Chrissy

For a long time, it was just Chrissy and her mum. She never knew her dad but that didn’t matter to Chrissy because her mum was all she needed. One of Chrissy’s earliest memories is her mum calling the school and telling them that Chrissy was ill so they could bunk off and spend the day at the beach. But then Chrissy’s mum met Phil. Chrissy didn’t think much of him to begin with but he made her mum so happy that eventually Chrissy softened and they became close. It wasn’t until her mother passed away that their relationship started to change.

She was 13 at the time when her mum died after a bad fall. The coroner recorded an open verdict because there was a lot of alcohol in her mother’s system. However, Chrissy’s mum had so many issues that Chrissy suspected that she killed herself.

Phil didn’t know how to look after a child on his own, leaving Chrissy feeling alone. Less than a year after her mother’s death, Phil announced that he had met someone - Anna. Chrissy hated the fact that Phil could be so happy when she was still grieving. But Chrissy had always suspected Phil’s weaknesses – the way he looked at her – at her friends. She was desperate for some attention…desperate to get rid of Anna… that’s when they slept together.

It was over quickly. No big fanfare and definitely not the romantic notion that she thought her first time would be. Phil broke down, full of guilt. Chrissy was devastated and felt more alone than ever when Phil couldn’t look at her. A couple of months later, she realised that she was pregnant. For a while Chrissy contemplated getting rid of the baby but she kept putting it off. By the time she went to the doctors, it was too late to do anything.

Anna and Phil stood by her during the pregnancy but Chrissy could see the resentment in Anna’s face. The jealousy because she couldn’t have a child of her own. After the baby was born, Chrissy started to rebel. Unable to cope with being a mother, she started drinking, doing drugs, hanging out with a bad crowd. That’s when Phil and Anna offered to act as Sid’s parents and they adopted him. What seemed like the perfect solution only made Chrissy’s behaviour worse. It was so bad that one day Anna took her keys from her and kicked her out.

Since then, Chrissy has been sleeping rough on the streets. She’s been in a few scrapes but it’s nothing she can’t handle. She knows she is no angel but all she wants is someone to love her and to get her baby back. But now she feels that dream is too far out of reach.