Walls||CTH AU||

Chapter 38 - A Mother's Love - Pfft

Bailey wandered home early the next morning, long after Calum had returned home. Bailey knew that Kylie wouldn't have waited up on her, and if she had, it wasn't because she cared. Bailey knew she would get yelled at whenever she saw her mum next, but she couldn't find it within herself to care.

So much had changed between Bailey and her mother. Bailey could remember a time where she sat up late every night listening for her mum coming home, or when she cried every time her mum left. It wasn't until her teens that she figured out that her mum didn't care as much as she did.

"Bailey, I told you to go to bed." Darryl growled at 9 year old Bailey, who had snuck downstairs and into the living room.

"Is mummy home?"

"No, mummy isn't home. Mummy isn't going to be home for another week, I told you this yesterday. Now go to bed."

"Where is mummy?" Bailey asked, standing her ground at the living room door.

"Go to bed Bailey!"

"Mummy's not in my bed." Bailey replied, tilting her head in confusion. "At least she wasn't when I was up there."

"Your mum is working. Abroad. She'll be home in a week. Now get to bed. I don't want to hear another word out of you tonight. Do you understand!?" Darryl threatened, glaring at Bailey. Bailey nodded, eyes wide with fear and rushed upstairs, locking her bedroom door behind her.

Bailey kicked a stone along the road, sighing. Part of her wished to go back to the time where she didn't know how little her mother cared, when she could pretend that Kylie loved her. Knowing the truth was a lot more painful than any bruise Darryl has given her.

Bailey was curled up in the corner of her bedroom, her hands raised above her head in a feeble attempt to protect herself from Darryl's rage. Darryl was moving closer, his hand balled into a fist, which soon collided with Bailey's arm.

"Please stop it." 11 year old Bailey pleaded, as punched rained down on her. "Please."

Darryl didn't listen. As she continued to hit her, she prayed that her mum would walk in, despite not being due home for another 3 days and stop him. She couldn't take anymore, she just wanted it to stop.

Bailey's mother never did walk in and Bailey reckoned that even if she had, she wouldn't have down anything to stop it. At was at 11 years old that Bailey gave up hope on her mother saving her. It was at 11 she realised that she'd have to get her mother to notice herself.

"No one is going to believe you, a pathetic whiny little girl over me Bailey. Especially not your mother, so don't even bother."

Bailey turned into her street, fighting back the tears that had formed in her eyes. Don't cry over him Bailey! She told herself. Don't give him that satisfaction. Bailey reached her house, and walked through the door, met, unsurprisingly, by an empty hallway and silence. Yet more proof that her mother didn't care. It wasn't like Bailey didn't have enough that already.

Kylie's car drew into the driveway, grabbing 5 year old Bailey's attention away from the TV.

"Mummy!" She shouted, jumping up from the sofa. Her aunt also got up and headed to the door, just as Kylie walked through. Without hesitating, Bailey threw her arms around her mum, hugging her legs.

"Why are you hugging me Bailey?" Kylie asked. 5 year old Bailey didn't recognise the distaste in her mum's voice, but her aunt did. Jac sent her older sister a glare, signalling for her to pick up her daughter.

"I thought you weren't going to come home." Bailey explained as Kylie lifted her up and balanced her on her hip.

"What made you think that?"

"Daddy didn't come home when he went away." Bailey said innocently, unsure of why her mum's eyes had suddenly filled with tears.

"Don't cry mummy. I'm sure he's having fun in heaven. Daddy always has fun."

It was almost funny, how in 12 years Bailey had gone from worrying that her mum wasn't going to come back, to wishing that she wouldn't. Well, she claimed she didn't want her mum to come back, but despite the hatred she felt towards her, Bailey didn't want to be an orphan. Bailey did wish that it had been her mum that had died when she was younger though.

It was what got Bailey through the most horrible days while she lived with Darryl. After a beating, when all she wanted to do was cry, she imagined what her life would have been like if her dad was still alive. There'd be no Darryl, that was her favourite part.

Emotionally and physically exhausted, Bailey threw herself down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, without bothering to change out of her clothes. When her eyelids grew to heavy to force open, she let them shut, and fell asleep within two minutes.