Shit happens ✧ *:✧･ﾟ* Skins gen 2 • James Cook • Effy Stonem • Freddie McClair

Season 2 - 10.

Freddie

TW/ Child abuse, Suicide. (hasn't been re read yet, may be mistakes)

I had fallen asleep at Effy's bedside, I'd planned to stay by her all night so I could help with the preparations of bringing her home in the morning so she could get out as soon as possible. I woke up at 8am with back pain from sleeping on the hospital chair.
"Morning Sunshine." She smiled, eating a pot of chocolate mousse.
"How have you got chocolate mousse for breakfast?" I chucked as she put put her teaspoon in the pit and placed it in her bed tray.
"I have a way of words with the nurses, they really like me." She chimed, smiling her beautiful smile.
I nodded, knowing her 'way with words' was enough to put me under a spell.
"Why are you being so nice to me? I've done nothing but push you away." She spoke after moment of silence.
"Forgiveness, I had to learn to forgive my mom after all these years."
"Freddie, what happened...to your mum?" She asked.
I sat up straight, blinked back tears and began the story.

(Freddie's story.)

Freddie's mom was one of those friendly looking ladies that elegantly strode down streets and charmed the public with her glow. She earned smiles a lot. She was a woman who loved to work, she was a social worker - she loved helping families resolve problems and she loved rehoming troubled children to safety. Overall, she was a brilliant social worker.
One day she was given 7 cases to look into as 2 of her colleagues were off work, sick with a virus. Freddie's Mom, Mary, only ever received 2-3 cases - but she loved her job and she loved helping so she took the extra cases in her stride and went about her day.

She went to the address of he 5th case, Lottie Brown, her teachers had noticed bruising on her 2 days prior. She knocked on the door of Lottie Brown's home, eventually a small skinny lady answered the door. A horrible stench immediately hit Mary's nose, but Mary being the kind woman she was, remained smiling and explained that she was social services coming to do a welfare check on Lottie Brown. In these situations, social workers should be accompanied by police officers, however there were riots at the Bristol Rovers stadium, meaning officers wouldn't be available for a few hours. Mary decided to compromise her safety and put Lottie's first, choosing to visit anyways.
"Come on then love." Lottie's mother said. Mary observed the frail lady carefully, she could tell by her features that she was a drug user, which Immediately put Lottie at risk. She noted down that her behaviour was odd as the lady shuffled oddly.
"So, you're Lottie's mother, may I see her?" Mary asked, perching on the furthest edge of the filthy sofa she could.
"Right, Lottie has been taken shopping with her step-father, Paul, he hasn't took his phone so I'm unsure as to which shopping centre they're at." Lottie's mother spoke, Mary couldn't keep her eyes off the lack of the lady's teeth. She smiled eventually and stood up.
"Right, I will return in a few hours, perhaps Lottie will be home then - I will see myself out, thank you for letting me into your home." Mary said, standing from her seat and heading out of the house and back in her car, the awful smell following her into her car. She sprayed perfume and visited the it her families she'd been assigned that day, returning to Lottie Brown's house three hours later.

Something didn't feel right as she turned Lottie Brown's street. She had noticed police officers stood in a group before she noticed that there was police tape a metre away from her car bonnet. She slammed on her breaks immediately, nearing driving through the tape. She wound her window down as an officer came to talk to her.
"Can I help you ma'am?" The man in uniform asked.
"I'm a social worker, one of my cases are on this street...Lottie Brown?" She stated.
The officer swallowed.
"I'm sorry ma'am but Lottie was murdered in her home 2 and a half hours ago." He replied.
Mary's heart dropped.
"Wh- what?" She spluttered, her heart falling into her stomach like a helium balloon deflating.
"Do you think we could take you to the station and ask you some questions?" The officer asked.
Mary nodded.

Hours late Mary learned that in fact Lottie was being hidden in her home as Mary was visiting. Her stepfather was making sure she was quiet in the cupboard under the stairs as Lottie's mom spoke to Mary. Mary bought Lottie's mother's story and left the house. A half hour later Mary was strangled to death by her mother, the police were notified as the neighbours heard a kerfuffle, they unfortunately arrived too late.

Mary was shamed by the press and heavily questioned as the 'Social Worker who failed Lottie Brown' in court. She admitted her mistakes but ultimately lost her job, putting her into debt and a deep depression because she had a kind heart, hence why it was so easy for her to believe that evil woman. Mary fell into a deep depression, suffering with nightmares about little Lottie.

Mary's depression meant that she could no longer look after her two children, 9 year old Freddie and 12 year old Karen, meaning that their father, Leo, had to step up in the house hold. Having one job between four people meant that they fell into financial debt and sometimes had to sit in a house with no heating or electricity until Freddie father got paid from one of his 2 jobs he was juggling.

One day Mary slipped into a mental breakdown, resulting in her taking her whole prescription of anti-depressants to make it go away as she was looking after her children in the house as her husband was away at work. Unfortunately, Mary overdosed but survived, ending up in a clinic. Freddie and Mary went to visit but their mother was very vacant, it was clear to the kids that their mother was hurting - meaning they hurt too.

A week before christmas, the McClair's received the most harrowing phone call imaginable. Freddie watched as the house phone dangled off the chord and his father fell to the ground with tears streaming down his red face. His dad did not need to say one word, he understood what had happened.

Freddie was 11 when his mother ended her battle.

Mary's suicide note didn't really explain much to Freddie, just that she was hurting and she could tell that her pain was affecting her family, she was going to end it so they didn't feel it anymore. But Freddie felt pain like no other as he walked behind the coffin of his mother, through the colossal stone church filled with sobs and sniffling. He sat at the front row and listened to his mother's eulogy, acknowledging her downfall was not mentioned but her battle was.

He didn't listen to any speeches but stared at his mother's coffin, refusing to believe she was in there.

7 years later, he had nightmares every so often that he peered over into his moms coffin and saw the huge gashes in her wrists and the pain on her face. It always horrified him the same amount whenever he woke up from them. Some nights he'd wake up to his sister, Karen, in his bed after his nightmares. As much as he pretended to hate when Karen came in his bed - he knew deep down that it was a comfort to him to wake up to someone who went through it all with him by his side.

Freddie

I finished telling Effy about my mom, she blinked and nodded.
"I'm not going to say anything, because I know you've heard it all before, and it probably doesn't help - but thank you for letting me in, I hope you'll wait for me, and I'll let you in too." She smiled.
Freddie nodded and wiped a tear away that had splashed down his cheek.
"You are so so strong Freddie, will you teach me to be like you?" She smiled.
Freddie looked at the girl who he wanted to save.
"Of course Eff, of course." He chimed.
He was determined to save this girl that he loved so bad, wether she knew he loved her or not. He did not want another life to be lost, wether Effy intended to end her life or not.

"Promise me one thing though Eff, I really need you to do this for me." He spoke.
Effy adjusted herself and looked at Freddie carefully as if to show just how serious she was about anything he had to say.
"You tell me, if you're ever feeling down, you tell me right away, no matter what I'm doing, I will come to you, and I will do anything in my power to make you not take drugs....I don't want you t-"
"I promise you Freddie."