that word mean then?” I asked her like I didn’t already know. “When you use the same letter for a word together like dumb Daddy” she said smiling sweetly. I laughed and Harvey laughed too. He cooked most nights but tonight he had a night off as I was cooking for a change. “Need some help?” he asked me. “No, I’m fine thanks” I said to him smiling. “Alright” he said going to play with Amelia. They were on the Wii when my phone went off. I looked at the phone and I had a text from Shanice. “Oi you fool, I love you, love Shanice, your best friend, forever and ever and ever and ever xxx” she wrote. I texted her back “Why the good mood? I love you too though xxx” it said. “I’ll tell you tomorrow, me and the kids will come round after school” she replied. “Alright, I’ll be waiting” I text back. I then put the phone back in my pocket and carried on cooking. I woke up the next morning wanting to be sick. “No, I can’t be” I said to myself. I made a doctor’s appointment and told work I’d be in late. I sat in the waiting room not getting my hopes up. The nurse called me in and I told her how I’d felt weird for the past couple weeks but didn’t really think nothing of it. “Well, you could take a test now?” she said. I did as I was told and went to take the test. I then came back and handed it to the nurse. She then let it settle for 5 minutes which seemed to last forever. She looked at me smiling. “You’re expecting Mrs Johnson!” she said to me. “I can’t be” I said to her. “You are, take a look” she said handing me the test and the instructions. She worked out my dates and told me I was already 10 weeks pregnant. “Aren’t you happy?” she asked me. “I am, it’s just, I’ve already lost 2 babies in the space of a couple of months, and bad things come in three’s” I said to her. “It’s more than likely you would have had a miscarriage between 2 and 9 weeks, I’ll have to pull a few strings but do you have to be somewhere?” she asked. “No, I rang work and they gave me until lunchtime off” I said to her. “Wait here, give me two minutes” she said walking out of the room. I sat in the hospital chair thinking about how made up Harvey was going to be, also how excited Amelia would be to have a little brother or sister. The nurse came back in and took me into a room where another woman was. “Hello, I’m Sarah, don’t tell anyone about this okay, but Julie was telling me you were having doubts so I’ll give you an ultrasound if you want me to?” she asked. “Yeah, thank you” I said to them both. I felt the tears well up as the sound of my baby’s heartbeat filled the room. Sarah printed off a few photos for me to take home. “Thank you both” I said to them. “It’s okay; just know we’ll be here for you it’s our job!” I said to her. “Thanks” I said. I got into my car and drove to work. I then got Amelia and drove home. We then waited what felt like a lifetime for Shanice and the kids to get here. She sat down at the kitchen table with me whilst the kids played in Amelia’s room. “I have to tell you something....” Shanice said.

Chapter 21 ...Things get better, through whatever...

“Me too, you first” I said to my best friend. “I’m kinda, like erm, pregnant” Shanice said smiling. I smiled at her. “What’s your good news?” she asked me. “Same as you bitch! How far gone are you?” I asked her. “9 weeks you?” she asked. “11” I replied. “You kept that one quiet!” she said to me. “I only found out this morning, anyway you can talk!” I said to her. We got up and hugged each other tightly. My phone went off and Harvey’s name popped up on my screen. “Hello Mr. Lover” I said to him. “Where are you?” he asked. “At home, why?” he said to me. “There’s been an accident; Holly’s in hospital and so is her son, Louise set fire to Holly’s thinking nobody was in but Holly and Liam were asleep and Louise set the house on fire, Holly’s man came back and found the house in flames with them still in it, bottom line all 3 of them are fighting for their lives, so I’ll be home as soon as I can alright” he told me. I felt like crying there on the spot. “What’s up?” Shanice asked me. I told her everything Harvey had told me. “I’ll fucking kill her! I SWEAR I WILL!” Shanice said getting angry. “Calm down Shanice” I said to her. “WHO THE FUCK DOES MY GIRL THINK SHE IS?!” she shouted crying. “CALM DOWN!” I said to her. She finally did as she was told. We dropped the kids off at Shanice’s Mum and Dad’s then drove to Birmingham. When we got to Birmingham I could hear crying in the waiting room. I was just about to open the door when I heard shouting. “HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN WHEN THAT BITCH HAS TAKEN AWAY MY NIECE, MUM?! HOW EXACTLY?! I’LL FUCKING KILL HER MUM! YOU WATCH ME!” Harvey shouted. I could hear things banging in the room like he was throwing stuff around. “HARVEY CALM DOWN!” I heard Jason shout. “NO! You can tell Holly when she wakes up then init! That her sons gone!” he shouted back at his Dad. Me and Shanice stood outside the door crying. Just then a doctor walked down the corridor. He still had his scrubs on. He walked into the room. “I can’t face her Mum, I can’t!” I heard Harvey scream. From that moment I knew me and Shanice had to be there for Holly the best way possible as she’d just lost her little boy. From then on I realized Holly would be out for revenge, as revenge is best served cold with a dash of death.

THE END

Part Ten - Shanice's Story.

Chapter 1 ...One month later...

“Shanice what time is Elliot coming round again? We need to get leaving soon” Mum asked me. “Anytime now” I replied changing Aaliyah on her changing mat in the living room. Elliot had been allowed home a week ago after he made exceptional progress and he now spent most of the time with me and Aaliyah. I’d just put Aaliyah’s dirty nappy bag in the bin and washed my hands when there was a knock at the door. I ran to the door to find Elliot standing there smiling at me. “Hello beautiful” he said kissing me on my cheek. I smiled at him. It’s mad crazy because I still felt crazy about Elliot even after everything we’d said and done to each other. “Where’s my princess?” he asked me. “In the living room” I said. He walked in and started playing with her. I stood at the door and watched him play with our daughter. I knew this was where I belonged and that was that. Mum walked in from the kitchen. “You want a drink or anything Elliot? Excuse my daughter’s bad manners” she said. I just carried on watching in amazement at how much Elliot had changed and grown up in the past few months. Mum looked at me. “Everything okay darling?” she asked me. I didn’t hear her like I was in a trance. “Shanice?” she asked. I still didn’t hear her. Elliot looked back at me and finally I was snapped out of the trance. “Yeah?” I said to them both. “Are you okay poppet?” Mum asked me. “Yeah, fine Mum” I said to her. She smiled at me and went to go make Elliot a drink. After I’d finally got Aaliyah’s bag ready I went to put it into the car. Mum rang Grandma to tell her we was on the way. 2 hours later and we were finally back in Birmingham. I could tell by Elliot’s expression on his face that he was scared as this was the first time he’d be meeting most of my family members including my elder brother who still lived in Birmingham. I got out the car then got Aaliyah’s car seat out. He took the car seat off me and held my hand. “It’ll be okay” I whispered into his ear then kissing his cheek. He gave me a nervous smile. We walked into my Grandma’s to find everybody there including my elder brother Tyreece and his girlfriend Tyrah. He looked at Elliot in a weird way before giving him a smile to tell him everything was going to be okay. Tyreece was known around the ends as being a hard nut and a bad boy. “So, this is the guy that impregnated my little sister” he said. I knew he was joking but Elliot didn’t know him like I did so Mum gave him a look. “Stop it you fool” I said to Tyreece. He nodded. “I was only joking you idiot” Tyreece said to me. “Haha very funny” I said sarcastically. Mum sent us to the shop for my Grandma to clear the air a bit. “Take Aaliyah with you, I didn’t take her pushchair out of the boot from yesterday” she said going out to the car to get it. She put it up and I transferred her into the pushchair. She gave me a cheeky smile and with that me, Elliot and our daughter set off for the shop however, I couldn’t believe who we saw and what they was doing on the way.

