If you asked Marlene what her relationship with Liam was like, she'd say it was okay. The two hadn't really hung out alone together and seemed to only really hang out when Frank was around.
But when Liam comes back from yet another foster home and...
Marlene's breath quickened as the man caught her eye. She felt like she was suffocating. She didn't think she'd ever see him again. She didn't want to ever see him again.
"Marls?" Sapphire asked, putting her hand on her arm confused.
Marlene didn't hear her, she couldn't hear anything other then her heart which was beating incredibly fast in her chest. So fast she thought it may jump out.
"Marlene?" The man all but slurred, squinting his eyes, making sure it was really her. "Look at you, no longer a little girl anymore."
Was he being serious? Was he really trying to have a casual conversation with her? Was he really standing in front of her, drunk with more bottles in his hands, acting as if he wasn't the reason her mother was dead. Acting as if he hadn't hit her until she was black and blue, caused her to cry until she could cry no more. Caused her to have life long trauma?
It was then the other three put the pieces together. Glares were quick to take over their confused faces as they realized who this was. This was Marlene's dad.
With so many thoughts running through her head, Marlene couldn't take it. She felt like her brain was going to explode. She needed to get away. She needed to get away from him.
With that thought in mind, dropping her chips she ran. She ignored the sound of Sapphire and Frank calling after her. She ignored Liam's harsh voice as he spoke to her dad. She ran. She had to as far away as she possibly could.
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Liam, Frank, and Sapphire ran towards Elmtree house faster then they'd ran before. Slamming the door open, Liam ran in first checking the whole of the downstairs whilst Sapphire and Frank ran upstairs.
"What's going on?" Mike asked, coming out of his office, Gina and Tracy trailing behind him. The three watched the teens confused.
Finally coming to the conclusion Marlene was not here, the three turned to their care workers. "It's Marlene." Frank began, unsure how to continue.
Tracy looked around confused. "Where is she? What happened?"
"We were coming back from school and..." Sapphire hesitated. "We saw her dad." She explained.
Mike and Gina shared a concerned look. The two knew better than Tracy about Marlene's dad. Tracy wasn't around to see how different Marlene was back then.
"So where is she now?" Gina asked, her tone firmer this time. Her eyes remaining on Frank and Sapphire. Liam, who was more focused on ringing her phone, paced up and down the hallway.
Frank and Sapphire looked at each other, both looking as concerned at the other. "We don't know." It was Sapphire who answered. "She ran off, we thought she might of came here but..." she trailed off.
"Right, I'm going to take the van and go out and look for her." Mike began, coming up with a plan as he walked to grab his keys. "You three go back to where you last saw her, look around and call if you find her. Tracy, asked the others to keep ringing her, Gina call her social worker, explain what's going on."
