Josh sat in a tiny room at a table. On the other side of the table sat his lawyer, trying to work out what had happened.
"Why did you do it, Josh?"
"How many times...I don't know!"
"I don't understand, I thought you loved her."
"I did."
"You don't shoot the people that you love!"
"She didn't love me anymore."
"Why not?"
"She said I did a wrong thing, she couldn't understand that I did it for her, she didn't get it."
"What did you do?"
"I beat up the guy who raped her."
"Josh! This is so unlike you!"
Josh's lawyer was a good friend of his parents and had known the West family for years. The lawyer was called Aiden Muldrew and had watched Josh grow up into a respectable young man. He didn't understand what had went wrong.
"You didn't meet this guy, Aiden, he was so smug. He got away with what he done to her and he was acting like he'd done nothing wrong."
"That's no excuse!"
"You don't understand, just like she didn't."
"No, Josh, it's you who doesn't understand. You can't go around beating up people, despite of what they have done. You also can't go around shooting people because they don't agree with what you've done. It's not right, Josh."
"And it's right that he got away with rape and left her scarred?"
"No, that's not right either."
"There you go then."
"You've committed a number of criminal offences, Josh, you will go to jail for this."
"They can't make me go anywhere. It's her word against mine."
"Josh, she's the one lying in a hospital bed, as we speak, with a bullet through her stomach."
"I didn't do it."
"Josh, what's got into you?"
"I didn't do it, Aiden. Make them believe that I didn't do it."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this. Our session is over for today, Josh."
Aiden Muldrew got up and left the room. He was having serious thoughts about Josh's mental health. The Josh he knew would not have done anything like this and he would have taken it like a man.
Josh was escorted back to his prison cell where he was being kept until Dani and Kane were well enough to give statements. Flynn had already given his statement of what he'd seen and the evidence had proved what he'd said but no one really understood why. The only two people who really knew what went on in that caravan were Dani and Josh but one was still recovering in hospital and the other extremely confused and denying all charges.
The hospital...
Dani had just moved for the first time, keeping up the hopes of all her family and friends. Flynn had ran to get a nurse and she was in talking to Dani and Shelly, Brodie and Flynn.
"How are you feeling, Dani?"
Dani was still confused and scared.
"I..., I'm ok."
"Do you have pain anywhere?"
"Just my head."
"Ok, we'll try and get someone onto that straight away."
"Th...thank you."
"In the meantime, I think we should clear your room and give you some rest."
"NO! Please, no, I don't want to be on my own."
"As you wish."
The nurse left the room, glad that Dani had eventually woken up. Things hadn't looked good for her but she'd battled through.
Shelly, Flynn and Brodie had many questions for Dani but after the nurse left, she just lay there, staring into space.
"Baby, are you ok?"
"Where is he?"
"Who?"
"Him, he's still here, make him leave, please, mum, please..."
"Josh? Josh isn't here."
At the mention of his name, a tear slid down Dani's cheek. In her mind, she could see him and everything that he had done to her was happening over and over again.
"Dani, it's ok, we're here for you now."
Shelly leaned over to give her daughter a hug but she pulled away, frightened.
"Dan, it's your mum, I'm not going to hurt you."
"I know, mum, I know."
Flynn felt slightly uncomfortable. This was really a family thing, he thought.
"Do you want me to leave?"
"No, Flynn, please, don't go."
"If you want me to stay, Dani, then I will."
"You have to help me make him go away."
"It won't happen just like that, Dani. You know how it is, just like it was with Kane."
"Why was he there, I was so frightened of him but..."
"I don't know why he was there, Dani, but you should be grateful that he was."
Flynn had tried to change the subject because he knew full well why Kane was there. He'd been with Kirsty and he couldn't bring himself to say anything, not to Shelly or Brodie and especially not to Dani.
Brodie had been sitting quietly trying to think of something to say to Dani. Her best friend had just woken up out of a coma after a week and a half and yet she had nothing to say. She desperately wanted to know what Josh had done to her but she couldn't just blurt it out. When Shelly and Flynn left to call the Sutherlands and get some tea and coffee, Brodie's chance arose.
"Dani?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't want to just hit out with this but, what did he do?"
"You mean...you mean Josh?"
"Uh huh, you don't have to tell me."
"Brodie, he just went crazy, I didn't know him at all."
"God, it must have been scary."
"You said it. Did you hear that, em, Kane had been beaten up?"
"Yeah."
"It was Josh, he told me. That's why we were arguing then he just..."
