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"𝙄'𝙑𝙀 𝙂𝙊𝙏 𝙔𝙊𝙐."
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𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐇, 𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒. To say the last twenty four hours had been a nightmare would certainly be an understatement. Not only was her family life hanging in the balance, but she'd also lost her two best friends and ended up in isolation for the millionth time. Slumping back in her chair, she let out a heavy sigh.
"Still ignoring me, then?" Cory, who happened to be sat only two booths away, asked dryly.
"Oh don't flatter yourself." Mollie said quietly, rolling her eyes. "I'm not ignoring you, I just don't have owt to say to you."
Despite her sharp tone, Cory persisted. "Mol, you have every right to be angry at me. But, please, just hear me out."
He looked over at his sister with a look of desperation and, for the first time that day, she slowly looked back at him. Her expression remained blank but she raised her eyebrows slightly, giving him a silent signal to show she was willing to listen.
Swallowing nervously, Cory's lip quivered slightly.
"I-" He began, but was pulled away from his thoughts by the sound of the door opening.
"Mr Mohammed." Mr Bell said with a smile as he entered to replace the teacher on duty. As he held the door open, his eyes wandered around the room and he felt a frown form on his face as he noticed the only two students in the room.
"Not you two, as well." He said disapprovingly as he walked over to them. "You know, I've just dragged your kid off Mr Simpson. He's refused to get in the shower after P.E."
Mollie remained seated, while Cory started to pack up his things and rose from his seat. "Sir, just go easy on him, would you?"
"Go easy on him?" The teacher repeated incredulously. "Cory, are you mad? He's just nearly throttled a teacher. I mean, what is going on? If your dad weren't raging yesterday, he's gonna be now-"
"You don't think he were mad enough, do ya?" Cory cut off the teacher with a scoff, causing Mollie to look at him with wide eyes.
"What?" Mr Bell furrowed his eyebrows, looking between the two siblings.
Mollie shook her head at Cory, but he simply ignored her and looked back at Mr Bell. "'Cause he were. He was so mad that...he gave our Jordan a proper kickin'. Why else d'ya think he wouldn't get in the shower?"
Mr Bell closed his eyes with a heavy sigh at the realisation, his heart breaking for the three siblings.
Hearing it aloud properly for the first time, Mollie down looked to the ground as the memories came back to her. Cory noticed this and instantly felt flooded by a sense of guilt. Feeling as though he'd said too much already, he headed for the door but was stopped by the teacher.
"Cory, Cory, Cory." Mr Bell said as he gently grabbed the boy's arm to make him turn around. Looking between the twins, he gave them a concerned look. "Your dad...has he ever done this before?"
Neither Mollie nor Cory said anything, causing Mr Bell to hold his hands up and try again. "If you don't talk to me, I can't help you."
Cory looked over at Mollie, who was still sat down. When she met his eyes, he gave her a pleading look and after a moment, she nodded. Deep down, she knew the right thing was to tell Mr Bell.
"It's never usually that bad." She finally broke her silence, looking down at her hands. "Usually it's just a few thumps and that...but last night was different. That one was the worst, Sir." As she began talking, a sense of catharsis washed over her and she felt her eyes well up with tears.
"You think you can handle this on your own, but you can't. You've gotta let me help you, alright?" Mr Bell said softly, earning a light nod from Mollie. "Did he hurt either of you two?"
"It were mainly just Jordan." Mollie said quietly, before swallowing nervously. "But, um, I tried to pull him away and, um, he pushed me back against the door frame."
Cory watched as Mollie winced at the very memory and he felt even more ashamed of himself than he already was. His lip quivered as he tried to contain his emotions, but in the end he just couldn't hold it in any longer. "I'm sorry, Mollie. I'm sorry."
As the boy's voice broke and he began to cry, Mr Bell placed a hand on his shoulder. "Woah, Cory. Why are you saying sorry?"
"Sir, I didn't do anything. I...I was scared so I just stood there and watched him do it." At this, Cory's emotional barrier broke and his feelings started to flood out as quickly as his tears did. "I'm supposed to be the oldest, and I just let him hurt them both. I didn't even try to stop him. I'm so sorry."
Mollie had never seen Cory in such a state of distress or desperation, but it was enough to dissipate any anger that she'd held towards him and shatter her already broken heart. All of his confidence and bravado had disappeared, and all that was left was a scared little boy. He was hurt and confused and frightened, just like she was.
"Cory, it's okay." She said softly, trying to stay strong for him despite the fact that she felt completely broken.
