Everything was a blur. Chloe was aware she'd been sat on the same seat for what seemed like hours, although she had no idea how much time had actually elapsed. She barely remembered the drive to the hospital, one of the most terrifying journeys she'd ever undertaken, constantly looking across to Rachel to see her going paler and paler. She'd stopped the truck right in front of the hospital, skidding to a halt and blocking the main entrance as she jumped out of the truck, half-dragging, half-carrying Rachel into the emergency room, screaming for help as she did so. As soon as they'd seen her, the nurses had taken charge, immediately finding a gurney and wheeling Rachel in for treatment, leaving Chloe behind in the waiting room. She vaguely remembered James and Rose rushing in later on. James had tried to speak to Chloe, but Rose had pulled him towards where Rachel was receiving treatment, again leaving Chloe on her own. Some time later, a police officer had gone to speak to the Ambers, but even then had ignored Chloe and she'd continued to sit, sometimes silent, sometimes crying on the chair in the waiting room.
She's going to die, isn't she?
You don't know that, Chloe.
I saw that wound. There's so much blood in my truck. I'm never going to get it… oh Rachel!
Don't jump to conclusion, Chloe. She might be ok.
Yeah right. Might. Fucking… miracles don't happen to me.
You always do this. The littlest thing starts you panicking.
This is not a little thing. This is Rachel being stabbed, bleeding out in my truck! This is not a little thing!
I know, I know, calm down, Chloe, steady on.
Don't you tell me to calm the fuck down, ok?
Chloe, you need to calm down. Damn girl, you've got a temper on you and I like it. But it really won't help you at the moment, ok? Please, calm down.
Why should I?
Because, any moment now, Rachel's father, or the police are going to want to know what happened to Rachel. Have you any idea what you're going to tell them yet?
Um…
The truth? The whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Um…
Or part truth and part… omission? Are you going to mention Damon? Or Frank? Or Sera?
I don't know yet.
Well, you'd better work it out. They've left you on your own for a good while now. It won't last forever. Come on, pull yourself together, although not too much. Actually, thinking about it, it might be useful for them to see you're upset.
Yeah, that part won't be difficult.
Here we go. James alert.
Chloe looked up as a shadow appeared over her. It was James. He motioned to the chair next to Chloe and she nodded, allowing him to sit beside her. After a few moments of silence, James spoke.
"Rachel's going to be okay, Chloe," he said, and Chloe felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She began to cry again, but this time out of relief. James seemed to understand this, as he stayed silent while she cried. Eventually, she dried her eyes and looked up.
"She'll be okay?" she asked, and James nodded.
"She was lucky. The knife damaged her brachial artery but didn't cut it. She's lost a lot of blood, but she's out of surgery and resting." His head dropped. "It could have been a lot worse." He paused, not looking at her. "Chloe, you'll realise I need to know exactly what happened," he said, "but first of all I'd like to thank you."
"What for?"
"Your actions probably saved her life. Thank you for getting her here so quickly, Chloe," he said, and Chloe began to tear up again. "We… I'm so grateful to you for our actions."
"I… just did what I could," she said, knowing and dreading what was coming next. "You know… you do what you can for your friends."
"Chloe, I need you to tell me what happened," said James. "But before you do, I need to know the truth. The actual truth." He paused again. "I'm not going to chastise you, I'm not going to judge you, blame you, inform the police… anything like that. I just want to know the truth, please." He looked at Chloe and Chloe looked back, nodding sadly, decision made.
"I don't… I don't know everything, Mr Amber," she said. "It all happened so fast."
"It's okay. Take your time, and tell me what you do know," he said.
"Okay," she said. "Um, do you know who Damon Merrick is?" At this, James nodded his head.
"I know exactly who he is," he said. "Is he involved in this?" He clenched his fists and Chloe nodded.
"Well, he hates you," she said.
"He hates everyone," said James. "Especially those who deal a line in justice rather than cocaine." Chloe started giggling at that line and James looked pleased with himself at breaking the ice. "Go on," he said. "Tell me what happened." Chloe hesitated at first, but then starting talking.
"Okay, so Rachel wanted to meet Sera," she said, "and I knew that my dealer knows who she is…"
"… Frank Bowers?"
"Yeah, that's him. I didn't tell Rachel I'd seen her, like we discussed, I only asked her to let me sort things out, rather than her looking around for Sera. I thought perhaps I could do it a little more discreetly, and also keep her out of it…"
"… I appreciate that, Chloe…"
"… so I asked to meet Frank, but Damon showed up with him. Rachel was with me, she was supposed to be gone when he showed up, but he got there an hour early and she was still there with me."
"What did Merrick want?" said James, frowning.
"I think he wanted to scare us away, to stop asking questions about Sera."
"Is that how things became violent?" At this, Chloe nodded.
"Yeah," she said. "When he found out that Rachel was the.. I mean, your daughter, he wanted information about you and what you knew about him and others."
"My daughter? How did he figure that out?"
"I'm sorry, that was my fault," said Chloe, dropping her head and beginning to cry. "I stupidly called her Rachel, he latched on to it and figured it out from there."
