Bonnie Sveen Fan: Thank you for your review. You'll soon find out exactly what's going off with Connie.
Chapter Five
Connie closed her eyes, trying to block out the vision which was right in front of her. This couldn't be happening! Okay, she needed to think about more positive things. Like the ending of the Land Before Time or Grace playing on the swings when she was a lot younger or singing to Grace when she was a young baby.
Her eyes opened again, but Lily and Iain were still there. Both looked hurt, annoyed, furious. Connie even noticed Lily's eyes were red. She didn't think ghosts could even cry. Turning to Iain, she noticed he was gently drawing circles on Lily's back, trying to comfort her.
"This is a joke," Connie declared walking past them, "Both of you, get out or I'm calling the police!"
"And tell them what exactly?" Iain scoffed at her, "I can only imagine what they'll do when they get here."
"Mrs Beauchamp, have you've forgotten?" Lily asked her, "You saw us die. If the police come here, you'll be the one locked up!"
Connie tried to ignore what Lily said about her being the one locked up. She's trying to get rid of the pair! What could she have said to them? She hated the idea of saying this, but she wished it was just some random people that Grace had knocked down, instead of it being two people who she worked with. Used to work with. Random people were easy to pretend, not two people she worked with. Used to work with.
"What do you two want?" Connie glared at them, "Why are you both here?"
"We're here because your daughter killed us!" Iain answered forcefully, "All because of some stupid text message she's sent to you!"
"And I've apologised," Connie gasped, "And I'm sorry, I can't lose Grace. If you had a child, you'd understand."
"Thanks to Grace, we'll never have that experience," Lily growled at her, "I've had to watch Ethan crying because of me, Gem accusing Charlie of making a sick joke about my death and to top it off, I had to watch her screaming at Elle for calling time of Iain's death. There was nothing I could have done to help her! She wasn't even close to Sam!"
"Do you have any idea how scared we were when Grace slammed the car into us?" Iain asked Connie, "Or what we were thinking about the morning of our deaths?"
Connie clutched her head, trying once again to get the visions of Lily and Iain out of her head. Tell them to go away, get lost or go back to do whatever it was that dead people were supposed to be doing. Instead there they were.
Connie knew that arguing with them weren't going to make them go away. She knew they weren't there; they were just images of her imagination. After all, they wouldn't have known that Grace was behind the wheel, nor that she was texting. Surely finding out who was responsible for their deaths weren't top of their priority list, were they?
The sound of Connie's phone started to play, turning to face it, she picked it up to find Charlie calling her. It soon dawned on her that she's forgotten she left the voicemail on for Charlie whilst she was out on her walk. When she nearly told him, she found out who it was that was driving the car. Turning around the room, Lily and Iain were both gone.
It soon dawned on Connie, so long as she was distracted, the haunting visions of the pair will no longer be around. That's good, the more she does to keep herself and Grace occupied, the less Iain and Lily will torment them.
Answering the phone, Connie took a deep breath, "Hello Charlie."
"Hello Connie," he answered back, "I've just had the voicemail. Is everything okay?"
Connie suddenly tried to remember what exactly it was she was trying to tell Charlie. Turning around, she tried to find Lily or Iain, but neither were there.
Oh, course they weren't there. They weren't there before! They'll never be there again!
Connie suddenly realised that if she's going to tell the police that Grace's car was stolen, then how many people would she need to confide to about her shock?
"I've found out last night that Grace had left her keys at the coffee place when she went for her order," Connie lied, "She had her car stolen. She had to walk it home yesterday."
"What?" Charlie asked shocked, "Is she alright?"
"She's fine," Connie answered, looking at her bedroom door, "She's just shook up. I don't know what to make of all of this. We're going to the police in a few hours."
"At least she's okay," Charlie whispered, "I bet after what has happened, this is the last thing you needed."
