CHIM - Life in the limelight SEQUEL

Chapter 25

"Paisley and Hailie, can you two stop acting yourselves while i am trying to drive? What are you fighting about?"

"Hailie is going to throw my doll out of the window!" Paisley whines and tries to grab her doll back from her cousin who looks like she is going to do exactly what Paisley is accusing her of.

Rolling her eyes at the commotion in the back seat Cheryl turns around and looks at all three children sat together. Alaina is being as good as gold today. She is still tired and has not long woke up so she just stares out of the window taking in everything that we pass. She has not made a peep since she was put into her car seat. I would have a very peaceful life if all the children were like that but Paisley and Hailie have been at eachother's throats since they got into the car.

"You better not put that out of the window, Hailie, i mean it. How'd you even get it down in the first place?" Cheryl talks sternly to Hailie who is giggling at the drama she is causing.

"I opened it for her"

"Well what did you do that for, Pai?"

"Mummy's crazy driving was making us feel sick" Paisley replies while she continues to try and pull her doll from Hailie's little arms. Hailie is only a little thing so it shouldn't be that difficult to do but Paisley is making a song and dance of it in typical Paisley style.

Things are still awkward between Cheryl and i. Cheryl took it upon herself to sleep in Alaina's room last night and i did not stop her even though i think that she is being a bit dramatic. I did not get much sleep and that was down to two things- Cheryl was up half of the night doing what i assume was more paperwork. She was sat on the landing for hours and with the light pouring through the small gap under the bedroom door and the noise of her flicking through pieces of paper and cursing quietly to herself i just lay in bed listening to her. The other reason i did not sleep so well was because i don't like to sleep without Cheryl. It has been so long since i have had to sleep without her by my side that when i reached out for her in my sleepy daze and my hand clashed with nothing but cold sheets it brought back terrible memories and i could not stand it.

Today Cheryl has decided to take the morning off because she wanted to take Paisley and Hailie to school with me. The only time she has spoken to me today is to tell me that. The rest of the time she has spent ignoring me completely so i am being petty and doing the same to her. I can't help but think that we are both acting childishly but thankfully the girls have not picked up on the atmosphere filling the car on our way to their school this morning. Even if they have picked up on our bad moods it is 8am and they will simply put it down to us not being morning people. Cheryl is often in a foul mood when she has to get up early, she is a grump in the mornings and it is a standard joke between all of us.

The girls continue to argue and it is starting to give me a bad head. "Give me it back now!" Paisley demands with a scream but Hailie ignores her and giggles while holding the doll in her arms. I will be happy to hand them both over to their teachers today because they are driving me crazy.

Cheryl turns around once again and unclipping her seatbelt for just a second she leans towards Hailie and takes the doll from her. When she sits back in her seat with her seatbelt back on and the doll on her knee both girls start to complain. "If you can't play nicely, then nobody can have it" Cheryl tells them.

"But it's not fair!"

"Life is not fair, Paisley" I tell her as i always do and i turn the radio up as a song i like starts to play. My fingers drum at the steering wheel and i hum in tune, it is not the first time that i have realised that i am turning into my Mum and that thought makes me shudder. I can see Cheryl's lips curl into a smile when she looks at me but when i look back at her she looks down at the doll that is dressed better than i am. She smooths down it's frilly dress and fixes it's little white shoe onto it's foot. This doll was a gift to Paisley from her Uncle Gary. Amelia it's called and it has always been her favourite. I remember the day he gave it to her. It was the day before her 4th birthday and Cheryl and i had spent the whole day arguing. That was the first time Cheryl ever locked herself in her bedroom and i will never forget the look on her face or the way she told me that she hated me because i knew that she meant it. My thoughts are interrupted by Hailie demanding my attention and for once i am glad.