© February 2013

Part Fifteen of 16+

Chapter Fifteen: Lies

    “What time did you get home last night?” Chloe asked on the Monday morning as Ashley drove her over to pick Stacy up for school.

     “Just before midnight, not that it’s any of your business.” Ashley said sounding smug, but Chloe could see Ashley trying not to start grinning, and she knew her aunt was playing with her.

     “Were you with your new boyfriend all that time?” Chloe asked with a grin.

     “Yes...” Ashley grinned back.

     “What were you doing?” Chloe asked.

     “We were just sat talking.” Ashley replied. “Wash your mind out young lady.” Ashley added in shock when she realised what Chloe was thinking. Chloe just giggled as Ashley playfully slapped her as she drove along the road towards Stacy’s.

     “Do you want to sleep with him though?” Chloe asked once Ashley had stopped attacking her.

     “I wouldn’t say no to him, but he has a daughter, and she was asleep in the next room, so it never crossed my mind.” Ashley admitted.

     “Does she go to my school...?” Chloe asked excitedly, now she’d made her aunt spill some details about this mystery man she was seeing.

    Ashley went to say something, but stopped herself before she spoke. “I’m not saying anymore about him, or his daughter.” Ashley finally said after giving it some thought.

    Chloe wanted to grill her aunt a little more, but they pulled into the driveway at Stacy’s, and Ashley was out the car before Chloe could ask. Ashley had only made it half way to the front door when it opened and Stacy ran out the house ready for school with Dorothy walking out just behind her.

     “Good morning Ashley.” Dorothy smiled as she watched Stacy run over and throw her arms around Chloe and give her a hug.

     “Morning Dotty.” Ashley smiled back. “Someone looks eager to get to school for a Monday morning.” Ashley added as she looked over her shoulder at Stacy and Chloe giggling as they both jumped around excitedly.

     “It’s nice to see Stacy looking like that again.” Dorothy sighed as she remembered the time when she had trouble getting Stacy to even leave the house.

     “I better get the pair of them to school then, before they change their minds and make a break for the horses.” Ashley laughed.

     “Yes.” Dorothy giggled at the thought of the two girls making a break for it across the fields on their horses. “I’ve got a ton of housework to get done, so I should really make a start on it.” Dorothy added with a sigh.

     “I can come back and give you a hand, if you’d like?” Ashley asked. “Val is busy working on her new book, and she did all the housework yesterday while Chloe was out with Stacy, so I’m at a loose end.” Ashley explained.

     “You don’t have to, but I’m not one to turn down help.” Dorothy smiled. “I’ll put the kettle on and make a fresh pot of tea, ready for when you get back from dropping the girls off at school.

     “I thought you said you had a ton of housework to get done...?” Ashley asked with a puzzled look.

     “I do, but with you helping me, we can take a little time to have a drink first.” Dorothy said in a matter of fact way.

     “You’re the boss.” Ashley shrugged. “I’ll be back shortly.” Ashley said with a wave as she spun around and made her way over to her car. Chloe and Stacy had already gotten in the back, so Ashley got behind the wheel and drove off, but not before looking over her shoulder to make sure both girls had put their seatbelts on.

    Ashley had to wait in a line of cars when she got to the school. There were a couple of teachers and some security guards checking the cars as parents dropped their children off at the school. Chloe and Stacy could see reporters vans parked across the road still. It reminded the two girls of Heather’s house the day before.

     “You’d think they would have gotten everything they needed to know by now.” Chloe said as they drove past the news vans.

     “They’re just trying to get some dirt on Jane to use against her father.” Ashley said.

     “They could write a book about Jane, and all of the things she got up to while being here.” Stacy giggled.

     “Maybe you should sign an exclusive deal with one of the reporters.” Chloe joked.

     “I think you should do nothing of the sort...!” Ashley said, not seeing the funny side of Stacy doing such a thing. “The last thing either of you need, is for the reporters setting their sights on either of you.”

    Chloe was about to defend herself, but had to stop when Ashley pulled to the front of the line and Susan’s father appeared at Ashley’s window.

     “Hello Ashley.” David Smith smiled. “I was hoping I’d get to see you today.” He added with a silly grin on his face.

