Hey, everyone. I've had to discontinue this story due to really bad issues with my game. I absolutely loved writing this and am sad that I can't finish it. If I ever feel like remaking the neighbourhood and all the Sims, I will. For now, though.... Thanks for supporting me and sorry I couldn't finish it.

Caitlin stood there, shaking. She waited for her order in the shop. She was being stared at and she didn't like it. Clearly they were staring at her eye and the great big thumping black spot covering it. She tried using make up but it was no use. She couldn't hide the fact her dad did that the night before.



She wanted the world to swallow her up. The feel of her being judged and thought about by other people made her feel uncomfortable. She knew what they were thinking, "Where'd she get that?" or "Who did that?" but she didn't want to say anything so she knew she had to get out of there. She leaned over the counter to the woman and whispered “actually, forget that” before she rushed out the shop like lighting.



Walking home the weather hit a sudden turn and rain started to crash down the streets. Her feet sped up and SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH through the puddles she finally got home...



Home, to face the inevitable.

Great start! You grabbed my attention right away.

Thanks guys! Hopefully the next part should be up today

Warning: This one is a little PG-13 at first. Contains a bit of violence but for like 1 paragraph.

Caitlin was 16. She had lived with her father all her life and her mother left when she was three months old. She had only one side of the story to why her mother left and that was her father’s version. “She was an abusive cow” according to him. Unfortunately, for five years, Caitlin has been dealing with abuse from her dad. It felt like rubbing salt into the wounds. She could only feel that she is such a horrible person that her dad and mom would hurt her. Of course, this was only one side of the story.

As Caitlin walked into the house, her father was on the sofa half asleep, remote in hand and smelling of booze, the usual. She walked in quietly as she didn’t want to wake him up. Not for his benefit but for hers, she stayed out 3 minutes later than she was supposed to.



He was so petty about her curfew of 6:30. 1 minute late and she’d get hit, but 3 minutes late? It probably seems petty to you but you probably don’t have a father like him. She stood there as he snored; she felt anger flow through her.

As she tried to walk upstairs the creaky floor boards woke him up, alerting him to her sudden presence. The immediate thing he did was look at his clock and saw that it was 6:33. His face turned from tire confusion to a look of pure anger. He stood up and walked towards her, her body shaking as she realised what she was in for.

“There you bloody are,” he started, “You’re 3 minutes late you little s***”



She tried to start a sentence but he hit her. Hard. “Get up to your room and i want you back down at 7 to do your chores, got me?!” he yelled. She nodded as she walked upstairs to her bedroom for her 25 minute rest to get over the pain shooting through her arm.

Her bedroom wasn’t much to have, but it was the only place she could go. Her bed was cheap and ten years old while her bedside table was old cardboard boxes piled on top of each other. Her handbag was old and tatty like her umbrella was.



She sat there crying and thinking for ages. Why would he do this to her? Did she do anything to him? Was it influenced by her mother? Hundreds of questions flew through her head until she realised what time it was…

7:06pm

“Oh no…” she whispered.

She walked downstairs to find her dad lying on the floor, smelling of putrid booze, with puddles of it surrounding him as he lay there in a drunken collapse. She turned the light on and the vision was even worse. She stood there disgusted, moaning “Ugh not again” as she’d be the one to mop it up and clean the broken glass.



Just as she said that her dad awoke, moaning and clutching onto his head with the hangover that always came after the amount he drunk. If he wasn’t drunk he’d want to be.



“What the…” he moaned, “You bloody woke me up you little…” he said in a gruff voice. She stood there, her body feeling numb, if she woke him from his drunken sleep he’d get angry with her, but with the being late to do the kitchen as well? He sat there in the puddle of alcohol, and looked at his watch. His face turned from tired bewilderment to pure anger. He stared right through her “...and you’re late to do that f****** kitchen”



“Please dad, I’m sorry it’ll never happen again. It’s just the time goes so fast and you-” before she could even finish her sentence he pushed her.

“You’re always sorry!” he yelled at her, “You’re always bloody sorry and you know what? IT’S THE LAST TIME!” and he continued to punch her and hit her. After about a minute, she collapsed on the floor, semi-conscious, wanting it to be over and done with, just so she could sleep. He didn’t stop though, he kicked her in the face, the stomach and everywhere. He scratched her, hit her for at least five minutes. By the time he was done, she could taste blood and her whole body felt like it had been hit by a truck. She thought that maybe this was her time. Maybe she was going to die and be free from this pain. Her dad looked at her, spat and laughed. “Thanks for that, I’m off to the pub and you know what? If that blood isn’t off the floor by the time I’m back then we’ll go for round two…” and he slammed the door.



She sat there for a while, not wanting to get up as it would hurt her so bad. Tears came running down her eyes. When she finally did get up, it was painful as you can get. As she stared at the blood on her and the floor, she realised she couldn’t be here anymore. She then had another realisation - where she could go if she did run away.



She went into her bedroom and into one of the cardboard boxes. Her dad didn’t know but she had been receiving and sending letters from a woman - her aunt. She read the letter again and read its address.

Dear Caitlin

I know you’re probably wondering why you’re getting
a letter from a random woman who lives a few hours
away... the thing is, I’m not just a random woman, I’m
your aunt. I’m Julie Anderson, sister of your mother
Natalie Anderson. Your dad probably told you the
story of how your mother was an abusive cow. I can’t
tell you in letter, but she isn’t… She just isn’t. If your
dad ever does something and you need to get away,
here is my address. Please write back, I gave strict
instructions that the letter must go to your hands only.
I’ve never met you, your dad doesn’t know I exist.