Chapter 2 ...Old faces...

“GET OFF ME YOU IDIOTS!” I heard a girl shout. I looked across the road and a girl was being beat up by 2 other girls. I didn’t have to think twice to who it was. Elliot knew it was Holly too. I looked at him then ran over dragging one of the girl’s hair back. “WHAT THE FUCK?!” they shouted. “Don’t fuck with my bitch!” I shouted at her. “WHO ARE YOU?!” the other one shouted. “YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!” I said getting all up in her face. I knew I was intimidating and it was only proven when the other girl told the girl to leave it. I helped Holly up off the floor. “Who the fuck was they Holly?” I asked her. “I beat up their friend yesterday, it was to be expected to be honest” she said to me like it was a regular occurrence. Holly looked over at Elliot. “Can I see her?” she asked me. I took her hand and led her across the road. To say what happened Holly and Elliot still spoke just not a lot but they were civil for mine and Aaliyah’s sake. I pulled the cover of Aaliyah’s pushchair back and Holly had her first glimpse of her. “She’s gorgeous” she said. I smiled at her. Elliot went to get the stuff my Grandma wanted from the shop whilst me and Holly sat at the bus stop talking non-sense. It was like I never went away except for the fact I now had a daughter. He came back and Holly got up to walk home. “We’re walking you home, you haven’t got to speak to Elliot, you’re my best friend, and well at least I still think we’re best friends?” I asked her whilst Elliot was crossing the road. She pulled up her jumper sleeve and shown me the friendship bracelet I had the matching one too. “I never take it off” she said to me. “Me neither, even when I had Aaliyah it was round my wrist” I said to her. “I don’t think it’s a good idea my Dad saw Elliot though, he’s still mad and he’s at home” Holly said. “Oh, alright” I said to her. I knew what she meant so I couldn’t complain. I hugged her and she hugged me back. “See you around” she said to me smiling. “Bye Elliot” she said coldly. “Cya” he replied. I looked at him and he looked hurt. We walked back and after a while set back off for Manchester. I’d just got Aaliyah fed and ready for bed when I decided to try cheer Elliot up. “What’s up?” I asked him. “Nothing” he said not even looking at me. “Why lie to me?” I asked him. “I’m not Shanice just leave it” he said to me getting an aggressive tone in his voice. I looked at him to show him he’d hurt me. “See, this is why I didn’t want to say anything Shanice, I knew I’d upset you!” he said to me. “What are you talking about? You haven’t said a word since we seen Holly, you’ve been being off with me Elliot and I don’t see what I’ve done wrong!” I said to him. “Before you met me, yours and Holly’s lives were perfect, I think it’s better if we had some time apart, that way you and Holly can be friends again like you used to” he said.

Chapter 3 ...Responsibilities...

I looked at him and tears were starting to well up in my eyes. I tried to hold them back but it failed and each one flew down cheek like it was a race or something. Elliot looked at me. “See, I can’t upset you if I’m not with you” he said to me. “I love you princess” he said kissing my cheek. Aaliyah started crying. I went over to her cot and picked her up. “What? So you’re going to leave your little girl too? A little girl without a Daddy isn’t right! You know it’s not!” I said to him whilst rocking Aaliyah on my shoulder. “I’ll still be here for both of you, just not like that” he said to me. I wanted to shout at him so hard but I wasn’t going to shout at him around Aaliyah. “I’m sorry” he said to me. “Yeah, whatever” I said finally getting Aaliyah off to sleep. I walked back over and put her in her cot then sat down on my bed. Dad knocked on my bedroom door. He clocked me crying and looked at Elliot’s guilty facial expression. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?!” he shouted at Elliot pinning him up against the hallway wall. “DAD LEAVE HIM ALONE!” I shouted at him jumping over my bed and running into the hallway. “NO! HE’S UPSET YOU I KNOW HE HAS! I HEARD EVERYTHING! WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU ELLIOT?!” Dad shouted at him. Elliot looked so angry, hurt and afraid. “MUUUUM! MUUUUM!” I screamed down the stairs. “What’s up angel?” she shouted back up the stairs running up them. “Dad! Stop him!” I said to her. “Carlos stop it!” Mum shouted at Dad. “He’s just upset your little girl?! He’s lucky I don’t throw him out the window” Dad said rage in his voice. “CARLOS! YOU’RE HURTING HER EVEN MORE CAN’T YOU SEE THAT?!” Mum said. By this point I was sitting in the corner of my landing, my back against the wall and my arms covering my bowed face. I looked up and Dad looked at me. He let Elliot go and Elliot looked at me. “Sorry” he mouthed before walking swiftly down the stairs and out of the door. “ELLIOT NOOOO!” I shouted getting up. Dad went to grab me but Mum stopped him. “Let her go” she said to him. I ran down the stairs and it brought back memories of the night I nearly lost Aaliyah. I had to fight for her Daddy like she fought for her life that night. I didn’t even put any shoes on over my socks so the cold stones on my driveway hurt my feet but I didn’t care. He stopped when he was halfway down my driveway and looked back at me. “Shanice I’m sorry, I can’t do this no more, I’ve tried but I’m sorry” he said to me. The tears in my eyes made it hard to see but I’m sure he was crying too. He walked away and I stood there and cried. I turned around and saw Mum at the door. I began to cry even more now because the love of my life had just left me.

