Bonnie Sveen Fan: Dixie will be indeed, I am going to include her in a few more chapters, especially had an idea in mind that she will play an important role as well.
Chapter Thirteen
Sam watched as Connie and Grace walked towards the bench. Watching them carefully, she noticed Grace sitting down on the bench as Connie suddenly walked towards her. The sense of fear flushed over her body, from her brain to her toes. It was clear that Connie had got a lot on now, losing her employee, struggling to pick up the pieces of a broken department and now her daughter had started to act out.
"Hey," Connie approached Sam, "I appreciate what you've done for me today. I think we're going to walk it home. Some fresh air will do us some good."
"You're sure Mrs Beauchamp?" Sam looked at Grace, "I don't mind dropping you off."
"If we head straight home, we'll probably have a screaming match," Connie explained to her, "When we're outside, then the environment could be a more relaxing atmosphere."
"Okay," Sam nodded, "I'll head home. I will find out how to contest Mrs Chao's decision. I know it could be a losing battle, but I know Iain won't forgive me if I don't try."
"Best of luck," Connie smiled at her, "Let me know what you find out."
Connie turned before noticing Grace looking at her nervously. Sensing the fear in her daughter's eyes, Connie knew that Grace had a feeling that she would be in more trouble than she already was. With that in mind, Connie's frown suddenly turned into sadness, knowing exactly what they'll need to talk about.
"I'm sorry mum," Grace whispered, "I just got so angry with Tori. She nearly hit Maddie and she just laughed as if it was no big deal!"
Connie looked at Grace sadly. It was clear that Grace was now aware how dangerous being on the phone whilst driving could be. Shook up didn't seem to cut how her little girl must have been feeling at the time.
"We'll talk about that later," Connie sighed at her, "For now, let's go home. We need to prepare ourselves for tomorrow's meeting."
Jan felt sick looking at her phone. She hated calling people up for bad news, but Dixie's her friend as well. If she found out about Iain's death from another source, it'll destroy her completely.
Dialling the number, Jan pressed the dial number ready to call Dixie.
Watching as the screen flashed three times, Jan watched the timer go up. Pulling the phone to her ear, she waited to hear Dixie's voice.
"Hello Jan!" Dixie cheerfully greeted, "How are things?"
"Hi Dixie," Jan whispered, tears forming in her eyes, this was harder than she thought.
"Jan," Dixie whispered, "What's wrong?"
"Dixie," Jan sighed, "There's no easy way to tell you this. It's about Iain."
"Why?" Dixie whispered, "Is he okay?"
"I'm sorry," Jan whispered, "Have you've heard about the crash at Harrington Road?"
"I've heard about that," Dixie stuttered, "Please don't tell me."
"Iain, and Lily," Jan broke down, "They were at the front seats of the car. They didn't make it."
Jan closed her eyes as she heard Dixie beginning to sniff. She knew this was going to be difficult, but she could tell by the tone of Dixie's voice. A part of her didn't want to believe that it was true. That Iain and Lily are both okay, in fact, they were recovering in hospital. Jan couldn't even break the full story down, unable to even mention that someone did survive the crash.
"Surely, they couldn't be," Dixie stuttered, "They're fine. I'm sure of it."
"I'm sorry," Jan sobbed, "I thought you needed to know. Before you find out from another source."
Connie took Grace to the lake. Together, mother and daughter sat and watched as the ducks swam happily along the water. Three teenagers were riding along on their bicycles, the one ahead was performing a wheelie, making Grace think about her childhood sadly. There was also a young couple squealing and laughing as the man kneeled on one knee, proposing to his girlfriend, making Connie think sadly about Lily and Iain.
"Mum?" Grace whispered, "Aren't we going to talk about what happened at college?"
"We can talk about that later," Connie turned to face her daughter, "We had to release the names of the crash victims to the press."
"So, I'll find out who I've killed?" Grace asked nervously.
"Keep your voice down," Connie scolded her, "If someone heard that."
"Mum, no one's paying attention," Grace hissed, looking around.
"I'm glad," Connie whispered, "I'll explain everything when we get home. So, what happened between you and that girl?"
Grace sighed. She remembered getting angry with Tori following her antics behind the wheel. It terrified her to know that she had the same attitude about using her phone whilst she was driving. The attitude that Grace had, driving along the road in the woods leading to the clearing. It was easy for the driver having the right of way not to notice the car driving towards them on time. Tori's attitude and her antics, if she didn't see anything wrong now, what would happen if she did something else and it seriously ruins another person's life?
Grace felt guilty. The driver was a member of the ED, someone who knew her. When the truth comes out, then what will happen to her mother? If everyone knew she helped cover up the accident, then what will happen to her?
She could end up losing the trust of everyone around her.
She could end up losing her job and her career.
She could end up in prison as well.
"Grace," her mother looked at her concerned, "Why don't we head home now? We'll put a film on and then we'll talk about what to do about the situation."
"But" Grace shook her head, "I should be in trouble. I started a fight at college. I could get excluded or expelled."
"I'm not condoning what you did," her mother explained, "But I need to know how you're feeling now."
