Jeff was woken up to a heavy shake on his shoulder, opening his eyes weakly he was looking at Norman.
"Norman?... What is it mate?" Jeff asked grumpily, rubbing his eyes. forgetting for a split second why he had been sleeping on the sofa in the staff room.
"Intensive care have been looking for you, they have Dixie"
"Dix is crying in the office..." Jeff mumbled, feeling his eyes flutter closed again.
"You've been asleep for over an hour Jeff" Norman shook Jeff's shoulder again. This time Jeff forced his eyes open and he read the time on his wrist watch. Shit. Norman was right, as per usual.
"What? No, no. Norman where is she?"
"Intensive care unit, that's all they would tell me, I'm not Dixie's next of kin you are"
"Oh no.." Jeff sat up as quickly as his body would allow him to. This could only be bad news, what had happened? Why had he been such an idiot and fallen asleep, Dixie and Chantelle both needed him and he was asleep on the sofa. He couldn't help but instantly feel selfish.
He bolted it out of the rec room and into the hospital, he ran to the staircase and then ran up the stairs equally as fast. He went to the intensive care ward, he was rushing so fast he bumped into one of the nurses.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry love" Jeff mumbled out quickly, helping the nurse get back into her feet.
"It's alright sir" She slowly sighed rearranging the folders she had been carrying.
"Um... Could you tell me where Dixie Collier is please, and Chantelle Loader. I'm Jeff Collier" Jeff asked twiddling his fingers nervously, he saw the nurse's face quickly lose colour.
"Do you mean Kathleen?"
"Yes, is she ok?"
"Kathleen is fine, she was dehydrated and in shock. We have put her on a bed, we are waiting for a porter to take her to a more peaceful ward. She just needs rest now, so actually you may be able to take her home" Jeff breathed a sigh of relief, Dixie was ok. Now was the question he had been dreading, what about Chantelle?
"What about Chantelle?" He whispered, then again she lost more colour.
"You are Kathleen's husband right?"
"I am"
"Mr Collier, I... I am so sorry. We really did try everything we could"
"She's dead?" Jeff asked, he didn't mean for it to come out as blunt as it did. He just wanted a straight answer.
"I'm so sorry" The nurse apologised,
"Where is she?" Jeff mustered, trying to let it all sink in. He didn't know how to react, everything was becoming a blur,
"The police have now claimed her body, they are getting their own team in to do a post mortem. Right now, they say the body is the only evidence they have" Jeff felt his eyes prickle, this was something Dixie did not need to know, she would be going through enough by losing Chantelle, she didn't need to know her body was going to be cut up again. There was no dignity in that, he felt so angry, angry at everything, he wanted to smash down every building until he came to find David. Now a murderer. His hands were shaking and his fists were clenched, his body ready to fight, he was determined to make David pay, if it was the last thing he was going to do, he was going to make David feel the pain he had put Chantelle through all these years.
He stood there, feeling his eyes water even more, the last time he cried was when Polly died. Now Chantelle had died to, after Polly had died he vowed to never let that happen again, but he had, it was like a whole day of de-ju-vu.
"I'll lead you to where Mrs Collier is" The nurse brought him out of his thoughts.
"Does Dixie know?" he asked quickly. Damn. How was he going to tell her this? It was going to break her, and he knew it.
"She was there. I remember the doctor telling me something about her holding Chantelle as she went"
"Sounds like Dixie..." Jeff mustered, deep down he knew this was going to happen. Dixie knew it too, she was too far gone, David had damaged her beyond repair and there was nothing Jeff could do, he felt completely helpless. Why did he have to go Shopping? If he had stayed in the house, or gotten back sooner. He could have been there, been there to protect them both, then this would have never happened, Chantelle would still be alive.
"Mr Collier why don't you follow me?" The nurse prompted, she could see Jeff was in an emotional state of shock, it didn't surprise her at all. Jeff followed the nurse down a set of corridors, everything was blurred from the tears in his eyes, it seemed everyone was looking at him, it was all in slow motion. His own walk of shame, walking past a bunch of nurses and doctors, all knowing how much he had let Chantelle and Dixie down.