32 Littlewood Avenue
Bitville
England
J94 5EP

Yours Faithfully,
Julie

She stared at the letter for a while and then she started packing. She knew she had to go now, her dad had crossed the line and she wanted to know what her mother really did do to her and why she actually left. She was going to use the money that she saved up over her life and that her dad used to give her before he turned violent. There was enough for a train and food to go with it. That money was the reason she wasn’t stick thin over the last five years.She changed into the clothes her aunt had sent her and she was ready to go. She ran to the train station and got the earliest train to Bitville.


Thanks to DianeHanna for fixing the last picture!

You'll find out soon enough :P

Well, snail mail makes sense. The aunt would have known Caitlin's home adress, but not her mail adress, and that's assuming Caitlin even has one and that her father wouldn't snoop through them. Much easier to tell the mailman to only give the letter to Caitlin.

I figure if it's a small town, that might work. Alternatively, where I live it's possible to simply make it so that the letter can only be delivered to or picked up at the post office by the receiver. It's mainly used for when things like mobile phone cards are sent through mail.

They just leave the package at your door? Wow, I'd never order anything valuable by mail if that was the case...

She fell asleep on the train and was the only one there. She was awoke by the abrupt halt of the train as they reached Bitville. It was midnight now and she wanted to get to her aunt’s house fast before she'd fall asleep from exhaustion. The town looked better than where they lived before. Before she lived in a small town at the edge where all the crime happened. She hated every minute living there as she would fear every second outside. She walked down the lamplit streets and kept heading wherever she could. The rain was falling down here as well and the wind blew into her, making her cold as ice.



She took the photo from her bag as she arrived at a familiar house. She stared at it and then at the house. It was the one. The living room light was still on, maybe it would be a good idea to knock?



She walked up the steps, her body ached from the beating she got just hours before. She took her final step, putting her hand to the door. She took it lightly away, hesitating. “I’d just be a nuisance,” she whispered, “but I can’t go back. I can’t". So she stood there for a minute. The wind getting wilder and the rain pouring heavier. She couldn’t think of all the stupid questions any longer. So with a slow movement, she finally knocked.



She then thought about what she was doing. She didn’t want to annoy her, didn’t want their first meeting to be in pity. She walked down the steps to get away, quick until she heard the opening of a door and “Can I help you?”



She froze in the spot, slowly blinked and mumbled “er, I don’t know…” the voice that came out sounded nervous and worried. She felt a tear go down her eye. What was she doing? She could get into trouble and for all she knew, she would just send her back. Slowly, the woman walked out of the door and stood there for what felt like an eternity and then said “Wait… Caitlin?”

Caitlin turned around slowly, head down and reluctantly said “yes, it is” but before she could say anything else or go away her aunt said “Caitlin… show me… s-show me your face, please” she uttered. Caitlin lifted her head up slowly and quickly said “I’m sorry, I just need a place to stay but if you don’t want-” but she interrupted her yelling “Oh my God! Caitlin… your face, your arms, your legs. What has that... m-monster done to you!”



She stood there in utter humiliation. Her aunt looked at her, shellshocked. Caitlin didn’t want pity, she just wanted someone to love her and care for her. “I’ll just go, I’m sorry for wasting your time” and she turned around. “No,” her aunt yelled, “I’m not letting you go back to that monster. Come in, please!” Tears rolled down Caitlin’s face as she walked in the house, she felt a huge amount of guilt. Her aunt led her to the living room and offered her a seat. “I’m Julie…” she quietly said. Caitlin sat down and whispered “I’m sorry to be such a nuisance”. “We’ll have none of that. I’ll tend to your wounds and take you to your bedroom. You look like you’re in agony,” she hesitated her next sentence “Was it… your…?” she started. “Yes. Yes. Yes it was.” Caitlin whimpered, “I’ve been living with it so long now but never something this bad, he was out of control”. Julie looked at Caitlin with such pity and sorrow. “I should’ve got you years ago, I’m so sorry”, but Caitlin put on a brave face and smiled at her, “No need to, at least this way I know he’s a heartless… heartless…” and she broke down into tears.



After an hour of comfort and tending of her bruising and cuts, Julie finally took her to her bedroom. She gave a gesture to show her which room it was, “I’m afraid it’s the biggest we’ve got. Sorry.” but as Caitlin walked in she didn’t understand why she was sorry, this was the biggest room she had in years. “It’s beautiful. It’s so big and amazing!” she grabbed Julie and hugged her, “thank you…” and tears swelled up in both their eyes. Caitlin turned around to the wall to find a picture. She turned her head to Julie who smiled and said “Yes, that’s your mother”



Her mother had red hair just like hers and they looked so similar. She finally figured out where all her features came from. She sat on the bed and for an hour picked out every detail of her mother to remember, just as if by chance she’d see her in the streets or coming to her house. As she climbed into the crisp, fresh sheets, she smiled. It was comfortable and warm, she didn’t feel like she just lived in a cold box with barely any money to afford things and the money they did get going on electricity and beer. She lay there for a while, worrying, though. She wondered if her dad would be able to find her and be able to hurt her or get her back, brainwashing others in the process. After about two hours, she finally fell asleep.

