I've been writing this for a little while now, but was a bit reluctant to post it. So this first chapter is dedicated to the lovely Mercurial who continuously been telling me to post it :) I hope whoever reads it, enjoys it.

Leah Barnes sat in the kitchen of her father's flat scooping cereal into her mouth. It always made her feel relaxed to be here, the place where she'd lived in her younger years. She smoothed down her long pencil skirt, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Leah had just finished her first year of university and today was going to be her first day of work experience. Leah knew that nothing could wipe the smile off her face today.

'I'm never coming back to this hell hole!' shouted a male voice.

Well nearly nothing. Leah dropped her spoon and let out a sigh as the owner of the voice stormed into the kitchen, carrying a number of black bags. 'Alright?' she asked, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

The man's face scrunched up. 'No I'm not alright. How can you even stand living with him?' he balanced one of the black bags on his knee. 'He's not normal, he's a freak! He might as well be dead inside.'

'Get out Ben.' said Leah coldly. Feeling her usual defensiveness when it came to her Dad.

'It's Ken.' he said sourly.

'Whatever.' answered Leah. 'Don't let the door hit you on the way out.'

In seconds another man was gone from the council flat that Leah called home. She wished this was an unusual occurrence or something she hadn't witnessed before, but that would be a lie. The door to the flat seemed to have becoming a revolving one, in which men exited as quickly as they entered. She pushed the cereal bowl away from her, suddenly not feeling hungry any more.

Her father appeared in the kitchen, looking completely unbothered by the drama that had just occurred. She watched as he ran a hand through his messy golden hair, which was just starting to show tiny flicks of grey. Her father was still a good looking man, even in his late thirties. But it was his good looks which seemed to keep attracting these besotted men that he had no intention of settling with down. Each man thought they could 'fix' Ste Hay and each man failed.

'What happened this time?' she asked, trying not to sound too bored. She grabbed the cup of coffee sitting next to her and took a long sip.

Ste Hay looked awkward for a moment, but he soon changed his expression to one of indifference. 'He asked me to marry him.'

Leah raised an eyebrow. 'I take it you said no and that's what lead to his amateur dramatics.'

Ste shrugged 'Something like that.'

Leah looked up at the ceiling, trying to hide her annoyance. It was always the same: her father would date a man, the man would move in and then they'd break up as it started to get serious. Her father wasn't made for relationships any more; it was like he had a self destruct button he decided to press on a regular basis.

'Big day today.' said Ste, smiling proudly at her and looking relieved at the chance to change the subject. 'Bet your Mum never thought we'd get here.'

Leah rolled her eyes at the mention of her Mum. Her and Amy didn't exactly get along at the moment. It has started when she was eleven and Amy had another baby, a girl. After that moment their relationship had never been the same again. She couldn't stand her Mum's husband and she certainly couldn't stand the feeling of being completely invisible in her own family. When she'd reached thirteen she'd started going off the rails slightly; drinking on the park with her friends, smoking and staying out till late. Her behaviour had caused massive rows and Amy had sent her to live with Ste for a while.

It was Amy's one act of desperation that had changed Leah and Ste's lives forever. The two of them had been cast a drift for some years and being brought back together had helped them find some security. Her Dad had stopped dealing drugs (something he didn't know that she knew about) and she'd stopped rebelling. Leah had gone to her new school with her head held high and a new sense of purpose. She'd passed all her exams with flying colours and got into university to do law. Her Dad had got his life back on track and had started working in a small cafe. Life was peaceful, well other than the doomed relationships her father had been having over the years.

'How about I make you a packed lunch?' said Ste, seemingly oblivious to how Dad-like he sounded. 'What do you want in your sandwich?'

'Dad!' said Leah, trying not to blush. 'I'm nineteen years old.'

'Doesn't mean you no longer need to eat.' said Ste, rolling his eyes. He pulled out some bread from the cupboard. 'What do you fancy?'

Leah wasn't sure what made her say it, perhaps some deep seeded childhood memory. 'How about Jam, but make sure it's seedless.' she pulled a face. 'I hate seeds.'

Ste suddenly froze, his whole body becoming stiff. Leah looked up; realising there was something wrong with him. He was shaking and gripping the work top, his hands white.

'Dad, Dad, Dad!' she shouted and finally managed to get his attention.

'Sorry,' said Ste, his voice faraway. 'I'll do your sandwich.' he went to the fridge and pulled out some ham.

Leah didn't have the heart to argue with him that it wasn't what she wanted. Her father hadn't been the same since his breakdown. Nobody had specifically told her that it was the break down that had changed her father; nobody had even told her he'd had a breakdown. She just knew. She knew from the blur of her childhood memories of his happy face, sing-song voice and silly laugh that the person she lived with now wasn't the same man.

Leah glanced up at the old faded felt tip pictures on the wall. Little keys into unlocking what had happened to her father and the man with the moustache. The man with the moustache had haunted her childhood; he'd just disappeared like he'd never been there in the first place. Deep down she knew the man with the moustache was the cause of her father's change. She often wondered what had happened to him, but the conversation was always banned and caused her father to go into a place in his mind where Leah couldn't reach him. All she had was a few faded and yellow pictures to go on. Even her Mum shut down any mention of the mysterious man from her memories.

'There, your lunch is all done.' said Ste, placing it in front of her on the table. 'I put in a few biscuits for Jim; hopefully it'll gain you some brownie points. Have you called your Mum?'

