Bonnie Sveen Fan: Thank you for your review. I've already decided on how I'm going to end the story but I wanted to explore further over the fall out over the accident. The accident caused by Grace's decision had wrecked a lot of lives, but the guilt will continue to eat at Grace.
Chapter 16
The words were slowly starting to get muddled up for Grace. Her attention was starting to divert away from the computer screen and over to the clock. The revision sites that her teachers showed her haven't been easy to understand. Eyelids were slowly beginning to drop as all Grace wanted to do was to turn off the screen and call it a night.
She was nearly ready to give up, until Lily Chao walked over to her.
"Words don't always sum everything up," she explained to her, walking beside her, adding the new tab and opening up YouTube, "This should explain a bit more and can show you more information."
Dr Chao must have known what Grace was trying to study since she was able to type in the study of how the brain works for her. Grace was thankful that she was able to support her throughout her studies, and eagerly she selected the first video.
"Thank you," Grace smiled at her, "I was about to give up."
"You're welcome," Lily smiled back, "Just out of curiosity, did you take the test to find your preferred learning style?"
Grace shook her head, "No, I wish I did."
Smiling at her, she selected a test for Grace to take. Answering each question, Grace smiled when she realised the reason why she never understood the writing on the revision site. She needed visual images in order to see how everything works. Watching the videos, Grace was able to make notes on how the brain sent signals to the whole body.
"Thank you," Grace smiled at Lily.
"Some learning strategies suit one person better than another," she explained, "I'll see you in a bit."
"Okay," Grace smiled.
After grabbing her textbook, Lily walked out over to the nurse's station. Neither she nor Grace noticed that Connie was watching her help Grace with her studies, secretly relieved that Grace hadn't given up on her dream of becoming a doctor. A sense of jealously panted through Connie as Grace often talked about Lily and how amazing she was.
After seeing what Lily did for Grace, she couldn't blame her one bit.
Connie and Grace sat beside each other on the black sofas, with Tori and her parents sitting opposite them. All three of them were paying more attention to their phones than they were in the upcoming meeting they were about to have. They probably never acknowledged the two the moment they walked into the room.
Looking at Tori and her brunette hair, Connie suddenly noticed the jeans with the ripped knees and green crop top, despite the cold January air. It was clear Tori was part of the in crowd, whilst Grace was classed as an outsider. That was one thing that Tori would probably use against Grace, before remembering that she may not acknowledge her actions regarding the accident which nearly hit Grace's friend.
"Grace Beauchamp? Tori Lawson?" the secretary called up, "The principle would like to speak to you both."
Connie watched as Grace stood up, brushing the dust off herself. They walked it to the college this morning, Grace still nervous about getting into a car. Connie felt nervous for her, it will be a while before she could ever forgive herself for what has happened. It hasn't even been a week since the crash at Harrington Road, but it's clear the effects will remain for a long time.
Connie looked at Tori however, her parents were glaring at Grace. Both were determined to bring Grace down for what happened between them, and Connie is certain they'll try to get Grace expelled. After all, it was Grace who started the fight, she confronted Tori and then slapped her. All because Tori was doing the one thing she shouldn't have done.
Only Tori was lucky no one got hurt.
Again.
"I'm not whether I should praise Iain or Lily for this or be concerned," Charlie mentioned to Sam, "But this means."
"Mrs Chao hasn't got anything to stand on," Sam reveals to him, "Iain and Lily agreed on naming one person to be executor for both their wills. That person could be arranging their funerals right now."
Charlie will admit, he was surprised to learn that Lily and Iain didn't name each other as executor for their wills like he'd suspected they would. But the fact was that they must have meant a lot to each other. It was almost as if they didn't want to go on without each other. Enough for them to refuse to picture a life without the other.
No one wondered what Lily's answer would have been to Iain's proposal.
They all knew that she would have said yes.
It was that moment that broke Charlie's heart the most. The only person who hadn't known about the plan Iain had for the proposal (and never will) was poor Lily.
