No Bra Required! (27 page)

“Because honey he told me, the night that we made love in
his bed.  The night he got me pregnant.”

“Really, oh I see.”

“Yes really, and he told me that he’d never stopped loving
me.”  Katie smiled and moved closer to Lucy until she was toe to toe with
her.

Lucy stuck out her finger and poked Katie in the
chest.  “And you are one lying bitch,” she said shaking her head. 
“Did you really think that I wouldn’t figure out that it was Luke in bed with
you?” 

Katie sighed and then started to laugh.  “That’s what
Ed’s told you is it, that it was Luke, not him on top of me?”

“Nope, Ed hasn’t told me anything, he’s not conscious, but
Georgina has told me all about his fight with Luke, and that you never split
up.  The rest we both worked out between us.  So it’s about time that
you told me the truth, what are you doing here and how on earth did you think
you would get away with it?” 

Katie folded her arms across her chest and sighed. 
“Okay honey, truth, well the truth is exactly what I’ve just told you.”

Lucy laughed and poked Katie again.  “Once more Katie,
tell me the fucking truth, because I swear to God I
will
rip your hair
out and punch your lights out, as promised.”

Katie stared eye to eye with Lucy for a few moments. 
Finally she gave a deep sigh of defeat. “Okay the truth is honey I only ever
wanted Ed’s money.  Luke and I are broke, and I thought that if I could
get him to fall in love with me again then I could get him to give me the money
that we needed.  I just didn’t count on you.”

“So it was your idea, not Luke’s?”  Lucy asked incredulously.

“Well he didn’t argue when I suggested it.  I’ve got to
admit honey, I was pretty shocked to find Ed in love with someone else -
Georgina never mentioned you when she visited.”  Katie replied shaking her
head.

“But he offered you money and you turned it down, why if you
were so desperate?”

“Because ten grand wasn’t enough, if he’d offered me eight
times that much I’d have been on the next plane home.”  Katie laughed.

Lucy ran a hand through her hair, shocked at Katie’s
immorality.

“And what about Nate in all of this,” she asked.  “What
were you going to do about him, were you okay about breaking his heart, just
for his father’s money?”

Katie shrugged. “Never thought about him, it was never about
Nate, it was only ever about making sure my family don’t go under.”

Lucy stamped her foot and almost screamed, she felt so
angry.  “Argh, you absolute bitch, that poor, poor child.  How on
earth could you do that to him, come back into his life and then disappear
again?  He’s your child Katie, just like Louis and Amelia, does that mean
nothing to you?”

Katie didn’t answer, but at least now looked uncomfortable.

Lucy moved away from Katie, frightened that she would harm
her, as she had threatened to do.  She realised that if Katie had no shame
about hurting her own son, then no wonder she had no qualms about lying to Ed
about Lucy’s disappearance, even after she and Luke had been found out.

“You should go Katie before I lose control of myself, your
plan failed, so just piss off back to America,” Lucy whispered.

“But I need to speak to Ed,” Katie protested.  “I have
to get some money from him, he’s our only hope.”

“What?  You really think he’d lend you money after all
this?” Lucy asked shaking her head.  “Are you drunk or high?”

“Listen honey, I know you hate me and I totally get it, but
my family need that money.  I’ll have another mouth to feed in a few
months, Ed can afford it, he’s a doctor for fuck’s sake, and Luke’s sure he
won’t have spent the money that Jack gave him from the houses.  He only
has Nate, he has to help us.”  Spittle was forming at the corners of
Katie’s mouth, she was becoming so agitated.  “You can’t stop me seeing
him anyway, you’re not even together anymore; at least that’s one part of my
plan that worked out.  Christ you are one annoying little bitch, and Ed
didn’t even try to find you after you left, surely that should tell you
something.”

“Well that’s where you’re wrong, Ed was coming back to me on
the night of the accident,” Lucy replied calmly.  “Ask Georgina if you
don’t believe me, she’ll be back soon.”

“Huh, that old cow will say anything to get rid of me. 
But, I will always be the mother of his child, and she can never change that,
and that’s a connection that you’ll never have with him.  You, you’ll just
be an old girlfriend that he’ll think about from time to time.”  Venom
flashed in Katie’s eyes as she pointed a finger at Lucy.