"Yeah," Connie whispered, suddenly remembering about Duffy, "Duffy, does she know about yesterday? With Ethan, Iain and Lily?"
"She's devastated," Charlie sighed, "She was an aunt figure to Lily. I can't imagine how scared Iain or Lily were at the crash."
Connie closed her eyes; she had a funny feeling how scared and hurt the two were feeling.
"Connie," Charlie suggested, "Why don't you take the day off? Grace needs you with her for support with the police, I can't imagine how she'll be feeling when she's shook up about everything?"
"Yeah," Connie looked up to the bedroom door, "She'll be up any minute. I need to check if she's okay. Thank you, Charlie. Please make sure everyone is alright, including Ethan and Gem."
"Don't worry," Charlie whispered, "I'm going to go visit Ethan in the hospital and Jan's given Ruby the day off to look after Gem. Just make sure Grace is okay."
"I will do," Connie smiled, hanging up the phone.
Walking over to the kitchen counter, Connie carefully placed two mugs out for both her and Grace. It was nearly time for her to get up, and Connie needed to make sure she was alright before explaining to her what she wanted to do. Looking into the cupboards, she smiled, remembering how much her daughter loved pancakes in the morning.
Grabbing the flour, she carefully weighed out the ingredients.
"Do you really think pancakes is going to convince Grace to change her mind about going to the police?"
Connie gasped as she turned to see Lily glaring at her. It was soon clear that distractions were not going to make her, or Iain go away.
"I thought you two vanished into thin air," Connie sternly explained to her, noticing Iain was right behind her.
"You've just lied to Charlie about the car being stolen!" Iain exclaimed, "Is that the story you're going to tell the police?"
"Connie," Lily whispered.
"It's Mrs Beauchamp," Connie scolded her.
"It's not like you can fire me now is it? I'm dead, remember?" Lily rolled her eyes, "You cover this up, and then the truth comes out, you could be sent down as well."
Connie closed her eyes, knowing that Lily was right about that. Perverting the court of justice. That could also lead to a life sentence as well.
But Connie knew that if Grace turned herself in, then that could lead to a life sentence as well.
"I'm prepared to take that risk," Connie breathed out to the two.
"And what do you reckon the police will do if you report the car as stolen?" Iain asked her, "Let someone else take the blame?"
"I don't know!" Connie shouted out, snapping her eyes open.
But she's found that she was shouting at thin air.
This cannot be! She can't be imagining things! She's seen Lily and Iain's bodies lying in that cold room. She's seen Dylan call Lily's death; she's seen Elle call Iain's. She also seen the nurses provide last offices for the pair of them, before carefully wheeling Iain's bed next to Lily's in a makeshift bed.
Connie knew both Lily and Iain well.
They would never dare torment her the way they were doing right now.
"Mum," Connie turned around, facing Grace, "I've just got up. Were you talking to someone?"
Connie suddenly realised that she needed to be careful when dealing with Iain and Lily now. If anyone saw her arguing with them, then they'll be under the impression that she's either beside herself with grief, shock or distress. She couldn't let anyone know that they were taunting her, telling her she's making a big mistake protecting her daughter. Otherwise, they'll know why she's seeing, and worse, what Grace had done to them.
Looking at her daughter, Connie also knew she couldn't tell Grace she was having visions of her victims. It'll only make her feel worse. More determined to tell the police and put her mother's mind at ease.
But it's a no-win situation for Connie. It's either destroy her state of mind, or lose Grace, possibly forever.
"I've just got off the phone with Charlie," Connie lied, "I've made you some pancakes for breakfast. Your favourite."
"I don't deserve them," Grace sighed, "Mum, I'm sorry for what I did. I was so scared, I wished I did something to help. When I saw one of them get out the car, I thought they'd all be alright."
Connie listened with intent; she knew from last night how guilty her daughter felt about it. She saw it for herself.
"I'm going to go to the police," Grace looked at her in the eye, "And I'm going to tell them…"
"…that your car was stolen," Connie instructed her.