"It's okay, Chloe, it's not your fault, you weren't to know," said James. "Merrick is a nasty piece of work at the best of times, but he's not stupid." He pursed his lips. "I was hoping to keep Rachel away from him, but…"
"You're telling me," said Chloe. "He pulled a knife and threatened us both, but mainly Rachel. He said something, I can't remember what, that really sent her over the edge, so she grabbed a plank and smacked him over the head with it. He then came at her and stabbed her. I keep thinking that maybe I could have done something about it, but it all happened so fast, and before I knew it Rachel was screaming and blood was…"
"… it's not your fault, Chloe, you just needed to get out of the there and get Rachel out."
"So then Frank held him off so we could get to the truck. I heard a yell, I think maybe he stabbed Frank, but I don't know what happened. I just drove here as fast as I could and… well, you know the rest." She sat in silence, fidgeting with her fingers until James spoke up.
"Chloe, I really appreciate you telling me the truth," said James. "Look, I know you imagine that I'm going to be cross with you, or something, but I'm… look, I'm not angry at you, I'm not angry with you at all. I'm angry at the scumbag who did this, but I'm just grateful you were there for my daughter. I'll… look, maybe I can pull a few strings with Ray Wells, get you reinstated into Blackwell, show my appreciation over what you did."
"You'd do that?" said Chloe, blinking her surprise, and James nodded.
"I can't guarantee anything though… and you'd have to promise to behave and study. I know you're an intelligent girl, Chloe, your academic record speaks for itself. I'm hoping that you can realise your potential, not waste it. Please."
"I'll… I'll try, Mr Amber. I've got Rachel to help me."
"Yeah," he said.
"Um, look, what if Rachel still wants to meet Sera?"
James dropped his head. "After all this?" He sighed and shook his head. "I'm hoping she'll see reason. If Sera was visiting Frank… it shows she's not as sober and reliable as she'd have me believe. She's… I think she's going to be toxic for Rachel. Meet her, bond with her, then reject again." He looked over to where Rose was now gesturing. "Chloe, they said that if Rachel had arrived only a few minutes later… Thank you, Chloe. You've saved Rachel, and my world. She's sleeping now, and it's likely to be some time before she wakes up, but when she does, I'll let you know, I promise."
"Okay, thanks Mr Amber," said Chloe, shaking James's offered hand. He rose and joined his wife down the corridor, and they went back into Rachel's room. Chloe teared up again but hastily wiped away her tears when another shadow fell over her.
"Hey," said Steph. "Can I?" she asked, pointing at the seat. Chloe nodded and she sat. "Mrs Amber just told me that Rachel's going to be okay." She sighed. "I'm really glad."
"Yeah. Me too. Um, how's uh… Drew?"
"He's not bad. It's his leg. Look, we're in the room just down there. You should come by. At the very least, come get some company. You've been on your own a while, haven't you?" Chloe nodded.
"I'll.. yeah okay, I'll pop over in a bit," said Chloe, and Steph rose, heading back into Drew's room.
Should I pop in and see Drew and Mikey?
You've got time to kill. No pun intended. Why not? At the very least, it'll be company for you.
Who's that standing outside his room?
No idea. Just a guess though – Drew's father?
Oh, didn't he lose his job when Sean Prescott closed down the docks?
That's the guy – Drew mentioned it during his altercation with Nathan, remember?
Before Chloe could head down the corridor, however, her attention was caught by the conversation of two firefighters who were standing near the vending machine. Their throats were obviously parched, and they were drinking quickly to try and rehydrate.
"Did you hear?" said one of them to the other. "It was just over the radio. The fire's out."
"Finally!" said the other one. "I knew we'd get it under control eventually. I hope they find out who…"
"No, it's not under control. It's out."
"Out? As in…"
"Extinguished."
"That can't be… after this morning, we were all told…"
"I know what we were told, but it's out. It apparently extinguished itself…"
"How's that even possible?"
"Hell if I know. All I know is that it's out. To be honest, that's good enough for me. Last few days have been…"
"… hell?"
"Got it in one."
The fire's out?
That's what they said.
But they said…
I know what they said. I heard it too, remember? The fire went out on its own.
That's… weird.
Yup.
Any thoughts?
Fires don't just go out on their own.
Fires don't just start the way they did on Friday, either.
This is true. You think there's something…
… paranormal?
I was going to say otherworldly, but that'll do. You think?
The fire did seem to start extraordinarily quickly, and seemed to spread when Rachel really got angry and screamed at it.
And it went out when she got stabbed. Coincidence?
Maybe not. It's still… that's not possible, right?
It doesn't seem so. Rational minds would discount that theory completely.
But you?
Sherlock Holmes once said… when you have discounted all other reasons, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
Hmm.
On her way down to Drew's room, Chloe's attention was distracted by a loud conversation in one of the other rooms. She didn't recognise the voices, but she did recognise the content.
"Nathan was clearly defending himself," said the first voice, "against unwanted and inappropriate physical contact."
"Sean, don't be silly," said the female voice. "I can't talk when you get defensive."