Sorry for the lack of chapters lately, had a lot of real life stuff happen. Should be back soon

This story sounds good, I'm eager to read more and find out about Caitlin's mom.

Ah, that feel when you have too many photos and writing that you have to split a chapter into parts xD

Caitlin woke up the next day. Her body was aching but she felt much better than she did last night. She could smell the fresh scent of pancakes and coffee. She'd never woke up to something like that before. Back at home, she always woke up to the smell of putrid booze and cigarettes. This was nice but didn’t feel right. She got out of bed and headed downstairs towards the smell.



Julie was sitting there finishing her last bite of the scrumptious pancakes. She quickly sipped the last of her coffee and grabbed her bag. Just as she zoomed to the door she saw Caitlin walking down the stairs. “Oh, Cait!” she said, excitedly, “sorry I was on my way to work, I’ve left a message on the fridge. Didn’t wake you up, you were sleeping so soundly. Sorry gotta rush, if you need me, my number’s on the message, bye!”



Within the second, Julie was down the stairs and out of the door. Caitlin walked to the fridge and read the note.

Hey Cait,

Sorry, I left you on your own, I need to get to
work now but don’t worry, there's pancakes
on the side and well, not a lot of food in the
fridge. I also left you some money if you want
to go out and get anything. If you need me
my number is 07362633333, love ya!

Julie xxx



Caitlin found some makeup on the side as well with a small post-it note saying “Help yourself! ” so she decided maybe it was time to cover those wounds and go outside. She feared it in case she saw her dad, but she said to herself “Get a grip, he doesn’t know where you are” so she grabbed the makeup and ran to the bathroom.

About half an hour of makeup magic and she looked alright. She looked better but some cuts couldn’t be stopped. She walked out the house and headed to a nearby shop to grab a few bits for Julie. The fridge wasn’t very full so she decided that maybe shopping for her while she’s at work would be best - and something to do.



As she walked she thought about what she had done.Thoughts went through her head ‘Was it stupid? What would I do? I have no college. I have no future” - they occupied her mind for the journey.



Caitlin had only just left school and got her exam results, considering her trauma, they were brilliant, but she didn’t see it that way (she wasn’t much of an optimist). One of the main reasons for this is because she didn’t achieve flawless A*s, she “only got 2 and that was pathetic” according to her dad. She had always dreamed of being an artist, or a doctor. She had always wanted to help people in times of need, because until now, she didn’t know what it was like to be cared for and looked after. She walked to the shop to pick up some things and as she went to the checkout, she was greeted by an outgoing, kind and happy guy.



“Hey there, girl!” he said as she walked up to the till, with his glued on a happy face, “Haven’t seen you around before, you new?”. Caitlin let out a nervous laugh and said “err… yeah.” he chuckled and said “there’s no need to be nervous around me, girl, I’m the most trustworthy in bitville, trust me. Haha” she tried to be less nervous, but still sounded a little nervous. “I’m just staying with my aunt Julie at the moment” she whispered and before she could tell him to keep it on the down low, he excitedly spoke “Oh I didn’t know she had a niece, that’s sweet. OH! I might know your mom then, haha, who is she?” Caitlin looked around to see if anyone had noticed, it didn’t look like it, there was only a woman in the corner and she was too busy pressing the grapes to see the best ones.

“Well, to be quite truthful, I’ve never met her, so if you do see her, don’t mention me whatsoever, please?”. He let out an honest smile and whispered “Mum’s the word - pun intended” and they let out a laugh. She grabbed her groceries and went outside. The grape-pressing woman followed out and called for her “Hey, mind if I talk to you a minute?”. Caitlin stopped and turned around. “Yeah… sure…” she uttered. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to harm you or anything, just wondering if you’re staying here long term?”



“Yeah,” Caitlin whispered shyly, “maybe quite a while” and then the woman smiled and said, “Those cuts, pardon me for intruding, where are they from?” Caitlin stood there for a moment, she knew this would come at least once while she was out. “Err… I… erm… well… you… erm” she kept thinking, hoping for a good excuse to come out and the woman put her hand on her shoulder “I know… Someone… did this, didn’t they?” Caitlin couldn’t hide it anymore and she burst into tears yelling “I… I can’t do it anymore, all this fake happiness when my life is a total shambles” and the woman put her hands on her shoulders and said “Hey, don’t worry, I’m a therapist - Doctor Hunt, if you ever need to talk, I’ve got spaces in my appointment book, all confidential of course.” Caitlin nodded and the woman smiled. “I’m Naomi, by the way, Naomi Hunt”



Caitlin walked home after a few minutes of talking and walked inside, shouting “Hello? Anyone home?” in which a figure walked down the stairs, a figure who looked exactly like the woman in the photograph. Caitlin stopped feeling anything and it felt as if time stopped. All of a sudden she came back to reality with the sound of “erm, who… are you?”



Caitlin tried her best to come up with an excuse but all that came out was “erm… err… well… you… erm… see…” and before another ‘erm’ could get in her sentence, the woman said “oh my god,” and stepped off the last stair in shock, tears going to her eyes, “C-C-Caitlin?”