Chapter 4 ...Daddy’s girl gone bad...

Mum ran up to me and hugged me. “Come inside sweetheart” she said to me. She took my hand and led me inside. I walked up to my room and Dad was sat on my windowsill looking at Aaliyah “GET. OUT. OF. MY. ROOM.” I shouted at him. He walked over to me trying to hug me. “MOVE!” I shouted at him. “I was only protecting you” I said to him. “SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” I shouted getting really angry at him. Aaliyah began to cry. “Your granddaughter needs seeing to; GET OUT OF MY ROOM YOU IDIOT!” I shouted at him. “How dare you!” Dad shouted at me. “How dare me what? Stick up for myself?” I asked him. He stepped to me like he was going to do me something. On the inside I was scared but on the outside I couldn’t make him see me defeated. Mum came up the stairs just as Dad grabbed my wrists. “YOU DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH ME AND YOUR MOTHER HAVE HAD TO SACRIFICE DO YOU?!” Dad shouted at me shaking my wrists so the whole of me shook. “Carlos leave her alone” Mum shouted. I knew she was scared of Dad a little. “YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE GIRL!” he shouted at me. I didn’t like it when my Dad was like this. Something mad crazy happened next. My breathing was getting heavier and my head felt weird. Mum looked at me. “CARLOS LET GO OF HER NOW!” Mum shouted at Dad. Aaliyah was screaming. “She’s got to take care of her daughter now GET OFF HER!” Mum shouted at him. He just said so many hurtful things to me but I blocked them out and I could only hear my daughter crying. Mum walked up to Dad and got one of his hands off me. However, when she went to get the other one off he hit her so hard she fell. Her nose was bleeding but she still got up to try get Dad off of me. Dad looked at me and then at Mum before releasing my wrists. I ran over to Mum and I hugged her. “GET OUT NOW!” Mum shouted at him. Dad did as he was told. He got his car keys and I watched with Mum as he walked out of the door. I walked into my room and Aaliyah lay there screaming her lungs out. I wiped my tears with my jumper and then picked her up. There wasn’t any need to wipe away my tears though because when I held her even more were falling. Once I’d finally gotten her to sleep I lay in my bed. Mum knocked on my door. “Tyreece and Tyrah are coming up tomorrow so get some sleep” she said. I got up and hugged her. “Don’t cry sweetheart” Mum said to me. I got ready for bed and then went to bed. I heard Mum quietly sobbing downstairs. I also cried myself to sleep that night.

Chapter 5 ...Tyreece and Tyrah...

I woke up to find Aaliyah already awake but being reasonably quiet. She must have known Mummy needed a good night’s rest. I got myself ready. I say ready I got my shower then put on my tracksuit bottoms and a standard long sleeved black top. I then bathed Aaliyah and put her into the exact same I was wearing. I heard a knock at the door and I heard Tyreece and Tyrah’s voices. I didn’t really feel like socializing so I just stayed in my room playing with Aaliyah. There was a knock at the door. “Come in” I said. Tyrah stood at the door smiling at me. She was like the big sister I never had in a way because she understood how I felt all the time which very rarely happened. She came in as I got up; she then walked over to me and hugged me. “Its okay babe let it all out” she said hugging me tightly. I told her about me and Elliot. “Well, he’s an idiot to be honest with you! You’re a pretty amazing girl Shanice and so is your daughter” she said to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back. She used her sleeve to wipe away my tears just as Tyreece came into my room. “Take it you’ve told her then?” he asked Tyrah. “NO! You’re an idiot, I was getting to it” Tyrah replied giving him a screw face. “Well, you know how me and your brother are at THAT age now where we want to settle down and have kids” she said. I nodded. She shown me her hand and on it was the biggest engagement ring I’d ever seen. “How’d you feel about being my little sister-in-law and also a bridesmaid?” she asked me. I nodded really fast like a retard. She then walked over to Aaliyah’s cot. “How about you as our flower girl young lady?” she said looking at Aaliyah. Aaliyah laughed. “That’s if Mummy says yes” she said looking at me. “Yeah! This is the best news I’ve had in a long time” I said to her. She smiled at me and I smiled back. I looked at Tyreece and I knew something was on his mind. When Tyrah took Aaliyah downstairs, my suspicion was proven.

Chapter 6 ...Once a cheat, always a cheat...

“You know if I speak my mind you won’t hate me forever will you?” he said to me. “Obviously not” I replied. “I think you should go and talk to Elliot” he said to me. “It’s actually not that” I said to my older brother. “I’ll ring him then init” he said. “I don’t think you will” I replied. “Why are you being like that?” I asked him. “Like what?” I replied lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. “You’re telling me you’re not going to fight for him?” he asked me. “No” I replied. He looked at me a hurt look in his eyes. “You’ve changed!” he said to me. “No, I just learnt that shouting doesn’t always solve everything” I said to him defeated. “Aaliyah needs a Dad” Tyreece said to me. I felt guilty when he said that because I knew exactly what he meant by it and I also knew that I had to do right by Aaliyah and get her Daddy back in our lives. “Come, I’ll take you to his, you two can talk” he said to me. “I don’t WANT to go though, I only want him in Aaliyah’s life!” I said to my older brother. “Shanice, you know you love him so get some shoes on and get in the car!” he said to me. I stood there and cried. I don’t know why I was crying exactly but I just was. “What’s up Sis?” Tyreece asked me. “Nothing, it’s just, he told me it was just the 3 of us now” I said to my brother. Tyreece held me as I stood there in his arms and cried. After about 10 more minutes of crying I finally stopped long enough to put some trainers on. I then got into Tyreece’s car and I directed him to Elliot’s. I walked up the path and knocked on the front door for Elliot’s Mum to answer it. She looked like she’d been crying. “Don’t Shanice, don’t go in there darling” she said trying to drag me away. I ran into Elliot’s house and looked for him, he wasn’t in the living room, or the kitchen so I ran upstairs and to his room. Holly was sat on Elliot’s bed half dressed whilst Elliot was sat in the corner of his bedroom sobbing.

Chapter 7 ...Friendships and relationships...

