By
Jan
Chapter 5
The
pain on Nikki’s face at hearing her sister was ashamed of her almost broke
Helen’s heart. She started to rise but Nikki motioned for her to sit back down.
“Well,
at least you’re honest,” Nikki said coldly. She turned to leave but Sarah’s
voice, even colder than her own stopped her.
“I
always wondered where I got my pigheadedness from, now I know. Why don’t you
listen to the rest of what I have to say then you can walk out!”
Helen
stifled a smile at the look of bewilderment on Nikki’s face. There was no
doubting the two of them were sisters.
“If
I believed what was said in the papers about you I wouldn’t have come looking
for you.”
“You
said you were ashamed of me,” Nikki replied accusingly.
“I
said I was ashamed but not of you. I’m ashamed that our parents weren’t there
for you all those years ago and that they felt they had to keep your existence
away from me.”
Nikki’s
face hardened. “I suppose it’s bad enough admitting your daughter is a dyke but
to have to admit she’s a murderer too!”
“They
never knew about that!”
“What?”
“It
happened after they were both dead.”
Nikki
cleared her throat nervously. “So they never knew I’d…?” Sarah shook her head.
Helen
crossed over to Nikki and took hold of her arm supportively. “Can I get you
anything? A cup of tea?”
“I
think I need something a little bit stronger than that.” She patted Helen’s
hand then went into the living room where she poured herself a brandy. She
swirled the liquid round thoughtfully before throwing her head back and
draining the glass. Her parents were dead! She was an orphan! A sound escaped
her lips somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
“Are
you alright?” Helen asked gently behind her.
“I
never thought I wouldn’t see them again. Even after all these years I always
thought that one day I might go back.”
As she wrapped her arms around herself protectively, Helen put her arms
around her from behind and laid her head against her back. She turned round in
Helen’s embrace and looked down at her lovely face. “You’re all I’ve got now,
babe.”
As
their lips met, Sarah, who had been standing in the doorway listening, turned
away and went back into the kitchen where she picked up her coat and bag then
silently let herself out of the house. She had been so thrilled to learn that
she had a sister but Nikki didn’t want her anymore than Simon did. At least now
she knew how Nikki had felt when their parents had rejected her so cruelly all
those years ago.
She
caught a bus home and let herself into the house where she found a fierce
looking Simon standing in the hallway. She smiled at him nervously and started
to take off her coat.
“As
the saying goes ‘don’t unpack, you’re not staying!’” he said smugly.
Her
actions froze and she looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”
He
reached into the living room and lifted out a suitcase that she recognised as
her own and placed it purposefully in front of her. “ Since you won’t stay away
from her, you can go and live with her.”
“But…”
“I
won’t have my reputation ruined by people finding out I’m related to her!”
he snarled.
“You’ll
be pleased to know she doesn’t want me either!” she retorted, trying to hold
back the tears that were threatening to overwhelm her.
“Then
you should count yourself lucky.”
She
picked up the suitcase. It was no use arguing with him because he was too much
like her father. When he made a decision it was written in concrete and nothing
would budge him. She opened the door then turned round to face him. “Mum didn't get out from under Dad's thumb because
she was blinded by her love for him. Lucy left you because she wasn't as
stupid. Goodbye, Simon. I hope you and your reputation will be very happy
together!”
It was a troubled Nikki who
answered the phone when it shrilled the following morning. She had hardly slept
for thinking about Sarah and had tossed and turned most of the night.
“Nikki, mate.”
She smiled when she heard the
voice of her friend, Catherine ‘Tommo’ Thomas, at the other end of the line.
She needed cheering up and Tommo was just the person to do it.
“You haven’t forgotten about
my party on Friday night, have you?” Tommo was saying.
“We’ll be there,” Nikki
assured her. “I don’t suppose you fancy meeting up for a coffee this afternoon
do you?”