     “Hi David.” Ashley replied with a grin in her voice. “I always drive the girls to school.” She added.

     “I wanted to thank you again for yesterday. Susan really took a liking to you.” David said. “She asked me when she might see you again, but I said I wasn’t sure.” David added in a questioning tone.

    Chloe and Stacy were sat in the back of the car with their mouths hanging open as they both realised that Ashley’s mystery man was actually Susan’s father, and a teacher at the school.

     “I know that Susan and Chloe are friends, so let me have a word with my sister, and the two of you can join us for dinner later in the week.” Ashley said.

     “Yes they are; Susan won’t stop talking about her new friends and how wonderful they are.” David said with a roll of his eyes.

     “I’ll text you once I’ve sorted out the details with my sister.” Ashley grinned.

     “Sounds good.” David grinned back. “I better let you get going, we have a cue forming.” David added as he heard some car horns.

    Chloe could see her life falling apart from the back seat of her aunt’s car. Chloe knew that her mother was going to blow her top when Ashley told her who she was dating, and the fact that Chloe had made friends with the girl she was pretending to be at the hospital.

     “You’re dating one of my teachers...?” Chloe asked as Ashley carried on driving up to the school.

     “It’s not as bad as you’re making it sound.” Ashley said, mistaking the fear in Chloe’s voice for something else.

     ‘Yes it is...!’ Chloe wanted to scream at her aunt, but she couldn’t say anything to change the trouble she’d started. “But he’s my teacher...” Chloe whined, thinking it was a lame thing to say, but not having anything else to try and stop her aunt dating one of her teachers, and also the father of the girls she was pretending to be when she went to the hospital.

    Stacy was still sat next to Chloe with her mouth hanging open, but Chloe could also see that Stacy was trying not to giggle over the trouble Chloe had started by becoming friends with Susan.

    Chloe wanted to punch Stacy in the arm, but decided to ask her aunt a question instead. “When did you meet Mr Smith?”

    It was on Saturday at Stacy’s.” Ashley informed her. He’d just dropped Susan off to go riding with you.” Ashley added as she parked up outside the main school building. “I’ll see the two of you this evening; have a good day at school.” Ashley smiled as she watched the two of them get out the car.

     “I’ll try, but it could be my last.” Chloe said under her breath as she closed the car door and waved to her aunt with a fake smile plastered across her face.

     “You’re mum is going to freak out when your aunt tells her about Mr Smith and Susan.” Stacy said as she stood next to Chloe waving to Ashley as she drove away.

     “Thanks for pointing out the obvious.” Chloe groaned. “What am I going to do...?” Chloe whined.

     “You could call your mum and explain everything before your aunt has a chance to tell her.” Stacy suggested.

     “That will just make my mother shout at me down the phone, and she will still be upset with me for lying to her about Susan.” Chloe said in a tone that told Stacy she wasn’t helping. “Aunty Ash seems to really like Mr Smith as well, and she will never speak to me again if she’s forced to break things off because of me.” Chloe added close to tears.

     “I can’t see your mother making her do that, because you can’t just stop being Susan’s friend now, even your mother will see the error in that.” Stacy pointed out.

     “True, but I’m going to be grounded with no horse riding for a week at least.” Chloe grumbled.

     “I did warn you not to keep things from mother.” Spirit said as she appeared next to Chloe. “Don’t worry; it’s just you and Stace that can see me at the minute.” Spirit added when she saw Chloe look around to see who was close by.

     “I know you did, but isn’t there anything you can do to help...?” Chloe asked looking hopeful.

     “I’m an angel, not a miracle worker.” Spirit frowned. “I will come and visit while you’re grounded though.” Spirit added with a grin.

    Chloe was just about to scream at Spirit for not being very helpful at all, but she had to stop when she saw Sophie, Jade and Susan making their way over to where she and Stacy were stood talking to Spirit, or was talking to Spirit, because she had taken Chloe being distracted by Susan calling her name to vanish.

     “Hi Chloe, Stacy...!” Susan shouted to them as she waved at the two of them.

     “Suzy was just telling us about her dad going out with your aunt.” Jade said with a grin.

