Daddy's Little Girl...[Original, unedited]

Daddy's Little Girl...12

Chapter 12-10 years before...

7 year old me ran up the beach towards my mum. She was waiting with her arms outstretched, holding my towel. I ran into her arms and she put the towel over my head an started tickling me. I squirmed and giggled, doing my best to yell,

"Stop it mummy!" but not very well succeeding, I was laughing far too hard to make much other noise.

"Come on monster" she teased, pulling the towel off my head, "Time to go home!" I whined as she started to rub me down with the towel. I'd been splashing about in the sea all afternoon whilst she sunbathed on the beach.

"Neither do I, but I've got to go and see the doctor about my headaches sweety" she told me. Again? She only went to the doctors the other day? I knew she had won, so I gave in and quickly put my shorts and t-shirt on over my costume.

It was 5 years after my parents had divorced. Mum and I lived in a gorgeous 2-bed bungalow, not a 2 minute walk from Broadstairs beach-front in Kent, England. My dad lived in a small semi-detached house in Essex on his own, I hardly ever went to see him and when I did, I could tell he didn't like me. He still loved mum, but she had left him because he didn't want anything to do with me, he tried dumping my more than once! I had taken the love of his life away from him and he would never forgive me for that.

At home, I had a quick shower, to get all the sand off of me, then put on some jeans and t-shirt so I looked half decent when we went out.

"Robyn, can you call your Gran and ask her if you can stay for the night please dear. I'm just going to have a shower." 'Huh?' I thought. Why would I need to go to Grans? I did as I was told anyway, I would ask mum why later.

Gran had said it was fine, so I went upstairs and packed myself enough clothes for whatever I might get up to with Gran, then went downstairs and watched TV until mum came downstairs...with an overnight bag aswell.

"Mum, I've already packed my bag for Grans" I said, confused. She looked at me, then at the bag as if to say, 'where'd that come from?', then said, "Oh, don't worry, just in case, you know..." she trailed off and walked out to the car. I just followed her...

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I sighed, if only I had known what was really going on that day. My stomach rumbled loudly, my cheek felt large and swollen and my life had been stabbed in the heart and was slowly, painfully dying. I sat up and opened the draw where I kept a small supply of food for days such as this. In the end, I ate an apple and 2 mars bars, resolving to buy some more food for my stash as soon as the wretched bruise on my face was coverable. Having eaten, I looked up the clock-11:30. What could I do for a whole day in this shed? Everything was so much easier with mum...

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"Robyn, I'm back!" my mum's voice floated through to the living room where I was sitting, reading through the lyrics to a few of my favourite songs.

"Muuuuum!!!!!" I yelled excitedly, I had ended up at Grans for 3 days, instead of the original 1 night and no-one told me why. Jumping up from the armchair, I put my papers on the table and ran through to the kitchen to meet my mum. As I turned around the corner, I shouted out,

"Mum? Where were yo-?" then I gasped, stopping dead in the middle of the kitchen. My mum was standing there, brown eyes and all: apart from her hair. Her gorgeous deep-brown hair was gone. All that she had on her head was a scarf.

"Mum?" I asked, my eyes wide, my voice small and shaky. Tears were pooling in my mum's eyes

"I'm so sorry Robyn" she said, but it came out as a broken whisper. I looked from my Gran, who was silently crying, to my mum, who looked like she was about to crumple on the floor. I had no idea what was going on, but my mum and Gran were upset by it. I went over to my mum and gave her a big hug.