“You little bitch!” I screamed at her launching her in her jaw. She fell to the floor and her nose started bleeding. I ran down the stairs and by this point Tyreece was hugging Elliot’s Mum who was now in such a state she couldn’t speak. Elliot came running down the stairs after me and grabbed my arm he grasped on to it and Tyreece went ballistic. “GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BABY SISTER INIT! YOU KNOW I NEVER LIKED YOU!” Tyreece said punching him. I had to get him off of him because no matter what, Elliot was still Aaliyah’s Dad. “ELLIOT YOU HAVE A CHILD WITH SHANICE! YOU SAID YOU LOVED HER! WHAT HAPPENED ELLIOT?!” Lisa, Elliot’s Mum, shouted at Elliot. I looked at Elliot, hurt, anger, pain and regret in his eyes. Something in me snapped and I charged for Holly and she tried to run up the stairs. I grabbed her leg and she fell onto the step hitting her nose. “I’M SORRY! HE WAS MINE FIRST!” she screamed at me as I punched her. “YEAH! BUT YOU DON’T HAVE A BABY WITH HIM THOUGH DO YOU HOLLY?!” I shouted punching her again. “ELLIOT GET HER OFF ME!” Holly screamed. I felt someone grab me from behind and Holly ran upstairs. I swung round thinking it was Elliot but Tyreece had me in his arms. I cried into his chest and he hugged me. He then took my hand and walked me down the path towards his car. I took one final look at Elliot before getting into my brothers car and driving back home. I ran inside the house and ran upstairs. I heard Mum shout after me but I just didn’t care. I ran into my room and slammed my door shut after that I threw myself on my bed and started crying like I’d never cried before. What had I become? Before any of this happened I used to be strong. I’d never let a boy make me cry and let him see I cried. There was a knock at my bedroom door. “GO AWAY!” I shouted through the tears. “Shanice, open the door!” the person said. Was I hearing things or was she really there?  

Chapter 8 ...Can’t believe it...

I opened the door and Dominique stood there. She hugged me and I hugged her back. I’d missed her so much and we hadn’t really spoken after she found out about me and Elliot. “I’ve missed you bitch” she said to me. “I’ve missed you too” I replied. I walked into my room and sat on my bed. She followed me and sat on my bed next to me. “How did you know?” I asked her. “I was round Mia’s, with Holly and Harvey, well me, Mia and Harvey were out at the time but Holly said she felt ill so stayed behind...can’t believe she’d even go back to him” she said to me. “Him, happens to be Aaliyah’s dad” I reminded her. “Oh...yeah” she said. “Where is Aaliyah anyway?” she asked me. “Downstairs, you wanna meet her?” I asked her. She nodded and together we walked downstairs. Aaliyah was lying on her play gym whilst Mum, Tyrah and Tyreece were talking about Tyrah and Tyreece’s wedding. I walked over to where Aaliyah lay and picked her up. “Shanice, me and Tyreece are nipping to the shops, do you or Dominique want anything?” Mum said. “Yeah, just get us bare munchies and some pizza thanks Mum” I said to her. “Alright poppet” she replied getting her car keys. We then took her back upstairs. Dom sat on my bed and I let her hold Aaliyah. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she began to cry. “What’s up babe?” I asked her concerned. She just looked at me and passed me Aaliyah back. “I can’t do it” she said beginning to cry even more. I laid Aaliyah back down in her cot then went to sort Dom out. “What’s up babe? I’ll hurt anyone that’s hurting you!” I said to her. “They’re making me do something I don’t want to do!” she confessed. “Who’s making you do what?” I asked her. “Harvey and Mia” she continued. By this point Dom was sobbing and I’d never really seen her cry before like this minus the night Harvey nearly died. “I just can’t do it Shan! They’re making me do something that I physically and emotionally can’t go through again!” she said to me. I looked at her. Its girl code but I knew exactly what she meant before she even said the words. “They want me to have an abortion Shanice! I CAN’T DO THAT!” she said to me through her tears.

Chapter 9 ...Mysteries...

I looked at Dom and she began to cry even more. Rage started to bubble in my veins. I got up and started searching for my phone. “Shan leave it, it’s only going to cause arguments” Dom said to me. “ABOUT LEAVE IT! YOU’RE LUCKY I DON’T GO ROUND THERE AND KNOCK 4 SHADES INTO ALL OF THEM!” I replied. I then found my phone and rang Holly. “Hello...” she started. “PUT YOUR FUCKING SISTER ON NOW” I shouted down the phone. “No, she’s busy” she replied. “I said put your sister on this phone now!” I screamed down the phone. “Why? So you can shout at her? No thanks” Holly replied putting the phone down. “Where’s your stuff?” I asked Dom. “It was only a day trip, I’m meant to be going home now” she said to me. “So you’ve got everything of yours yeah?” I asked her. “Yeah, why?” she replied. “You’re staying here tonight!” I told her. “Won’t your Mum mind?” she asked. “No, you’re one of my long time friends!” I said to her using my sleeve to wipe away her tears. “Thanks Shan” she said smiling at me. “What are friends for?” I asked her. “Yeah, but I haven’t been a very good friend have I? I mean, the only reason I haven’t spoken to you is because I don’t know how you’d react, all those times I wanted to ask you how you were and how and if you were coping! I love you so much” she said. I smiled at her. “It’s okay” I said. “What are we gonna do?” Dom asked me. “We can go talk to Tyrah? She won’t say anything to nobody else about our little conversation, she never does!” I said. “Alright” she answered. “Now, you wanna hold your goddaughter whilst I go get Tyrah?” I asked her. “You’re asking me to be her God Mum?” she said looking at me. I nodded. She smiled at me once more before I went to get Tyrah. “TYRAH!” I shouted down my stairs. “Yes Shanice” she shouted back. “Can you come here please” I asked her. “Coming...” she said. She walked up the stairs. “What’s up?” she asked me when she was nearly at the top. “I need your help” I said.

Chapter 10 ...Revenge...