     “Jade...!” Susan said as she slapped Jade on the arm, but just made Jade giggle. “I’m sorry Chloe.” Susan said worriedly.

     “What you got to be sorry about?” Chloe asked with a puzzled look.

     “I had no idea that my dad had gone out for drinks with your aunt on Saturday, not until she came over to the house yesterday.” Susan explained.

     “How did the two of them get on?” Stacy asked.

     “They seem to have a lot in common, and your aunt is really cool.” Susan said with a smile. “I wish I had a mum like her, she really made me feel special.” Susan added with a blush.

     “Play your cards right, and you just might.” Jade said with a raised eyebrow. Jade was soon running around the others squealing with Susan running after her

    Susan finally caught Jade, and Jade just giggled even more while Susan tickled her. The bell sounded to let them know it was time to get to their homeroom, so Susan released Jade, and started walking on one side of Chloe, while Stacy walked on the other. Sophie and Jade were walking just in front of them.

     “Did your aunt say anything about my dad?” Susan sounded nervous as she asked the question.

     “She wouldn’t even tell me who it was she was seeing, not until we met him at the gate this morning.” Chloe admitted.

     “Oh, I see.” Susan said, sounding a little disheartened.

     “Don’t take that in a bad way Susan...!! Chloe said. “She’s been really happy all weekend, so I can tell you right now that my aunt is really into him.” Chloe added with a grin.

     “She was even talking to him about having the two of you over for dinner one night this week.” Stacy added with a grin.

     “Are you alright with all this?” Susan asked as she looked at Chloe.

     “I’m fine with it.” Chloe lied as she put on her best fake smile, while she thought of all the different ways her new mother was going to kill her when she got home.

    They were making their way to their homeroom when Chloe let out a squeal as she was lifted off the ground and spun around several times. When she was finally back on the ground, she turned around to find a grinning Finlay stood there.

     “What’s got into you...?” Chloe asked as she tried to stop the hallway from spinning while she held onto Finlay.

     “Danny finally woke up.” Finlay said excitedly. “We got a call from his parent’s yesterday, and when we got to the hospital, there he was, sat up in bed grinning at the two of us.” Finlay explained.

    Between helping Heather move on the day before, and the news that her aunt was seeing Susan’s father, Chloe had forgotten all about helping Danny get back into his body on Saturday. Chloe had also forgotten about the date she’d had with Finlay.

     “That’s wonderful.” Chloe said when the hallway stopped spinning and she finally let go of Finlay.

     “How long before he’s back at school?” Sophie asked.

     “Danny’s parent’s weren’t sure, but he’s going to be getting a good work up today, so they hope to have a better idea by the end of the week.” Finlay explained.

     “Will he be coming back to school here?” Chloe asked as they all started walking towards the girl’s homeroom again.

     “Danny’s mum wanted him to move to another school, but Danny told her he was coming back here, just as soon as he’s back on his feet again.” Paul said as he walked along side Stacy with his arm wrapped around her waist.

     “I trust the date went well on Saturday then...?” Sophie asked with a grin when she saw how both Finlay and Paul had their arms around Stacy and Chloe.

     “I think they both had a good time.” Finlay said as more of a question than stating a fact. “You did have a good time, right...?” he asked Chloe.

     “Yes...! It was a lot of fun.” Chloe blushed as she thought about the kiss they had shared.

     “You kissed...!” Jade shouted a little too loud, which made all the other students stop talking around them. Chloe just turned a deeper shade of red and stepped closer to Finlay for protection. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Jade added when she saw Chloe do that.

     “Jade...!” Sophie said as she punched Jade in the arm. “I wish you’d learn to think before you speak.” Sophie added with a frown.

     “I’m sorry Chloe, but I’m just excited for you.” Jade said as she rubbed her arm and looked around at all the students grinning and whispering to each other as they walked past the seven of them.

     “It’s alright; they were all bound to find out sooner or later.” Chloe said as she relaxed into Finlay’s arms. Being with Finlay made Chloe feel more feminine than she had ever felt before, and she felt protected with his big strong arms around her. Even though Finlay wasn’t one of the largest boys at the school, he was still much bigger than Chloe.