Lucy smiled and instinctively placed a hand on her stomach,
just as she’d seen Katie do all those weeks ago.  Katie noticed Lucy’s movement
and shook her head.

“Don’t tell me, you’re pregnant,” she said.  “Whatever,
it doesn’t matter, I had his first borne and you’ll always wonder whether he
came back just for the child.”

“You really think so, well you’re wrong Katie.  Ed
doesn’t even know I’m pregnant yet.  He was coming back because I asked
him to and according to Georgina, and everyone else I’ve spoken to, has been
heartbroken that I left, unlike when you turned up and he tried to pay you to
get out of his life.  So like I said, just go, you’re not wanted here.”

Katie dropped her head and paced up and down for a few
moments, until finally she stood still and looked up with tears of frustration
pricking at her eyelashes.

“Look can you just ask him for me?” she pleaded

“No,” Lucy said shaking her head in disbelief.  “No, I
bloody well can’t.  I’m sorry but you’re going to have to figure another
way out of this one.”

“How though?” Katie asked her voice rising. “How the hell am
I going to feed my kids?”

“Do what everyone else has to do, get a job and stop
spending money that you don’t have.”  Lucy held up the palm of her hand,
as if to dismiss Katie.  “Now if you don’t mind take your stupid blow up
breasts and go back to your own family, and let Ed and I look after
ours.” 

As Lucy turned to leave Katie grabbed her elbow, spinning
Lucy round to face her.

“Listen to me, it would be in Ed’s best interest if you
persuaded him to loan us the money.” Katie spat the words at Lucy.

Lucy pulled her head back from the space that Katie was
invading.

“His best interest, how do you work that one out?” she
asked.

“Because honey, if he doesn’t I’ll go for custody of Nate,”
Katie shouted.

A nurse, who was carrying something covered in a towel,
appeared at Lucy’s side.

“Everything okay here?” she asked Lucy.

“Yes, now piss off,” hissed Katie pushing her.

“Katie, stop it,” yelled Lucy holding onto the nurse to stop
her falling.

“I’m calling security.”  The nurse moved back along the
corridor.

She had only made a couple of steps when Katie pulled at her
arm to stop her.  The nurse, pulled off balance, flung her other arm above
her head as her feet moved from under her.  The towel that she was
carrying flew through the air - and the contents of the bedpan that it was
covering flew all over Katie.

As the rather smelly liquid dripped down Katie’s face, she
stamped her foot in fury.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Katie cried.

“It appears so
honey
,” Lucy replied, a huge grin
spread across her face.

Security had eventually ejected Katie from the
hospital.  She was highly embarrassed, although it was difficult to decide
what she felt most ashamed of, the smell of excrement or the blue hospital gown
that she’d had to put on over her jeans.  Lucy, Gerald and Richard had
delighted in watching Katie leave between two security guards, her head bowed,
obviously angry and frustrated that she’d failed to get the promise of any
money.  Jack, oblivious to all that had happened, emerged from Ed’s room
as Katie was being escorted out.  Once Lucy had told him what had
happened, Jack had wanted to go after her at first, worried that she would
carry out her threat about Nate, but as Gerald pointed out, Katie wouldn’t
really want another mouth to feed, and it was highly unlikely Luke would want
Ed’s son living with him, so Jack relaxed and joined the others in laughter as
Lucy regaled the tale of what was to become known as “Shitgate”, once more.

 Over the next few days, Lucy, Gerald, Georgina and
Jack fell into a pattern of visiting Ed, with some eating and sleeping
interspersed.  The majority of their hours though were spent at his
bedside, with either Jack or Georgina alternating with Lucy and Gerald. 
They lost any concept of the outside world, cloistered away in the small
private room where the air was stale, the smell antiseptic, the light
artificial and the hours long and tiring, but none of them wanted to be
anywhere else.

Finally after four days, the doctors told them that the
swelling on Ed’s brain should have reduced enough for him to have a scan; a
scan that would tell them whether there was any brain damage.  Both
Georgina and Lucy were with Ed when they took him away, and both of them felt
bereft as he was wheeled out of sight, off the ward.  Lucy thought her
heart was going to erupt through her chest it was pounding so hard and fast,
and she felt sick and clammy at the prospect of what they may be about to find
out.

