Chapter Three

"RHYS…" a teary Cheryl shouted down the steps at him, running quickly down them to stop him from walking off. Rhys stopped, he couldn't just ignore her and walk away; he didn't have it in him to do that. Upon reaching him, Cheryl flung her arms around him, not thinking of anything other than the fact that she needed a friend right now and Rhys was the only one who remotely fit that description, especially since she'd lost Lynsey over the whole Silas thing. After a second's hesitation, Rhys returned the hug, a couple of tears running down his cheeks; Cheryl's tears seemed almost infectious. He bit his lip and pushed her away carefully.

"I have to go, Cheryl. Jacqui and Terreh have gone off somewhere," Rhys quickly said, making it sound obvious that he was in a rush, despite knowing she'd probably just gone to the family home.

"Rhys, no, please don't leave me alone here, not now, please?"

"Cheryl, you know what I thought of Gilly," Rhys stated, not sounding convinced with his own words. "I can't help you." Cheryl shook her head at Rhys' soft words; there was a tone of sympathy in his voice. She brushed the tears quickly away from her eyes, re-gaining eye contact with him. She lowered her voice and narrowed her eyes.

"What you thought of him for over twenty years or what you've thought of him for the past nine months because of those silly ideas that Jacqui's been putting into your head?"

"See, this is why I can't stand here and comfort you like this Chez. We're never gonna agree, are we, so let's just leave it at that, yeah?"

"No, we're not," she slurred, pausing briefly before continuing. "But what we can agree on is that we're both grieving, even if you won't admit it, at least part of you must be sad? Or do you really not have any decency at all?" Rhys said nothing in reply to Cheryl's strong-sounding words, he just stood there unknowingly of what to say or do. "Cmon, come in and have a brew, Jacqui will be fine," Cheryl pleaded. Rhys still refrained from movement. Cheryl refused to let this go though. She sighed quietly to herself. "Rhys, I know you want to, it's written all over your face. I need someone to talk to and you and Jacqui can't rely on each other all the time, you need someone else, even if it is me, Gilly's…" Mentioning his name again just got her upset all over again. "I don't even know what word to use-," she continued. After several seconds Rhys nodded gently and followed her up the steps.

"Can't believe this is happenin'," Rhys stated as he sat down on Cheryl's couch with the cup of tea she'd just made him. Cheryl perched herself down next to him. "Doesn't seem real, does it…."

"I know, love." She paused as she thought about his words. See, you do care," Cheryl replied, tilting her head sidewards to face him, a very slight smile appearing on her face for just a second.

"I just wish things had turned out like… different. And by that-I mean-." He sighed before continuing. "I don't even know what I mean." Cheryl led her head down on Rhys' shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to relieve the pain-even though it wasn't physical pain, it still helped. "You know, I went round saying 'oh I'm gonna kill 'im,' and all that shit, but I didn't actually mean it. I've never literally wanted him dead; I just wanted him out of the way. And…now he is, it's like, I dunno-it's mental ent it really." He paused, wiping his eyes quickly and rested his head on top of Cheryl's whilst putting his arm around her. "Anyway, looks like Jaq and I are number one suspects." Cheryl popped her head up, quickly processing Rhys' words. She gave him a bewildered stare, adding up everything that had been going on.

"Rhys….Where was Jacqui when Gilly was murdered? Was she with you?" Her voice shook as she spoke.

"Cheryl! How could you even ask that? You know what…I'm out of here," he replied, knowing exactly what his so-called friend was getting at. He began to get up, heading for the front door. How could Cheryl start saying these things? He'd just started to open up to her and everything.

"Wait, no, Rhys," she sobbed, hand gesturing for him to stay. He shook his arms and stood still facing towards the door, about to walk out until he heard Cheryl continue to speak. "Last night, was she home? I just-I need to know, Rhys." Upon hearing the whole of her sentence, Rhys turned around slowly to face her, hesitating before he spoke.

"Last night…?"

"Yes last night. Did the cops tell you nothing?"

"No, well, I ran off before they could, dint I."

"It happened last night. Why are you suddenly so edgy, Rhys?" Rhys said nothing. "I'm only gonna ask you this once more. Where was Jacqui?" She strung her final three words out slowly, as if there was a full stop at the end of each word. Rhys began to look worried; as if Cheryl's words had more meaning than he'd first expected. He shrugged his shoulders at her before quickly rushing for the door.

"I can read you like a book, Rhys Ashworth. You need to grow the hell up and realise Jacqui is a piece of work and Gilly didn't even rape her!" Cheryl's words were harsh and snappy; her Irish accent was coming through stronger than ever. She spoke her mind. Tears streamed down her face; she couldn't control them. Reaching for the door handle, Rhys turned his head around to face Cheryl one last time.

"Jacqui isn't like that," he said, quietly-more to himself than Cheryl-as he too began to sob. He quickly threw the door open and slammed it as loud as possible behind him. He ran down the steps, almost tripping over his own feet and leant up against the wall; completely out of breath.

He closed his eyes and stood there in the dark. Cheryl's words replayed over and over in his head, they were almost echoing in his mind. That's when he began to remember the previous night when Jacqui had come home.

{Flashback}

Rhys was sat on the sofa half asleep watching the television. It was getting late but he wanted to wait up until Jacqui got back home. It had only been a couple of days since she'd moved back in but so far, things were going well.

"You're back late. Me and Terreh 'ave been dozing off 'ere, ain't we Terreh," Rhys said, half asleep, giving Terry a pat as Jacqui walked in.

"Yah, thought I'd spend some time with Mercy, she's still all cut up over Riley."

"Really? I thought visiting hours in hospitals were wel' limited these days?" Rhys questioned her, not thinking too much of it.

"Yeah well, it's different for babies and that ent it," Jacqui replied blankly, refusing to gain eye-contact with her husband. She walked over to Rhys, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and giving Terry a brief stroke. "Ya know what babe, I'm 'ad it me, gonna call it a night," she continued, walking off before Rhys could question her anymore.

Rhys bashed his head with anger; he had to stop thinking anything of this. But what if Cheryl was onto something? No. Even after all that Gilly had put Jacqui through, he knew his wife and he knew she'd never do anything as ridiculous as that; even if she had helped her cousin cover up a murder not so long ago. That's when he received a text from the women herself telling him she was spending the night with her family. He contemplated going over there to see her, but by now it was almost pitch black and not far off midnight. Besides, he knew with the state his mind was currently in that he'd say exactly the wrong thing and make everything a hundred times worse.