    Chloe and Finlay had to break their embrace when a teacher walked past and told them to break it up and get to their homerooms before they were late, so they broke the embrace and made their way to their homerooms. Finlay and Paul’s was just down the hall from Chloe’s and the other’s, so Finlay and Paul gave their girlfriends a hug and a quick kiss before they ran off down the hallway.

    Stacy and Chloe watched the two boys run away, and they both giggled when they were told off for running. The five girls all entered their home room and took their normal seats when the teacher entered the room.

     “So how was the date...? Are Finlay and Paul good kisses...?” Jade whispered so the teacher wouldn’t hear her.

     “Fine and yes...” Stacy said over her shoulder.

     “We want details.” Jade whined.

    Stacy was just about to speak, but stopped when the teacher called out Jade’s name and asked if she had something she wanted to share with the rest of the class.

     “No Miss...” Jade said as she slid down in her seat to hide from the rest of the class that was now looking right at her.

     “Well please be quiet and let me finish the roll call.” The teacher frowned just before she carried on calling out student names.

    Chloe and Stacy were glad that Jade kept quiet for the rest of the roll call, but she was soon bugging them for details once they were out in the hallway and heading for their first class of the morning. Chloe and Stacy gave them a quick rundown of how the date went, and Jade wanted more details until Sophie said she was just being nosey.

    The morning at school was just like any other, apart from police wandering around the school and talking to some of the students that might have seen something from around the time Jane pushed Heather off the roof. Chloe was glad she wasn’t at the school when it happened because it meant the police had no reason to talk with her, but they did call Sophie, Jade and Stacy out of their classes through the morning. Susan hadn’t been at the school when Heather died, so she never got called out of their classes.

    Chloe was still worried about being around the police, but she understood that they needed to do their job, and none of them were looking for her, or a boy called James. Chloe knew that he would have been forgotten about by now, as sad as that sounded, but Chloe also saw it as a good thing now she was living her life as Chloe.

    Chloe was glad when the bell sounded to let them know it was lunchtime, she was looking forward to spending some time with Finlay, but she bumped into Tracy and the two other girls that use to hang around with Jane, they had latched onto Tracy like she was a replacement for Jane.

     “Look where you’re going little girl.” Tracy said, trying to sound like Jane did when she tried to act like she was better than everyone else.

     “You’re the one that walked into us you dumb bitch...!” Stacy snarled as she gave Tracy a push.

     “You should watch who you’re shoving around freak...” Tracy snapped back as she went to grab Stacy’s arm, but she was stopped by Chloe knocking it away again.

     “Keep your hands off my friend.” Chloe warned as she stepped between Tracy and Stacy.

     “What do you plan to do about it...?” Tracy asked with a smug look on her face as she looked at the two girls either side of her.

     “I understand that you have trouble counting this high, so I’ll help you just this once.” Chloe pouted like she felt sorry for Tracy. “There are five of us, and only three of you, so I would say that we have the upper hand, not that I need any help to put you on your fat backside.” Chloe warned.

     “Make that seven...” Finlay said as he and Paul appeared from nowhere.

    Chloe figured that Tracy’s brain cell must have fired into life, because she suddenly looked worried as she realised that even without Finlay and Paul, they were still down a couple of girls, and Tracy had already seen what Susan could do. Tracy turned to say something to her two new friends, but she looked shocked to find out that they were already walking away rather fast, so Tracy started running to catch up with them.

     “Thanks for the back up.” Chloe smiled as she stepped into Finlay’s arms.

     “You’re welcome, not that you needed it.” Finlay said as he wrapped his arms around Chloe and looked down into her eyes as she looked up into his.

     “I’m not too proud to let a big strong man come to my rescue.” Chloe smiled just before Finlay leaned down and kissed her.

     “My money would be on you in a fight with Tracy.” Finlay smiled between kisses. “Tracy’s all talk, where as you look like a girl that can back up what she says.” Finlay added with pride in his voice.

     “I’d rather you buy me lunch than bet on me in a fight.” Chloe said as she broke the hug and took hold of Finlay’s hand. Chloe started walking towards the dining hall.