Her mother would recognise her features from anywhere, the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the hair colour, it all came flooding back to her and she put her hand to her chest. “It… is… isn’t it?”. Caitlin nodded slowly and her mother let out a cry. “So many years,” she uttered, “so many years without you, so many years brainwashed” Caitlin looked confused, “brainwashed?”
“It’s what he did, isn’t it? He must have told you the story of me apparently abusing you and beating you to a pulp? He must have brainwashed you to... hate me, mustn’t he?” Caitlin realised what she was saying, her dad told her stories of when she was younger, where her mother would hit her and scream at her for the slightest thing. She had always believed it, and always thought her mother left because the police were on to her. “He even made you bruised, hit you and always slapped you if you annoyed him. Boy, his drinking was something else, once he had a bottle of vodka he’d go full rampage on me… and you.”

A tear swelled up in Caitlin’s eye. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but it made so much sense, yet at the same time, it made so little. “Why would he hit me?” she asked, quietly.

“Can’t you see your eye? Your face?” She reached out her hand to her, “You’re so broken, but if it wasn’t your dad, who was it then?”
Caitlin went quiet, she didn’t want to say anything, she just stood there and sighed.
“Please…” Her mother cried.
“It was dad, okay?” she snapped angrily, “Are you happy now? Worst daughter ever who would only find you if she was being beaten up, huh?”
“To come out of that… with… so much bravery, so much strength, I’m little of shame, I’m more of pride.”
“Proud? PROUD? Proud of this stupid girl who couldn’t get away, believed and still does believe that maybe he does love me, he just can’t show it in the right way…” They were both silent a moment “Well? Maybe he hasn’t been shown love in his life and may-maybe maybe… maybe” and she broke into a pit of tears… “I can’t make excuses anymore,” she cried, “I can’t be this strong girl who believes her dad’s a good man, because he’s not, he’s a monster and a monster who can’t even treat his own daughter like a person…”
She stood there crying and her mother didn’t know how to treat a situation like this, she’d never been in front of her before. She tried to go and hug her but Caitlin just turned around and cried even more.



“It’s Natalie” she said. Her daughter looked at her confused and Natalie went on to explain herself “You don’t want to call me mum, it’s obvious.”

Caitlin didn’t reply and Natalie knew she wasn’t going to get anything out of her, so she walked out and went to her flat underneath.

Natalie went to her kitchen and opened a bottle of wine, she sipped it as she cried herself, cried because all those years she never got to see her grow up… and now? Now she couldn’t protect her from the monster of a dad.



Nobody really knew what happened between Natalie and Caitlin’s father, all people in bitville knew was that she left because she had enough. All people back in their hometown of Pondes was that her mother was an abusive piece of crap that didn’t care for her or anyone else, which for what could be seen now, was absolute lies...

Brilliant chapter! I sure hope someone will pay for some sessions with Dr. Hunt.

DING DONG went the door, Natalie got up to answer it. “Hey babe,” the man said as she opened the door. It was the same guy as in the shop. He gave her a kiss and she put on a fake smile. “What’s wrong, babe?” he asked, “I thought you liked that?” he looked at her confused and tilted his head a little. She took a deep breath and smiled at him “just been a weird day that’s all”



“You can always tell me,” he smiled at her, “We tell each other everything” but nothing could prepare him for what she was about to say. She put her wine on the table and looked out the window. “I have a daughter, James,” she said bluntly, she then let out a big sigh of relief, it was out in the open now. Shock appeared on his face as he shaped the words together in his head. “Hang on, what?”



“She’s upstairs,” she said, “just moved here by the looks of things…” she lowered her voice volume as every word came out. James couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He looked straight through her and said “You could have told me…” but she just breathed in again, and out. “It’s been my biggest secret for sixteen years. Only Julie knew.”



He counted the fingers on his hands over and other… “thirty-one… take away… sixteen… no… wait… did she… did…” he kept muttering. He finally looked up from his hands and gave her a huge stare, “That makes you fifteen when she was born…” he stayed silent a moment, as did Natalie until he said “You were a child”

“I’m well aware of that,” she tried to hold her tears in but there was a crack in her voice as she spoke, “Her father was… I can’t…” but James didn’t take “I can’t”, he wanted more from her. “You can’t what? Tell me please Nat, I can’t let you do this alone”
She turned around to him and said “Her father was much older than me, pretended he was younger until we were… together... until he started taking advantage of me”
James stood there, speechless, his girlfriend was taken advantage for at such a young age but there were so many questions that he needed from her to get the full picture, “How old-” he began.
“Thirty-two,” she interrupted abruptly, “Thirty fu***ng two” and her voice was cracking even more now. She sat down and pointed at the seat, he sat down too. “the whole story, coming up” she sniffed in and began.



“We met in Pondes, we both lived there and he was so… I don't know, nice to me, no one else treated me like he did. I loved it. We met in this shop on the corner of my house and he looked quite… young. He told me he was just an old looking eighteen-year-old, and like the gullible teenager I was, I fell for it. I was head over heels and that day, he asked me out and then well, we did. The date went well and we had more. One day he caressed me and it felt so good. I felt like a woman, and he didn't once ask my age. That was until we were at school and the teacher announced that a man was coming to talk about the dangers of fire or something, then I froze, sick as he walked through the door, him also freezing when he saw me. After the session of pure hell, we met behind the school to talk. We were both mad that we weren't who we thought, but after a while, he simply said ‘oh, maybe a younger model isn't so bad’ and i was relieved, he told me sweet nothings about how he loved me and I was his girl and days later we went back to his”



James cringed with the thought of what he was doing to her back then, but she continued, getting it off her chest.