"I felt angry with Tori," Grace confessed, "I was scared. I honestly thought what happened over the weekend would have never happened. I only looked at my phone once and look what happened. If she wasn't showing remorse for her actions now, by the time she would, it could too late. Just like what happened with me."
"Again, keep your voice down," Connie warned her, "If it comes out, you'll get locked up. I'm not letting you lose everything over one mistake."
Ethan looked at his cast.
How long would it be before he would be able to get over the accident?
The vision of the grassy plains rolling around was still in sight. The vision of the road ahead before the crash was still in sight. And the vision of Iain grabbing Lily's hand was still in sight.
Ethan felt sick, thinking about the accident in hand. Even though the accident wasn't his fault, he still couldn't help but feel guilty for what has happened.
The dread was still in place, proving it this morning when he was discharged from hospital. Finally seeing the memorial left for Lily and Iain, made everything seem real to him. Ethan felt responsible for what had happened.
He remembered when the car was pushed out the road, when he grabbed the handle at the side of his seat with his hand, pushing his head away from the window. That was all he remembered himself doing when the car was rolling over. The only reason he could have thought about that resulted in him surviving the crash. Iain and Lily never did that.
It dawned on Ethan that he thought about surviving the crash.
But Lily and Iain only thought about providing comfort to each other.
Lily and Iain's last thought was how scared the other must have been during the crash. Ethan could tell that Iain's hand was still twitching after the crash. The hand that previously grabbed Lily's.
All Ethan thought at the time was surviving the crash.
How selfish was he?
"Ethan?" he turned to face Alicia, "Do you need anything?"
Ethan turned back to his broken arm, shaking his head. There was nothing that Alicia could do to help him overcome this accident. The only thing he could think about was Lily and Iain. Their families must have been in pieces over what has happened. Gem. Lily's mother. Iain's mother.
Gem.
Ethan remembered Cal's death. The pain of seeing his brother's body lying in the bed after his death was announced. The thought of his brother being in that box, all alone, buried within the earth of the church ground. The stabbing feeling, knowing that their last discussion was ending their feud over Alicia.
What was Gem and Iain's last conversation about?
Did Gem have any idea that Iain was planning on proposing to Lily?
"Alicia," Ethan whispered, "How was Gem?"
Alicia closed her eyes. Ethan was too traumatised to travel in the car, choosing to walk when he should have been resting his arm. Ethan had spent a couple of nights in hospital, following the accident. Ethan was dealing with the shock of surviving a crash that killed two others.
But all Ethan could think about was Lily and Iain.
They lost their lives.
They left their families behind.
They had plans that would now never be followed through.
"Gem's in shock," Alicia sighed, "She's been in pieces. She was asking how you were yesterday."
"I can't face her," Ethan looked at his arm, "She must hate me."
"No," Alicia insisted, "Don't think that! What happened couldn't have been helped. This was no one's fault," Alicia took a deep breath, "Well, apart from."
"I don't want to think about her," Ethan muttered, "She's got blood on her hands. I just wish I could have seen her face. I have a feeling she must be feeling guilty."
"I hope so," Alicia whispered.
Alicia felt sick for thinking this, but she had a funny feeling that the young girl must have struggled to have kept this secret to herself. If that was the case, then her parents would have found out.
Alicia knew that a parent would do anything to protect their child.
Even if it meant covering for their crimes.
Alicia had a feeling that if it weren't for the parent, the teenager would have probably handed herself in by now.
Which made Alicia determined to make the vow of promise.
If she ever encounters the parents, she'll have it out with them.
How selfish must they be?
It sickened her to know that they were so determined to protect their child, that they were willing to ruin the lives of those affected by the tragic accident that they had faced.
Alicia soon realised that it will be a long time before any of them could truly recover from all of this.
"Your choice of film," Connie suggested, "Although I have a feeling that I'll probably regret giving you the option."
Connie watched as Grace walked over to the television, grabbing the remote and switching the television on. As soon as she watched Grace settle on the sofa, she walked over to her bedroom, wanting to phone Sam up to let her know that they've got home safely.
She was grateful for Sam's support today. It made her feel guilty that they never did manage to go for that planned run, but Connie knew right there and then, that they will be able to do that at some point. Connie couldn't even believe that she enjoyed Sam's company, there was so much about her that she never knew about.
"Do you really think she'd want to stay friends if she knew what you were doing?"
Connie gasped when she heard that voice. She looked behind her reflection in the mirror, but no one was there. Turning around, she saw Lily, sitting at the foot of her bed, with Iain sitting next to her. Their faces were still however, clearly the two were still unimpressed with her actions.
"Can you two just drop it please?" Connie pleaded with them, "Not today of all days."
"You do realise that since you're still lying to the police," Lily commented, "Today is just the start."
"If you can't manage to keep it together today," Iain pushed Connie, "Do you really think you can keep the secret?"
Connie closed her eyes. Lily and Iain are not in her bedroom! They are not in front of her! They are not real!
"Look, it's just the start," Connie explained to them, keeping her eyes shut, "Soon it'll get easier."
"Keep telling yourself that," Connie heard them speak in unison.
