bite the hand

"Jordyn!" a voice laced with desperation boomed from behind them. She instantly recognised the voice to be her mothers, although she knew she should feel relieved, something in her felt different.

Before either of them could react, Charlotte rushed over to Jordyn pulling her into a deep hug. Immediately she felt into her arms, clutching onto the back of her mothers coat. Charlottes hand migrated to the back of her head, gently stroking her hair as she exhaled in relief. Janice didn't tell her anything of what she would do to her and that was what terrified her more, the unknown of what she would do to her daughter.

Pulling away from the hug, her eyes rapidly
scanned the young girls body for any sign of injury but was swiftly hit with a wave of relief once she realised she was completely unscathed. Her heart rate dramatically decreased now that she was finally reunited with her daughter.

"Did she hurt you sweetheart? Are you okay? I'm so sorry i'm so so sorry." she clasped her hands in her own, swiftly pulling Jordyn out of reach of Janice and telling her to go to the car, pointing in its direction. Hesitantly she obeyed, making her way towards the car that was parked not too far away but not before giving Janice an apologetic look. Yes it was true that the pair had truly known eachother for all of a an hour but they already shared a connection on a deeper level, a new level of understanding that nobody else could possibly share.

"Well well. Hello Charlotte. I must admit I didn't expect you to arrive so soon, I assumed you would rush off in favour of your youngest daughter." she prodded, wanting to rile the brunette up as much as she could.

"What are you talking about? You know nothing about me or my family. I love Jordyn with every part of me and some snarky remarks from you won't ever change that. Stay far away from me and my daughters Janice." she snarled. Charlotte was not the type of person to let her anger get the better of her usually but when it came to her daughters it seemed to slip out of her with ease. She had noticed how her eldest daughter had begun to drift away recently, especially after the revelation of her involvement with Roger and Mia's entrance. Janice's words started to seep into the brunettes brain, making her doubt her abilities as a mother and she could tell.

"It's adorable you think you could stop me." she stood up from the bench, looking down at Charlotte, smirking uncontrollably. "Goodbye beautiful" her hand reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair from the other woman's eye, watching as her entire body stiffened in response. What she noticed most was how for not one moment did she pull away. On the surface it seemed obvious that this was from fear, but Janice truly believed it was something deeper.

As Charlotte rushed over to Jordyn, she engulfed in yet another hug, not wanting to let her go for a second. She truly believed she had almost lost her. Her hand stroked her back gently, pulling her closer as she heard muffled cries come from her daughter.

"Oh baby. Mummy's got you it's okay." she spoke, fighting the tears that threatened her own eyes.

"I'm so sorry mum. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. The guilt is eating me apart, I can't take it." she sobbed into her mothers shoulder. Everything had built up for months and she had finally reached her breaking point. In this moment she was a lost little girl who simply wanted her mother.

"I'm not mad I promise you. I just got scared, it's okay." her hand continued to rub her back gently. "What guilt is troubling you my lovely? What's happened?" she felt her daughters entire body stiffen at the question. "Jordyn what's wrong?" she asked a bit more seriously, trying her best not to scare her.

She remained silent, unsure of whether to answer her mothers question or not. Her lips wobbled in fear of opening up as she sniffled softly.

"I didn't mean it I swear! If i knew who he was and what he'd done I wouldn't have listened I promise. Please forgive me." she blurted out, shakily sobbing in front of her mother.

"Who baby?" she questioned, fear now pooling in her chest. She knew her daughter had been struggling but she was unsure of why. She had assumed maybe it was teenage depression or the events of her father.

"Roger." she choked out, refusing to look her mother in the eye for even a single second.

Charlottes face dropped, silenced by her daughters answer. It was as if you could hear a pin drop. Her mind rushed with thoughts of how terrible of a mother she was. She thought she had done everything she could to keep her daughter as safe and she could but now she realised she had been completely oblivious the entire time. The possibilities of what Roger could have done with her daughter made her heart drop. She had seen the effect he had on Mia and knew of the manipulation she experienced at the hands of him. How has she not noticed the signs in her own daughter?

"Mum? Mum please say something!" she cried out, desperate for any kind of reaction.

"It's okay beauty. Can we talk about this once we get home? I will make you a tea and we can cuddle up on the sofa. Does that sound good to you?" she smiled, pushing her own feelings down to make sure her daughter was okay.

"You're not mad?" she asked in shock.

"Of course i'm not mad I love you so much Jordyn and I know you. This wasn't your fault at all." In truth she wasn't mad at all, atleast with her. She was internally beating herself up, running through every possibility of how and why he had taken her in.

Jordyn smiled in response as Charlotte walked over to the drivers side and climbed in, closely followed by her daughter.

The entire drive her mind was working overtime trying to think of how this could have happened. Did she leave Jordyn out? Was it her fault she had run to Roger? But the one question that plagued her mind more than anything was

Did Mia know?

Had she known all along and that was the reason she found her in the bar that night? Had she unknowingly put her daughter in danger by allowing Mia to enter their lives. She had trusted the redhead with her life, there wasn't a single moment that she felt unsafe in her presence but now she wondered if she ever should've felt safe at all.

They pulled up in front of Marjorie and Reece's home and the first thing that she noticed as she peered into the open window of their living room was her youngest and Jamie playing happily. She could finally relax. Jordyn and Daisy were both finally where the should be, with their mother.

"Would you like to stay here whilst I grab them or would you like to come with?" she questioned, wanting to tread lightly with her as not to upset her any further.

"No!" she yelled before quietening down. "No... I don't want to face them after running out last night. I will stay here." she finished, looking away from her mother.

"Okay don't worry I will speak them. I'll be as quick as I can" she swiftly exited her car, making her way to the door and ringing the bell. She bit her lip in anticipation, just wanting to hug her daughter, to hold her in her arms knowing she too was safe. She inhaled deeply as the door swung open revealing Marjorie.

"Oh my love hello! Is Jordyn okay? Is everything okay?" she rambled, clasping her hands on the brunettes upper arms.

"Yes yes Marjorie she's okay. She didn't want to come to the door but I know she's so sorry for running off. She told me something when I found her." her voice shook at the end of her sentence which did not go unnoticed.

"Char what did she say?" she squeezed her arm in reassurance.

"Roger got to her." she watched as Reece walked into the hallway, immediately stopping in his tracks when he heard her speak.

"What."