Sean? As in Prescott? So who's the female? His wife? No, surely…
"I'm not being silly, as you so eloquently put it," said Sean. "Continuing to involve my son in the issues of your daughter will have extremely unpleasant ramifications for you."
"My daughter? Unpleasant? Samantha has two broken ribs, due to the action of your son!" said the female voice. "I'm quite within my rights to report the assault! How dare you describe this as unpleasant!"
Samantha? That's her mother? And she's… hurt? Nathan hurt her?
"What could possible be more unpleasant than what we've already gone through?" continued Samantha's mother. "Nathan assaulted my daughter. He deliberately broke two of her ribs and gave her a black eye. There's no going around this. I'll be speaking to police."
"I really would advise you to reconsider that course of action," said Sean. "You see, involving the police would… be an unwise move on your part."
"Are you threatening me, Sean Prescott?"
"Threatening you?" Sean seemed genuinely surprised. "What an imagination you have! No, I was simply advising you against what would prove a futile course of action. I'm sure we can come to some sort of an agreement here." He paused. "I'm sorry, I have to take this call. Why don't you go and think it over? Contact my secretary when you're ready to discuss this amicably and we'll set up a meeting. Of course, we can't do that if you decide to involve the police, and I really would have to advise against that." A moment later a woman that Chloe surmised to be Samantha's mother left the room in tears. Inside the room, Sean took the phone call. "Good afternoon. Thank you for returning my call… yes, I was wondering in what aspect… my son has been assigned to you? Why has my son been assigned to you? I never authorised… they sent a psychiatrist because my son was getting upset? … Listen, my son needs nothing from you, okay? He simply put down a couple of bullies who were harassing him at school. That is all, in fact, I'm quite proud of what he did… no, you're wrong, he's not displaying… she came at him! He was merely defending… look, I'm fed up with these made-up problems. There is nothing wrong with my son, so you can de-assign yourself, as I can confirm he will not be attending any psychiatric sessions with you or anyone else. Do I make myself clear?"
Holy shit, Nathan is…
… fucked up?
I was going to say 'in trouble', but, yeah. Sure.
He hit Samantha.
I know. I told her not to approach him last night. I told her…
I know what you told her. It seems she didn't really take your advice. You can't blame yourself for the folly of others, Chloe.
Shaking her head, Chloe tried to forget what she'd just heard and continued down to Drew's room. The man that Chloe thought was Drew's father was talking on his phone as Chloe approached. He looked up and acknowledged her presence as he pointed to his phone. Chloe understood and nodded.
"… so I'll see you then. Alright, thanks," he said, hanging up the call. "Sorry about that," he said to Chloe."
"Oh, no worries," she said. "Mr… uh, Mr North?"
"That's me," he said, offering his hand. "And you are?"
"I'm Chloe," she said, shaking his hand. "Chloe Price."
He smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Chloe Chloe-Price. You a friend of Drew?"
"Sort of," she said. "I know Mikey and Steph a little more. How's… uh… how's things going for you?"
"Not too bad, I guess," he said. "I mean, Drew's hurt, but other things are going better. I'm… moving back into my old apartment. Actually, I'm moving in in… around two hours or so." He looked a little awkward. "I don't know if you know, but Mikey's been crashing with Drew. I had… a little trouble with work, and things have been tough. But thankfully, Drew's managed to scrape together enough to get me back on my feet." He smiled. "He's good like that. Always thinking of me."
"Good, I'm glad things are starting to work out for you," said Chloe.
"Wait a minute," he said, "you said your name was Chloe? Mikey's mentioned you a couple of times now. I wonder… I have a question for you, if you don't mind?"
"Sure, I guess," said Chloe, frowning.
"It's just that… I know things have been tough for me and I've been a little distracted recently, what with work, home, you know, and the boys have been acting a little, well… I think the only way I can describe it is 'guilty'. I'm worried that maybe I've missed something important. Do you, by any chance, know what's going on, if anything is going on?" He looked hopefully at Chloe, who smiled sadly back at him, knowing instantly that she couldn't tell him about Drew's association with Damon.
"Uh, no sorry," she said. "To be honest, the end of last week was the first real time I'd hung out with them."
"That's alright," said Drew's father, although he looked disappointed. "I appreciate that you've been keeping my boys company. Drew's got so many hopes for himself, and they all ride on that knee. It seems like he's been even more driven lately, especially with my… situation. I heard he got into a confrontation with Sean Prescott's son."
"Yeah, I heard that too," said Chloe, now feeling slightly awkward.
"Drew's not a bad kid," said Drew's father. "I think the situation got a little out of hand. I did talk to him about it, he's not a bully really. I think what happened to me in work disappointed him as well. Both of them, actually, in different ways." He stopped talking and seemed to realise who Chloe was. "Sorry I'm laying all this on you," he said, "I don't mean to… I'm just trying to stay strong. For the boys, you know."
"That's okay," said Chloe.
"Thanks for listening, and look, do me a favour please? Don't worry either of them with…" He stopped talking as the phone rang. "Uh, excuse me, Chloe. Nice to meet you," he said, and put the phone to his ear. "Hello, Anthony speaking…"