The alarm clock sounded like a small car crash as it hit the bare floor boards in Laura’s new flat, C.J the black and white cat that had adopted her when she moved in stretched then curled back up into the warm soft cosy duvet and was quite content to watch it’s owner run all around the half furnished half decorated new found haven that Laura now called home. An 8 year relationship with a man too selfish to think about what another humans needs are, a man who was very clever and was abusive in a fantastic way nobody suspected not even Laura herself, she left 6 months ago with no confidence no plans for life no energy or passion just a frumpy empty shell. 6 months can do a lot for a girl, it’s all it took to finish her education and graduate with honours her nursing degree. A deep golden tan, tooth-whitening treatment, a decent manicure and pedicure gorgeous long brown silky layered hair extensions and a new wardrobe all paid for with 5 years of five and ten pound notes she managed to hide away from Steven rolled up and hidden under the bath. Her patience paid for her redemption as a woman the deposit on the cosy 2 bedroom flat with bedroom balcony over looking the park surrounded by oak trees she had been waken by squirrels jumping from tree to tree using her balcony as a congregation point. Full of feathers bits of leaves twigs poop and a rusty table and chair was soon to have a make over. She was finding out who she was all over again, Going into a relationship as young as 19 is hard for anyone especially when you are constantly wrong, undermined, told of your every flaw and flabby bit. Laura had turned into a quiet very shy intimidated ventriloquists dummy.

She had fought constantly tooth and nail kicking and screaming to be heard and taken seriously in her jobs, relationship and when she was at home with her parents. She was the youngest grandchild of10 so spent most of her life being shoved to the back, when she did make it the the front she was shushed and constantly told “Little girls should be seen and not heard.”

Laura had a lot riding on her new freedom, she was starting a new job clawing her way to the top and being offered the position of Senior Nurse at a residential care home was the start of her being taken seriously and relishing in her new responsibilities…. everything seemed to come down to this moment of starting the job.