“Normally Shanice when you say you need help that means trouble!” Tyrah said to me. “It’s not for me though” I said to her. “Ohhhh, alright” Tyrah said. I walked into my room and Tyrah followed. Dom started crying as soon as she started telling Tyrah what was up so I had to finish telling her the situation. “Mia what?” Tyrah asked us. “Johnson” I said. “I’VE NEVER LIKED HER! She thinks she’s something nice, the bitch” Tyrah said. Me and Dom laughed because it was actually true. “So, what do YOU want to do Dominique? Forget about how old you are and your situation, also forget about what everybody ELSE wants, what do YOU want to do?” Tyrah said to Dom. “I want to keep him or her I can’t go through losing a baby again!” Dom replied finally calming down. “Right, that’s sorted, you’re keeping this baby!” Tyrah said. “What about Mia and Harvey?” Dom asked me. “I’ll sort them out! I never liked Mia!” Tyrah said. “Give me Mia’s number” Tyrah continued. “Why?” I asked her. “I’m going to sort this out, if she wants to bully little girls she can bully me too!” she said. I gave her Mia’s number and she went to ring her. “Thank you” Dom said to Tyrah as she waited for Mia to answer. “Don’t mention it.......RIGHT YOU WANNA PICK ON LITTLE GIRLS YEAH?!” Tyrah shouted down the phone. “Thank you too Shan” she said smiling at me for the first time. I smiled back. “It’s okay” she said. “OH YEAH?! YOU’LL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST!” Tyrah shouted down the phone. Tyrah locked off the phone and put it in her pocket. “She said she’s coming round here, apparently” Tyrah said. “Just in case Dominique, stay up here with Shanice and Aaliyah” she said to us both. “Alright, thank you so much!” Dom said to Tyrah. “It’s fine, I class Shanice as my little sister and now I class you as one too!” Tyrah said smiling before leaving my bedroom closing the door behind her.

...20 MINUTES LATER...

I heard banging at the door and I went to the top of the stairs but still in the darkness so nobody could see I was there. “Alright! I’m coming” Tyrah said. “WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!” I heard someone shout. Mia.

Chapter 11 ...You’re crazy...

I watched as Tyrah started fighting Mia. “YOU WANT TO START ON LITTLE GIRLS YEAH?! YOU CAN FIGHT A BIG GIRL THEN CAN’T YOU!” Tyrah shouted. I’d never actually seen Tyrah like this and was actually quite scared of Tyrah now. I’d heard stories about how good of a fighter she was but never actually seen her fight like this. I crept across my landing and looked out the window so I could see what was happening as they were fighting. Tyrah grabbed Mia’s hair and kneed her in the face a few times. Mia fell to the floor. “DO. NOT. FUCK. WITH. DOMINIQUE. OR. SHANICE. AGAIN!” Tyrah said singling the words out. Mia got up and ran for Tyrah. She jumped up on top of Tyrah making Tyrah fall and hit her head on my doorstep. I ran down the stairs and started punching Mia. She got her off of me and ran up the stairs. “I KNOW YOU’RE HERE DOMINIQUE!” Mia shouted. I ran up after her. “MIA STOP IT WHY ARE YOU EVEN DOING THIS?!” I shouted at her whilst she was looking in every room for Dominique. “I’M PROTECTING MY LITTLE BROTHER THE WAY TYSHARN WOULD HAVE WANTED ME TO!” she shouted at me. “YOU’RE A PUSSY! I SWEAR! TYSHARN WOULDN’T EVEN WANT TO KNOW YOU!” I shouted at her. She looked at me and calmed down a little. “You’re right, what am I doing? It takes two to make a baby! I should be killing Harvey for even persuading me to do this” Mia said. Was I dreaming or was Mia actually apologizing to me? “Tell her I said sorry, and I’ll keep out of it!” Mia said walking back down my stairs and out of my house. By this point Tyrah was in the kitchen cleaning herself up. “I’m sorry” Mia said. “Yeah” Tyrah said. Mia left the house and I walked over to Tyrah. “Are you okay Tyrah?” I asked her. She nodded. “Go check on Aaliyah and Dom” Tyrah said. I did as I was told and ran up the stairs just as Mum and Tyreece came back. I walked into my room and found Dom clutching her stomach crying silently. “Dom, what’s up?” I asked her. “I think I’m losing my baby!” she screamed getting hysterical.

Chapter 12 ...Eediat...

“MUM! MUM! MUM!” I ran to the top of the stairs screaming. She came running up the stairs. “What’s up Shanice?!” she asked me. “IT’S DOM! SHE NEEDS TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!” I shouted at her grabbing her hand and taking her to my room. “What’s up Dominique?” Mum asked her. Dom was too upset to talk so I told Mum an outline of what happened. “TYREECE! COME HERE!” Mum shouted. “Yes Mum” Tyreece said running up the stairs. “Carry Dominique to my Car, you and Tyrah can look after Aaliyah can’t you?” Mum said. “Yes Mum” Tyreece said picking up Dom in his arms. I guess all those weights really did him good. Tyreece put Dom into the back of my Mums car. I then got in the passenger seat whilst Mum got in the driver’s seat. She then sped for the hospital as she knew time was critical. Once we got to the hospital they took Dom so they could check her over. Mum then went to ring Dom’s Mum and Dad to fill them in on what had happened. I sat there thinking about the revenge that was going to be coming Holly and her family’s way. Half an hour passed and a doctor approached me and Mum. “What’s happened? Are Dom and the baby okay?” I asked her. “Yes, Miss Baker is doing well, so is her baby however, we do need to keep her in overnight just to make sure” she told me. I smiled at her. “Thank you so much!” I said. “Thank you” Mum said. They let us see Dom and she was lying in the hospital bed crying. I walked to her and hugged her tightly. “I know how you feel babe, don’t worry!” I said to her. “It’s a horrible feeling knowing you could have lost something so special!” I said to her wiping away her tears. I looked at Dom and she looked like I did the same night I nearly lost my little girl. An hour had passed and Dom’s Mum, Dad and little sister Demi came into the hospital room. Mum offered to take Demi home with us so Dom and her parents could have a proper talk. We got home and I put Demi to sleep in the spare room. I’d just gotten ready for bed and I was sat on my laptop when I heard crying. I followed it and when I found out whom it was I wanted to cry too.

Chapter 13 ...Little sister...

Demi was sat up right in bed crying her eyes out. I walked over to her bed and hugged her. “What’s up Demi?” I asked her. “Is Dom-Dom going to die?” she asked me. “No! She’s going to be fine sweetheart!” I said to her wiping away her tears with my thumb. “I had a dream that she died” Demi confessed to me beginning to cry even more. “Demi she’s going to be okay, I promise you!” I told a hysterical Demi. “I know I annoy her but I love her!” Demi said crying in my arms. “It was only a bad dream Demi, trust me she’ll be okay and most probably will be out tomorrow” I said to her. “I love you Shanice, you’re like my other big sister!” Demi said to me. I smiled at her. “I can’t go back to sleep now though Shanice, I’m scared” Demi said to me crying her eyes out again. “Alright, well you can come and watch a DVD in my room with me if you want? I’ve got some kids ones you might like?” I asked her. “Alright” she said smiling at me. I picked her up and carried her into my room. She didn’t know about Aaliyah so was very surprised to see a cot in my room. “Who’s that?” she said looking at Aaliyah. “My daughter” I replied. “Oh, she’s very pretty!” Demi said whilst I put her down onto my bed. I smiled at her. I then put on a DVD and got into my bed the side closest to Aaliyah’s cot so I could make sure she was okay during the night. I looked at Demi and she soon nodded back off to sleep. I soon fell asleep myself and woke up to Aaliyah crying. I got myself out of bed and went to see to her. After I changed her nappy she calmed down a little but I was adamant to get her ready for the day as she’d only had a few hours sleep and I knew she’d go back to sleep. Demi soon woke up after that so all 3 of us went downstairs. I made myself and Demi some breakfast whilst Aaliyah sat bouncing in her rocker. It was only 8am and there was a knock at the door. I didn’t even believe who was standing there.

