Hayley is driven to the very edge
UNABLE TO COPE WITH HER IMPENDING MOTHERHOOD, WILL SHE END HER OWN LIFE?
Tortured Hayley is pushed to the edge this week – the edge of a tower block balcony! Will she jump off to try to escape her pain?
It’s been clear for a long while now that the mum-to-be is struggling to cope with the idea of giving birth to her first child. But as she contemplates her bleak future, Hayley’s pain becomes too much to bear.
“The one person who Hayley has come to trust and rely on is Jean,” our Walford insider reminds us. “The kindly woman has tried her best to prepare Hayley for her impending motherhood, and in a bid to encourage her, she makes a list of things that need to be bought before the baby arrives. However, on seeing the daunting catalogue of items, Hayley panics!”
Help is at hand, though, as Mariam comes to Hayley’s rescue and tries to reassure her neighbour. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship, and after Hayley spends time with Mariam’s foster child, little Harley, her confidence starts to grow. Sadly, Hayley’s anxieties have only been temporarily alleviated, as when Mariam mentions that she fostered a child with foetal alcohol syndrome, Hayley snaps and walks out. “Hayley is still drinking heavily,” laments our snitch. “Of course, she knows that she shouldn’t, but she thinks it helps her to cope with her stress. Poor Hayley is trapped in a constant cycle of depression, drink and guilt – and unless she can find the strength to change her
Hayley is trapped in a cycle of depression, drink and guilt…”
ways, her unborn child could be at serious risk.”
Spotting Keanu in the Square, Hayley persuades him to hang out with her in the park. However, he is appalled and disgusted when he sees her drinking. He angrily tears her off a strip, before realising she needs some support.
“Hayley doesn’t know how to ask anyone for help, so she’s reaching out in whatever way she can,” reckons our mole. “She subconsciously wants Keanu to witness her drinking, so he can intervene. But will he understand just how vulnerable she is?”
Later, back in Albert Square, the other Slaters are growing increasingly concerned for the whereabouts of their pregnant relative. When Keanu turns up and tells them that when he last saw her she was heading ‘home’, Jean is alarmed, realising what this might mean.
Deeply worried Kat and
Jean race to an abandoned block of flats, and are utterly horrified to see Hayley sitting high above the ground, on the very edge of one of the balconies. Will the pair manage to get through to her, or are they already too late?