Grace looked at Connie, startled with what she announced. She wasn't going to lie, she hated to lie, especially when her victims have families who would be questioning why they lost their loved ones.
"What?" Grace asked confused.
"I saw the state of the car," Connie explained, "And I've saw the fact that you left your keys in the car as well. I'm sorry Grace, but I was so angry, I didn't think to check that you were okay."
"I'm fine," Grace shook her head, "Mum, you can't expect me to lie."
"But I'm asking you to," Connie pleaded with her, "I know the two people who died, I've watched their families fall apart. I don't want to lose you over this. You turn yourself in, they're not going to let you go free. Not with the two deaths that have happened because of it."
"Mum," Grace pleaded with her, "Please think about this. What do you reckon will happen if I lie and say the car was stolen? I can't let someone else take the blame."
"You won't," Connie stopped her, taking her hands, "We tell the police you left your keys at the coffee table when you were placing your order. They'll learn that the car was involved with the traffic collision and will conclude whoever stole the car was responsible for the accident. Eventually, they'll have no choice but to close the case."
"But what about the families and friends of the people who've died?" Grace asked nervously, "Mum, did you work with them?"
"That doesn't matter," Connie answered, "Sure, everyone is sad. The loss will be there, especially to a few who were close to them. But in time, people will have forgotten that they even exist and soon they'll just be known as people who used to work there. They'll have forgotten who they were."
Connie turned to the pancakes after she said that. She knew Lily and Iain would have heard every word she said. Picturing what they were feeling as she said it, Connie knew that if the truth comes out, she'll be hated for keeping their deaths hidden.
"But what if the truth does come out," Grace panicked, "You'll be guilty too. You could get locked up as well."
"I'm prepared to take that risk," Connie sighed, "But don't think I'm letting you off the hook."
"Mum, please let me turn myself in," Grace pleaded with her, looking down, "I'm prepared to face my punishment."
"I'm not doing this for you," Connie looked at her, "I'm doing this for us. You will be punished for what you've done, but by me. No one else needs to be involved."
Grace looked at the cupboard pass her mother, she was torn. What about the families of their victims? What about the friends of the victims? What about the victims themselves?
"I've seen two families fall apart," Connie pleaded, "Please don't let ours be torn to shreds."
Grace suddenly realised one thing; her mother didn't want to lose her. In fact, she was pleading with her not to leave.
"Okay," Grace nodded nervously, wiping tears out of her eyes, "Doesn't mean I'm okay with it."
"I'm not asking you to be," Connie mentioned, "This way, no one else has to get hurt," she then stood up, "Now I can't take your keys, they've been discarded. But I can't take your phone, since you've left it in the car. But for the time being, you're grounded until further notice."
Grace nodded at Connie. She wasn't expecting her mother to convince her to lie to the police, but she was expecting her mother not to go easy on her. The feeling of sick wouldn't leave her stomach, she felt ashamed of herself. Two people have died because of her decision to text behind the wheel.
Grace knew she had blood on her hands.
"Okay," Connie nodded, "Why don't you go and get dressed? We need to be ready for the police."
Grace nodded at her mother, before walking into her bedroom to get changed out of her pyjamas and into a clean set of clothes. Connie placed everything into the sink, knowing that Iain or Lily could easily creep up behind her. Oh, she was prepared for them alright, even though they're not there. Not physically at least.
"I know what you're both thinking," Connie called out, unsure if they could hear her, "But I'm not in the mood. I've watched two families fall apart last night. I refuse to let another be torn apart."
Connie frowned when she heard no answer. Did they see Grace was on edge? Was that the reason why they've decided to back off? Did they see the grounding and think it was punishment enough? Have the two seen Grace say she was going to turn herself in and decide that was good enough for them?
Whatever their reason for backing off, it was good enough for her.
But she knew.
They'll be back.
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