    Even though Chloe was just joking with Finlay, he still paid for her lunch when they got to the checkout in the dining room. He had gotten his and Chloe’s lunch together on the one tray, so she led the way to a large empty table that they could all sit at and she was soon enjoying her lunch with her friends.

     “Did you hear the news about Jane yet?” Paul asked between bites of his burger.

     “No, what happened...?” Chloe asked looking worried that Jane might have done something stupid like try to take her own life.

     “She’s been locked up.” Paul said.

     “We already know that.” Sophie frowned.

     “No, I mean locked up, as in a padded cell with a cool white coat that buckles up at the back.” Paul explained as he wrapped his arms around himself like he was the one in a straight jacket.

     “Didn’t her father try to fight it?” Stacy asked, a little shocked to hear about Jane being treated as a mental patient.

     “He’s the one that had her committed.” Paul shrugged. “I guess he’s trying to do some form of damage control on his career.” Paul added with a shrug.

     “But I thought Jane said that her father helped to cover up Heather’s death?” Jade asked.

     “One of his bodyguards had admitted to helping Jane cover up the murder, and he had no idea what they were doing.” Paul said with a roll of his eyes like he didn’t believe it was true.

     “It will stop him being charged, but it won’t save his job in the government.” Sophie said.

     “I’m just glad they finally found a suitable place for Jane to go.” Stacy grinned. “I always thought it was just a matter of time before she killed someone.” Stacy added.

     “Do you think she’ll ever get out again?” Jade asked.

     “She killed someone and then said they were haunting her, so I doubt she’ll be getting out anytime soon.” Sophie replied.

     “She can’t be tried for Heather’s murder while she’s classed as being insane, so her father will want to keep her in the funny farm for as long as he can.” Paul said in a matter of fact way just before stuffing a hand full of fries in his mouth off Stacy’s plate.

     “Hey...!” Stacy complained as she slapped Paul’s hand away as he tried to take a second handful. Paul just laughed as he kept trying to steal more of Stacy’s fries.

    Chloe giggled as she watched Stacy trying to fight off Paul’s attack on her plate. Chloe was glad to have a distraction from worrying about what her mother was going to do when she got home later in the day. She was beginning to see that keeping her friendship with Susan a secret was a really bad idea, and now she had hurt her aunt’s feelings.

     “Is everything alright Chloe?” Finlay asked, snapping Chloe out of her thoughts.

     “Yes, fine.” Chloe lied as she put on her best fake smile. She did actually feel a little better as she looked into Finlay’s beautiful eyes.

     “You seem worried about something.” Finlay said as he looked into Chloe’s eyes like he could read her mind.

    Chloe was impressed, and a little shocked that Finlay could read her thoughts after only knowing her for such a short time, but she was also glad that he could. The only problem was, she knew she needed to lie about her reason for being worried.

     “I’m just feeling a bit under the weather.” Chloe lied as she pushed her lunch away and placed a hand on her belly trying to look ill.

    Jade came to Chloe’s rescue. “Is it that time of the month?”

     “I’m not sure; I’ve not had one yet.” Chloe mumbled as she blushed and looked down at the table.

    Finlay had been sat with his arm around Chloe, but the minute Jade mentioned the word ‘monthly’s’ he let go and slid his chair away from Chloe like it might be catching. Chloe wanted to giggle at Finlay’s reaction, but didn’t think it would help her case with pretending to be ill

    Chloe spent the rest of her lunch break being told about things she needed to do, and carry with her now she was becoming a woman. It was Jade and Sophie doing most the talking, but Stacy would offer some advice every once in a while. Chloe noticed that Susan seemed fascinated in parts, and scared at other bits of information. Finlay and Paul had slid off to the other end of the table, and were talking about some new video game they wanted to check out.

    They finally finished their lunch and went out for a walk while the weather was good. Jade and Sophie had finally finished their talk about female hygiene at that time of the month, and Jade had even stopped off at her locker to give Chloe a couple of pads, just in case she got caught short before she could get some of her own. Sophie said it would be a good idea for Chloe to use one right away to be on the safe side.