Charlie was shocked when her mother refused to consider Iain when it comes to laying her daughter to rest. In fact, he was horrified when he learned that Mrs Chao blamed him for her daughter's death. The last he remembered; Lily had argued with her mother about moving in with Iain.
"She told me I was throwing away my dream," Lily told him.
"Are you?" Charlie asked her.
"No," Lily smiled at him, "I'm throwing away her and my father's. It's about time I live my life. Work is a good thing, but it's not everything. Life doesn't go by plans."
"I'm proud of you Dr Chao," Charlie beamed at her, "When you've first started, you were uncompromising, stubborn, defensive. But now, you've grown to your own person. You've shown initiative, you're compassionate and you're determined to look at more than the person. Look at that little girl with the nomophobia, you could have assumed that she was on drugs, but you've investigated all solutions, taking in other people's knowledge. I know that if I was your father, I'd be proud to call you, my daughter."
Closing his eyes, he remembered that was the last conversation that he had with Lily. Before she, Iain and Ethan left for their weekend away. When Charlie told Lily that, he always believed that she would continue to grow. Even watch as she becomes consultant, she passed her exams on the first attempt. It was too painful to think about it now.
Lily was taken too soon. And so was Iain.
Surely, the teenager responsible for the accident must had been feeling guilty about the accident. They must have been remorseful. Wanting to believe that she must have been, wasn't easy. Especially since the teenager had driven off shortly after the crash had happened. Would they really be remorseful if they had run away from the consequences of their actions?
Connie and Grace settled themselves on the sofa of the reception. Both in shock with what has happened. Grace had been asked to leave the room, knowing that she was clearly upset over the recent tragedy. After all, hearing about an accident and learning that the victims were close was bound to upset her. Especially learning that her best friend was nearly injured herself in a similar way.
Tori and her family are still in the office, however. After Grace revealed that Tori was on her phone driving, the principle was more interested in this story. Especially with Tori's attitude. Even Connie was sickened to hear Tori's words, especially when she didn't deny it as well. But it was the words of Tori's parents that really spooked her.
"She's a brilliant driver. The reason people were in accidents was down to just bad luck! She's quite good at multitasking. Besides, no one got too badly hurt because of someone texting."
Connie felt sick to her stomach. It was clear where Tori got her attitude from. To have that disgusting attitude towards being on the phone whilst driving. Grace's friend could have been seriously hurt if she hadn't moved out of the way on time. Feeling heartbroken, Connie realised that Iain and Lily were not the first lives taken so soon because of a driver texting whilst driving.
And they will not be the last before people will finally get the message.
"Mum," Grace whispered, "I feel awful. I know I shouldn't have done that yesterday."
"Not here," Connie scolded her, "We can explain what will happen at home. For now, we need to think about what they would say to you."
"If they expel me, it wouldn't be the worse thing," Grace muttered, "I don't deserve to be a doctor."
"Don't say that!" Connie called her out, "It was an accident."
"No, it wasn't an accident," Grace whispered to her, "It happened because I've done something I've shouldn't have done in the first place."
Jacob was the last to walk into the staff room, startled to see everyone in there. Robyn, Louise, Alicia, Elle, Dylan, Rash, David, Noel, Sam, Duffy, Jan and Charlie. They were all there. All of whom were alarmed, shocked even. Why were they all brought into the office? What were the reasons behind this? Surely the press had stopped badgering everyone for information.
"I've just received news," Jacob whispered, "What's going on? Who brought us all here?"
"I did," Charlie explained looking at the floor, "We've just received news about Lily and Iain's funeral arrangements. Lily's mother has made plans, but we've received news that she has no legal right."
"What?" Louise asked shocked, "She's her next of kin."
"Actually," everyone turned to Duffy, "It's my responsibility. I've contacted the funeral directors and we're arranging everything as we speak. I was going to talk to you about it. Jan, I've been trying to contact Dixie."
Charlie was shocked to learn this. It suddenly dawned on him.
The morning after the accident, Charlie remembered that Duffy had warned him she would need to make a quick phone call before starting work. Then she requested to take tomorrow off as she needed to sort something out. Even took the time to make the notes on the calendar.
