Author Notes: Thank you all for the reviews, they make my day, they really do. I hope you enjoy this next chapter...
Disclaimer: I own Skins...if you believe that, you'll believe that I invented chocolate and own six aeroplanes. (I of course do not own Skins, boo hoo hoo.)
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Water was lashing up against the side of the boat, the wind was flying through their hair and beer was travelling through their bodies. Cook lay on the dirt floor, staring up at the blue sky through the trees, remembering the day when everything had changed. He could still remember Effy's eyes staring him down, challenging him to answer the question that Freddie had put out there.
"So, what do we do now?"
Freddie loved Effy. Effy loved Freddie. But Cook couldn't let go of the fact that he cared about her too. He'd stayed silent, not one word between them, until JJ had interrupted.
"Err, guys, is it me or is the Coastguard heading straight for us?"
There was a scramble as the three of them had stood up, searching the waves in front of them for the boat that they all found not far from themselves. The word Coastguard was printed across the side in big white letters. It all happened pretty quickly, the boat pulled up beside them and after a few heated words and Freddie needing to calm JJ down, they were lead to the nearest docking station and forced to leave the freedom of the river. The question that had lay between them still lingered as the chance to respond was gone and no one wanted to bring the subject up again.
"Did you bring a tent?" the soft, gentle sound of Effy's voice spoke as the sky above was growing dark.
"Course," Cook replied, pulling himself away from his thoughts and proceeding to set it up.
He didn't know how things had become so messed up. He didn't know how he'd ended up in a place where he didn't even know who he was anymore. Once the tent was up and Effy had slipped into a sleeping bag, he lay down beside her. His eyes were heavy with sleep, but his mind was still racing as the events of the past couple of days kept him from slumber.
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The four white walls of the twins bedroom were becoming too familiar to Emily; only leaving them for necessary reasons like eating family meals which she usually excused herself from early. Thankfully she wasn't alone in her moping, which made her grateful to Katie for inadvertently pulling attention away from her. She wondered if anyone was curious why she was struggling to deal with an incident that involved someone she barely even liked. It was understandable for Katie, but less so for her.
"Emily, its lunch time," came the distant shout of her mother from downstairs.
She groaned and pulled herself from her comfortable bed, dragging her weary body out of the room. It was a mostly quiet affair, as usual; their dad talked about his gym, their mum talked about the food and James was James.
"Gordon MacPherson says that Freddie will have a giant scar where he was stabbed and it'd be fucking cool to have a scar like his,"
Emily glanced up at Katie, who's eyes were glistening with tears. Emily could feel her heart pumping out of her chest. They usually shared a smile at James's speeches about Gordon MacPherson, but neither of them felt much like laughing. The family looked up again as James continued talking.
"He also said that Freddie is stupid for letting Katie go because she's fucking hot, I told him he's a wankshite cos your my sister,"
Rob looked at his son, his eyes fixed on James, "Reps. Now. Fifteen of them."
As Emily's brother wandered to the doorway, mumbling to himself, the doorbell rang and Jenna left the table to answer. There was a long, deafening silence as Katie and Emily sat staring at the meal in front of them like a mirror image of each other. Neither of them eating, both of them pushing their food around their plate. James returned to the table, followed by their mother and the two plain clothed police officers that had come to see Emily and Katie the day before.
"Emily, can you go and get dressed please? We need to go to the police station." Her mother muttered, her lips pressed tightly together, a look of sheer horror on her face.
"Wh..." she began to question, before Katie stepped in.
"What's going on? Why does she have to go? Why not both of us? I know as much as she does."
"Just do it Emily," their mother sighed, resting a hand on the back of her chair as she stood up.
The walk from the dining room to the bedroom felt long. In reality it only took thirty seconds, a minute tops. A million thoughts were running through her mind; what if they think its me? What if they know I lied? What if they wanted to put me in jail for keeping the truth from them? There was a drumming in her ear, as the pressure built up in her head and she felt a dull ache reaching her eyes. She quickly slipped into some gym clothes her dad had bought to "motivate you to come to the gym", before she took the long walk back down the stairs.