     “Do you want me to come in with you...?” Jade asked when they got to the girl’s restroom. “I don’t mind showing you how to use them.” Jade added trying to be a good friend

     “No...! I’ll be fine.” Chloe said a little too loud, making Jade jump. “I think I can work it out.” Chloe added as she looked at the strange looking pad in her hand.

    Chloe almost ran into the restroom to get away from the others, and she went into the first stall she found and stood their looking at the thing in her hands. Chloe was tempted to just place it in her pocket, but she thought it might fall out, and that would raise to many questions about her not using it, so she let out a sigh and then pulled up her skirt and pulled down her panties and placed the pad inside before pulling them back up. It felt a little weird having the pad in her panties, but she thought that girls have to do this all the time, and if she wanted to pull off being a girl, she would need to do it as well.

    She stepped out of the stall and walked over to the mirror and checked to make sure no one could tell she had a pad in her panties. Chloe smiled as all she saw was a girl looking back at her, but she could feel the pad stuffed in her panties though, and part of her thought the whole school would know as well.

     “Are you okay...?” Stacy asked, making Chloe jump and let out a little squeal.

     “Sorry...” Stacy said as she tried not to giggle at her friend, who was now stood with her back pressed up against the wall.

     “Yes, I can tell you’re just full of remorse.” Chloe frowned.

     “What’s the real reason for you feeling ill?” Stacy asked in a whisper, but this time she looked more worried for her best friend.

     “It’s just this thing with Susan’s dad and my aunt.” Chloe whispered back. “I couldn’t very well say that to Finlay though, not without explaining the reason why the two of them shouldn’t be seeing each other.” Chloe added as she looked over Stacy’s shoulder to make sure they were still alone in the restroom.

     “Good point.” Stacy agreed. “We better get back out there before the others come in to see what the trouble is.” Stacy said as she stepped over to Chloe’s side and wrapped an arm around her. “Did you use the pad Jade gave you?” Stacy asked.

     “Yes, I didn’t want to risk her seeing it in my pocket later.” Chloe explained.

    Stacy could understand that, so she never said anymore about it and the two of them joined the others out in the hallway, and they were soon out in the sun making the most of the time they had left before afternoon classes began.

    Chloe normally would have been glad for the afternoon lessons to fly by so fast, but the closer the clock got to home time, the more worried she became about what her mother was going to say to her when she got home.

    The final bell rang and Chloe’s mood wasn’t improved when she stepped out of the main school building to find her mother’s car sat waiting for her, with her mother behind the wheel.

     “Paul and I are going out on our bikes this evening.” Finlay said distracting Chloe for a couple of seconds. “Do you think we could meet up with you and Stace in that clearing again?” He asked with a hopeful look as he remembered meeting up with Chloe and Stacy the week before.

     “I don’t think I’ll be going out for a ride this evening.” Chloe said looking sad as she saw the look she was getting from her mother, who was sat in the car looking right at Chloe. “I’ll call you later...!” Chloe said as she grabbed her book bag that Finlay had been carrying, and she ran over to the car, not wanting to make her mother any angrier than she already looked, not that Chloe though that was possible.

    Stacy gave Paul a quick hug and a kiss before she took her book bag off him and she ran over to get in Valarie’s car. Stacy could see that Valarie was angry with Chloe, so she guessed that Ashley had spoken to Valarie about having Mr Smith over for dinner.

     “Hello mother.” Chloe said once she was in the car.

     “Don’t you hello mother me young lady.” Valarie said in a strained voice. “You and I are going to have a long chat when we get home, and don’t even bother asking if you can go over to Stacy’s.” Valarie added as she put the car in gear and pulled away from the school.

    Chloe didn’t say another word all the way to Stacy’s, but she did look at Stacy and give her a thankful smile when Stacy reached over and took hold of Chloe’s hand to let her know she was sorry.

     “Thanks for the ride.” Stacy said to Valarie, who just gave her a weak smile and a nod of her head. “I’ll see you in the morning then Chloe.” Stacy added as she gave Chloe a little wave.

     “Okay, bye Stace.” Chloe said as she gave Stacy a little wave back.