“Sorry, mate, I can’t,”
Tommo replied regretfully. “Claire’s playing truant and taking me shopping.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry,”
she replied, trying not to sound too disappointed. It had been mere weeks but
Tommo and Claire, Helen’s friend and the lawyer who had helped her win her
appeal, were inseparable. “See you Friday.” She replaced the receiver and
wandered aimlessly round the room. Helen was at work and she was at a loose
end. She really missed Donald, Helen’s father, now he had gone back to
Scotland. They always found something to do together in the garden, not that
they would have been able to get out today. It had been pouring with rain all
morning and was only just beginning to brighten up.
She heard Helen’s key in the
lock and went joyfully into the hallway to greet her. “What are you doing
home?” she asked, a broad smile on her lips.
Helen returned her smile as
she dropped her bag onto the floor. “I’ve just been to a meeting at Area so I
thought I would pop in and see how you were. I thought we could have lunch
together.”
They linked arms as they
walked through to the kitchen where Nikki checked there was enough water in the
kettle before switching it on.
Helen sat down at the table,
clasping and unclasping her hands. “Have you thought any more about Sarah?” she
asked cautiously, unsure of the reception her question would get.
Nikki leant against the
sink, arms folded. “To be honest I’ve thought of nothing else. She’s just a
kid, not much older than I was when I left home and Simon is a heartless
bastard, always has been. None of this is really her fault, is it?”
Helen smiled, relieved that
Nikki was thinking more logically now she had cooled down. “No, it isn’t and
I’ll support you in whatever you decide to do.”
“Thanks,” Nikki replied
gratefully. “I think…” She stopped as the doorbell rang and waited patiently
until Helen went to answer the door.
“Miss Wade?”
Nikki started for the front
door when she heard the male voice asking for her, curious because few people
knew she was living with Helen.
“I’m PC Jackson and this is
PC Mitchell,” the voice was saying.
“Is something wrong?” Helen
asked softly.
“It’s okay, HeIen, I’m
here.” She went and stood at the front door, her arms folded, and eyed the two
uniformed officers defiantly. “What do you want?”
“We’re here about Miss Sarah
Wade,” PC Mitchell, a rotund, balding man in his mid-thirties, informed her.
Nikki’s face dropped. “I
don’t understand. What’s happened to her?” she asked anxiously.
Mitchell looked at her
solicitously. “We’re sorry to have to tell you, Miss Wade, she was in an
accident last night…knocked down by a car. Your name and address were found in
her belongings.”
Helen gripped Nikki’s arm as
she saw her partner sway. “Is she…is she…?” she couldn’t bring herself to say
the words that might break Nikki’s heart.
“She’s in St James’s
Hospital, Miss.”
Nikki cleared her throat.
“Is she going to be alright?”
PC Jackson, who had been
giving Helen the eye since she first opened the door, dragged his attention
away from her just long enough to answer Nikki’s question. "She’s still
unconscious,” he replied unfeelingly then looked back at Helen, flushing when
he saw the look of disgust she was giving him. “If you like we can give you a
lift to the hospital?”
“That won’t be necessary,”
Helen said coldly. “Thank you.” She drew Nikki inside and as she started to
close the door heard Jackson mutter, “Couple of dykes if you ask me.”
Mitchell chuckled. “What
because they didn’t fall down and kiss your feet?
Helen smiled wryly and
turned her attention to Nikki. The woman’s dark eyes looked huge against her
pallor. “Are you alright?”
Nikki nodded.
“If you want to go and see
her, I’ll take you.”
Again Nikki nodded.
“Sweetheart, are you sure
you’re alright?” Helen asked worriedly.
“Can we go now…to the
hospital…I don’t want to waste any time in case…in case…” Her voice broke and
Helen touched her arm compassionately.
“Course we can. I’ll just
phone Larkhall and tell them I’m not going back in today.”
Nikki waited patiently until
Helen had made her call then almost dragged her from the house when she joined
her.
Looking down at Sarah’s
unconscious form, Nikki felt a wave of anger towards her parents for depriving
her of her sister for so many years. “What if she dies?” she said harshly to
Helen who was standing beside her. “What if she dies and I never gave her a
chance?”
“You’re not getting rid of
me that easily,” Sarah said softly and her eyes flickered open.