“He told me to do things, things I didn't want to but I loved him, so I did. I didn't like it but he told me that I had to, or I would get in trouble and be arrested, so I continued until finally, we did it, I didn't feel that good after but I pretended. That was the night that Caitlin was conceived. I was so young that when my period was late, I didn't think much until I was sick practically every day, then I knew. I knew. I told Julie, she was eighteen at the time, so I could trust her. She asked me about him and asked if he was from school, but I said ‘no he's more mature than that’, then horror spread across her face. She asked me his age and I told her, thirty-two. She cringed and was like ‘we have to get you a test immediately, and you've gotta get away from him’ but I refused, claiming I loved him.”

Natalie wiped a tear and took a breath.

“We took a test and it was positive, in which I panicked, until I went to tell him, but he acted annoyed, saying he's gotta waste his money on an unwanted being, I told him I was keeping it and he grabbed me, saying that I would have to move in and say it was my idea. My parents were horrified but I went anyway. Months through the violence started, he would hurt me but say he'd kill me and the baby if I ran or told”



“I was heavily pregnant and one day he burst out at me, causing me to go into premature labour, but Caitlin survived after nineteen hours of pure hell and pain for me, but I loved her. He didn't though. He hated her. Months passed and the violence grew, I didn't mind as long as he didn't touch Caitlin. He only claimed to be a friend for ages, so he got away with the underage bit. As Caitlin was six months old, she was just making funny noises when he was watching his cheap sports and drinking his cheap off-licence vodka when he snapped, flipped, he hit her and she screamed, I told him to stop but he pushed me down. He then called the police, saying that he just watched me hit their child for the last time. I was terrified, pleading to tell the truth, but he just hit me and they were around the house quickly. I was taken in and they said that they will give her to her dad, so I told them he had me at a young age and when they questioned him? I lied about my age and he got away with it. When we got home, he told me that if I left and never came back he'd drop the charges BUT I had to leave him with her, I said no and he threatened to hurt Caitlin and he said he wouldn't touch her if I went, so for her safety, I went to my sister and we left together, to here”

It was so much for James to take in, but as Natalie started to cry, he held her, for hours and they sat and cried together.

Natalie and Caitlin were still in pieces the day after, neither getting sleep that night. Natalie grabbed her tea and looked out the window as the trees calmly waved from side to side, suddenly the wind grew stronger, and that was when she saw the police car pull up. At the site of them heading for the door that Julie lived at, she rushed to get dressed.



At Julie’s place, on the other hand, Julie opened the door to see the two police officers putting fake expressions of care for her. “Can I help you?” Julie asked before the police officers walked past her and said “Yes, you can tell us where Caitlin Harrison is?” and Julie suddenly realised what was happening. They walked upstairs to find Caitlin eating her breakfast and then the police officers’ face turned from caring to smug, really smug. Caitlin turned around and they said “Ah, there you are Caitlin, you have to come with us, your dad’s missing you”



Caitlin suddenly shot up from the chair and backed away as they got closer shouting “NO, I’m never going back!” but the policewoman just said “Hey, it’s only a spatula” in which Julie and Caitlin’s faces turned confused and the policewoman said “You know that fighting over kitchen utensils isn’t a reason to run away, Cait, dear” Caitlin looked disgusted and yelled “Oh that’s what he told you isn’t it? I’m not going!”



Suddenly all everyone heard was “Have you not seen her face? Her body? She’s been beaten to a pulp and all that was her pathetic excuse for a dad” and the officers turned to see Natalie in the stairway. “And who are you?” one said.



“I am her mother and I demand that you leave her,” but the policewoman laughed and said “Her mother? Not a very good one if you’re not her legal guardian” and Natalie snapped back “Believe me, I have a backstory you don’t wanna know, so you better leave my daughter alone”. The police officers stared at Natalie and then Caitlin’s fearful face and then back to one another. “Then you’re going to have to come down to the police station because this is a serious allegation you're making”



Caitlin smiled at Natalie and she smiled back. They escorted them to the police car and took them to the police station, to make a statement. They interviewed Caitlin and she was terrified of telling the police because it would have to go to court and she’d have to face him all over again, but the risk that he could hurt her now he’s found her was far too great, so she signed the statement and walked out.



Caitlin was quiet as she walked out and Natalie kept thinking about all the years without her. They didn’t get to grow a bond and all she saw was this growing girl that was meant to be her daughter, she just didn’t know how to treat her after all this. Natalie began “I think you did the right thing, Caitlin” but Caitlin kept quiet, Natalie felt like she was trying to battle down a brick wall, she just wasn’t budging. “Talk to me, Caitlin. I know I haven’t been much of a mother to you these past few years”



Caitlin stopped walking and turned to her “You left me with him. I could’ve been killed if I hadn’t have escaped. You do realise that, don’t you?” and a tear went to Natalie’s eye, the guilt was horrendous and she couldn’t stop this feeling. “I wanted to take you with me, but you don’t know what situation I was in”. Caitlin looked straight at her and said “Well. What situation were you in?”

Natalie began her story...

“The day you were born, it was all normal at first, he was on the sofa drinking his cheap vodka as usual and I was pretty scared for the future. We lived in a small house and all we had was a small bed and cheap furniture. I wanted to get you a crib that day, something for you to sleep in when you were born, so I asked him to let me get you one…”

16 years ago…

“Brain, we need to go out and get something for the baby to sleep in, it can’t just sleep on the floor,” Natalie said to him as he swigged back his vodka.



