Rachel and Ian had initially been delighted when a new family moved in next door. “We instantly hit it off, all four of us.” They were thrilled to be going on holiday together.
Rachel remembers two caravans parked side-by-side and a trip up Mount Snowdon.
But when it was time to go home, everything was mixed up – people were getting in the wrong cars.
Rachel remembers her mum leaning back from the passenger seat, saying: “‘We’re going to have a new family. We’re going to be living in number eight with Eddie and Alison. Alison’s going to be your new sister.
“And your dad and brother are still going to live in number 10. And Auntie Irene and Dawn are going to live there. And Dawn’s going to be your brother’s new sister.”
Rachel immediately felt “very panicked and afraid and upset” and says she started to cry.
As the car rumbled along, she felt “bewildered, but also a little bit excited”. She liked Alison and had always wanted a sister.
That night, Alison let her sleep on her top bunk and the next morning the adults switched belongings between the houses in the Isle of Sheppey where they lived.
Rachel says she felt very confused. “You can’t help but think that it’s your fault.”
Life at number 8, where Rachel now lived, was very different to number 10. Her old house had been clean, whereas this house had “dog hair, greasy things, car things”.
She describes her mum as “firm but fair” and very practical.
Her stepdad Eddie “was never horrible to me, but I never called him dad. I wasn’t his girl.”
She also missed Ian desperately. “I was very proud of him. He was my big brother.
“I used to wait in the front garden for him to come home from school when I was a toddler.”