going to stay on her tablets no matter what. And the first time she missed one, he was out of there – for good, this time.
4
Skye had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she woke the next morning, she momentarily forgot what had happened and stretched her arms above her head. But, when she heard the chimes of a doorbell in the hallway below, her eyes popped open and she sat bolt upright and gazed around the unfamiliar room in confusion. A tap at the door a few seconds later, followed by the sight of Marie Vaughn’s smiling face, brought everything back in an unwelcome flash.
‘Morning, love,’ Marie said cheerily. ‘Val had a cancellation, so she managed to get here a bit earlier than planned. I washed your things after you fell asleep.’ She nodded towards a wicker chair in the corner of the room, upon which, Skye saw from the corner of her eye, her clothes were neatly folded. ‘Why don’t you go and have a wash, then get dressed and join us in the kitchen? The bathroom is two doors down. I’ve left a new toothbrush on the sink, and a fresh towel on the rail. Okay?’
Skye didn’t answer, so Marie took the hint and retreated from the room. As soon as the door was closed, she jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed.
Val and Marie were talking quietly over a cup of tea at the kitchen table when Skye went downstairs. Dennis was nowhere in sight, but she could hear him moving around in the room above and guessed that he must have decided to leave the women to it.
‘Morning.’ Val smiled and gestured for her to take a seat. ‘How are you feeling today?’
‘All right,’ Skye muttered, breaking her pledge not to speak to any of them in her desperation to know if there was any news about her dad. ‘Have you heard from the hospital yet?’
‘Yes, and you’ll be pleased to know that your father’s operation went very well.’
‘Does that mean I can go home now?’
‘Not just yet.’
Skye’s heart had leapt at the news that her dad was okay, but it plummeted now and tears of despair sprang into her eyes. ‘Why not? I don’t want to stay here again.’
‘You won’t have to,’ Val told her. ‘This was an emergency placement, so I’ve made arrangements for you to go to a nice children’s home until we can find somewhere more permanent.’
‘No.’ Skye shook her head. ‘I want to go home.’
‘I’m afraid that’s not an option,’ said Val. ‘We’ve no idea how long your dad will be in hospital, and your mum’s clearly not well enough to look after you.’
‘She’ll be okay if she gets back on her tablets,’ Skye insisted. ‘She always gets better really fast when they kick in. Anyway, I’m nearly fifteen; I can look after myself.’
‘No, you can’t,’ Val said firmly. Then, sighing softly, she said, ‘Look, I know this isn’t what you hoped to hear, but this isn’t the first time concerns have been raised about your welfare, and we have a duty to protect you.’
‘I don’t need protecting.’
‘ You may not think so, but we do.’
‘You don’t even know me.’ Skye glowered.
‘We’ve known of you for a while,’ Val said. ‘And we’ve spoken with your parents several times in the past. Unfortunately,’ she went on, trying not to make it sound as if she were criticising the Bensons when, in truth, the couple had done everything in their power to prevent Social Services from gaining entry to their home, ‘we weren’t able to establish a true picture of the situation on those occasions, so we couldn’t make an accurate assessment of your needs. But after what happened last night, it’s clear that you’re at risk, and we’re—’
‘You don’t know any thing,’ Skye cut in angrily. ‘You’re just like the police: making things up so you can take me away from my mum and dad. But I love them and they love me, and they won’t let you get away with this.’
‘I saw your dad this morning, and he agreed to sign you over to us,’
4
Skye had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she woke the next morning, she momentarily forgot what had happened and stretched her arms above her head. But, when she heard the chimes of a doorbell in the hallway below, her eyes popped open and she sat bolt upright and gazed around the unfamiliar room in confusion. A tap at the door a few seconds later, followed by the sight of Marie Vaughn’s smiling face, brought everything back in an unwelcome flash.
‘Morning, love,’ Marie said cheerily. ‘Val had a cancellation, so she managed to get here a bit earlier than planned. I washed your things after you fell asleep.’ She nodded towards a wicker chair in the corner of the room, upon which, Skye saw from the corner of her eye, her clothes were neatly folded. ‘Why don’t you go and have a wash, then get dressed and join us in the kitchen? The bathroom is two doors down. I’ve left a new toothbrush on the sink, and a fresh towel on the rail. Okay?’
Skye didn’t answer, so Marie took the hint and retreated from the room. As soon as the door was closed, she jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed.
Val and Marie were talking quietly over a cup of tea at the kitchen table when Skye went downstairs. Dennis was nowhere in sight, but she could hear him moving around in the room above and guessed that he must have decided to leave the women to it.
‘Morning.’ Val smiled and gestured for her to take a seat. ‘How are you feeling today?’
‘All right,’ Skye muttered, breaking her pledge not to speak to any of them in her desperation to know if there was any news about her dad. ‘Have you heard from the hospital yet?’
‘Yes, and you’ll be pleased to know that your father’s operation went very well.’
‘Does that mean I can go home now?’
‘Not just yet.’
Skye’s heart had leapt at the news that her dad was okay, but it plummeted now and tears of despair sprang into her eyes. ‘Why not? I don’t want to stay here again.’
‘You won’t have to,’ Val told her. ‘This was an emergency placement, so I’ve made arrangements for you to go to a nice children’s home until we can find somewhere more permanent.’
‘No.’ Skye shook her head. ‘I want to go home.’
‘I’m afraid that’s not an option,’ said Val. ‘We’ve no idea how long your dad will be in hospital, and your mum’s clearly not well enough to look after you.’
‘She’ll be okay if she gets back on her tablets,’ Skye insisted. ‘She always gets better really fast when they kick in. Anyway, I’m nearly fifteen; I can look after myself.’
‘No, you can’t,’ Val said firmly. Then, sighing softly, she said, ‘Look, I know this isn’t what you hoped to hear, but this isn’t the first time concerns have been raised about your welfare, and we have a duty to protect you.’
‘I don’t need protecting.’
‘ You may not think so, but we do.’
‘You don’t even know me.’ Skye glowered.
‘We’ve known of you for a while,’ Val said. ‘And we’ve spoken with your parents several times in the past. Unfortunately,’ she went on, trying not to make it sound as if she were criticising the Bensons when, in truth, the couple had done everything in their power to prevent Social Services from gaining entry to their home, ‘we weren’t able to establish a true picture of the situation on those occasions, so we couldn’t make an accurate assessment of your needs. But after what happened last night, it’s clear that you’re at risk, and we’re—’
‘You don’t know any thing,’ Skye cut in angrily. ‘You’re just like the police: making things up so you can take me away from my mum and dad. But I love them and they love me, and they won’t let you get away with this.’
‘I saw your dad this morning, and he agreed to sign you over to us,’
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