The Silent Girl

7.

'Ella'

"Umm, well my parents are in the process of getting a divorce. I'm not sure who is getting our current house but at the moment we all live together, but neither of my parents try to interact with each other"

"That must be very hard for you. Being in between your parents" He nods slightly, writing notes, Miss Bright doing the same next to him.

"Yeah, it is very difficult but I'm managing" I admit slowly, nodding my head as well.

"Are you getting any types of support?" He asks.

"Well, not officiating but I have these three amazing friends that would do anything for me, and they've been helping me a lot" I smile, at the thought of my amazing friends.

"That's great" He smiles. "When your parents get through the process of the divorce, who is gaining custody?"

"They are getting partial custody, I'm living with my dad but going to mum's every other weekend" I sigh.

"Ok, and do you want to see your mum?" He asks, just firing questions at me.

"I-I don't want to see her but I don't want there to be a restraining order or no option to see her." I admit, rubbing my sweaty palms.

"Ok" He nods, writing something down. "What happened this weekend? You have fresh injuries on your face."

"On Friday, she hit me again. Because Luke, Noah and Micky told Miss Bright, I fell to the floor, well she pushed me to the floor. I hit the back of my head on the bed post, so I called Luke and they all came. They checked my head and told me that I was ok, and it was only a small cut" I explain, mumbling and wiping the tears after explaining the events.

"Who told your mum that Miss Bright knew then?" He asks, looking at Mr Stone and Miss Bright.

"I rang after our meeting on Friday, I said I was concerned about the injuries on her face. Ella's mother said that she got hurt while playing on the trampoline." Miss Bright explains.

"You should of waited for me to do that, this is obviously a form of child abuse and we need to sort this out." He explains, then he looks back to me. "Can you tell me what happened after that?"

"Well, my mum left the house, that was the point that I called Luke, they came over and looked after me. Then we all fell asleep, it was about an hour later, she came home drunk. My friends got her into bed and stuff. Then came back to me. When I woke up again on Saturday morning, she was gone and I haven't seen her since" I explain.

"Ok, where was your dad while all this happened?" He asks me, slowly.

"He was at work all day Friday, then I got a text from him on Saturday morning saying he was going on a business trip and won't be back until tomorrow evening" I ramble, trying not to speak to fast.

The bell goes off in the school for break but we stay seated.

"Ok, Ella, from where this is going, we are going to get you into what we call a temporary home for at least tonight, then we will need to talk to your dad, mum and the courts about it."

"Ok"

"Have you got any other family members?" He asks.

"My parents left our family behind 15 years ago, there is no one." I admit, wiping the new tear.

"Ok, the other option is your friends, we would need to talk to a parent but we can find someone." He smiles. "You go enjoy your break then come back here instead of going to your next lesson."

"Ok, am I allowed to ask my friends if I can stay at any of their houses tonight?" I ask.

"Yes of course, when you come back, bring the friend with you"

"Ok"

So I picked my bag up, and walked to the canteen. Seeing the boys at the usual table, I pull out my seat and sit in it.

"Hi" I say first.

"Hey" They all respond, looking at me with a small smile. "You ok?" Luke asks.

"Mh-mhm" I hum. "I had to talk about everything with police officer, Mr Stone and Miss Bright."

"Right"

"Can I stay at anyone's house tonight, I'm not allowed home without dad" I say in one breath.

"Of course" They all say at the same time.

"Luke I can't do that to your family and Noah, they need to talk to your parents and they are really busy" I look at Luke the Noah. Then finally Micky.

"My house it is" Micky smiles, rubbing my thigh under the table.

Throughout the 30 minute break, I tell the boys everything that was said and explain Micky has to come with me to speak to the police.

At the end of the break, Micky and I make our way back towards the room.

When we enter, they were all sat in the same places.

"This is Micky" I smile at the three of them, pulling over a spare chair and sitting in it. I nod my head towards the chair I was sat in before the break. In which Micky sits down in.

"Hello, Micky" Devon smiles.

"Micky Scott right?" Miss Bright asks, typing something on the computer. 

"Yep" He smiles, looking to me.

"Right, Ella. What we are going to do is, Miss Bright here is going to call Micky's parents, I need to take some photos of your injuries, then we will go from there."

"Ok" I mumble, looking at my hands in my lap.

Micky, Miss Bright and Mr Stone dive into a conversation, about calling Micky's parents.

While Devon instructs me, moving my head while he takes photographs of my face.

"All done, let's sit down" Devon smiles at me. I sit back down and Micky places my hand on my leg in a friendly way. "Next steps are, I have police officers calling your father and looking for your mother as we speak. Miss Bright is going to call Micky's parents when I leave, if there is a problem with staying at Micky's, do you have someone else?" Devon asks, looking at me.

"Y-yeah"

"Ok, you two go enjoy the rest of your day. Someone will come to you if there are any changes" Devon smiles at me and Micky, writing something down as we talk.

"Ok"

'end of 7.'

this week has been very difficult, and it has really put things in to perspective that i'm very lucky to be healthy and have my family and friends. 

i hope everyone is doing ok :) 

~pops x

Posted: 12.3.22