Bonnie Sveen Fan: Thank you for your review. I want to draw Alicia in a positive light, as I'm having her make some bad choices in I Swear In The Days Still Left, it's important for someone to make sure that Ethan will be supported after going through a traumatic experience. As for Lily's funeral, not everyone will have the same idea however.


Chapter Eleven

Connie arrived into the ED, her legs were stiff from walking to the college and then to the department. Looking at the memorial, she was saddened to learn that the flowers at the bench were slowly starting to wilt away, the Eevee plushie was knocked down and the cards had been knocked off by the wind.

This was horrible, but Connie soon realised that soon, they will need to remove the memorial.

"It's a horrible sight," Connie turned to face Iain and Lily looking at her, "And to think this could easily have been avoided. Had your daughter paid more attention to the road, and not her phone."

"Don't start on me Iain," Connie scolded, "I'm not in the mood."

"Just how are you going to keep this hidden from Sam?" Lily asked her, "You're going to be out with her this afternoon."

"If she doesn't find out then, you should take up acting," Iain growled at her.

Connie ignored the two. There was no way that she would let either of them ruin her day, especially when she needed to get both Gem and Mrs Chao's permission to release their names to the press. They've put it off for too long. It will be a matter of time before they are hassled by the press again.

Walking through the doors, Connie nodded to Noel and Charlie.

"You looked as if you've done a marathon," Charlie commented, "You walked in today?"

"Yeah," Connie answered, "I just wanted to take the time to get my bearings together. I'm making a phone call to Lily's mother. I'm going to get her permission to released Lily's name to the press. I know it's too soon, but there's never going to be a right time."

"That's fine," Charlie sighed, "We've been waiting for this moment. When you have permission, we'll let everyone know."

"Thank you," Connie smiled.


Ethan and Alicia arrived back to Ethan's flat. Alicia was amazed to learn how short of a distance Ethan's flat was to the car park. Only half an hour, but it felt nice to have the cool February air hitting her face.

"Do you need me to get you anything?" Alicia asked him, "A brew? A book? Anything?"

"No," Ethan shook his head as Alicia helped him to remove his jacket, "Nothing, thank you."

Alicia looked saddened to see Ethan in this state. How could she support him when he's clearly struggling to cope? The first thing Alicia watched Ethan do was settling himself down on the sofa and grabbing the remote. It was painful watching him change the channel, normally he'd be grumbling about how there was nothing good on television.

But then again, things may not be the same again.

Ethan's panic attack at the car still haunted Alicia. She felt guilty not realising how frightened he was when the car crashed, but she felt helpless as well. How could things go back to normal now? Why was Ethan slowly talking about the crash when he was first brought in, but then stopped when he was safely discharged.

Alicia had a few ideas in mind. Either it was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or the news that he was going through survivor's guilt, or that he was dealing with the loss of his best friend.

When Alicia saw Ethan was brought in, she felt relieved to know he had pulled through. Everything else she pushed aside, not really caring about what could later happen? All that mattered to Alicia, then and now was that Ethan was alright.

But then the image of Lily and Iain came into mind. And Alicia still struggled to understand how they didn't pull through?

When Alicia learned the tragic turn of events, she was scared.

She was so close to losing Ethan that night as well.


Grace settled down on the bench, looking into her Math book, looking at the latest equation she needed to answer in order to simplify it. The homework wasn't due until Friday, but Grace wanted to get an early start into it. Besides she was grounded for the crash, so there wasn't much else she could do now.

Grace wondered if there was any point in focusing on her A-levels now. It would be a matter of time before her role in the crash at Harrington Road came out, and the likelihood would be that Grace would be locked up for a long while. They weren't going to go easy on her, that she knew about, especially when she knew texting behind the wheel was likely to cause a crash.

Looking up, she noticed her friend Maddie walking towards the college, crossing the zebra crossing. Maddie was halfway across the road before she quickly stepped back after the driver of a blue Nissan Micra drove past, nearly hitting her.

Grace's eyes widened as this happened. Wasn't Maddie in the right to cross that zebra crossing? Wasn't the reason for the zebra crossing being there to give people the right to walk into the college?

"Maddie!" Grace rushed over to her, "You're alright?"

"I'm fine," Maddie smiled at her, "The car luckily didn't hit me!"

Grace smiled weakly at Maddie, but the two watched the car park into the bay to find Tori Lawson exit the driver's seat of the car, her brunette hair swaying with the wind. Her navy jeans went well with her white top with pink writing with words Grace couldn't read. Slamming her car door, Grace and Maddie tried to look away.

But what struck Grace was that Tori Lawson had her phone in her hand.

"Please tell me she didn't have that phone in her hand when she was driving," Grace muttered to Maddie.

"Sadly, she was," Maddie mentioned, "I saw her talking to it. I'm just lucky I got out the way."