"It's not okay." He shook his head, looking her in the eyes. "It's not okay. I don't want to hurt you, or Jordan. I don't know what to do anymore."
"Cory." Mr Bell said softly, his own eyes glazed over with tears at scene he was witnessing. He opened his arms and the hysterical boy instantly accepted the embrace, sobbing against his teacher's shoulder. "It's alright, it's alright."
"Help me, please!" Cory wailed as he started to wrestle with Mr Bell's grasp. He eventually freed himself and rushed out of the room.
Mollie's already tear-filled eyes watched as her brother left, and she immediately shot up to her feet to follow him. Mr Bell tried to stop her, but she simply ignored his call and left the room swiftly to find her brother.
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𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐎 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋, 𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐘 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇. Feeling both physically and emotionally weak, she slumped down onto the floor and couldn't stop herself from sobbing.
With her head in her hands, she was far too absorbed by her own thoughts to hear the footsteps approaching. It wasn't until she heard a familiar voice that she looked up.
"Mollie?" Riz looked down at her with a concerned expression. When he'd left Biology to go to the bathroom, this was the last thing he'd expected to find. "What's wrong?"
"Everything." She sobbed desperately.
Without a second thought, Riz sat down beside her and gently placed a hand on her upper back. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"I don't know." She said helplessly. "Everything is falling apart, and I just want it to be okay again. I want to be okay again."
Hearing the desperation in her voice, Riz knew it was best not to push her any further for an answer and wrapped both of his arms around her completely. As Mollie leaned against his chest and cried into him, he began to stroke her hair comfortingly.
"Let it out, Mol. It's okay." He said softly, holding her tight.
As he held the broken girl in his arms and listened to her soft, muffled sobs, Riz realised just how much she meant to him. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the top of her head and rested his chin there. "I've got you."
And he meant it.
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𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒, and the two decided to let Mr Bell help them.
Though she didn't end up telling Riz about everything that had happened, she appreciated him being there for her. He comforted her and, for the first time in the last few days, he'd actually made her feel safe, even if it was only momentarily.
The day's events had given her a new perspective, and she knew that Mr Bell could support them if they only trusted him. All they needed to do was convince Jordan.
He had agreed to meet them near the flats on the way home from school. When the twins got there, Mollie was surprised to see Jordan leaning against a building that was covered in an intricate graffiti artwork.
"This one of yours?" She asked softly, causing Jordan to turn to look at them. When he didn't answer, Mollie simply gave him a gentle smile. "It's really good, Jord."
"Jordan, I'm sorry about what happened to you." Cory spoke seriously.
Jordan scoffed. "Yeah? You'd have done the same thing if someone spoke to you like that."
"Maybe." Cory shrugged. "But not to family, Jord."
"Family." Jordan echoed him sarcastically, shaking his head. The three fell into silence once again. Cory reached out to touch Jordan's shoulder comfortingly, but the younger boy simply flinched.
"You always were mum's favourite." Cory said. "You know that, right?"
At the memory of the woman that the Wilson family hadn't seen for years, Jordan looked away. "Maybe that's why he hates me."
"He doesn't hate you." Mollie shook her head, looking Jordan in the eyes.
The younger boy looked at her in disbelief, but shrugged it off. "I'm gonna stay out of his way. It's fine."
"In your own house?" Cory asked with a dry laugh. "Look, maybe some of this is my fault. But we can do something about this. Right, Mol?"
"Right." She nodded. "Mr Bell...you trust him, don't ya? He said he'd support us."
Jordan look at them pensively, as if he were considering the idea. "How?"
"I don't know, but he can help us talk to someone about this. Make it stop." Cory explained, but he was cut off by the sound of a car horn. Jordan stood up straight and gave his siblings one last look before rounding the corner and jogging towards the familiar black car.
"You reckon he'll do it?" Cory turned to Mollie hesitantly.
She bit her lip. "I dunno, Cory. I hope so."
The twins shared a silent look of desperation for a moment, before Jordan came back over. He looked sheepish for a second, but let out a sigh.
"Alright. I'll do it."
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this whole storyline breaks my heart </3.
i threw in a little mollie x riz as well because they're always there for each other and i love them.
for any shippers, there may be a little surprise on the act ii chapter.
updates may be v slow for a few weeks because i have a shit tonne of work to do, but after that there will hopefully be regular updates again. hopefully.
anyways, thank you for reading and supporting. we hit 24k the other day which is literally ridiculous.
so thank you!!!!! love to all and stay safe <3