Michelle

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"So is it like when Bella and Elsa died?" Harry asked as he sat eating his dinner at the island in the kitchen. I chewed my mouthful of pasta before putting down my fork and looking at Charlie, who was sat on the stool next to Harry. 
"Not really Harry, Michelle's baby was still very little, it didn't grow up like Bella and Elsa."
"Didn't this happen to Mummy?" He asked before taking another bite of pasta.
"Yeah Mummy had a miscarriage before you went missing." I said as I stroked his soft brown hair.

Later that day, Michelle had come home from the hospital. Charlie and I were sat at the island doing homework while Harry played in front of the TV. The doorbell rang and Harry leapt up from the floor. I got up as well and picked him up before opening the door.
Michelle was stood at the door wearing track suits and a hoodie. Her face was red. I put down Harry and pulled her into a hug. I then felt Harry hug both of our legs, so I stroked his head softly with my hand.

After a while, Michelle came inside and Charlie took Harry into his room. I made Michelle a tea and we both sat down on the stools at the island.
"I'm so sorry." I said.
"It's ok, I just don't know what to do now, we were so ready and now he isn't going to come home to us." She said while sipping on her tea and wiping her eye again. I continued to allow her to speak for the next twenty minutes or so before I heard Harry and Charlie come out of his room. Harry ran towards me and I pulled him onto my lap. He placed a piece of paper on the island and said,
"Michelle I drew this for you, look this is you and Steve and Isla and me, them up in the sky is mummy and Bella and Elsa and Ruari."
I watched as Michelle smiled and kissed the top of his head,
"That's so lovely, thanks Harry." She said.



A few weeks later,  I made Harry his dinner before I took him to the bathroom and gave him a bath. As I lifted him out, the doorbell rang. I dried him quickly before lifting him onto my hip, still wrapped in the towel and went to answer the door. Michelle was stood there in absolute tears. Her face was red and she was sobbing. I let her in and sent Harry into his room to put on his pyjamas before pouring Michelle a glass of wine and letting her rant to me as I sat down at the island.

It was now eleven o'clock at night. Michelle had been here because she had just found out that Steve was the father of Leanne's baby. I don't blame her for being angry but at the same time she was exhausted. We had both sat down on the sofa and were talking about Mum.

"I wish she could be here for you now, like you were there for her." I said to Michelle as I reached to put my wine glass on the coffee table.

"So do I, sometimes I need you're Mum to give me a hug and tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"Same, especially recently, like Harry has so many questions and I don't know how to answer them. Mum would know, Mum would know to say and she should be here to answer them." I said.

"You know, she would be so proud of you. She would be so incredibly proud of how amazing you are at coping with everything and looking after Harry. You know one of the last things she said to me was 'Isla will be ok, I know she will.' You are strong, just like her."

"Everyone says that, that I'm an ice queen like her, but sometimes I don't feel like that."

"Everyone feels like that sometimes, you can's be an ice queen you're whole life like she was, cos you know how upset she used to be inside." Michelle said and I nodded.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" I asked her.

"Yes please." She said.

"The bed's made up in the box room, and you can borrow some clothes to sleep in, I think there's a few of Mum's things in the drawers in there." I said as we both got up. I took the wine glasses and empty bottle to the kitchen while Michelle went into the tiny room next to Harry's room. Michelle came out a couple of minutes later, wearing a pair of Mum's pyjamas and holding up her favourite dressing gown.

"You still have this?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't sleep with that actually, Harry likes to snuggle with it sometimes and he would  probably be able to tell if it doesn't smell like his Mummy." I said.

"He remembers?"

"Sort of, he remembers parts but not a lot."

"Has he ever talked to you about what happened to him?"

"Not really, I mean he's mentioned it, like every time we have spaghetti hoops, he tells me he used to eat them when they were cold and when he talks about superman, he tells me about how he used to pretend that he was superman and one day, he would fly away and escape. Apart from that, he barely even talks about it, the police and the social workers say not to pressure him. The police think that its some sort of child slave thing, they think that no one wanted Harry, so they let him go."

"Poor little thing." Michelle said, and she handed me the dressing gown. Before she said goodnight and went into the room she was staying in. I took the dressing gown into Harry's room and wrapped it over him, before moving his hair off his forehead and kissing it. I then left the room and went to my own before going to bed.



The next morning, we woke up and had breakfast. Michelle had to go back to the rovers because she didn't have any stuff but she was going to come and stay with us for a while. After Harry and I were both dressed we decided to go to the supermarket as the flat was virtually empty and we needed more food if Michelle was going to stay with us. I grabbed my purse, keys and phone as Harry sat on the little bench by the door putting on his shoes. I handed him his hoodie as I grabbed my cardigan and we left the flat. We went down in the lift and when the doors opened at the bottom. Nick and Leanne were stood with Ollie in his pushchair. I immediately turned my head and so did Harry, he still wasn't their biggest fan after everything with Mum and Nick. 

"Look Isla, I'm sorry," Leanne began to say as we both walked past them, out of the lift.

"No, its not me you should be apologising to, It's Michelle, she's the one who lost her son and now her husband. I can't believe you can even bare to show you're face right now." I said before opening the main door to the flats and taking Harry out to the car.

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