Grace tried to look away. One of the lessons her mother gave her was not to draw any emotion regarding the accident. If someone took any notice over Grace's behaviour the accident, then they'll work out what she's done. Questions would be asked, and Grace would end up revealing too much that would expose her guilt.

Tori looked away, carrying on her conversation on her phone. But all Grace could have done was wonder what would have happened if Tori ran over Maddie with her car.

"Let's not think about it," Maddie shook her head, "I have English in fifteen minutes. You're free after the lesson?"

"Actually, I'm grounded," Grace whispered.

"What, you're always so good," Maddie gasped, "What did you do?"

Grace looked nervous. The real reason she was grounded was because she texted behind the wheel, causing her to crash into another car. The crash killed two people who her mother worked with.

"I got home late Sunday," Grace mentioned, only telling the truth, "I got carried away in town. And I didn't message my mum to tell her and she freaked out."

"Yikes," Maddie looked at her shocked, "And I take it she took your keys away."

"Yeah," Grace looked at her, "She did."

"You're seventeen," Maddie reminded her, "Your mum shouldn't be keeping an eye on you. She's wrapped you in cotton wool."

Grace watched as Maddie walked away and into her classroom. Looking at the door saddened, Grace wanted to confide in Maddie. Deep down, she knew that the guilt would overtake her, and she would have to confess. But then, her mother would be disappointed in her once again. And then she would be a disappointment to her family as well.

"Oh Maddie," Grace sighed, "You have no idea."


Connie sighed at the phone. She hated calling family members of her employees, new or old. Never a big fan, whether it was passing condolences, or breaking the bad news about their relatives. The nightmare this time is knowing that soon they'll have to give news that the press needed the names of the victims of the crash. One where Connie knew the cause, but couldn't break it to anyone, knowing that she could lose her daughter.

"You don't need to call her," Lily muttered, "Her reaction could be damaging."

"She's your mother," Connie looked at her, before ignoring her and dialling the phone.

The phone buzzed three times, before Connie hears the voice behind the other line, "Hello, Li-Na Chao?"

Connie noticed the change of tone in her voice. It also sounded tearful, but Connie knew that being tearful could not only mean that she's saddened, but she could be fearful or angry as well. Not that Connie would blame her. It hasn't been a week since she lost her only child in a cruel accident.

"You're still calling it an accident?" Iain asked her, "It wasn't an accident to, I don't know, pick up your phone whilst you're supposed to be driving!"

Connie ignored him. This was going to be difficult.

"Hi Mrs Chao," Connie whispered, "It's Connie Beauchamp. I'm the clinical lead of the department where your daughter worked."

"Hi," she whispered, "What can I do for you?"

"I'm calling to inform you that we will need to provide the press with details about Lily's name," Connie sighed, "We're asking for permission about this."

"You have my permission," Li-Na choked up, "I've informed the whole family, they're all aware of Lily's passing."

"Thank you," Connie sighed, "I've been hoping that we wouldn't have to do that. But it needed to be done."

"Yeah," Li-Na sighed, "I've been trying to get everything sorted for Lily's funeral. I was saving the plot of ground at my husband's grave for myself. But I'm going to bury Lily there instead."

Connie's eyes widened at this. Li-Na was going to bury Lily with her father? But that would mean.

"Had anyone told you about Iain?" Connie asked her, "He didn't make it either. He died shortly after Lily did."

"I don't care about him!" Li-Na's tone of voice changed, she no longer sounded sad, but she sounded angry.

Almost as if Li-Na Chao blamed Iain for Lily's death.

"He was Lily's partner," Connie mentioned, "She was the love of his life!"

"If he loved her like he was supposed to love her, she'd still be here!" Li-Na growled, "I told Lily Iain was bad for her, but she didn't listen!"

"The accident was not Iain's fault!" Connie reminded her.

"I don't care," Li-Na mentioned, "I knew that man was bad for her! Turns out, I was right."

Connie couldn't believe what she was hearing! This woman was blaming an innocent man for the death of her daughter. A man who was no longer around to defend himself. Blaming him for the accident was soul crushing to hear. Looking at Iain and Lily, Connie knew they were hearing every insult she had for him. She watched as Lily grabbed Iain's hand, resting her head on his shoulder.

Even the sound of Lily's sobs was clear to Connie.

If Li-Na was angry with Iain for the crash, even though it wasn't his fault. How would she take the news if the truth about the crash ever broke out?


"That's fine Charlie," Gem sighed, "You have my permission. I'm surprised they haven't announced the names before."

Gem hung up the phone, knowing that it's only a matter of time before the press comes hounding down on her about how she's coping. She couldn't face answering questions, knowing that they would be asking questions that are too personal for her. How was she supposed to tell them that she didn't know her brother's final moments because he was out of town during the weekend?

She felt guilty, she was never a good sister to him. And she always wanted to make it up to him.

And now, she'll never get that chance.

"I need to go to the flat," Gem mentioned, "I have to make a start on clearing out their flat."

"It's a bit too soon isn't it?" Ruby asked, "They've given you three months to do that."

