Chapter 2

With Di now arriving at Wales, her relatives may realise that they need her as much as she needs them.

Di woke up with a start. She yelped as her head bashed the uncomfortable windows of the coach. As her wits slowly came back to her; Di heard people laughing, talking and a group of teens giggling and gossiping. 

With a quick check of her phone, Di slid further up the seat. Tucking her feet under herself she flickered her gaze out of the window. Endless green fields and patches of woodlands greeted her. Anyone else would have gasped at Englands' beautiful scenery but the tired, hungry and severely annoyed teen simply puffed to herself and turned her head away.

A type of anger began to swell in her, not the type that when your mad you see red and makes you want to turn your room into a war zone, but a silent anger one that had been eating away since last autumn. It had been such a beautiful autumn. Leaves so crisp and amber lined the woodlands near her home. When the sun had began to set each Saturday Di and her mum travelled the 10 minute walk and sat on the bench in the middle of a field by the car park entry to Haddocks wood. Just as the the sun started to sink behind the trees the thousands of leaves set the woodlands a glow with luscious colours of yellows, reds and browns. In a way Di found out that although beautiful, wet, slippery mud drench leaves were also dangerous. Mrs Magma had been turning a corner along a country road in the near by town when suddenly her tyres skimmed the leaves. The cars behind swung back not caring that there was a truck behind. Not caring that Di's mum sat shaking and frightened.

When the police confirmed the death of Mrs Magma and its cause, a fear wriggled down into Di's gut.  

The turn of the coach made a small gasp escape Di's lips. Forcing herself to look, she saw the uncomfortable direction signs for Bangor. The rest of the journey was fairly easy, there were a few uncomfortable turns, not to mention the person's butt in the seat in front of her was creating an orchestra. Di thought that at least she'd have a tale to tell when she finally saw her Aunt Maggis, Uncle Phil and her Cousin Gwyneth. She hadn't seen them since the funeral.

She grinned from ear to ear as she saw her uncle Phil standing near the entrance to the coach station. 

"Hey!" she automatically shouted with delight. Uncle phil was her mum's brother; a tall bold man with broad arms from hard labour and the calmest brown eyes. He smiled to her and did a little wave. Di's suitcase whizzed across the floor, her converses squeaked a little. Her free arm was already outstretched by the time she had reached him. He wore a chequered shirt rolled up to his fore arms, it was open revealing a grease covered white top. 

"You alright love?" He asked into her hair.

"Uncle Phil, It's amazing to see you again?" She said. Uncle Phil grunted a little, "Rough reason to visit though." There was a stern undertone one which made Di shrink a little. Her uncle squeezed her shoulders once then turn towards the door to leave. Di bit her bottom lip, with hunched shoulders she followed. Once their seat belts clicked and sweet home Alabama started playing. The windows had been rolled down, air began to whip Di's hair around her as they sped off into the valleys.

"I know its not London or anything, but maybe a change of scenery'll do you some good kid?" Uncle phil said with a soft tone without taking his eyes off of the winding roads in front of them. Shrubs clung to the sides of the roads as the small scratchy buildings gave way to deep cliffs and trees. Lots and lots of trees. 

"Yeah, maybe." Di said in the lightest voice she could managed, stretching her lips to make a small smile she looked at her uncle and his arched eye brow. Her fake smile dropped.

"I don't know if it'll do any good per say but just a change scenery might make you see things a little differently." Uncle phil said in his rick welsh accent.

Sweet home Alabama came to a quiet stop as blues brother, everybody needs somebody boomed out. Di opened her mouth in a disbelieving O. 

"Is this the mix tape I made you?" Uncle phil nodded. He fiddled slightly in the glove compartment of his Ford. When he produced a CD case from its shadows, Di laughed and grabbed it. Spinning around the case she scanned her year 8 hand writing with the list of songs decorating the piece of paper that Di had used as the cover.

"Damn. I remember this, me and mum spent ages on it. She had to keep getting up and down for Fiona but she gave me a list of your favourite songs."

"I remember. You looked so proud, Emma told me all about what you guys did she was so confused over how all the technology worked bless her."

"Mum wasn't always the best with technology. Awh that time when she thought she was taking a picture of us but accidently took a close up of flouder my fish?" Uncle phil hooted with laughter.

"She was a nutter your mum was." Di was laughing to hard  that she couldn't speak so nodded instead.

"I do miss her." Di said once her voice came back to her. 

"We all do love." Uncle Phil said quietly.

They didn't speak again that journey until they turned into a small village in the middle of nowhere. It looked like something from a post card, barrels decorated the cobbled streets, flowers sprouted from the barrels in a colourful fashion. Lamps were still Victorian, the houses a mix from both the 16th and 17th centuries lined the streets.

