Ltfl: Me too :-)
CasualtyFanForever81: Aww, thank you :-)
Dancingwithmyshadow6: Thank you. I love writing the supportive scenes.
Chapter Seventeen
"One hour and that is all I'm asking."
Connie turned to address Lily, as the two of them stopped outside Ben's office with Iain dragging himself behind. He still couldn't believe the fact that Lily had been hurting herself, and it crushed him to see her feeling so down and low about herself. She hadn't said a word since breaking down in front of him, and Iain guessed that she might have felt a bit embarrassed about the whole situation.
"You do realise that you need this, right?" Connie said, as Lily leant against the wall with her arms crossed. "This isn't a punishment in any shape or form. I just feel like you could do with a small chat, about your..."
"Issues?" Lily finished for her.
"Um...No." Connie ran a hand through her hair. "That wasn't what I was going to say." She sighed and said, "you know we found your secret chocolate stash in your locker right?"
"You went in my locker?" Lily snapped. "That's an invasion of privacy."
"One hour," Connie said, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Come on. Charlie worked hard to get you this appointment, so make the most of it."
Lily rolled her eyes and sighed heavily to herself, before opening the door to Ben's office, and making her way inside. Connie watched her go with sad eyes and turned round to face Iain.
"So she told you everything then?" Connie asked, as the two of them began to walk back down the corridor.
"Most things," Iain said, giving a small shrug of the shoulders. "Have you asked her why she'd doing this to herself?" Connie nodded. "I bet it's Archie. I'm telling you Mrs Beauchamp, she was never like this before she started dating him."
"Don't go jumping to conclusions, Iain," Connie told him. "Besides, I asked her if things were okay between the two of them and she said that they were."
"And you believe her, do you?" Iain scoffed. "Even after the amount of secrets that she's kept from us?"
Connie didn't say anything.
"I'm telling you, something isn't right," Iain continued. "I always found Archie a bit weird anyway."
"Enough already," Connie said, clearing her throat and removing a strand of hair from her face. "Lily is a hard worker who always tries to impress people. She's in her late twenties and Archie is her first proper boyfriend, meaning that she's probably just putting a lot of pressure on herself. Of course, it isn't the best way to deal with things, but that's why we got her the appointment with Ben."
"So you don't think there's anything at all going on between Lily and Archie?" Iain asked her.
"Apart from the normal boyfriend and girlfriend relationship," Connie said. "No, I don't. I gave Lily the opportunity to tell me if something was wrong, and she didn't."
Iain nodded faintly, knowing and hoping that Connie was probably right. As the two of them were about to walk down the stairs, they heard a scream and both of them turned to see Lily hurrying out of Ben's office and running in the opposite direction.
"Well." Iain shrugged and had a look at his watch. "She lasted three and a half minutes."
"That isn't funny," Connie said, turning to glare at the paramedic. "Do me a favour and go in search of Lily for me. I need to have a chat with Ben."
"Sure thing," Iain agreed.
Connie thankfully nodded at him and headed off to Ben's office. She knocked lightly on the door and made her way inside. Ben was sat at his desk, head in his hands, looking over some notes.
"I saw Lily leave," Connie said, shutting the door behind her. "What happened?"
"She was just refusing to talk," Ben said. "And before I knew it, she was fleeing the room at full speed."
"Did she say anything?" Connie asked.
"No," Ben sighed. "She just sat there in silence."
"Okay," Connie said, nodding at him. "Well, thanks for trying."
"Maybe it's too soon for her to be talking to a professional," Ben said. "I mean, she doesn't even think that she has a problem Mrs Beauchamp. How can she get help if she doesn't accept help?"
"She needs to speak to someone, Ben," Connie said. "We can't let this go and considering the job that you do, you should know that."
"I know, I know," Ben said. "Why don't you try having a few sessions with her though? That could work."
"Really?" Connie laughed, shaking her head at him. "No. I don't think so."
"Why not?" Ben asked her.
"Oh, a number of reasons," Connie said. "I have a huge job in trying to run this department, I'm not trained in giving people therapy sessions, and I pretty much doubt that Lily is even going to listen to me."
"She might do," Ben said. "She's spoken to you about this, hasn't she?"
"Briefly," Connie said, raising her eyebrows. "I don't know."
"Think about it," Ben said. "Just until she's ready to speak to a professional."
"Couldn't talk to Ben then, huh?" Iain said, after he'd found Lily sitting by herself in one of the board rooms. "Talking about feelings can be hard. I don't overly like doing it either, but I saw a counsellor when I was struggling with my PTSD. I hated it at first but it really helped after a while. I um...I don't mind coming with you for a few sessions to begin with, to help you settle in."
"Thank you," Lily whispered.
"You need help, Lily," Iain said. "And Ben is there to give that."
"I don't want it though," Lily said, clenching her teeth together. "I just want to be left alone."
Iain glanced at his watch and said, "your shift is almost over. Why don't you ask Mrs Beauchamp if you can go home?"
Lily shook her head and whispered, "I don't want to go home."
She sniffed and folded her arms across her chest. She couldn't go home and face Archie, not after everything that had happened.
"You can stay at mine tonight," Iain said. "If you want to, that is. Gem won't mind." Lily just shrugged her shoulders. "She doesn't know what's going on, in case you were wondering. And she doesn't need to know either."
Iain sighed and bit his lip, before continuing.
"I'm guessing Archie doesn't know," he said quietly. "That's why you don't want to go home, right? You um...Don't want him to find out? Would he get angry?"
"Shut up," Lily hissed, squeezing her eyes shut. "He'd just worry."
"Okay, okay," Iain said. "Fair enough. Contact him though, yeah? And tell him that you won't be home tonight."
"What would I say?" Lily asked.
"Just say you're staying with me," Iain said, and caught sight of the look in Lily's eyes. He was certain that she was keeping something from him, that Archie wasn't the man everyone thought he was. "Or say that you've been asked to work the night shift."
Lily nodded and agreed that she would.
"Think about what you would like to do," Iain said. "Have a conversation with Connie about it and if you decide to have another session with Ben, then I will happily accompany you."
"Why?" Lily asked.
"I care about you," Iain told her, a small sigh escaping his lips. "And...It's about time that you realise that as well."
Off to see my aunt and uncle later so really wanted to update before I go out. I went to see the new Beauty and the Beast film yesterday guys, and OMG it was the best thing ever. I loved every second of it. Such an amazing film :D x