"Oh my god."
"Your wrists, Dani...he didn't...?"
"I, em, no, he didn't. He was going to but then Kane came. I don't get it, Brodie...why would he want to do that, I really thought he was going to, I thought he was going to rape me, just like Kane did."
"Dani, I wish I was there for you."
"He was holding me down and coming closer, I just wanted to go home..."
Dani was crying by this point, frightened and afraid by the betrayal of someone she loved so much. Just as Brodie was trying to comfort her, Flynn and Shelly entered the ward again. It broke Shelly's heart to see her daughter so upset and know that she could do nothing to help her.
"Dani, baby, don't cry...it will be ok."
"No...I can't..."
"You can't what?"
"I can't make him go away, mum. Everytime I close my eyes, he is there and it's terrifying."
"You know he has asked to see you."
"Flynn, I hardly think that's appropriate!"
"No, I'm just saying, he still cares."
"Don't let him come here, please, I don't want to see him, I don't want to see him ever."
"Whatever you want, baby, whatever you want."
Shelly glared at Flynn. What was he playing at? How could Josh still care, he'd hurt Dani beyond belief.
Dani slowly drifted off to sleep, waking up every half hour, troubled with nightmares of Josh and Kane. She kept on thinking that she could see them, smell them, touch them. It all seemed so real, so real that it would never go away. Dani didn't want to be left alone, she didn't want to be touched or to be comforted.
The whole Sutherland family desperately wanted to help her but could find no way of doing so. They all felt so guilty, but one more so than the others. Kirsty had been seeing Kane for almost two weeks now. Her feelings were strong, she knew this but she was afraid to admit it. It constantly played on her mind that Kane had attacked her sister but she couldn't help herself. Perhaps Dani would be over Kane by now, he had saved her life, but was it that easy? A relationship between Kirsty and Kane would never be accepted, never.
Kane's thoughts were similar. He knew how close the Sutherlands were and how much they looked out for each other. He would have done anything to have a family like that when he was a kid. Instead, he was left with an abusive, alcoholic father, no mother and a violent older brother. He loved Kirsty, she was the first person he'd ever loved but he was certain that she could not and would not feel the same way. She was pretty and smart, kind and gentle...he was a thug. He'd raped her sister, she could never forgive him for that.
"Why did you do it, Josh?"
"How many times...I don't know!"
"I don't understand, I thought you loved her."
"I did."
"You don't shoot the people that you love!"
"She didn't love me anymore."
"Why not?"
"She said I did a wrong thing, she couldn't understand that I did it for her, she didn't get it."
"What did you do?"
"I beat up the guy who raped her."
"Josh! This is so unlike you!"
Josh's lawyer was a good friend of his parents and had known the West family for years. The lawyer was called Aiden Muldrew and had watched Josh grow up into a respectable young man. He didn't understand what had went wrong.
"You didn't meet this guy, Aiden, he was so smug. He got away with what he done to her and he was acting like he'd done nothing wrong."
"That's no excuse!"
"You don't understand, just like she didn't."
"No, Josh, it's you who doesn't understand. You can't go around beating up people, despite of what they have done. You also can't go around shooting people because they don't agree with what you've done. It's not right, Josh."
"And it's right that he got away with rape and left her scarred?"
"No, that's not right either."
"There you go then."
"You've committed a number of criminal offences, Josh, you will go to jail for this."
"They can't make me go anywhere. It's her word against mine."
"Josh, she's the one lying in a hospital bed, as we speak, with a bullet through her stomach."
"I didn't do it."
"Josh, what's got into you?"
"I didn't do it, Aiden. Make them believe that I didn't do it."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this. Our session is over for today, Josh."
Aiden Muldrew got up and left the room. He was having serious thoughts about Josh's mental health. The Josh he knew would not have done anything like this and he would have taken it like a man.
Josh was escorted back to his prison cell where he was being kept until Dani and Kane were well enough to give statements. Flynn had already given his statement of what he'd seen and the evidence had proved what he'd said but no one really understood why. The only two people who really knew what went on in that caravan were Dani and Josh but one was still recovering in hospital and the other extremely confused and denying all charges.
The hospital...
Dani had just moved for the first time, keeping up the hopes of all her family and friends. Flynn had ran to get a nurse and she was in talking to Dani and Shelly, Brodie and Flynn.
"How are you feeling, Dani?"
Dani was still confused and scared.
"I..., I'm ok."
"Do you have pain anywhere?"