Chapter 14 ...Take me back...

I tried closing my door back but Elliot put his foot in the way so I couldn’t. “Shanice, we need to talk” Elliot said to me. Tyreece came down the stairs and looked at Elliot. “What is HE doing here?” she asked. “I’m sorry Shanice, I really am!” Elliot said. I looked deep in his eyes. “At least come on a walk with me, I can’t explain myself but we need to talk! I miss you and Aaliyah, you two are my world and I was blind not to see that” Elliot said. “You hurt her and I’ll kill you, you feel me?” Tyreece said. I looked at Tyreece. “Go then you fool, I’ll look after these two” he said looking at Demi and Aaliyah. I got my coat and walked out my house closing my door behind me. I was still in my pyjamas but I was sure nobody would have been awake at these times anyway. We walked to the park and sat on the bench. He said some meaningful stuff but nothing that I hadn’t heard before. He just told me how much loved me and our daughter. “I don’t care, I’ve heard this all before!” I finally said to him. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you’re sorry!” I said looking at him. He looked at me, deep in my eyes and told me everything he just told me but had more meaning in what he was saying. I believed him and decided to take him back. “It won’t automatically be like how it was before but obviously, in time, we shall get back to that but stronger I guess” I said to him. It’d been an hour since we left mine so we decided to head back. “You’re going to have to apologize to my family too you know, they don’t like what you did or you anymore” I said. It was harsh but it was true. Elliot apologized in a way that even pleased my brother. A couple of hours later and Dom came to pick up her sister along with her parents. She looked like she’d been crying so I took her hand led her to my room. “I’m moving, I’m not even going to be living in England! Not even in the UK!” she said started to get hysterical. I started to cry too because I’d only just gotten her back and now I had to say goodbye to her probably forever.

Chapter 15 ...Goodbye my friend...

“I’ve only just gotten you back and you’re leaving me again!” I said to Dom. “Yeah but my Dad said it’s not safe for me anymore! So now we’ve all got to move, I don’t want to leave you either!” Dom said to me. “Where are you even moving to?” I asked. “Toulon” Dom said. I gave her my confused face because geography wasn’t my best subject. “South of France...I’m going back to my roots!” Dom said. Dom’s Mum, Amelié was French and Dom’s Dad, Andre, was Dominican. I say Dominican but he was born in England after his parents moved to England. So in a way, I guess having to fly a few hours to France rather than a couple more to Dominican was a better idea. “I’ll be back when I’m old enough, I promise you that one!” she said to me tears in her eyes. She set me off and I started crying too. “You best msn me every day!” I said to her. “I will babe and I’ll ring you!” Dom said to me. I gave her a hug and we cried some more in each other’s arms like bitches. “I’m gonna miss you man!” she said to me. I was too upset to talk. “Just take care of your little one okay and remember I’m always here if you need me” I said to Dom. “I will babe don’t you worry! I know, like I said I’ll be back, I won’t even tell you I’m coming back, just turn up and hope you’re in” she said to me. After about another 2 hours it was time for Dom to leave. I hugged her tightly and I didn’t want to let her go. I finally did and then hugged Demi. “Thank you for last night Shanice” she said hugging me back. “It’s okay, now you look after yourself okay” I said to her. She didn’t even know what was going on. She just thought it was a big holiday. I took my angel wings necklace off and put it around her neck. “Whenever you get scared or feel unhappy just remember I’m with you” I said to her. I then took off my bangle as it would have been too big for Demi and put it around Dom’s wrist. “Same for you homie” I said to her. “Hurt my homie like that again and I’ll kill you” Dom said to Elliot. “I won’t don’t worry” he said to her. She hugged me and then went to get into her parents car. I waved her goodbye with Elliot. I then went back inside and Elliot hugged me as I cried. I spent the whole day with Elliot and Aaliyah. Once the day was over and Aaliyah was in bed I cried myself to sleep.

Chapter 16 ...Hurt...

I woke up the next morning and got Aaliyah ready. I then got myself ready whilst Mum watched Aaliyah. I heard Elliot’s voice whilst I was sorting my hair out. “Where’s Shanice?” I heard him ask Mum. “Upstairs” she replied. “Thanks” he said. I heard him run up the stairs and knock on my door. “Come in” I said. “YOU KNOW I JUST SAW TYLA GO MAD AT MIA AND HARVEY AND HOLLY!” he confessed. “WHATTTTTTT?!” I asked him. He told me how he’d heard shouting since about 9am and it’d had been going on all the way up until he’d left his. I looked at the clock and it was a few minutes past noon. “What were they arguing about?” I asked Elliot. “Dominique! Amelié must have rung Tyla going mad last night apparently, and then Tyla’s just going mad at Holly for what she did with me, it was all going off this morning!” Elliot said. I looked at him and laughed. “WOW! I love Tyla you know!” I said. “Me too, she doesn’t ramp!” Elliot said. I finished my hair and put some make up on. After that me and Elliot took Aaliyah on a walk. Elliot used one of his hands to push Aaliyah and the other to hold my hand. We walked to the park and stayed there for half an hour before walking back. We were walking back when we saw a police car followed by an ambulance. “Wonder what’s gone off” Elliot asked me. I shrugged my shoulders and carried on pulling faces at Aaliyah. We were just about to walk onto the road before mine before we realized it was all locked off. It looked like there had been a crash involving a car and a lamppost. Something was telling me to be inner and see what was going on so I did. I called a police officer over and he told me that a woman swerved off the road to avoid a kid that ran into the middle of the road after their ball. “Oh, okay” I said to him. I watched for another 30 seconds as they were cutting a car to free someone from it. “What are they doing now?” Elliot asked. “Well, there’s a woman stuck in the car so the fire fighters are trying to get her out” she replied watching as the fire fighters got the woman out of the car. My eyes aren’t that good but I was sure it was Tyla. My heart started pounding and I asked the police officer what the cars registration plate number was. She told me the worst news possible. The one she told me was the same of Tyla’s car.  

