Chapter 7, 'That lassie will not learn,'

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18th April 1919, Newburn, Newcastle.

"Where would she go James?" John interrogated his nephew.

"Erm, when we want to get away we would go and sit at this waterfall thing. It's like over the cornfields in Walbottle brickworks. So maybe she's there." James answered, trying to think where else she could be.

"No. She wanted to run away, not think, and she knows that would be one of the first places we would check. If she really wanted to get away she would do what we have had planned for months. She's at the quayside you idiots. She wants to board a ferry and leave." Scarlet stated, noticing their confused faces.

"Right, Scarlet, me and you will go to the Quayside and stop her getting on the boat. John, you and James go to the waterfall as if she's there. Ada wait here in case she comes back, Alright." Tommy declared wanting to find his daughter.

"Right, come on, James lad lets go to this waterfall place." John said following James down this path what seemed to be never ending.

Scarlet started to lead Tommy in the opposite direction, towards the quayside.

"Do you know where you're going?" Questioned Tommy, who had become quite tenss knowing his daughter could be on a boat out of England and if she was there was a chance he would never see her again.

"Of course, I know where I'm going." Scarlet continued, "You're supposed to be a gang leader so I thought you would have at least half a brain."

It was quite amusing to Tommy at how outspoken and blunt this thirteen year old girl was. He was used to people being terrified of him, but the longer he stayed in Newcastle the more he was questioning if people were actually scared of him or if the people of Newcastle were just different to the people of the rest of England. Thomas' ego was slowly disappearing the more teenages spoke to him the way Scarlet and Libby had. Tommy was pulled out of his thoughts by the boysterous shouting of the crowd next to them. Tommy's startled faces were enouther for Scarlet to start pissing herself laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked a very confused Tommy.

"You should of seen your faces. Ye shit yoursel." Scarlt said in between laughs, "Don't worry we are here. The boarding station is just along there. I'll get us in and all you have to do is look like a confused tourist, which doesn't look far from the truth to be honest."

"How are you gonna get us in there?" quizzes Tommy.

"Magic." Scarlet replied, tapping the side of her nose which made Tommy roll his eyes.

"Jordan Connelly." Yelled Scarlet at the top of her lungs.

"What are you doing here, Scar." Asked a tall man dressed in a police uniform.

"Have you seen Libby? She's done a runna." Scarlet asked with urgency.

"Again? Bloody hell that lassie will never learn. She's not here tho. At least I've not seen her or been called to take her home." Jordan answered honestly.

"Okay thanks Jord. I O you one." Scarlet answered walking back towards the orphanage. "Tommy she's not here. She'll be at the waterfall. I was wrong. Let's just get back, yeah."So with a sight Tommy began to follow scarlet back to the home, praying that John was having better luck with James at finding his daughter.

"How much longer, we have been walking for miles." John whined.

"We have been walking for five minutes and we still have a big hill to walk up so quit complaining and get a more on, will ya." James snapped, getting very sick of John's incessant whining.

"Right so just up this massive hill now, right?" John asked, getting on James' last nerve.

"Aye, man," James snapped, "Have a fag and stop moaning will, ye?"

"Want one?" John questioned.

"Aye, gis one." James answered, shaking his head. James had a feeling that John was the most laid back and Tommy was the one that seemed to have a stick up his arse all the time. "So what's our family like then?" James Quizzed trying to make conversation.

"Well, their Arthur. He's the oldest and reminds me a lot of you. He acts hard but is really like a giant cuddly teddy bear. Then, there's Tommy, your dad. He like the boss and a lot like your sister. Both have a habit of running away from their dads as it seems. After theirs me and well you know who i am. Next there is Ada, who you have met. She's the only girl and sister we have and then, there is the youngest, Finn. He's only eleven but probably causes the most trouble. Lastly, theirs is our aunt Pol. She is our dad's sister but she raised us when our mum died and dad left. I've got four kids and was the only one with them until we found out about you and your sister." John answered, he was very proud of his family, even though it was messed up and even at the best of times wasn't even close to being what could be described as dysfunctional. He loved them and they clearly loved him. James enved that it had alway just been him and his sister. Yeah they had Scarlet and John but they weren't like a proper family. Even when they lived with their mother they didn't feel an ounce of love the Shelbys made each other feel every day.

"Come on it just through this cut now." James said, hoping that his sister was sitting on the ledge looking down at the running water.

"She's there, look." John observed, while running forward to grab his niece.

"Why did you run off? You've made us worried." Quizzed John, who kept a firm grip on her arm to stop her from trying to run off again.

"I'm sorry, I just need to clear me head. It all came as a bit of a shock and I panicked. I'm sorry." Libby answered feeling quite off guard. John and James had found her when her walls were down and she was deep in thought. She didn't have time to prepare herself so she started to panic and catching her breath became increasingly hard.

"She's having a panic attack, John." James rushed to say. It scared him seeing his sister in this state but she had also told him that the panic attacks had stopped but clearly she had lied to him again.

"It's alright, Breath, yeah." John comforted Libby. Wrapping his arms around her and letting her rest her head against his chest. "Deep breath in and let it out. It's okay, calm down. Look at me and take another deep breath in, yeah." John was trying his best to calm Libby down and it was working, her breathing had started to calm down however she sobbed into his chest. Gripping his shirt like he was gonna disappear. John looked down and continued to cuddle Libby in, taking her through more breathing exercises as James stood still. It was like he was frozen. He knew his sister needed him but he stayed dormant. It was like the world kept moving and he isn't registering it.

Libby sobbing had turned into light sniffling and John was relieved she was okay. He helped her stand up and the three of them began the long walk back to the orphanage to say their last goodbye to the people they love the most, Scarlet and john.

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