"Just my head."
"Ok, we'll try and get someone onto that straight away."
"Th...thank you."
"In the meantime, I think we should clear your room and give you some rest."
"NO! Please, no, I don't want to be on my own."
"As you wish."
The nurse left the room, glad that Dani had eventually woken up. Things hadn't looked good for her but she'd battled through.
Shelly, Flynn and Brodie had many questions for Dani but after the nurse left, she just lay there, staring into space.
"Baby, are you ok?"
"Where is he?"
"Who?"
"Him, he's still here, make him leave, please, mum, please..."
"Josh? Josh isn't here."
At the mention of his name, a tear slid down Dani's cheek. In her mind, she could see him and everything that he had done to her was happening over and over again.
"Dani, it's ok, we're here for you now."
Shelly leaned over to give her daughter a hug but she pulled away, frightened.
"Dan, it's your mum, I'm not going to hurt you."
"I know, mum, I know."
Flynn felt slightly uncomfortable. This was really a family thing, he thought.
"Do you want me to leave?"
"No, Flynn, please, don't go."
"If you want me to stay, Dani, then I will."
"You have to help me make him go away."
"It won't happen just like that, Dani. You know how it is, just like it was with Kane."
"Why was he there, I was so frightened of him but..."
"I don't know why he was there, Dani, but you should be grateful that he was."
Flynn had tried to change the subject because he knew full well why Kane was there. He'd been with Kirsty and he couldn't bring himself to say anything, not to Shelly or Brodie and especially not to Dani.
Brodie had been sitting quietly trying to think of something to say to Dani. Her best friend had just woken up out of a coma after a week and a half and yet she had nothing to say. She desperately wanted to know what Josh had done to her but she couldn't just blurt it out. When Shelly and Flynn left to call the Sutherlands and get some tea and coffee, Brodie's chance arose.
"Dani?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't want to just hit out with this but, what did he do?"
"You mean...you mean Josh?"
"Uh huh, you don't have to tell me."
"Brodie, he just went crazy, I didn't know him at all."
"God, it must have been scary."
"You said it. Did you hear that, em, Kane had been beaten up?"
"Yeah."
"It was Josh, he told me. That's why we were arguing then he just..."
"Oh my god."
"Your wrists, Dani...he didn't...?"
"I, em, no, he didn't. He was going to but then Kane came. I don't get it, Brodie...why would he want to do that, I really thought he was going to, I thought he was going to rape me, just like Kane did."
"Dani, I wish I was there for you."
"He was holding me down and coming closer, I just wanted to go home..."
Dani was crying by this point, frightened and afraid by the betrayal of someone she loved so much. Just as Brodie was trying to comfort her, Flynn and Shelly entered the ward again. It broke Shelly's heart to see her daughter so upset and know that she could do nothing to help her.
"Dani, baby, don't cry...it will be ok."
"No...I can't..."
"You can't what?"
"I can't make him go away, mum. Everytime I close my eyes, he is there and it's terrifying."
"You know he has asked to see you."
"Flynn, I hardly think that's appropriate!"
"No, I'm just saying, he still cares."
"Don't let him come here, please, I don't want to see him, I don't want to see him ever."
"Whatever you want, baby, whatever you want."
Shelly glared at Flynn. What was he playing at? How could Josh still care, he'd hurt Dani beyond belief.
Dani slowly drifted off to sleep, waking up every half hour, troubled with nightmares of Josh and Kane. She kept on thinking that she could see them, smell them, touch them. It all seemed so real, so real that it would never go away. Dani didn't want to be left alone, she didn't want to be touched or to be comforted.
The whole Sutherland family desperately wanted to help her but could find no way of doing so. They all felt so guilty, but one more so than the others. Kirsty had been seeing Kane for almost two weeks now. Her feelings were strong, she knew this but she was afraid to admit it. It constantly played on her mind that Kane had attacked her sister but she couldn't help herself. Perhaps Dani would be over Kane by now, he had saved her life, but was it that easy? A relationship between Kirsty and Kane would never be accepted, never.
Kane's thoughts were similar. He knew how close the Sutherlands were and how much they looked out for each other. He would have done anything to have a family like that when he was a kid. Instead, he was left with an abusive, alcoholic father, no mother and a violent older brother. He loved Kirsty, she was the first person he'd ever loved but he was certain that she could not and would not feel the same way. She was pretty and smart, kind and gentle...he was a thug. He'd raped her sister, she could never forgive him for that.