“How long is it now?” Lucy asked a weary looking Georgina.

“Just over an hour, they did say it may take a while. 
Why don’t you go and get a coffee or something, you look shattered.”

Lucy shook her head.  “No, I want to wait until he
comes back.”

“Okay, but I’m worried about you.  You’re starting to
look peaky, and I know that you’re shattered.  I wish you’d get some more sleep
in a proper bed, your dad said you stayed here again last night.” 
Georgina frowned at Lucy, whose eyes were framed in dark circles.

“I’m fine, I wouldn’t sleep if I was at the B&B
anyway.  At least here I manage to get a couple of hours.  They brought
a camp bed in for me last night.”

“Well you need to go back tonight because if you don’t I’m
going to ask the staff to ban you.”  Georgina gave a small laugh and then
sighed.  “Christ I wish they’d hurry up.”

Finally another half hour later, Clare, one of Ed’s nurses,
popped her head around the visitor’s room door.

“Hi ladies, he’s back if you want to go back in.”

“How did it go Clare?” asked Lucy moving toward the door.

“It was fine, no problems.  I believe Mr Rahman will be
up in about ten minutes to tell you about the results.”

“Any clues?”  Concern was etched across Georgina’s
face.

“No idea sorry, but he won’t be long.  I’ll speak to
you afterwards, in case you have any other questions.”

“Okay thanks,” Lucy replied.

“No problem, now try not to worry.”  Clare gave Lucy’s
arm a comforting rub, before disappearing back onto the ward.

And so another wait started, at which point Lucy thought she
was going to scream.  She knew that Ed wasn’t the only patient, but as far
as she was concerned he was the most important; why couldn’t everyone else see
that and hurry up.

Then finally Mr Rahman appeared in Ed’s room, he was armed
with a buff file, full of papers and notes about Ed.  As he began to talk
Georgina grasped Lucy’s hand tightly, so tightly that her knuckles were white,
and Lucy’s hand went numb.

“Well, you’ll be pleased to know that there is no damage to
Edward’s brain, and he’s going to be fine.  The oedema appears to be
purely from the collision, nothing else.  Edward’s head…”

Lucy didn’t actually hear the rest of what Mr Rahman had to
say, she’d heard the most important part – Ed was going to be okay.

Georgina’s voice brought Lucy back to the
conversation.  “So, if you start to reduce his sedation today how long
before he wakes up?” she asked.

“Based on the fact that he’s been sedated for about five
days, I would say between 12 and 24 hours, but it may be sooner.  It’s
just a case of waiting Mrs Bryce.”  Mr Rahman smiled warmly at Georgina.

“Okay, another wait it is then.  We’re used to that,
aren’t we Lucy?”

Lucy nodded.  “Yes, we certainly are.”

Neither Georgina nor Lucy wanted to leave Ed’s side, now
they knew that he would be coming round at some point.  So, they both sat
through the night as slowly and surely Ed started to come out of his sedation. 
He was still extremely groggy at first and didn’t appear to know whom they
were, but by the following morning, he was much more alert.  He recognised
Georgina first, kissing her hand and smiling widely at her.  Lucy stood
back to allow them some space until Georgina pulled away from Ed and beckoned
Lucy forward.

“Look who’s here sweetheart,” she whispered.

Lucy needn’t have been worried about Ed rejecting her. 
As soon as he saw her his eyes lit up, and a huge smile spread across his face.

“Hi baby,” he whispered as Lucy moved forward towards him.

Lucy couldn’t help the sob escaping as Ed lifted his hand
and touched her face.

“Does this mean you’re my girlfriend again?”

Georgina, recognising that Ed and Lucy needed time alone,
quietly backed out of the room.  With tears of happiness streaking her
cheeks, she went to find Gerald and to call Jack with the good news.

Over the next couple of days, Lucy and Georgina mainly
watched Ed sleep.  After initially waking, Ed and Lucy spoke for a few minutes,
mainly professing their love for one another until Ed drifted into sleep, still
holding Lucy’s hand.  He continued to drift in and out, but was never
awake long enough to have a lengthy, or indeed meaningful, conversation.

Lucy had now taken over from Georgina, who informed her that
he was much more aware today. So, Lucy was waiting anxiously for him to wake as
she knew today they would have to talk about what had happened.