"So this is the place time forgot?" Di said. She saw people out in summer wear chatting and walking their dogs or holding news papers. A park near the town hall was packed with screaming and energetic kids. Uncle phil smiled but said nothing as they took a turning out of the Village and down a long narrow back lane. The car promptly came to a small cottage with a thatched roof. Avicii's Wake me up blasted from a top window. 

A door creaked as the beat dropped, Di's aunty stepped out of the front door onto the  dirt track. Her arms were wide open as Di got out of the truck, Di couldn't help it she ran to her aunty and hugged her with the tightest grip her arms could manage.

"Auntie Maggis!" Di cried. 

"Awh bless ya sweetheart, shout any louder an' I'll be deaf as bat." Auntie Maggis laughed.

"You daft women, bats aren't deaf." Uncle Phil chuckled as he pulled some shopping bags from the back of his car.

"No" Aunty Maggis said, "I saw it on the discovery channel. Ask Gwyneth, she watched it with me."

Uncle phil shrugged as he moved past her he muttered "always thought bats were the blind one me-self." 

Di laughed a little to herself. She followed her uncle and aunty into their home. Taking in the low beams which her uncle had to dip to go under. The two arm chairs and sofa seemed even more worn than the last time she had been down. Di frowned for a moment as she tried to recall the last she had visited.

"What's up Di? You look a bit lost, our house isn't that big don't worry. It only takes you about three seconds to reach the front of the house to the back." Aunty Maggis said. Her croaky voice echoed slightly from the kitchen, Di followed through and ducked under the herbs and pans that hung above the kitchens centre counter as she took a seat.

"Just trying to remember the last time I came down thats all." She said with a ghostly smile.

"Oh lets see now, you were last down for your 14th birthday and your 16 so maybe five years?" Aunty Maggis asked, she tapped her chin in deep concentration.

"Try two years mum." An unimpressed voice said from the door way. Di turned her head and saw Gwyneth standing there with her arms folded and voice shaking.

"It's no surprise that I failed Maths then." Aunty Maggis sighed. She suddenly perked up, picking up her mug of tea she turned to Gwyneth and held her hand out towards Di.

"Darling." She said in put on formality. "I've just made a pot of tea, would you mind serving it to our guest. Its a great way to get acquainted." Gwyneth went to open up her mouth but with a dramatic turn of her tie dyed skirt Auntie exited the kitchen.

"Hey cousin." Gwyneth said a little embarrassed.

"I know she's your mum but is she on crack?" Di laughed.

"Do you want to know something, I've been wondering the same question for years." Di and Gwyneth grinned at each other. 

"How have you been anyway?" Gwyneth asked. She searched the sink for some from of a clean cup. 

"Oh yeah, I've been bobbing a long pretty much." Di said with a quick run through her hair with her hand. 

"Fairs fairs." Her cousin muttered, she cried eureka when she found a half clean cup and began to scrub away some of the grime. 

"The one thing you might have to realise though is that although living in a house of hippies and nutters is good relaxation the washing is a pain and a half. Oh hey also its cool that that your gonna help out at the holiday club at the town hall this summer." Gwyneth said with a slight smile.

"Wait, what?" Di stuttered. Gwyneth turned round and squeezed the sponge free of water. "Mum put your name down on the list of helpers, she said something like 'it'll be good for you to take your mind of things.' Or something like that." Gwyneth said off handedly the 14 year old twirled back round and poured the milk over the tea bag she had just thrown into the cup. She made a cup for Di as well but apologised for having to go back upstairs to do some work. Di smiled and with her cup of hot tea, Di went to reminisce in her relatives house, she had just found the welsh dresser tucked away at the far end of the front room when her Uncle walked heavily into the room and plonked down on the red arm chair.

"Now then love, I just want you to know as your uncle you can talk to me. Your angry and your scared, I'v been there. I was there for your mum when our dad passed away and I'll be here for you. Just please don't do anything here, like drinking or drugs." Di shook her head vigorously. "No I wouldn't do that." Uncle Phil nodded but still didn't look impressed. 

"Just please try, if you want a hug were all here. If you want to punch someone then by all mean go for Gwyneth s ex." 

"What actually happened between them? I'm not changing the topic I'm just curious." Di said as she took a seat on the green arm chair with the multi coloured knit wear folded on the back. Her uncle sighed and rubbed his forehead, the break up hadn't ended that long ago and it had obviously left its mark on the family.

"Well first things first he was a bit of a knob. He used Gwyneth the whole time just to be with her best friend Kirsty. I think Gwyneth tried to sort it out but Kirsty wasn't any of it, then Gwyneth tired talking to George and well, together Kirsty and George created rumours about Gwyneth back in spring, wrecked her life some of the rumours. I wont tell you them in case she doesn't want you to know, I mean to her your the cool cousin from London so yeah might be best to wait until she tells you, but they did affect her what they said. It'll be good for both of you to be here I think." Uncle phil had taken a slightly far off tone, his gaze had drifted away from Di and was now staring at the fire place with its burnt walls and coal ready for any sign of cold weather.