Chapter 17 ...Madness...

I started screaming and both the police officer and Elliot looked at me gone out. “ELLIOT IT’S TYLA! ME AND HOLLY HAD A SONG TO REMEMBER HER NUMBER PLATE!” I screamed at him crying. “I need to go with her! Please!” I shouted at the police officer. “How do you know her?” The police woman asked me. “She’s like my Mum! I’ve known her since I was like 6!” I said to her. They let me go with Tyla in the ambulance whilst Elliot took Aaliyah home and rang Mia. He promised to come and join me at the hospital “Is she going to be okay?” I asked the paramedic whilst on the way to the hospital. “Nobody knows I’m afraid” he said to me. Once we got to the hospital they took Tyla into theatre whilst I sat in the waiting area. I couldn’t stop crying and I didn’t care how much people were looking at me. I just wanted to know Tyla was okay and that she’d make it through. I didn’t know where her kids were but Elliot soon turned up with my Mum half an hour after we got there. “I can’t believe it....heard anything?” Mum asked me. “No” I said shaking my head and crying. Elliot held me as I cried. 20 minutes later and a doctor approached us. “She’s in intensive care at the moment but she might be able to recognise a familiar voice?” the doctor said. Elliot and Mum looked at me. I went with the doctor and he led me to a room where Tyla lay. She looked kind of peaceful. “Try talking to her, she might respond” the doctor said. “Tyla, its Shanice” I said about to cry once more. “Try holding her hand, see if you get a response that way” the doctor said. I held her hand and asked her to squeeze it if she could hear me. Nothing happened and I wanted to cry right there and then but I knew Tyla wouldn’t want me upset so I kept strong. I started telling her all about Aaliyah. I told her how much she’d changed me and how glad I was about what had happened but not in the way it did. A doctor came in the room with Mia, Harvey and Holly following her. “What is SHE doing here?” Holly asked looking at me. I didn’t even retaliate. Mia started on me and I had to tell her about herself. “Where have you 3 ACTUALLY been?! Your Mums in hospital and it takes you THIS long to get here?” I shouted at them. Tyla’s heart monitor started going faster and faster like she was having a panic attack or something. “GO GET A DOCTOR QUICK!” I shouted at Holly. “DON’T YOU DARE SHOUT AT HER!” Mia shouted at me. Just then Tyla’s heart monitor went silent like her heart had stopped beating. I started screaming. “MUM?! MUM!” Mia shouted. Harvey just stood there and cried. I had to get out of the room so ran to where Mum and Elliot were. “SHE’S GONE! MUM SHE’S GONE!” I said crying hysterically.

Chapter 18 ...Judgement...

Mum held me as I wept onto her shoulder. I couldn’t control myself. I’d never actually cried so hard. I was crying that hard that I didn’t notice when Holly, Harvey and Mia came into the waiting room. “I’m so sorry” Mum said to them and that’s when I finally realized. 20 minutes later and a doctor came into the room. “Shanice?” he asked. I looked up. “Can you come with me please?” he asked me. “What do you want with her?” Mum asked. “I just need to ask her a few questions, if that’s okay?” he said looking at me. I nodded and went with him. “Tyla’s alive, she wants to see you, she told me not to tell them where you were going though” he said to me. I was so confused. “What happened? I thought she died?” I asked him. “Miracles do happen” he said to me. I walked into the room and Tyla was smiling at me. “Can I hug her?” I asked the doctor. “Yes but very carefully” he said to me nodding. I walked up to her and hugged her. “I thought you were gone” I said to Tyla. “No! I’m a fighter! Thanks for everything sweetheart, the doctor told me you’d come” she said. “Did you hear me talking to you then?” I asked Tyla. “Yeah, I want to meet Aaliyah, when I’m well enough I’ll have to take both of you out” she said. I smiled at her and she smiled back. “Well, I think it’s time to see my other children” Tyla said. “What do you mean other children?” I asked her. “Shanice you always have been and always will be like a daughter to me no matter what!” she said to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back. “Is Elliot here?” she asked me. “Yeah, so’s my Mum” I told her. “Ahhh, you’d better get off then poppet, Jason’s on his way, he should be nearly here now” Tyla said. I knew what she meant by it and that Jason was still after Elliot. “Keep in touch sweetheart” Tyla said as I hugged her. “I will do, I want to see you before you go back to Birmingham” I said. “Of course!” she said. I smiled at her and then left the room. I walked back into the room where everybody else was. “Mum can we go please” I asked her. She just did as she was told. Elliot looked like he had something on his mind. When we got back to mine I relieved Tyrah and Tyreece of Aaliyah and went to get Aaliyah ready for bed. After I’d bathed Aaliyah and put her into her night time all in one suit, I took her back downstairs and passed her to Mum whilst I got ready for bed. “Where’s Elliot?” I asked her. “Gone shop for me sweetheart” she said. She looked like she knew something but didn’t want to say anything. Tyrah and Tyreece were looking at me smiling like they knew something too. I ran my bath and got into it. I’d been in there for half an hour when my phone went off. “Follow the signs” it said. Elliot had sent it. I opened the bathroom door with my towel wrapped round me. There were red skittles on my landing carpet and I was guessing they were the signs. Elliot knew I only liked the red skittles and the other ones got thrown at his head. I followed them and they led to my bedroom. The stopped at my bed and I looked on my bed. I felt like crying again. Elliot had spelled out two words in red skittles only. Marry me.

Chapter 19 ...Love note...

I found a note next to it with the words “Open me” written on the front. This is what the note said:

To My Soulmate,

Look, I know it might seem like this a bit TOO soon considering we’ve not long gotten back together but I mean it when I say I’m sorry and seeing Tyla like that, well it’s shown me that life’s too short! I want you in my life forever and I understand if it’s too soon but I just want you to know that I actually am crazy about you. I want us to be together forever. To be there holding each other’s hand when we see our little girl growing up. Meaning I want you to be holding my hand when she’s taking her first steps all on her own and when she starts school. I want to be able to hold your hand when you have my other children. You know we’re not stopping until I get a son right? Unlike when you had Aaliyah, I’ll be there by your side holding your hand and taking all your abuse. We’re the golden couple baby girl and I just want you in my life forever. I love you forever and ever and ever princess.