“I don’t think you understood when I said ‘You’re not going out when you could risk me’ Look at your condition for f*** sake, you could risk me and I’d be in jail before you could say ‘no child support’” He continued to chug on his vodka.

“I’m having no child support! You’re not providing, we’re living off my savings here! I need to go out, I’ve been stuck in here for six months. Let me go out and get a bed for it please!” she begged him but he just looked at her with this annoyed expression. He then signaled at a piece of old material on the floor, “We’ve got a bed for the thing”



By now, her temper was enraged, she was fed up of him sitting there and saying that it was a suitable environment and that a torn cloth was enough for their baby. She grabbed the remote and turned the TV off for him to listen. This was not a good idea.

He grabbed the remote out of her hand and chucked it across the room, screaming “How dare you!” in which Natalie had realised what she had done, but it was too late to think, he had already grabbed her arm and tossed her onto the floor in which she was in utter pain. She got up and ran to the toilet and locked herself inside, to keep him away but all he did was kick it and kick it and kick it. Suddenly she felt a pain shoot to her stomach and realisation hit as her waters broke. She screamed at him “Get an ambulance!” and he yelled back “It’s not that bloody bad, I chucked you softly!” but Natalie let out a scream and then yelled, “My waters have broken!”



Suddenly panic shot through his mind, “You… err… can deliver it here, I’ll help you” and she yelled, “Just get a f***ing ambulance!”. Brian then thought it was a good idea to take advantage of this. “Come out first”

“No!” She yelled, “I can’t trust you!” she let out another scream in which he gave up and called an ambulance. “Excuse me my friend has gone into labour” and when he hung up she yelled “Friend? What happened to be your bloody babe, huh?”

“Shut up,” he yelled, “I need time to think” He gave one final kick to the door and it burst open, in which he grabbed her and shoved her on the couch yelling “I am a friend, if they ask, I've helped you keep it a secret, it’s a boy’s from school and I have taken no part in making that thing” She stayed silent and he got up to her face and spat “Do you understand?”. In utter pain, she nodded, and within ten minutes the ambulance was here, believing the story he concocted.

After nineteen hours she had given birth to Caitlin, but she was still terrified when he walked into the room, still claiming to be a friend. He then whispered to her “If you ever run. You’re dead. Both of you.” and then he gave her a peck on the head as if he still loved her, but now, it was control.



3 months later…

Caitlin was still on the floor on that piece of cloth but Natalie had lost all power and hope. He drank from his second bottle of vodka and then looked at the sports, turning it up, all he could hear was “gaga” and laughing coming from Caitlin and finally he snapped.



“Shut up you worthless sack of s***!” in which he hit her and in the corner was Natalie with utter horror, “You said you’d never touch her!” and he grabbed his phone and dialed 999 and yelled “Police! My wife’s just hit my child and it’s the last time!”

…

Hours passed and after being released on bail, she was met by Brain who looked at her, smugly. She ran up to him and yelled “Where is Caitlin!?” in which he laughed and whispered “at home”
“You left her alone?!” she yelled at him, being the protective mother she needed to be, but he grabbed her and took her home on a silent journey of his anger and her worry.



When they got home she ran to the baby and hugged her whispering “It’s okay, mummy’s here” while screams and cries came out her from being alone so long. Brian put his hand on her shoulder and said “Not for much longer, haha”

“What? What do you mean?” she said nervously.
“You don’t think I’m gonna drop the charges like that, do you? Haha no. You’re going to do exactly as I say. Leave and never come back, and I’ll drop the charges. Stay and I’ll keep them, saying goodbye to your freedom in the process” Natalie went off with Caitlin but Brain stopped her, grabbing Caitlin and saying “no no, I’m keeping Caitlin,” he pointed at some rusty suitcases, “You’re going”

“I’m not going without her, you can’t do this!” but he laughed her off, “You’re sixteen, you’re a child, you’re nothing, you have a crappy life ahead of you, now go, before I call the police. I mean, if you don’t go, Caitlin will get more of a punch. Leave, she’ll be fine for many years to come.” A tear swelled up in Natalie’s eye, but she couldn’t risk the safety of Caitlin, so she packed her bags and walked out the door, hearing screams from her child. She gave her one last look and whispered “Goodbye, my dear” and then she left, to her sister’s house. They moved, never to be seen again, until now.



“...and he made me leave, you have to understand, I didn’t want to risk you. I never did it out of selfishness”

Caitlin looked into her mother’s eyes. She was telling the truth, and she knew in that predicament, she’d have done the same herself. She went up to her and hugged her, for the first time.

Caitlin's dad is a monster, he deserves to be jailed until his death. More please.

You're in luck Lady Lily, I literally just finished the pictures for this chapter :D

They walked inside to find that the whole place was completely trashed, everything was on the floor, smashed or upside down. Caitlin fell down onto the floor and had a panic attack, Natalie went down and helped her to the sofa, trying to calm her down. Julie burst into the room saying “My house has been completely- oh god, you too?” and she saw Caitlin and ran over, “Oh my god, Caitlin!” she yelled, “I’ll call the police”



Caitlin sat there crying and saying “It was him. He’s going to get me. I’m dead. Oh God. I need to run” and after two minutes of Natalie using skills to calm her down, Caitlin looked at her, “How did you do that so… easily?” and Natalie smiled, “I’m a doctor”




It turned out her mother was the pillar of the community, Doctor Anderson. She was the doctor at the local hospital - University Hospital of Bitville. Caitlin couldn’t believe that her mother was what she wanted to be as an adult. She realised that her mother was actually a good person and that her dad was lying all these years.