They came outside a door, the nurse pointed at it, indicating for Jeff to go in. He didn't need telling twice, he opened the door with his shaky hands, when he did he saw Dixie sat up in one of the beds, staring at the wall looking deathly pale.
"Dixie?"
"Jeff?" Dixie looked up, taking in Jeff, he managed to weakly smile at her, trying to offer her some comfort, but he knew it was no good. Slowly he walked to the bed, placing his hand on Dixie's shoulder, she flinched away from him.
"Dix I need you" Jeff whispered, after a moment of silence, Dixie opened her mouth to speak, it was dry and weak, Jeff was barely able to make out what she was saying. "Home..." Dixie said, she was shaking, she wanted out. She hated all the sympathetic looks from all the staff, she hated being treated differently.
"Yeah princess I'm taking you home" Jeff replied, Dixie sat on the bed, watching as Jeff filled out all the forms, she wasn't in the mood to talk. She just wanted to be in her own home, feel safe again, wait, she couldn't be safe there. Not anymore.
Jeff scribbled his signature in the last box, then handed the form back to the nurse. He helped Dixie off the bed, taking hold of her hand firmly. Jeff was glad he knew the hospital. It meant he knew all the exits, other than the ED, they couldn't face everyones sympathy not now.
Leaving the hospital there was a harsh wind, blowing autumn leaves around their feet. Slowly the pair walked to their car, Jeff had the key in his pocket, he unlocked the door for Dixie to get in. She got into the passenger side, then closed the door, looking blankly out the windscreen. She was numb. It had all happened so soon, one moment she had been holding Chantelle in her arms, the next she had been snatched away from her so cruelly. She didn't notice Jeff had started the engine, she jumped at the sudden noise.
"Jeff I can't go home" She whispered, feeling more tears in her eyes, she couldn't face being in that house again. She would sleep in the streets if she had to.
"Dix you need rest..."
"Please Jeff. Not home" Jeff nodded his head, he was in no mood to argue with her, after a short silent ride they found themselves at the seafront, Jeff parked the car opposite the beach so they could look out to the waves. Something Dixie always enjoyed. Except from now.
The pair sat in silence, tears rolling down each of their cheeks, both of them wanted to hug, but were too stubborn to make the first move. Dixie rested her head on the car window, watching as the waves crashed up the beach, every time she closed her eyes she saw Chantelle. Lying there in the ditch, freezing and exposed. She remembered all her injuries. Broken ribs. Punctured lung. Internal bleeding. Broken pelvic bones. Stabbed. bleeding to death. She must have been in so much pain, and all she could do was lie there, knowing she was going to die.
Dixie fumbled her hand into her pocket, pulling out the small plastic wallet containing Chantelle's locket and earrings, she weakly placed them on her lap then searched through her phone. Playing Chantelle's last message, the same hurt, weakness and defeat was evident in the young woman's voice. Dixie slowly broke down into tears, resting her head in her hands. All Jeff could do was watch her, too ashamed of his own actions to be able to comfort his wife, knowing if he hadn't left the house Chantelle would still be alive. He bit his lip, feeling himself shake as he watched Dixie cry. What sort of a man was he? Responsible for a young woman's death, and unable to comfort his own wife. Jeff honestly didn't know what to do for the best. What was going to happen now?
"Dix... Let me take you home" Jeff broke the silence, Dixie was becoming pale again. She needed rest, it had been a tough day.
"I'm not going there Jeff! I can't... I won't... I can't go back there" Dixie put her foot down, she was going to be stubborn about this, no way was she going back into that house. All the memories were too fresh, it was too quick and too soon.
Jeff sighed, now this was a tough one. He knew Dixie could be a stubborn cow when she wanted to be, she wasn't budging on this one. He wished they hadn't blown their money on a new car, otherwise they could have gone to a B&B for the night, but they didn't have enough money to now. What was he going to do? Going home wasn't an option obviously, no money for a B&B, this was going to be a long night. Looked like they were going to be sleeping in the car.