Leah let out a groan. 'Do I have to? I'm sure she's busy with Claire.' her little sister Claire was obnoxious and her Mum doted on her. Leah had never seen a child that looked so beautiful, but was so ugly on the inside. Claire always got what she wanted, wore pretty dresses and was a complete brat. She was amazed her brother Lucas had survived so long living with the demon child.

'Well make sure you ring her later then, yeah?' said Ste, 'you know what she's like.' he pulled a face, probably remembering the last time Amy had visited the flat.

'A total bitch.' muttered Leah sourly.

'You shouldn't talk about your Mum like that.' said Ste half-heartedly.

Leah rolled her eyes. 'I'm just saying what you want to really.' Her mother had changed slightly since marrying her new husband; she seemed to find it even easier to look down at everyone. A part of Leah knew she was being unfair, but she couldn't help but still feel resentful towards her mother and the way she made decisions for her throughout her childhood. Leah remembered long gaps between her Dad's visits and how her Mum had taken her away from the man with the moustache without asking her what she wanted. Her Mum always seemed to think she knew what was best for her, but forgot that Leah had a mind of her own.

'You best get going, or you're going to be late.' said Ste. He bent down and pressed a light kiss on the top of her head. 'Have a good day.' he disappeared towards the bathroom, once again leaving Leah alone with her thoughts.

Leah stood up and put her breakfast dishes into the sink. She grabbed her bag and made her way to the door. She paused for a moment reaching out to trace one of the stick figures on one of her own drawings. She reached out and pulled it gently from the wall, quickly shoving it into her bag.

Water Proof Ink

Jim McGinn in many ways was quite an unusual little man. It made no sense to Leah how he was one of the best lawyers in the county. Her father had once scornfully said Jim could get a guilty man off any charge no matter what the evidence, but it was those who were innocent under his care who he couldn't help. Innocent or guilty really didn't matter to Leah in this moment in time; it was all about succeeding in her chosen career. From the age of eight she'd wanted to put the world rights. One night she'd woken up to hear her mother and father arguing in the living, she'd quietly slipped down each stair on the staircase to hear the argument. She would always remember the pain in her father's voice as he drunkenly repeated the words 'he's innocent' over and over again. She'd heard her Mum simply state 'the evidence and the past never lies'. A part of her was still trying to make sense of their argument even after all these years. It was that moment that cemented her obsession with truth and lies, innocence and guilt and the difference between what is right and easy.

'Good morning Leah, you're early.' said Jim cheerfully, strolling towards his car. He tried to tuck in his messy shirt, but failed. He pressed down on the button on his car keys. 'Do you want to get in? We better hurry up before Carmel finds something else to moan at me about.'

The two climbed in; for a while there was a comfortable silence as Jim started the car's engine and drove them away from Hollyoaks.

'So, nervous about your first day on the job?' asked Jim cheerfully, slowing down to stop at a red light. 'You're going to be meeting all sorts of people in the next few weeks, I hope you know it's not a job for the faint hearted. I represent a wide range of clients: thieves, victims, rapists, murders...'

Leah rolled her eyes. 'I'm sure none of them can beat my Mum when she's off on one.'

Jim pulled away from the traffic lights that were now on green. 'I think you have a point, none of them put the fear of god into me like my Carmel does.'

Leah began to rummage through her bag to find the correct folder. 'I read the notes you gave me and all of your cases sound really interesting. Is it Will Savage we're going to see this morning in prison?'

'Yes.' said Jim and then he hesitated for a moment. 'Between you and me he's a sandwich short of a picnic. He pushed a young girl through a window just so he could get one up on his brother. His father Dirk still refuses to come to terms with the fact and this is why I'm pushing for an appeal.'

'Do you think he's innocent?' asked Leah, glancing down at the folder in her lap.

'It doesn't matter what I think; he's a client and I have to try to make other people believe he's innocent, regardless of my own feelings.' Jim glanced over a Leah and smiled at her, before returning his eyes to the road.

'I'm also really interested in the Brendan Brady case.' said Leah innocently. 'A lot of it doesn't make any sense and I've noticed a number of holes in it.'

Jim slammed down his brakes suddenly and luckily there was nobody behind him. 'I forgot to take his notes out of the pile I gave you.' he calmly started to move the car forward again. 'I'm sorry Leah; I can't believe I was that careless.'

Leah frowned. 'Careless? Does that mean I'm not going to be overseeing it with you?' she was now completely confused.

Jim began to sweat 'Well I thought with the family history that you wouldn't want to get involved.'

Leah gripped the folder in her lap tightly. 'What do you mean family history? Am I related to this man or something? I don't understand.'

'Didn't Ste ever tell you?' asked Jim nervously.

Leah started to shift nervously in her seat. A part of her was convinced she was on the verge of something massive. That in a few short moments her life would never be the same again. 'Tell me what?'

'You really don't remember? I really shouldn't tell you if your Dad never did.'

Leah tried to hide her frustration. 'Remember what? I'm nineteen years old and I deserve to know the truth.'

Jim took a deep breath. 'Brendan Brady used to live with you; he and your Dad were together at the time of Seamus Brady's murder. Brendan even launched a custody battle for you and Lucas just before he was arrested. He was a part of your family unit until your mother took you away.'