He told her for a start that she was older than him when she was born, to make her sound like the creepy woman, turned out it was the opposite. If she was the age that her dad made out, she’d be fifty-five right now, not thirty-one.

Natalie looked at Caitlin, she realised that all those years of worry were correct, and that promise to leave her alone was false. She lost sixteen years of her daughter’s life for nothing. She felt empty, yet now, a maternal instinct of protection was kicking in, she needed to protect her, so when she looked around and saw how much of a mess the place was but with nothing missing, she knew it was a threat, and now… her dad knew where she lived.

As the police came around they did fingerprints and lots of DNA tests, saying they’d be in touch in a few days when they had their man. They wanted to get away, so Natalie made a call to James.



“James, her dad’s found us,” she said, panicking herself now, “What are we going to do?” On the other end, James was thinking, when a lightbulb hit, “I’ve got that house I’m renting, the people there have just moved out, use that for now” he said to her. His place was only a small, single bedroom, he knew they couldn’t stay there.



That night, they went to the house and James met them there to check if they were okay, he was relieved to see they weren’t hurt, but then realised who the girl was. “Hang on, you’re the girl that was in my shop the other day,” he said “I didn’t know she was your daughter,” he said turning to Natalie. She looked at Caitlin and then James and questioned “Wait, when did you see each other?” and they told her, in which she was shocked to see her boyfriend met her before she did. James grabbed Natalie and hugged her, knowing she needed the support right now.



As the hours passed by, it fell silent and they had a quick takeaway. Caitlin sat nervously as if she was expecting something bad to happen. “There’s no need to worry, Cait,” her mother said to her, “I’m here, I can protect you now.”



A tear fell out Caitlin’s eye. She felt good that she finally had a parent who loved her and cared about her. She wished there was a way her mother could have taken her, but after what she heard, she felt it would’ve been better for everyone if she was never born. Everything was changing so quickly, and she had now put her mother at risk. She felt extremely guilty. She sipped the last of her drink and walked up to bed.



Natalie and Julie looked at each other, “He’s not stupid, he knows that he’s scared us,” Natalie whimpered, “I don’t know what to do. I’m the worst mother in the world, I don’t even know her, Julie” but Julie’s face turned from neutral to pity, she went over and gave her a hug. “He kept me in all those months, all that time, nearly a year I was stuck with him. I should’ve followed your advice, I should’ve got away” and she started crying.



Holy crap, seems the screenshots have doubled themselves, sorry admins!

James seems a nice guy...more please.

Days later they had all of Caitlin’s dad’s fingerprints and went out to find him. The insurance was being dealt with and they put the old place up for sale. Caitlin was still hit hard by the fact her dad was closer than she wanted but she didn’t want to let it bother her, so she sorted out a college and was about to go out for the first time in days.

Her mind kept going back and forth, her mind kept repeating all the things from the past week. Her life had changed so rapidly and everything was so different now. She went to a park and sat on the bench for a while, she let the wind rush through her hair, she didn’t care that it was raining, she wanted to just be outside and take her mind off everything.



Suddenly she was brought back to reality with the sound of “Mind if I sit here?”
There was a girl about her age with a plastic bag that was bursting with shopping and her face looked like she had been walking a while so Caitlin said “Yeah, sure” and the girl slumped down in relief. She looked at Caitlin who looked as if she was struggling, “You alright?” the girl asked. Caitlin shot up like “yeah, yeah, just getting away from home for a while”

The girl sat back even more and whispered “Me too, to be honest, my dad’s struggling with the fact my stepmother can’t have children, he’s so snappy” the girl looked at Caitlin, “I’m Jenna,” she said. She put her hand out for Caitlin to shake. Caitlin shook her hand and said “Caitlin, nice to meet you” and they then looked over to the distance, “sorry to hear about your stepmother” Caitlin finally said.

“It’s fine, they’ve been trying for two years, she finally went to the doctors after putting it off and she found out. They were so upset about it. They’re such nice people, they don’t deserve it.”
Caitlin made a little joke to break the ice, “and they say that stepmothers are evil” she laughed. Jenna let out a laugh too and said “She’s the nicest woman I know, she cares so much. She’s like the mother I never had”

“What are you getting out of the house for?” Jenna asked. Caitlin took a deep breath and said “Everything’s a bit messed up at the moment, I don’t even usually live here, a week ago I was with my dad and damn, he was messed up”
Jenna looked concerned, “You alright?” she asked her.
“Yep. I just want him out of my life for good, to suffer for everything he’s done to me”
“Damn, I thought my problems were bad but Jesus, you really are in a bad situation. If you ever need to talk, though, just say. I mean I know we’ve just met, but I’m trustable, and you seem like a really nice girl”
“Thanks, it’d be nice to talk to someone that isn’t related to me. To be honest, the past five years have been hell for me. My dad was abusive and now he’s out to get me. I ran away from home about a week ago and I met my mother for the first time in sixteen years a few days ago, my life is so f***ed up”
“Oh my, I’m so sorry to hear that. I’d never wish anyone to go through that, especially someone who seems so good as you”



As the time went on, the wind was strong still and they were talking and talking, they got on really well and Caitlin finally felt as if she had a friend. They finally realised it was probably time to go home, so they hugged and parted. Before Caitlin went too far she said “You could do with a haircut, fancy meeting me at Troy’s hairdressers tomorrow? Elevenish?” Caitlin was happily surprised that she wanted to see her again, she shyly said “yeah” and they went their separate ways.



