Page 4 of Only You

Laura continued. “When I asked her what had happened, she wouldn’t say. Instead, she crossed her arms and went silent. The other children said it was intentional.” Laura sighed. “I sent her to the head teacher, which had her in floods of tears. I’m sorry, Andrew.”

Andrew swallowed as Laura continued.

“Do you know what’s causing these outbursts? Is there anything going on at home?” she asked carefully.

Andrew took a deep breath.

“Nothing new. Olivia spends a lot of time with my parents while I’m working, but that has been the case since we moved here. She seems happy with them, and Mum and Dad are great with her, albeit they spoil her.”

Laura leant back in her chair. “Have you spoken to Olivia?”

Andrew nodded. “Last time, she just cried and said she was sorry and didn’t mean it. I hoped it was the last time. My mum has spoken to her, but Olivia isn’t giving anything away.”

Andrew rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his knees. His head began to throb.

“Behaviour doesn’t just change. We need to understand why Olivia is acting out.” Laura took a deep breath before continuing. “In the meantime, I cannot have her hurting or damaging other children or their work. I have spoken to Mrs Morris, the head teacher, and we will give Olivia lunchtime detention. It means I will keep her in instead of her going out to play with her friends.” Laura paused before continuing. “What I will suggest is not common practice, but if you agree, I’d like to keep Olivia in here with me. I want to observe her and see if I can get her to open up.”

Andrew looked up, his face displaying the shock he was feeling. He knew this was her going above and beyond. Laura gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Thank you, Laura. I can only apologise.” Andrew drew in a deep breath. “I will try talking to Olivia again. I do not know what to do. She is shutting me out.” Andrew ran a hand over the back of his neck. “It could be her way of punishing me. I am working long hours at the hospital and have often been absent with the new television contract.”

Andrew clenched his teeth. The more he thought about it, the more it turned his stomach. He’d allowed his bosses to take over his life, and now it was impacting his daughter’s life. His shoulders sank, and his heartbeat seemed to have moved to his throat.

“I’ll give Star and Damian a call tonight and see if Skylar has said anything. There must be something wrong if those two are arguing.”

Laura leant forward. “I want to help, Andrew. I’m here for you both.”

“Thank you again. I appreciate everything you are doing for Olivia. I’ll keep in touch.”

Andrew left Laura’s classroom feeling no better than when he’d arrived. His daughter was hurting, and he didn’t know why. Andrew walked into the after-school club, and his heart lurched at the sight of Olivia sitting by herself colouring. He approached her and knelt beside her.

“Hey, Sunshine, ready to go home?” Andrew swallowed hard as she looked up, her pain clear.

Olivia did not say a word as she left her pens and drawing where they were. She didn’t even attempt to show him what she had been doing, which was not normal behaviour. Olivia loved to draw and paint. She was talented, and their home was full of her pictures. The fact she was ignoring what she had been doing was unsettling. Today was a turning point, and he needed to find the underlying cause of it.

He picked up her picture and stared at it. Something wasn’t right. The two people in the picture looked sad, a sharp contrast to her usual drawings. Taking the picture with him, he helped Olivia gather her things before thanking Mrs Linford, the lady in charge of the after-school club. Ushering a silent Olivia into the car, Andrew strapped her in. This was where he wished he had a partner to help him navigate times like these, but he was flying solo. Climbing into the car, he could only hope he was enough to fix whatever was bothering his daughter and prayed Star might shed some light on what the girls had argued about.

Looking in the car mirror, Andrew stared at his young daughter, who sat with her hands clasped in her lap, shoulders slumped. “How was your day? Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” came a sullen reply.

Olivia’s eyes remained fixed on her knees. Andrew watched as she plucked at her tights.

Andrew turned around in his seat and faced his daughter. “I know you got into trouble today. Do you want to tell me your side of the story?”

She looked up. Her eyes were defiant. “No,” she said before turning her head and staring out the window.

“That’s a shame,” Andrew said, turning back and starting the engine. “Every story has two sides to it. I wanted to hear yours.”

They drove home in silence. What was he going to do?

“He said mean stuff to me,” came a quiet voice from the backseat.

Andrew inhaled deeply, trying to calm his racing heart.

“Mean stuff?” Andrew asked.

“He told me I couldn’t be part of their conversation because...” She didn’t say any more.

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