Chapter Twelve

A/N: No reviewers.

"Now, are you sure you're going to be alright?" Simon questioned, for what must have been the thousandth time. Sue shook her head in frustration.

"Simon, I've told you, I'm fine." she sighed. She knew he was only trying to help, to put his own mind at rest, but it was difficult to cope with being pestered every minute of every day. She had been out of hospital for five days now, not even needing crutches to get around the house anymore, but her fiancé still treated her as if she was bedbound.

"I'm just a bit worried, that's all." Simon protested, pecking her cheek by way of an apology. "I haven't left you since you've been home, and you're not used to doing things for yourself yet."

"Only because you haven't let me." Sue argued, her voice light even as she criticised him. She did not want to hurt her fiancé's feelings, not when he only wanted what was best for her. "You can't do everything for me forever, Simon. I've got to learn to stand on my own two feet again."

The man nodded slowly, although his expression proved he still was not convinced. Nonetheless, he seemed to accept the argument as he bid her farewell, going off to work and leaving her alone. As she heard the door close, Sue smiled a little. It almost felt like a victory.

The silence of the house soon overcame that feeling, leaving nothing but boredom in its wake. The life of a teacher, however unhappy it may have made her, was a hectic one, and to go from that to nothing felt like she had been stripped of her purpose.

Over the next couple of hours, she tried everything to alleviate her boredom. She dipped into the book she had been reading a few weeks earlier, but the words seemed to creep around the page, forming a nonsensical jumble. She tried watching a film, but she could not keep the plots straight in her head, and daytime television left much to be desired. She managed to distract herself for a little while cooking her lunch, despite Simon having prepared sandwiches for her, but even that did not help. The urge was burning in the back of her mind and however hard she tried, she could not resist any longer.

After so long trying to pass the time, Sue had moved to the bedroom in no time, standing before the full-length mirror. Her breaths were coming thick and fast now, almost dizzying in their intensity. She knew this was a bad route to go down- Simon had tiptoed around the subject enough for her to get the hint it should be avoided- but she could not stop herself. She needed to know for sure.

The woman was glad to be alone, because she did not have to hide her winces of pain as she peeled the layers of clothing away. It was no easy feat, each item more difficult than the last. Sue even wondered briefly, to occupy her mind, if her fiancé had designed the clothing she was wearing specifically, to try and avoid her getting herself into this situation. She appreciated the effort, knowing the man was only trying to spare her feelings, but she did not appreciate being underestimated. This was her body, she would make the decision herself.

Once her vest was peeled away, Sue barely concealed a wince. The entire of her torso was covered in a thick layer of bandages, and she knew well enough what they would cover. They had taught her about burns during her first aid training, the way they could impact a person's life. She had never imagined that person would be her.

Sue ran her hands gently over the fabric, feeling for the cold giveaway of the tape holding the bandages in place. She should not be doing this, that much was clear. The binding on her skin was clearly there for a reason, even if that reason was only to preserve her own sanity. But it had been more than a week since her discharge from hospital. She could not resist the temptation any longer.

As she slowly unwound the fabric, Sue could not help but be reminded of what ought to have been. Her wedding should have been approaching soon, although she and Simon had not yet set a date for it. She had imagined them slowly unwrapping the gifts together, trying to guess what was inside each parcel. Now, all those dreams were slipping away, as the final layer of bandages was removed and she saw the mess that remained of her back.

The skin was a violent pink, as if it had been scrubbed violently, peeling in various locations. Where once it had been smooth and pale, her back was now uneven and mottled. It looked almost like a monster in the picture books her mother had read to her and Vix when they were children; the irony of that made the sight even harder to take.

Sue barely managed half a minute of looking in the mirror before she turned away, the movement so violent her neck ached for hours afterwards. The woman felt the tears streaming down her cheeks and buried her head in her arms, hoping beyond anything else that she would wake up and find this had all been a terrible dream.

The redhead did not know how long she had cried for, time seeming to stretch endlessly. The first thing she remembered was the creak of the door and Simon's desperate sigh as he crossed the room towards her.

"Oh, sweetheart." Simon whispered, resting his hand tenderly on her shoulder. "I wish you hadn't done that, you're just going to scare yourself. You know the burns haven't healed properly yet. It'll all get better soon."

"No, it won't, Simon." Sue responded, her voice quiet and bitter. She looked up at him through reddened eyes. "You know as well as I do, this might heal a little bit more, but it won't go back to the way it was. It happened, Simon, I got burned and scarred. And now we've just got to learn to live with it."

Simon nodded silently, leaning forward to press a tender kiss to her forehead. Sue smiled as best as she could, but it was barely convincing. She could shake the thought that, if she turned over her shoulder, she would see the horrific evidence of her ordeal. 'How am I supposed to move on from that, when it's seared into my skin? No matter how much support I get from Simon, this is permanent. My life is never going to be the same again. And I'm not sure I can live with that.'

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