Connie opened her eyes to notice that there was no one else in her room. Looking at her bed, it was clear that the sheets were neatly spread out on the bed. Almost as if no one was sitting there at all.
Dixie looked at her phone.
She didn't want to believe Jan when she told her that Iain had died. Or Lily as well.
Only Jan's phone call, made the news feel real.
Looking at the document, Dixie didn't want to believe it at all. It still felt like a bad dream to her. She's certain that Connie and Jan have done nearly everything that was set out to do. It was too soon to contact Iain's sister or Lily's mother about the documents, but she knew that she needed to do it at some point.
When Iain and Lily asked her about this difficult favour, Dixie only agreed to do this as she believed that they would still be here in fifty years' time. She didn't think that Iain and Lily would be gone within the year that they had asked for her to be, to be, to be.
Dixie choked up. She knew Connie and Jan had done one bit of her duties for her, she wasn't sure if Iain or Lily had told anyone else about what was going off.
Sitting on her sofa, document in hand, she knew she had to make a difficult phone call.
Before contacting Iain and Lily's families about what they had asked of her.
Connie walked back into the sitting room. Only she noticed that Grace hadn't picked a film just yet. All her daughter was doing was stare at the screen, her eyes didn't seem focused at all. It was as if she was staring into space.
Connie knew that Grace felt guilty about her actions. Not to Tori, but to the whole ED. She hadn't just ended Lily and Iain's lives but she's also wrecked the whole team as well. This was going to haunt Grace for the rest of her life, and there's nothing Connie could do to stop this from happening.
If she takes Grace to the counsellor, then she could reveal what has happened.
If she's spoken to Grace's teachers, then she could reveal what has happened.
If she confided in someone, then she could reveal what has happened.
This was getting messy.
"Grace," Connie whispered, "Are you okay?"
"No," Grace whispered, "I can't forgive myself. I can't even answer the phone when it's ringing or sit in a car, knowing that I caused two people to lose their lives and the fact that I nearly killed a third person doesn't help."
Connie looked at Lily and Iain, standing by the window. Did they really have a point?
"Mum," Grace sobbed, "Who were they?"
Connie knew exactly who her daughter was referring to.
Her victims.
Should she tell Grace the truth? Lily and Iain's names have been released to the press, it wouldn't have passed Connie to know that one way or another, Grace will find out.
Would it be better coming from her?
"Okay," Connie nodded, "I think you need to know. We've already released their names to the press. But do you remember Iain? He was the paramedic who was in the helicopter with you when it crashed."
"Please," Grace shook her head, "Not him. Didn't he have a girlfriend? She must be devasted."
"He did," Connie looked down, "Lily Chao."
Grace remembered hearing that name several times. If she remembered correctly, Connie spoke highly of Lily, mentioning that she's the woman Connie wanted Grace to inspire to be like.
"Wasn't she your protégé?" Grace asked, "She must be devasted," her eyes suddenly widened, "She was also in the car, wasn't she?"
"She was yes," Connie sighed, "I had to contact her mother after she died. She was devasted."
Grace couldn't believe this! Her father often joked to her that Lily was slowly becoming Grace's surrogate sister, that if her mother could, she would adopt her. And then she remembered that Iain was trying to do all he could to help Grace ease her anxiety, especially given that they survived something that traumatic.
Iain and Lily had been so kind towards Grace. They always found time to talk to her. In fact, everyone in the ED found the time to talk to her, almost as if she was part of their team. Their second family. The little sister who came in to talk to them and allowed them to give her the support that she needed to get by in life.
After the helicopter crash, Iain allowed Grace to come to the ambulance station with the paramedics. He helped her when she was feeling down, by having her play basketball or use the punchbag to deal with anything that had been giving her grief lately. Grace will be honest, she felt better bouncing a ball, or scoring a hoop or punching the bag. Almost as if she had gained a sense of accomplishment. She wouldn't have found that relief had Iain not allowed her to explore the fun of having an activity.
Grace also remembered Lily Chao looking out for her as well. She remembered telling Dr Chao her plans to become a doctor, only she wasn't sure what she wanted to specialise in. So, to help support her, Lily provided her with some books to allow her to learn as much as she could, as well as showing her the several routes that she could take to train as a doctor. Grace was entirely grateful to Lily, even going as far as to tell her mother.
"I want to be like Dr Chao one day."
How did Grace repay both Lily and Iain?
She made the decision to take her eyes off the road and onto her text.
She slammed her car into theirs.
And she killed them.
"Mum," Grace let her tears fall, "I am so sorry. They were so good to me and I betrayed them."
Connie scooped Grace into her arms, "Grace, darling. It was an accident. I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt anyone. And I'm certain that if they could, Iain and Lily would have forgiven you as well."
Connie stroked her daughter's brunette hair, looking up at the window to see Iain and Lily.
Their faces looked disapproving. Upset even. Not a single word was spoken to her or to Grace or to each other.
Almost as if they don't forgive Grace at all for her actions.
But Connie didn't care if they would.
She was more determined to protect her daughter, that everything and everyone else wouldn't matter anymore.