She went home that night, she had a weird feeling, almost as if she was being followed, but she kept telling herself that it was her imagination. She got home and told Natalie where she was going the next day. Natalie was happy, she was finally gaining confidence and was making a friend. They both went to bed feeling a little bit better that night. Something just kept knocking at them, though, almost like something was going to happen.

Caitlin met Jenna at the salon the next day and they walked in. “Hey Jenna,” the hairdresser called her “Who’s your friend?” he laughed. “Oh this is Cait, she’s come to have her hair done” and Cait looked at the hairdresser for guidance, he then tapped the hairdresser’s seat and said “hop on and choose a hairstyle” she sat down and then she looked through a hairstyle magazine and saw a hairstyle she really liked. She pointed at it, the hairdresser’s face looking excited and saying “Boy, that’s a lot of hair, are you sure?” and she said “I’m very sure”



After half an hour of snipping, she was a different girl, she looked more mature, she didn’t look so easy to target, she looked like a young woman. She paid her money and walked out, feeling light on her head, due to all that hair not being there anymore.



She walked home and Jenna accompanied her, they laughed and talked the whole way home, but Caitlin still had the sense that someone was there, but she kept telling herself that she was being stupid. They stopped at Caitlin’s house and they said goodbye. Caitlin finally had a friend and she had hair that didn’t feel messy and uncared for. She walked in to find her mother on the sofa with her head in her hands.



“Mum?” Caitlin said quietly, “you alright?” and Natalie shot up and said, “Oh I’m fine jus- oh my god, you look beautiful!” She had a tear swell up in her eye and she walked over and hugged her saying “You look so grown up” and she sniffed in and tried to keep her mind off her other problem.

Natalie sat in her bedroom that night. It all fitted. Everything. She kept telling herself that it was just a coincidence, but everything was fitting. What was fitting? She was throwing up, she was late and she had gained some weight. She breathed in deep and said “Oh God, I must be pregnant”



It was no question of her not wanting it, it was just the wrong time for her. It would get in the way of her and Caitlin. She even questioned if James wanted this, but she had no time for guessing games, she sneaked out the house and walked to the twenty-four-hour pharmacy to get a test.

She walked back with it in her handbag and was crying the whole way home. If she was pregnant she didn’t know what she’d do. Her life was already in shreds, she was living in a house her boyfriend was supposed to rent. Caitlin’s dad was on the run and she didn’t even know if any of them were safe. Everyone was going out like it was nothing but she knew what that man could do and if he had the chance, he would kill.



As she got home she threw the test on the bed and sat down. She didn’t want to do it, she didn’t want her life to change. She didn’t want the future to be even more unpredictable. She just wanted to go back sixteen years and raise her child like she should have. Everything was so crazy, it felt like it wasn’t happening, she felt like she was in a bubble, a bubble she couldn’t escape, she just sat and stared at the test for a while. It was 11pm now, she was either going to certainly struggle to sleep because she didn’t know or she could have a smaller chance at not sleeping because she knew. She picked up the test and walked to the bathroom.



It was the longest three minutes of her life, she looked at the timer and only seconds had passed, even when it felt like hours. She sat on the bath as the time ticked down, down to her future. All the memories were flooding back, she remembered doing this seventeen years ago with Caitlin. At that time she sat on the bath in her parent’s house and could hear the calls from her sister as if it was almost yesterday… or today. “You alright in there?” she heard Julie call but this time, it was a real call. “Yeah, just… fine…” she shouted back.



Her timer beeped off and she quickly tried to turn it off. Suddenly Julie knew that you would only take a timer into the bathroom and lock the door for one reason. “Natalie… Let me in” she called again, in a serious tone. “I’m fine, I said, please Julie” but Julie didn’t take “I’m fine” she called again “Natalie, let me in… I know what you’re doing, I’m not an idiot, that timer was a dead giveaway” and Natalie then opened the door, crying. “I don’t want to look, I don’t want to be stuck in this situation all over again”



Julie grabbed Natalie and gave her a huge hug, “I’ll be here,” she said, taking Natalie back in time, “But this time, you can keep it and now… now you have James too” Natalie took a deep breath and walked over to the sink, and closed her eyes and picked it up. She slowly opened her eyes to the view of ‘PREGNANT’ on the stick and she let out a huge sigh, not of relief but of fear, fear for the future.



“I’d know that sigh anywhere, you did it last time you picked one of those up,” Julie said, and then she walked over and went to hug Natalie. Natalie dropped the test in a loud plasticky smash and she collapsed into Julie’s arms, crying. Julie brushed Natalie’s hair away from her face, saying “You know it would’ve been a lot worse if you didn’t know what was happening with Caitlin”



She knew it was true, it would have. If she had found out, the pain of losing her child would have been so bad that another child would’ve been too much for her, but now she could cope, knowing she had Caitlin back in her life…

After long sixteen years...