Twelve
"Shit, sorry. After everything you've been through, me banging on about Sam like this must be the last thing you need," Iain said guiltily, surprised to find Alicia smiling at him when he finally glanced up after spilling his guts on pretty much everything.
"You've gotta be joking, man," she exclaimed. "Don't stop on my account - you're restoring my faith in romance and relationships here! Come on, do you really think we don't all notice how close the two of you are? All the teasing, the little in-jokes, the hugs? The pair of you just kinda light up when you're around each other! I mean it, Iain – if this whole awful mess meant you and Sam realising how you feel and actually doing something about it, I'd be so happy with that. At least some good would come of it, you know?"
"Yeah, well, don't go getting your hopes up," he warned, with a little sigh.
"Is that advice for me or you?" Alicia teased.
"Both! I dunno, 'Leesh … Worry does funny things to people. Maybe I'm just reading too much into all this …"
"Into what? Her staying by your hospital bed all night? Wanting to be close to you? Holding your hand?"
"She's still my mate, no matter what. I know she cares, so 'course she'd do any of those things," Iain shrugged. "But … that might be all it is."
"So what about the kissing?" Alicia prompted, looking sceptical at his matter-of-fact assessment. "Because I'm your mate, Iain, and I hate what Eddie did to you – but I'm still not snogging your face off!"
"Spoilsport," the paramedic grinned. "Nah, seriously though, that could have just been … relief? I dunno … She was scared for me. I know she was - I could see it on her face. She thought I was a goner. Maybe more than once. Fletch kinda hinted I was pretty lucky to make it up here from the ED. That could stir stuff up for anyone. And we do have history."
"Why are you so keen to write this off? Sam could feel the exact same as you do. But if you don't talk to her, you'll never know. Iain?"
Silence stretched between them until he finally gave in and met her gaze. "Because I already had to watch her walk away twice. I don't know if I could handle that again."
"I said shut up!" came the furious hiss, making the miserable girl tripping along in the middle of their little group cringe and try to fight back the whimpers of pain that had been escaping. "Draw attention to us and you're dead - I mean it."
"What are we going to do, Jo?" the pretty redhead bringing up the rear demanded of their leader. "If Hayes finds out … I cannot have her calling my dad again."
"Oh, for god's sake," Joanna Shipton ground out, growing more exasperated with her followers by the second and stopping suddenly to round on them, her dark eyes flashing angrily. "We're not going to do anything, Cat. Why would we? We didn't do anything in the first place."
"You told me to!" the trembling girl caught between the older two blurted out, instantly looking like she regretted it.
"Just because we were talking doesn't mean anything. That was all you. 'Course you couldn't even get that right. Why did you have to be so flaming clumsy? That little cow barely got splashed compared to what you did to Mr Lawson - the only fit teacher in this dump and now look at him!"
"I didn't mean to, I didn't," came the babbling response, between tiny gasps of pain. "M-My hands … Please …"
"Can't be that bad," Joanna rolled her eyes, grabbing for her arms and starting to none-too-gently hike up the overstretched sleeves of the other girl's grey school jumper. "It's not like you got it in the face … Oh!"
"Oh my god!" Cat Morris breathed, also wide-eyed in alarm at the sight of the livid skin puckered and swollen into clearly painful blisters that covered both hands, while one palm also bled from a ragged wound that glistened with embedded glass fragments.
"It's s-still burning … I … I can't …"
"Zara," Cat tried, wanting to get the girl moving again, even as she hunched over in pain with her hands cradled to her chest, slumping against the wall. "Come on, we can't stay here – someone will see. We'll … We'll get some water or something. Wash it off."
"It hurts so much," she cried, tears she couldn't even wipe away slipping down her pale cheeks. "The glass bottle … I nearly dropped it and then when I grabbed it … it b-broke … I wasn't even going to throw it until I had to then! It really hurts! Please, make it stop …"
"Okay, you seriously need to shut up!" Joanna hissed again, spinning on her heel to check no one was coming to see what all the commotion was about, tucking a stray lock of her sleek dark bob behind her ear.
"This is bad, Jo," Cat stressed. "Look at the state of her! We need to get help."
"We need to get out of here, that's what we need to do," she retorted. "Are you two coming or not?"
"Jo …"
"Whatever. You're on your own."
