Chapter 8: The Other Pain.

The next day Clarence slept late. It was eleven o'clock when he woke up. The anaesthetic, painkillers and the various other drugs had been given still affected him. Even though he was moving, he didn't feel fully awake.

Clarence looked around the room. It had been transformed. It was obvious that his parents had been in earlier. Get well cards hung off string on the walls. On the table there was a photo of his parents, a photo of Sophie and his Walkman cassette player, complete with tapes and headphones. As he looked at the headphones, wondering how he could possibly use them, Dr Owens entered the room with his mother and stepfather following her.

The doctor was the first to speak. –Hello, Clarence-

-Im awake again-, Clarence said as his parents went one side of the bed and the doctor to the other.-I'm not sure how I'm going to get those headphones around my head though-

His mother smiled. –Well, your sense of humor is fine-

Dr Owens went on to explain Clarence that some surgery would be recommended for cosmetic reasons. But that she thought is was best to let the skin heal as much as it could before then.

-From now on-She said-nature should do the best it can-

She then pulled over a chair and sat down looking at Clarence with a matter of fact look on her face. –Clarence, I have just explained to your parents that the skin on your face will never as it was before. I expect your legs and hands to heal up soon, and we'll have your stitches out, but you will have to be patient with your face-

Clarence turned to look at his parents. His mother was struggling to hold back the tears, and her voice trembled as she spoke. –We love you, son. We'll do all we can for you, you know it-

Dr Owens took a deep breath and continued; -I understand that you have known Ryan Sumowzki for a long time-

-Yes-Clarence replied. –Where is he? How bad is he?-

-He was released from this hospital today. He has two broken ribs and a fractured wrist. Now…Graham Fisher-

-Who?-

-Graham Fisher-

Clarence's stepfather interrupted, -The driver of the car, son-

-You mean Apache, I don't really know him-

-Well, he was lucky. He got away with a few bruises, but he has been to court and I am informed that he is now in Youth Custody. And Belson?-

-Yeah. I know him- Clarence replied.

Dr Owens paused. –How well?-

-I don't know him that well. He used to go the same school as me. He hangs around the 2nd Street-

Dr Owens lowered her voice. –I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Clarence, but Belson died from his injuries after going through the front windscreen-

Clarence went silent. There was only a small part of him that mourned Belson's passing. He was a person he knew very little, a person who he had never had much respect for. What had stunned Clarence into silence was the realization of how close he had been to death. He looked at his parents and for the first time in his life he really wanted to hold them and tell them how much he loved them. He looked at his surroundings. He looked at his hands. He was grateful for his existence, but he couldn't find words to express how he felt.

Turning back to his parents, he asked, -Belson's mom and dad, do they know?-

-Do you know his mom and dad, son?-His stepfather asked.

-No-

-No one does-

-But Chad, he must have a mom and dad somewhere-

-No one knows, son, don't let it worry you-

Soon Clarence's parents and Dr Owens left, leaving Clarence to take the news he had just received. He spent the next two hours sitting silently listening to his breathing and his heartbeat. The pain mattered very little now. Now he saw himself as lucky, lucky to be alive. He had a very little love for Belson but the could not get his face out of his mind now. An what about Belson's parents, He thought, He must have parents, someone must love him. Again Clarence began to think at a frantic pace. I Should never have got to that club…we should never went through that street...I should never have got in that car…I should have known it was stolen. It's all my fault, I persuaded Sumo to get into that car. Clarence thought so much that he got a headache, and in his upright position he hung his head and began to fall asleep. Even as he was falling asleep, he was still asking questions. Why I didn't go with my instincts and not get in that car?...why didn't I go with Jeff?...why didn't I?

-Clarence, are you awake?-

The interruption seemed to echo around his head. It was Dr Owens with somebody else, a man wearing a black leather jacket and jeans.

-Clarence, can we talk to you?-the doctor continued.

-Yeah, OK-Clarence didn't mean it, but he felt weak and he couldn't say no.

-Clarence, this is Detective Inspector Byrd. He needs to speak to you about the accident. He won't be long. This not an interrogation and I won't be leaving the room. Can you manage that?-

-Yes, I can-

-OK-Dr Owens went and stood by the door as if guarding the entrance and DI Byrd sat on the chair next to the bed.

-Now, Clarence, I realise that you have been through a lot over last few days. Soon I am going to have to take a statement from you but for now I just need a couple of answers…OK?-

-OK-

-How well do you know Graham Fisher, or Apache as he was also known?-

-I don't know him. The night of the crash was when I met him-

-Did you get on with him?-

-I hardly spoke to him, he's a nutter-

-How do you know he was a nutter?-

-Just the way he was acting and driving…he wasn't listening to anyone-

-Did he try and sell you anything?-

-No-

-Did you see him throw anything out of the car?-

Clarence paused; Dr Owens was watching silently, her eyes fixed on Clarence. The detective could sense that he was on to something. His voice hardened and he pushed for more.

-Come on now, Clarence, we know form your medical records that you had been drinking alcohol that night, but we haven't come here because of a little underage drinking. This is a bit more serious than that. Did you see Apache throw anything?-

-NO…NO…I didn't see Apache throw anything…I saw Belson throw something-

-That's better. Where? Can you remember?-

-I think it was by the sports centre on Regents Lane-

-On the corner?-

-Yes-

-What did you know see him throw?-

-I don't know what it was, just a small bag of some kind-

-OK, that's all I need. As I said, I am going to need a statement soon but you must realise that you may find yourself in trouble for accepting a lift in a stolen car. We'll talk about that later date. Take it easy for now-

Dr Owens and DI Byrd both left. Once again, Clarence was alone. It seemed that life in hospital wend from one extreme to the other. There were moments of intense activity with people all wanting to know, feel and look crammed into his small room, followed by moments of silence which quickly led on to sleep.

DI Byrd's visit had taken his mind off his injuries temporarily, but now he had nothing to distract him.

He raised both his hands for the first time he began to touch his face. He prodded to see how much pressure he could bear. It even felt like and unexplored wilderness with Miniature Mountains. Not one bit of his face was smooth. The outer skin was hear but he could feel the soft, swollen flesh underneath.

Most of the sensations came though his fingertips. Considering the extent of his injuries, he was still surprised by the fact that his legs, although not burnt, hurt more than his face.

Clarence also had other worries. Ho were his friends going to react to him? He had Sophie and Jeff on his mind. He needed to know more about what had happened to Sumo and wondered what the police were going to do. He had decided that he would take the blame for Sumo getting into trouble. He wondered if he would have to go to court, or worse still if he would end up in a Young Offenders Home.