Deasil Street7.1

Annette thought her Granddad was being weird. All of a sudden, he was spending loads of time with her on family history. Trying to get her excited about the strong, proud past of the Vickers dynasty. To get off the hook, she promised to do all she could to restore their family to their former glory. Harry had then startled her with a genuine hug.

She wasn’t sure what had got into him. He’d always been remote and prickly before. Worried, she decided to tell her mum about the change, see what she thought.

Ariette bullied the truth out of her dad, and took it upon herself to care for him once she'd straightened everything out. Annette felt awful. Had she promised a dying man something she didn’t really want to do? Did it count?

Harry was feeling quite pleased with himself. Keeping his secret for so long meant he was spending a minimum of time on what he was convinced was his deathbed. His granddaughter had promised to sort out the mess he’d made of the family, and he was even managing a friendly conversation with Ariette.

When the end finally came, he didn’t look away from his daughters face. He may have had trouble showing it, but he loved her.

His body faded away and left only his spirit form behind. Ariette watched in awe. Her father gave her one last smile, before his gaze was caught by things she couldn’t see. She reached out, but he was gone.

Harry had planned everything. There was a small stone with a plaque set up in the garden. It was a marker, the Vickers had put down roots. Here, in Deasil Street, would be where their fortunes reversed.

Teresa had watched the Vickers mourning at Harry’s grave. She waited a day then popped over to see how Ariette was doing. Ariette was overcome, she had been so rude to Teresa when she’d first moved in with Warren. She felt another block to making friends in the street tumble away.

Annette was staying in with her mum following her grandfathers death and Malika was busy with the neighbourhood watch, so Megan was having to amuse herself. She escaped the house down at the local park when things got tense. It was frustrating listening to her parents fight over money when she had plenty of ideas about how to fix their problems. In her own little world, she didn’t notice she was being watched.

The older girl was called Emma Eff. She had fallen through the cracks of the care system as a child, and was now looking after herself. She usually hung out in a dimly lit basement to meet her friends and customers.

Who she was, where she lived and what she did to make money in that basement was a world away from little Megan Bailey. So why was she interested in her?