“How do you feel?” Nikki
asked anxiously. “Do you remember what happened?”
“Sarah groaned. “It was my
own stupid fault. Simon and I had argued and he threw me out. I was crying and
crossed the road without looking.” She raised her hand and touched the dressing
on her forehead.
“Leave that alone!” Nikki
ordered but took hold of her hand to soften her words. As Sarah’s fingers
closed around hers she saw a tear run down the young woman’s cheek and onto the
pillow. “Come on, there’s no need for that,” she said gently. “Everything is
going to be alright.”
“Now I have my big sister to
look after me?” Sarah queried through a tearful smile.
Nikki was silent for a few
seconds before replying. “Yes, you have.”
“I didn’t take your place,”
Sarah said suddenly. “When I was little, Mum used to tell me a story about a
little girl who was taken away from her mother by a bad fairy. The mother
looked everywhere for her but couldn’t find her and, even when she had another
child, she never stopped loving her. I think she was telling me about you.”
“Not sure Bren would like
being described as a bad fairy,” Nikki muttered.
“When you get out of
hospital,” Helen spoke for the first time. “We’d like you to come and stay with
us.”
Nikki looked at her
gratefully then turned back to her sister. She found swallowing difficult
because of the lump that had formed in her throat. “I…er…Maybe you could tell
me about Mum.”
“Thank you. I’d like that,”
Sarah replied sleepily.
“We’ll go now and let you
get some rest,” Nikki told her then smiled as Sarah gripped her hand tightly.
“It’s okay. I’ll come back. I promise.”
As they walked back to the
car, Helen glanced sideways at her lover and was pleased to see Nikki was
looking much happier than she had of late.
Nikki turned her head and
saw she was being scrutinised. “Yes, before you ask, I’m alright,” she said
teasingly.
Helen laughed. “That seems
to be my stock phrase lately, doesn’t it?”
“It’s okay, thanks for
caring and for saying Sarah can come and stay with us.”
“I hoped you wouldn’t mind.
I thought it would give you chance to get to know each other better.”
They reached the car and
Helen climbed into the driving seat. “By the way, who is ‘Bren’? she asked
accusingly as Nikki slid into the seat beside her.
“Bren,” Nikki echoed with a
mischievous smile. “Bren was my first girlfriend, the one I had to leave home
for but she was worth it. She only came up to there on me,” she pointed to a
place just above her breasts. “But she had boobs to die for.” She laughed
heartily as Helen thumped her on the arm.
“Have you had lots of
girlfriends?” Helen demanded, trying to keep her tone light.
“Loads,” came the nonchalant
reply. She saw Helen turn away and gaze out of the car window so she put her
fingers under Helen’s chin and drew her, albeit reluctantly, round to face her.
“I’ve had loads of girlfriends and, yes, I’ve loved some of them.” She leaned
forward and kissed Helen’s lips gently then drew back and looked at her
lovingly. “But there’s only one love that’s forever, the love I feel for you.”
“That’s okay then,” Helen
grinned happily.
The following evening, Nikki
walked alone along the hospital corridors, Helen having decided to stay at home
to give the two sisters some time together on their own. She cradled a basket
of fruit bought from the hospital shop in her arms.
As she reached Sarah’s room
she saw through the open door that the young woman wasn’t alone; a blonde woman
was sitting on the bed beside her. She frowned when she saw the two women were
holding hands and started to back away from the door as Sarah looked up.
“Nikki!” she said in
surprise and drew her hand away from the woman’s grasp.
Nikki entered the room with
the uncomfortable feeling that she was intruding upon a private moment.
“I...er…brought you this,” she indicated the fruit.
“That was nice of you,”
Sarah smiled nervously.
“You’ve got company so
I’ll…” She shifted awkwardly.
“Please, don’t go on my
account.” The blonde woman spoke in a soft husky voice as she stood up and
turned to face Nikki.
Sarah looked at the blonde,
adoration clearly showing on her face. “Nikki, this is Lucy, my…our
sister-in-law.”