All this time, she was making funeral arrangements.
"I had been in contact with Lily's mother yesterday," Duffy explained, "I told her that Lily had named me as executor of her will and I am overseeing the funeral arrangements."
"How did she react?" Jan asked her.
"She wasn't happy," Duffy explained, "Especially when I've been looking at plots to bury her."
"You mean?" Sam asked.
"Iain and Lily belong together," Duffy wiped her eyes, "I refuse to split them up. Mrs Chao tried to ask me to reconsider, but I knew Lily would want to stay with Iain."
Sam suddenly fell to her knees; this was just the news that she was praying for. All this time, they were trying to figure out a way to lay Lily and Iain to rest together and they've already made those arrangements. They've put their faith in the right person.
But it hurt her. Why did Iain and Lily name Duffy as their executor? How come she and Ethan weren't given a second thought at all? It was selfish, yes, but she would have done anything to ensure that Iain and Lily had gotten the send off that they deserved. However, the pain was there, and it will always be there.
It broke her heart.
It was clear Iain never trusted her.
And she didn't exactly blame him either.
Connie and Grace looked up to see Tori and her parents walking out of the office. Taking in their appearance, it was clear that they weren't given good news. Which meant one thing. Grace was going to be given a worse punishment. It was clear that Grace would be dealt with a harsher punishment as she was the one who started the fight in the first place.
"They're going to expel me," Grace whispered, "Maybe it's for the best."
"No, probably not," Connie reassured her.
Tori shot Grace with the deadliest of glares. Whatever happened to Tori, it must have been bad.
"Thanks a lot," she complained at Grace, "Thanks to you, I've lost my parking privileges. And I've been told that they'll be getting the police involved. I could lose my licence because of you!"
Connie placed herself between Grace and Tori, she wasn't prepared to let a bully get to her daughter. Sure, Grace was the one who started the fight. No, the fight wouldn't have happened, had Tori have not used her phone at the car park. It wouldn't have happened if Tori hadn't had nearly hit Grace's friend with her car.
"You were using your phone behind the wheel," Connie mentioned, "Did you not realise you could have hit someone?"
"Please," Tori scoffed, "Like a phone call or a text could kill someone. Numbers have dropped."
Grace looked at the ceiling. It was true. In 2017, thirty-three people were killed because someone was using their mobile phone behind the wheel. 2019, that number dropped to just nineteen people. But the worrying thing was that even though numbers have dropped, the accidents still happened. People were still getting injured everyday because some idiot decided a phone call, or a text message was more important than the wellbeing of others.
Just like what she's done.
Tori's getting it off easy with a disqualification. Her punishment would be nothing compared to what will happen to Grace when she's caught out.
At least Tori never killed anyone.
"People still get hurt every day," Connie brought up, "People who have been in road traffic accidents were more likely brought in because someone was using their phone than someone driving whilst under the influence."
"Please, only idiots would cause an accident," Tori rolled her eyes.
Grace took a deep breath as the anger slowly begun to build up. She mustn't let Tori's attitude get to her again. Especially given it was doing that which lead them to where they were today.
"Anyway," Tori smirked, "At least it'll be nothing compared to what will happen to you."
Grace looked down, knowing that Tori was right about that. Just not sure how right Tori would be.
Duffy and Sam stayed behind in the staffroom, watching as everyone else went back to their working day. Charlie allowed Duffy to take the next few days off as she prepares for the funeral and get all the preparations sorted.
"I don't know how to thank you," Sam whispered, eyes filling up with tears, "I honestly thought I was going to be fighting a losing battle."
"It was only a month ago I've signed on agreeing to be the executor," Duffy admitted, "I, I didn't think any of this would happen when it did. I thought they would have decades together."
"So did I," Sam whispered, "The morning they were due to head home, Iain left a voicemail on my phone. I only heard the first words before turning it off five hours before we were called to the site of the crash. That voicemail contained Iain's last words to me, but I didn't hear it all. I thought he would tell me when he got back."