"Jo!"
Frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the gathered pupils, Ruby was heading back to help Sam and Rocker deal with their respective patients when she realised the head teacher was turning every which way as if looking for something she had lost and looking even more flustered than before.
"Is something wrong?" the young paramedic asked, in case it might be something relevant to what they were dealing with back in the lab.
"We've got three missing."
"Three pupils? Oh, gosh," Ruby frowned. "That seems like a lot. Are you sure there weren't just some absences today or something?"
"No, no – we only had one off sick in this class today and we're accounting for him. Three of the girls were definitely here earlier and now ... Well, now they're not."
"Could they have had anything to do with what happened with the acid?" Ruby asked.
"Well, I wouldn't put anything past Joanna Shipton for starters," the head teacher sighed. "And Catherine Morris wouldn't be hard to coax into following her lead. But Zara Isaacs … I can't imagine her being involved, especially not with those two …"
Realising Sam was calling for her from the lab doorway, Ruby excused herself and hurried back to see what she could do to help.
"Ah, Rubes, can you keep an eye on the girl for us? Watch for any changes to her sats, I'm slightly concerned about shock setting in," Sam instructed. "I'm going to get Rocker to help me get Mr Lawson here into the ambulance. I've called for back-up and another crew's on the way."
"Whatever you need," Ruby nodded immediately. "I didn't find anything out though. No one's saying anything."
"Well, we'll just have to hope the burns team can do their best anyway," Sam shrugged. "Nothing else for it. Back in a tick."
Back on her own ward, Alicia sank back against the pillows of her bed, wincing as she cradled her injured arm to her chest. She was glad she'd built up the nerve to go and see Iain, feeling a little better for seeing with her own eyes that he was at least recovering, but it had taken more out of her than she expected. He'd looked done in too though, squeezing her hand as Fletch came to finally wheel her out, having given them as much time to talk as he could – and probably more than he should have.
"Penny for 'em?"
Despite the tiredness seeming to seep through her muscles, Alicia's head shot up at the soft lilting words, tinged with hints of both humour and concern.
"Bea!"
"Oh, love … What the hell's he done to you now?" the Irish doctor demanded, hurrying forward at the sight of tears flooding her friend's eyes, unable to keep from welling up herself, trying as she might to focus on the anger she felt at what had happened in her absence.
"Did … Did Ethan call you? He shouldn't have …" Alicia managed, even as she found herself caught up in a warm but careful hug that was mindful of her injuries.
"He absolutely should," Bea Kinsella insisted, settling on the edge of the bed, one hand still holding Alicia's. "I'd have hated to think I wasn't there when you needed me – I already wasn't, was I? If I'd still been at the house when that creep came round, maybe-"
"Maybe you'd just have gotten hurt too. And I'd have hated that. Bad enough dragging poor Iain and Ruby into my mess …" Alicia said. "Oh, Bea, I'm so glad you're here! But what about France? The trauma course? I don't want you missing out because of me."
"Don't you worry about any of that," the redhead smiled softly, waving off the concern. "I'm serious. Alicia, it's fine, really. I just … When I heard … Where else was I going to be? How could I concentrate on anything until I saw for myself you were okay?"
Knowing how badly she had needed to see Iain, Alicia supposed she got that. And she couldn't deny she was overwhelmed at seeing her friend – happy, grateful, even strangely relieved. Maybe that was just because she knew she had someone around now who understood. Someone she didn't feel she had to put a brave front up for. Because she did feel like that a lot. Even with Ethan, someone she trusted and who had been there for her.
With Ethan though … It mattered what he thought of her. Not because of the thought of him judging her, because she knew he would never. But because she just didn't want to be this person around him. Weak, vulnerable, unsure. That wasn't who she was, or who she wanted him to see.
She couldn't imagine being close to anyone right now, not after everything that had happened with Eddie, but she couldn't deny – even to herself – that she still had feelings for Ethan. And the thought that kept creeping into her mind that any chance there might have been of them making a go of it could be scuppered by her new-found self-doubt and trust issues was a tough one to bear.
"Alicia? You okay?" Bea asked, clearly realising her friend had a lot racing through her mind.
She shook her head, not quite trusting herself to speak. "No," Alicia managed tearfully. "Not really, if I'm honest. But I will be. I will."