Elliot xxxx

I began to cry as I read the note. All the words in there were from the heart and I knew it. I’d never really felt like this with a guy before and I knew Elliot was the one. I turned around and Elliot stood there. “I meant every word baby and I love you” he said to me. I ran up to him and kissed him. Elliot got a ring out of his pocket. He got down on one knee and asked me the question. “Yeah, obviously” I said to him. He put the ring on my finger and it fit perfectly. “Isn’t this the same wedding ring that was on your Mums chain?” I asked him. “Yeah, when Dad died he told Mum to give it to me when the time was right or when I asked for it, tonight was that night” he said to me. I kissed him so passionately and he kissed me back the same. I went to show everybody my ring and found everybody eating skittles. For the first time in so long, I’d finally felt the best about myself. All I had to do now was focus on school and study hard in order to support Aaliyah when she was growing up.

Chapter 20 ... 4 months later...

I was rushing home from school because today was the day Dom found out the sex of her baby and she agreed to come on a video conference with me. I got home and found Aaliyah awake but quite content in her rocker. I walked in my kitchen to put Aaliyah’s food to warm and found Dad sat at the kitchen table. “What’s HE doing here?” I asked Mum. “He’s going to apologize to you, like the big man I know he can be” she said to me. “Oh, alright” I said to Mum. Dad apologized to me and I wasn’t even listening to him too tough as I was more angry at the fact Mum let him back in the house after he hit her. “Hmm, whatever” I said to him. I took Aaliyah’s rocker with Aaliyah in it upstairs whilst her food warmed. I then put the rocker with her in it on the floor in my room and turned my laptop on. I then went back downstairs to get Aaliyah’s food once it had cooled. I then went back upstairs and sorted Aaliyah out for her food. I put her rocker on my bed as now I could watch her and make sure she didn’t rock herself off my bed. I then arranged my laptop so you could see both me and Aaliyah in my camera as well as hear us both. I then clicked on Skype and Dom was already on. We were talking about the dumbest things as I fed Aaliyah and it was like she was actually in my room. “So yeah, what are you having? Is Aaliyah going to have a potential boyfriend or a new best friend?” I asked her. “A little girl! Let’s just hope she doesn’t have my temper ayy!” Dom said laughing. I laughed too. “What’s it like over there then?” I asked Dom. “Hot...TOO HOT” she replied. “Shame” I said to her. “Oh yeah, I got to tell you something” I said to her. “What? You’re not pregnant are you again Shanice?!” she asked me. “OH HELL NA! I love Aaliyah and all, but ones enough until I get MARRIED” I said showing her the rock on my finger. “WHAT?! ELLIOT ASKED YOU TO MARRY HIM?! WHEN WAS THIS?!” she asked me. “4 months ago, round about, but I hadn’t found the right time to tell you” I said to her. “Oh, well I have something to tell you too, it’s nearly finalized but I don’t know if it’s going to go ahead or what but anyway, I MIGHT be moving back to England, well Manchester” Dom said. The smile on my face grew even bigger than it already was. I decided that I had to give Dad a second chance so called him to my room whilst Dom watched Aaliyah on cam. “Thank you darling, I’m sorry for hurting you” he said. “Yeah, but on ONE condition, I want to get married in 5 years time on 18^th February, thanks, you’ve gotta pay, it’s tradition” I said to Dad who didn’t even know his little girl was engaged. “Alright, but why that time?” Dad asked me. “I’ll be 21 and it’s mine and Elliot’s anniversary on that day” I said to him. “Anything for my little girl” he said.

Chapter 21 ...18^th February plus 5 years...

I sat on the chair whilst having my make up done for my wedding. I reminisced on the past 5 years. Ever since doing well in my GCSE’s and A Levels things were on the up. I’d gotten a job as a Nursery Nurse in the local nursery which I loved. Elliot finally got his act together at the last minute and just scraped enough marks to go onto University. He now had a degree in child development and was a youth worker as he’d been where most of the youths had been and come out on top. We then moved into our own house. And to top it all off a year and a bit ago I had mine and Elliot’s second child, Armani. He was able to walk so was going to be page boy and Aaliyah the flower girl was going to be holding his hand along with Dom’s daughter Amelia would be at the other side of Armani to help his balance. Dom was my chief bridesmaid so obviously stayed at mine last night. Her boyfriend of 4 years, Jerome, got on well with her daughter and was also Elliot’s good friend which was a plus because when me and Dom wanted our girls night they could babysit the kids then when they wanted their boys night we’d watch the kids. Mum offered to babysit both mine and Dom’s kids so we could have our last girly night. My make up was finally done and the stylist was just sorting my hair out. After an hour of doing my hair it was finally done so I finally put my dress on to top it all off. It was a girly white fairytale dress with pink rhinestones on it. Dom cried when she saw me as well as Mum, Dad, Tyreece, Tyrah and Elliot’s Mum. “You look beautiful” they kept telling me. I felt beautiful. The time had finally come and it was time for my wedding party to leave for the church where me and Elliot were getting married. Dom, Tyrah and two girls I met in college, Elisha and Alexis were my bridesmaids. They travelled with Elliot’s best men, Jerome, Reece, Alex and Daniel. To top it all off, Aaliyah, Armani and Amelia went with them as I knew Dom wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on two extra kids. When we got to the church I got out of the car when everybody else had already started walking down the aisle. “You look beautiful princess” Dad said to me. “Thank you Daddy” he said to me. I had a remix of ‘Here Comes The Bride’ done as I hated the original version. As I was walking down the aisle everybody was smiling at me and I felt love. “She looks bum fam” I heard Reece say to Jerome who then hit him. My Dad passed my hand over to Elliot. “Look after her or I’ll kill you” Dad said to him. “I will, promise” Elliot said a tear in his eye. I wiped it away and smiled at him. I fell in love all over again. I knew Elliot was the one I wanted to spend my life with. Elliot wrote me a poem and said it to me. It made me feel so special. As we said our vows we both looked deep into each other’s eyes. After the ‘I do’s’ the reception kicked off with our first dance. I looked deep into his eyes as we danced to a live version of ‘The Day I Married My Angel – Jamie Foxx’ sung by someone who sounded just like him. “Here’s to the rest of our life princess, I love you” he said to me. “I love you too baby” I replied. It felt so good to finally feel wanted and at home. I loved the way Elliot made me feel and I knew that day was the start of the rest of our lives together. Most of my life I’d felt like I needed saving, now I’d finally found my superman and we were going to fight the biggest battle of all. Raising our two kids and our future ones the best we could.

The End