    Chloe felt even more nervous now she was on her own with Valarie. Chloe wondered if Valarie might ask her to leave, this was something Chloe had never thought of before now, and part of her wouldn’t blame Valarie for wanting her gone, but Chloe wasn’t sure she could cope with living on the streets again, she almost died the last time. By the time Valarie pulled into the driveway at the house, Chloe had convinced herself that Valarie was going to tell her to go, and she was sobbing in the back of the car.

    Valarie turned off the engine and turned in her seat to have a word with Chloe before they went into the house, but by the time Valarie had turned in her seat, Chloe was out the car and running into the house, so Valarie got out the car and followed her.

    Chloe ran into the house and found a puffy eyed Ashley just coming out of the kitchen. Chloe could tell right away that Ashley had been crying, and when Ashley just looked away from Chloe like she was ashamed of her, Chloe just turned and ran up to her room and locked the door before she fell onto her bed and sobbed her heart out over what she’d done by lying.

    Valarie entered the house and made her way into the kitchen where she found Ashley sat at the kitchen table pulling a tissue apart and making a small pile with it in front of her.

     “Did Chloe come this way?” Valarie asked.

     “She ran up to her room.” Ashley said in a flat tone. “I saw her in the hallway and didn’t know what to say to her, so I came back in here while she ran up the stairs.” Ashley added.

     “I better go and have a word with her.” Valarie growled as she looked up at the ceiling.

     “I think she already knows she’s done wrong sis.” Ashley sighed.

     “Good, but I still need to have a word with her and tell her that she’s grounded for the next week.” Valarie said as she turned on her heels and left the kitchen to head up to Chloe’s room to tell her off.

    Valarie went to open the door when she got to it, but it didn’t open, so she knocked before waiting for Chloe to open it, but it didn’t open, so Valarie knocked a little louder this time, but still got no response.

     “Chloe...! Open this door so we can speak...!” Valarie shouted as she banged on the door, but still there was no sign of Chloe opening the door. “You’ll have to open the door at some point young lady, and then we will have this conversation.” Valarie warned just before she went back down to make a start on dinner.

    Chloe lay on her bed sobbing until she fell asleep, or she thought she must have, because it was getting dark when she woke. Chloe slid off the bed and went to her bathroom to wash her face and see about taking her uniform off.

    Once she was changed, Chloe returned to the bedroom to find Spirit sat on the bed with a sad look on her face. Spirit went to speak, but stopped when Chloe raised a hand to stop her.

     “I know you told me, but I thought I knew better.” Chloe said as she fell down onto the bed next to Spirit. “Now your mother and Aunt both hate me.” Chloe added with a sigh.

     “They don’t hate you; they’re just upset with you.” Spirit said it like she thought Chloe was insane. “The sooner you unlock that door and go down to face the music, the sooner you will see that.” Spirit added, hoping that Chloe would come to her senses and go down to speak with their mother and aunt.

     “I can’t...” Chloe said as she curled up on the bed again and turned her back on Spirit.

     “I’ll leave you to work this out, but call if you need me.” Spirit said with a sigh just before she vanished.

    Chloe lay on the bed trying to work out some way to fix the mess she’d caused, but she couldn’t think of anything to begin with, but then she started to form a plan that would help everyone. If she left, then her aunt could carry on seeing Mr Smith, and no one would need to ever find out about her using Susan’s name at the hospital.

    With the plan sorted in her head, Chloe jumped off the bed and packed as many of her new clothes into her backpack as she could fit in there. Her plan was to wait until Valarie and Ashley went to bed, then Chloe would go down to the kitchen and grab some food before she left the house and let Valarie and Ashley get on with their lives like they had never met her.

    Chloe unlocked her bedroom door a little later in the evening, and she made it look like she’d got ready for bed, but she was only pretending to be asleep when Valarie came into the room.

    Valarie looked down at Chloe, and she wanted to wake her and force her to come down and have something to eat, but she was still angry with her for being so stupid, so Valarie just left the bedroom and closed the door.

     “Is she still refusing to come out of her room?” Ashley asked when she saw her sister walk back into the kitchen without Chloe at her side.