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The tin of beans were cold, but after spending time without eating, Cook was thankful for some sustenance. He watched Effy as she ate hungrily beside him. A memory flooding his mind, making him lose his appetite.
"Don't tell anyone,"
He stood in the corridor of the club, searching for Freddie who had disappeared. But he could hear his voice. Cook was about to turn a corner when he heard another voice; a smaller, higher pitched voice that sent a shiver down his spine.
"And start the whole thing over again? I'm not stupid,"
"I know," Freddie spoke again, "There's so many people who could get hurt,"
Then there was silence, a moment which Cook hoped was just a silence. But as he moved around the corner, his eyes set on the two people he didn't want to see together. Their hands were in places they didn't normally travel and their lips firmly together.
"What the fuck?!" he gasped, pulling Freddie away from Effy.
"Get off me Cook!"
But all he could see was red. He threw a fist and caught Freddie on the cheek, sending him flying across the floor.
"You're coming with me babe," he muttered, gripping Effy's arm and ignoring her protests as he dragged her through the crowd and out of the club.
"Why did you choose him?" he asked, scared to hear an answer to his question.
"I don't know," she whispered, "I guess I see more with him,"
"More what? If you want more all you have to do is come to Cookie, mine's way bigger than his,"
"More than that," she sighed, her face unmoving, "I want more than sex Cook,"
"Could have fooled me,"
"I thought it didn't matter,"
He felt some of his anger from that night return, so he threw his tin of beans across the clearing in the hope of removing some of his built up energy.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you Cook,"
"You didn't hurt me, I don't get hurt,"
"Sure you don't," she muttered, before they grew silent. It was a comfortable silence, as though the conversation had come to an end and neither of them needed, nor wanted to start up another.
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The room was small and uncomfortable. It had dull walls and plastic chairs, the only sign of comfort was a television screen on the wall; though Emily knew it probably wasn't used to watch soaps or reality television.
"Emily Fitch," the detective inspector muttered before pushing a button on a fancy voice recorder.
"This is detective inspector Palo and detective constable Johnson interviewing Emily Fitch, present is her mother, Jenna Fitch. Interview commencing at two oh three pm."
A slight chill passed through her and she felt the familiar feeling of sickness come in waves. When they had told her they were going to formally interview her, she had wanted to tell them everything she knew. But she was petrified. The thought of getting in trouble made her feel worse, but not as bad as Cooks words.
"I'll fucking kill you,"
"Emily, can you tell us where you were on the night that Freddie Mclair was stabbed?"
She looked up and into the officers eyes for the first time, "I've already told you,"
The detective smiled slightly, "For the tape, if you don't mind,"
"I was at the Waterway club, on Bath Street,"
Emily answered their questions despite them being the same ones as she had already answered.
"So you cant remember at all what time you left?"
"No," she whispered, then repeated herself louder.
"And what did you do when you left the club?"
"I, I went home," she stuttered slightly, avoiding the gaze of the officer,
"Straight home?"
She started to panic, a look of sheer shock on her face. She looked to her mum, begging for help with her eyes. But the woman who carried her was awaiting her reply as much as the two officers staring her down.
"I," she began to say, but words caught in her mouth. She silently thanked the officer when he interrupted her.
"Let me make this easier for you," he smiled, a sly smile that creeped Emily out. "We have some CCTV footage of a girl that looks just like you stood outside of the club,"
"That could be anyone," Jenna piped up, but Emily knew who it was. She let her face fall into her hands.
"The CCTV shows that you spent almost fifteen minutes stood there, why did you lie to us Emily?"
"I," she began, but her mum cut her off.
"My daughter will not answer anymore questions until we have a legal representative present,"
The police officers shared a look and after one nodded at the other they turned to face her.
"Interview suspended at two twenty,"
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AN: Thanks for reading this chapter, I can't wait to share the next chapter, it's already half done, but I hope you'll let me know what you think so far, it could give me ideas and you might have a hand at creating my story!