Page 77 of Coming Home to Hope Street

‘Pip, there are some things I need to tell you about your dad. They’re not going to be nice to listen to, but I think you need to know.’

‘What’s going on? I wish people wouldn’t treat me like a baby.’

‘Your dad has a gambling addiction,’ Hannah said.

Pip frowned.

‘Your mum never told you because she didn’t want you to think she was running him down in front of you. Kieran got into terrible debt and when it became too much he left. Every time, your mum had to survive on her own. That’s why she’s often had two, and sometimes three jobs, trying to make ends meet. On one occasion she had to pay back over eight hundred pounds to a friend of his who threatened he’d make her life hell if she didn’t.’

‘I – I didn’t know any of this.’

Hannah could see the colour draining from Pip’s face, but she had to continue and tell her everything. It might help to put right the argument she’d started with Livvy too.

‘The reason you left Manchester to come here was because your mum had run out of options,’ she went on. ‘She was facing eviction from the flat because she hadn’t been able to keep up with the rent payments and she had nowhere else to go.’

‘She told me the landlord was selling up.’

‘She said all that to protect you, while your dad couldn’t face what he’d done and the mess he’d created. While he ran away, your mum took care of everything. She would do anything for you.’

‘And I thought the sun shone out of his arse.’ She tutted at herself in disgust. ‘How could I have been so mean?’

‘And silly? You’re old enough to realise that when two people fall out of love, they’re most likely never going to get back together again, don’t you think?’

Pip nodded. ‘I just get so mad that I lash out and say hurtful things. I know they’re better off apart.’

‘That’s not what your mum thinks.’

Pip dropped her eyes. ‘I’ve been giving her a hard time. I was talking to Tilly about her parents and I realised that perhaps I’d been selfish and not thinking about Mum, just me and Dad. She was always there for me, she never left and came back, and left and came back. I was going to tell her but when I got in, she said Dad had gone and I was just so’ – she shrugged – ‘angry. Then I went into stroppy teenager mode.’

Hannah smiled. ‘You haven’t been in love yet. I’d hate for someone to break your heart but when you care deeply for someone and they hurt you, sometimes you want to hurt them too. Your mum didn’t do this. She kept going. Every time your dad came running with his tail between his legs, your mum took him back because she thought it was best for you. She wanted you to have a stable upbringing, with two loving parents, despite his faults.’

‘I’ve been stupid, haven’t I?’

Hannah’s heart went out to the young girl as she watched a blush spread across her face. ‘It’s nothing that can’t be put right.’

‘But it was my fault. I told Dad that Doug was a millionaire after Tilly told me. I didn’t mean to. I wouldn’t have said anything about him if I’d known this was going to happen.’

‘This isn’t any of your doing, Pip. Your mum loves you so much and did the best she could for you. But she also didn’t want you to find out what your dad was like. Now, whether that was right or wrong doesn’t really matter, but she shielded you because she wanted to do the best she could to comfort you, provide for you, and give you enough love for two parents.’

‘I need to sort this out, don’t I?’ Pip looked at Hannah. ‘Do you know where she’ll be?’

‘She’s probably gone for a walk to let off steam.’ Hannah took out her phone. ‘I’ll tell you what, why don’t you and I have a drink of hot chocolate at your house? We can wait for her there.’

‘Okay.’

Hannah bundled a forlorn looking Pip back to her own house across the street. While she was boiling the kettle, she rang Livvy but there was no reply. Worried about her state of mind, she rang Phoebe next.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Phoebe was ironing when she took the call from Hannah.

‘Oh, I feel terrible,’ she said once she’d found out what had happened. ‘Although I’m glad my original thoughts weren’t true.’

‘So am I. But Pip is really upset.’

Phoebe heard the crack in Hannah’s voice. ‘Is she with you now?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I’m in the kitchen of number thirty-four. I can’t say much more. She’s just nipped upstairs but she’ll be back down in a minute or so.’

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