"You never heard the voicemail?" Duffy asked.
"No," Sam whispered, "I couldn't bring myself to hear the message. It contained Iain's last words to me. What if he said he hated me?"
"Why would Iain say that?" Duffy asked her.
"Well, I'm surprised he's forgiven me after everything I did to him," Sam wiped her eyes, "I'll admit I'm hurt that he hadn't trusted me enough to arrange his funeral. After all, I broke his heart several times, nearly split him and Lily up, I even teased him several times."
"I don't think that's why he didn't ask you," Duffy reassured her, "Iain and Lily did discuss having you and Ethan to make the decision together, but they've decided against it. The reason they decided against asking you two to be executors was the same reason they said they didn't want to be executors for each other."
Sam must have admitted it, Duffy had a point. Iain was thirty-three years old, two years younger than Lily. Iain was athletically fit, and he was in good health. No underlying physical health conditions. Sam thought he would live to be over a hundred.
She didn't think he would lose his life at thirty-three. Not now.
"It would have pained us both. Me and Ethan," Sam realised, looking at her phone, "It would have broken us. That's what they were trying to prevent."
"So how did it go?"
Connie turned around to face Iain and Lily, shocked that they're still making appearances, even after their truce last night. But this time was different, they weren't judging her for her decision to keep Grace's secret hidden. No one was hurling abuse or being harsh.
Why was Connie still seeing them?
"Grace had been given a warning," Connie explained to them, "The principal was also keen to have Grace be the spokesperson to help out with the road safety campaign. They're impressed how much Grace was determined to ensure people understand the consequences of using their phone behind the wheel."
"That's good," Lily smiled, "It does show that's she's sorry."
"Definitely," Connie closed her eyes, "Why aren't you two having a go anyway? You two would have been against what I'm doing."
"You didn't need it today," Iain explained to her, "Today's been stressful enough. It'll only get worse. I hope you know that."
"I know," Connie whispered, "But so long as Grace avoids prison, that's the important part."
As soon as Connie opened her eyes, she could no longer see Iain or Lily. But now, they've been nothing but civil towards her. It made a pleasant change. They must now understand that Connie needed to protect Grace from prison.
But Connie still felt guilty seeing their faces. Why were they still appearing to her anyway?
Connie was about to turn on the television the second her phone went off. Someone was trying to get a hold of her. Walking over to her phone, she smiled after seeing Sam Nicholl's name on the screen.
Pressing answer, Connie placed the phone on speaker.
"Hello Sam," Connie smiled.
"Hey Mrs Beauchamp," Sam answered, "How did the meeting go?"
"Grace got let off with a warning," Connie explained, "She's back in classes now. It turns out that she was leaping to her friend's defence after she was nearly hit by another student. Turns out the driver was on her phone."
"Texting whilst driving?" Sam asked shocked, "Disgusting! When will the message get across?"
Connie closed her eyes once again, knowing herself now more than ever how serious it was. People were still getting injured or killed because of people using phones whilst driving.
"Exactly," Connie mentioned looking away from the phone, "It would take one accident for someone to finally stop. It's sickened me, plus last night, I had to tell Grace it was Lily and Iain who died in the accident."
"She didn't take it well?"
"She was devastated," Connie choked up, "Iain and Lily were both supportive of her. They were amazing to her."
"They would have made amazing parents," Sam sighed over the phone, "Anyway, I've found out. Lily and Iain are having a joint funeral after all."
"Did you find a loophole?" Connie asked, impressed.
"Didn't need to," Sam explained, "Iain wasn't the executor of Lily's will. It was Duffy. She was the executor of Iain's will as well. They agreed to name someone to be executor for both their wills."
Connie looked up as Lily and Iain begun smiling at her. This must have been the news that they've wanted to hear, knowing that they'll be laid to rest together. That they could be buried together.
As a family.
Them and their little one.
"Anyway," Sam mentioned, "There's something I need to talk to you about tomorrow. I know it may be too much, but I could do with some advice please?"
It's not my best chapter as I had other commitments to look out for. But I hope you've enjoyed it.
