Chapter 58

"Go on," Bri said to Lorraine and Hope, as she struggled with Elspeth to keep Yvonne moving. "You'd better catch up to her."

"Meet you at the car." Lorraine called back over her shoulder, as they chased Shawna down the corridor. Hope ran, using the activity to avoid thinking of how badly things could have gone behind her. She struggled to keep the laptop secure under her arm.

Outside, in the car park, Shawna was leant against Briana's car, shaking visibly.

"Here," Hope said, passing the laptop to Lorraine. She gestured for her to wait, and approached the car slowly.

"Sho, honey."

"I'll be alright," Shawna assured her, not turning. "I just... I needed some air."

Hope rubbed Shawna's back gently.

"I just... I wanted to say thank you. I can't believe you came here of all places for me."

"I..." she began to reply, but trembled harder.

"It's alright. You don't have to explain," Hope said trying to calm her. Shawna turned away from the car and vomited into the drain nearby.

"Is she OK?" Briana asked, as she and Elspeth finally arrived. Shawna turned to look, checking that no-one had followed them out.

"I'll be fine," she finally managed, though nobody was convinced.

"What do we do now?" Lorraine asked. "There's no way we can get all six of us in the car."

"Already sorted." Briana patted her pocket. "Marcus is on his way to walk whomever needs it home."

"You called Marcus?" Shawna hung her head, leaning back against the car.

"Yeah, sorry. How stupid of me," Bri snapped back. Elspeth laid a calming hand on her arm. "How about I drop Yvonne off at her place, and then I'll come back for you guys?"

"I don't want to leave her alone," Hope said.

Briana and Elspeth stared at her for a moment.

"You do know where those videos came from, right?" Briana asked.

"Yes," Hope said, looking over at Yvonne, swaying in Elspeth's grasp, then turned back to meet Briana's gaze. "Look, you take Elspeth home. We'll wait in the social area until Marcus gets here."

"What about Lorraine?" Elspeth asked.

"I'll hang with them until Marcus gets here," Lorraine offered.

"Fuck it, we'll wait with you." Briana sighed. "I... well, if he comes out looking for you, I want to be here." They all knew that 'he' meant Connor.

"Is there any chance of you putting the hockey stick away, though?" Elspeth caught the end of it as Briana waved it around, punctuating her speech.

"Alright, fine," Briana said after a few seconds' thought.

They sat in relative silence at the back of the social area, nervous and edgy about the situation, but constrained from talking about it by the crowd who guaranteed — they hoped — their safety. Marcus arrived in surprisingly quick time, stalking into the lobby of the halls. They spotted him before he saw them, and were quickly walking towards him.

He seemed to relax when he saw them, and turned to signal out the door. When they all got outside they found Tony waiting for them.

"What's he doing here?" Hope asked, pitching her voice quietly.

"Briana phoned me, said she needed help getting people home," Marcus explained with a shrug. "I called Tony. Told him I needed help. Now we're here."

"Let's get home," Shawna said as she nestled in tightly against Marcus' side, trembling still. He just nodded as they all headed for the cars. Lorraine gave up space in Tony's truck so that Shawna could sit with Marcus, and the others piled into Briana's little car.

"Back to the flat?" Briana asked, and Tony nodded his assent before they pulled away.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Briana struggled to keep her voice under control as Hope finished explaining the evening's events from her perspective as they pushed in through the flat door.

"I don't know," Hope said, obviously uncomfortable with the scrutiny and unable to explain herself. "It was just... I couldn't have my dad finding out like that. Or at all, in fact."

"Finding out what?" Tony asked, last to get in the door. "Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on? Lorraine's throwing up with nerves, Shawna looks like she's been to hell and back. God knows what's happened to Yvonne, but she looks like someone's beaten her up. Anyone?"

They fell silent, eyeing Hope who was sat staring fixedly at the laptop as it started up.

"Look. Not tonight, alright? I'll... I'll have figured this out by tomorrow. I need to think about what I'm going to do."

"It's a bit late to start thinking now," Briana snapped, as Lorraine returned from the bathroom.

"Did you want a drink?" Marcus asked, quietly, still holding Shawna tightly.

"Please," Lorraine said, but when Marcus started to move Shawna just clutched at him even tighter. "I can get it," Lorraine told him, heading for the kitchen.

"So, no-one's going to tell me?" Tony asked, still waiting for an answer.

"I don't know," Marcus answered. "I wasn't there, either. Is... is everyone alright?" He asked it generally, but they all knew it was directed at the woman he held.

"We're fine," Elspeth told him, shrugging behind Shawna's back to try and get the message across that she didn't know about Shawna.

"Lorraine can tell you on the way home, Tony," Hope said, as Lorraine returned.

"Are you sure?" she asked, sipping from a glass of water.

"I don't have to hide it from anyone here."

"Then why did you go off on your own?" Briana cut in, and Elspeth took her hand.

"Why don't we come back tomorrow and find out?" she asked, before the silence awaiting Hope's answer grew any longer.