"I know," Gem mentioned, wiping her eyes, "But the longer I hold it off, the harder it will be. If I did it in small bits, it wouldn't be that painful."

Ruby felt saddened after Gem's explanation. Of course, it would have been painful to do it all in one go. This was the flat of her family, both her brother and the woman she saw as a big sister. She shouldn't have needed to clear out the flat, but it just showed how cruel life could be for everyone.

"Do you need someone with you?" Rash asked her, setting a hot chocolate on the table, "You shouldn't do this on your own first time."

Gem nodded at Rash's suggestion. Maybe someone being there to force her to do this, it was just what she needed. That way, she would eventually, clear the flat and then decide what they needed to do with Iain and Lily's belongings.


It was more formal for an email to be sent to the press, knowing that the families have now given permission for Iain and Lily's names to be released. The hard part for Connie was trying to find the right photograph to send to them, knowing that they'll need to show Iain and Lily in their happiest moments.

"You know, they say a picture's worth a thousand words," Lily muttered to Connie.

"I'm trying my hardest Lily," Connie growled at her, "It's not easy when I don't have many photos of my employees."

"And whose fault that?" Iain groaned at her.

"Go easy on her," Lily looked at Iain, before turning to Connie, "At least you're trying now."

"So now you decided to go easy on me?" Connie questioned the two, "It's not my fault your mother is trying to separate you two."

"You could have told her the truth you know," Lily reminded her, "Instead you just let her berate Iain! He's no longer able to defend himself you know!"

Connie ignored her. Ashamed to admit it, but Lily was right about how Connie handled that phone call. She could have told Li-Na that the other driver made a mistake, but then again, Li-Na Chao would end up demanding for the name for the person who killed her daughter, her only child.

Connie looked up as the door knocked. Walking over to the door, she suddenly noticed the face of Sam Nicholls waiting by the door. How long was she working for? Was it three in the afternoon already?

Cautiously, Connie opened the door to see Sam standing there, with a photograph in her hand.

"Oh, my goodness," Connie groaned, "I'm so sorry, what time is it?"

"It's alright, it's only half one," Sam sighed, "I've heard you were going to break Iain and Lily's names to the press today. I thought this would be a good photo to use."

When Sam handed Connie the photo, her heart suddenly begun to break at the sight of it. There was only Iain and Lily in the photo, their mouths smiling wide open as Lily held one arm out before wrapping her other arm around Iain's neck. Iain had one arm under Lily's knees whilst his other arm was on her back, lifting her up in the pub. Their faces looked at the camera, but Connie was startled to learn that Iain was able to lift Lily without any problems.

"He's stronger than he looked," Connie thought sadly, turning to Sam, "Thank you Sam. I appreciated it. This was perfection. I was trying to find the perfect one."

"Yeah," Sam smiled, wiping tears from her eyes, "Lily posted it on Facebook. It was taken Saturday at the convention. I think that might have been the last photo they've took together."

Connie's eyes were pained. Lily didn't look pregnant at all. It soon dawned on her.

Lily took the test on that very weekend. And Iain was by her side when they had the results.

But whether they knew. That was a picture of a couple, madly in love.

How was it, that this young couple were killed twenty-four hours later?

"Mrs Beauchamp?" Sam asked her, noticing Connie was going to break down.

"I'm sorry," Connie sobbed, "I wished there was more I've could have done to save them."


Grace sat down at the table in the canteen. The pasta salad hadn't been touched. Deep down, she wasn't in the mood to eat the food in front of her, knowing that she lost her appetite over what had happened a few nights ago.

She hadn't met Maddie outside the classroom, knowing that she would have finished her class first, but needed to go to the library to return a book that she was using for her coursework. Grace suddenly noticed that Tori Lawson was at the back, acting as if she didn't care she nearly caused an accident this morning.

Does Tori not realise how serious her actions were?

Grace's blood began to boil. She knew that Tori needed to learn that she must either put her phone away whilst she's driving, or not drive at all. If she could talk some sense into her, then maybe it could save another life.

"So that was a good call was it?" Grace walked over to Tori.

"What?" Tori asked her confused.

"You were on the phone earlier," Grace glared at her, "Maddie spotted you driving into college this morning."

"Oh?" Tori mentioned, "I've must have missed her."

"Yeah, you did!" Grace's anger built up, "Because you were on your phone! You nearly hit her! Why did that call so important, that you've decided not to pull over just to make it?"

"Relax," Tori rolled her eyes, "I didn't hit her!"

"You nearly did!"

"You're overreacting," Tori laughed, "No one had gotten badly hurt because of a phone call. It's not liked my phone call was going to kill anyone."

Grace finally realised that Tori wasn't sorry for what she did! She nearly hit someone with her car and her reaction was to just laugh at her? Grace's arm suddenly moved over and her hand suddenly slapped Tori across her face, causing her to drop her drink over to the floor.

Grace didn't know what came over her.

But she felt better for it.