     “She’s unlocked the door, but she was fast asleep in bed, so I decided to leave her for now.” Valarie said as she joined her sister at the kitchen table.

     “I’ll make her a sandwich and leave it in the fridge for her.” Ashley said as she wrapped an arm around her sister and rested her head on Valarie’s shoulder.

     “I hope you’re not planning to poison it.” Valarie joked.

     “I could never do anything like that...!” Ashley said looking shocked that her sister could even think such a thing. “I’m sure Chloe has her reasons for making friends with Susan, and she didn’t know David and I were going to meet on Saturday and hit it off.” Ashley added in Chloe’s defence. “I knew it was all too good to be true though.” Ashley sighed.

     “I’ve been thinking that you should keep seeing him.” Valarie said.

     “But what about all this stuff with Chloe using Susan’s name at the hospital?” Ashley asked.

     “Chloe’s already friends with Susan, and we can’t order her to stop being Susan’s friend,” Valarie started to explain. “And I think you could help Susan and David by being part of their lives, and you do seem much happier with David in your life.” Valarie smiled as she hugged her sister.

     “Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous though?” Ashley said nervously.

     “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but suddenly dumping David could do more damage than letting things play out.” Valarie shrugged.

     “Does this mean you won’t be grounding Chloe?” Ashley asked looking a little more hopeful for her niece.

     “She’s grounded still...!” Valarie said in a firm tone. “I let it slide the last time and she still decided to keep things from me, so she needs to learn a lesson, and not being able to go riding after school for a week should teach her that lying doesn’t pay.” Valarie added.

     “You do have a point.” Ashley sighed, not able to argue with her sister’s logic on Chloe’s punishment.

    Chloe sneaked out of her room once she knew Valarie and Ashley were in bed, and she made her way down to the kitchen where she filled what little space she had left in her backpack with food. Chloe found the sandwich in the fridge and she ate that while she loaded up her bag, then she left a note on the table before she left the house through the back door.

     “What are you doing?” Spirit asked as she appeared in Chloe’s path.

     “I’m leaving before Valarie asks me to go.” Chloe said as she tried to step around Spirit, but Spirit knew the move Chloe was about to make before she ever made it.

     “Mother would never ask you to leave and you know it.” Spirit said as she reached out to grab hold of Chloe and shake some sense into her.

     “Just let me go.” Chloe said close to tears now. “Ashley deserves a chance with Mr Smith, and I don’t want to get mother in trouble with the police.” Chloe added as she slipped around Spirit and ran off into the night.

    Rather than chasing after Chloe, Spirit decided to wake Valarie and Ashley so they could go and get Chloe back. Spirit was linked with Chloe, so it wasn’t like Chloe could get away from Spirit, even if she wanted too.

    Valarie was enjoying a dream where she and Dr Kaufman were enjoying a walk in a park some place when she saw Spirit running towards her looking worried about something.

     “Mother, you need to wake up and go find Chloe.” Spirit pleaded.

     “Chloe’s safe in bed.” Valarie whined over the interruption.

     “Chloe’s ran away mummy.” Spirit said as she clapped her hands together and Valarie was suddenly awake and lying in her bed.

    Even though Valarie was alone in her bedroom, she couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong, so she jumped out of bed and went to check on Chloe. Valarie ran down stairs when she found Chloe’s room empty, that’s when she saw the piece of paper on the kitchen table and she snatched it up to read what it said.

 

    I’m sorry I lied to you mother, and even sorrier for the pain I’ve caused Aunty Ash. I had no idea that my becoming friends with Susan Smith would do the damage it did, so I’ve decided that it’s best I just leave before you ask me to. Aunty Ash can carry on seeing Mr Smith, and this way I know that you and Dr Kaufman won’t get in trouble because of me. Thank you for trying to help me, but I’m not worth saving, I can see that now.

    Goodbye

    Chloe

 

To Be Continued Next Tuesday  

 

Story by SaraUK

 

Edited and Posted by SamanthaK

    EDITORS NOTE: Please Comment and/or leave Kudos and let Sara know you like her work please, Any comments on spelling, grammar or the layout of the story please PM me “Samanthak” not Sara. Thank you

    The font used in the note at the bottom is available HERE