Chapter 18

"You feeling any better after your shower?" Henry closed the apartment door and turned to Paige. "You certainly look better than the last time I saw you."

Paige managed a smile, tiredness beginning to set in. "Turns out dried blood isn't a good look on me."

Henry didn't respond to that. He was probably just as shaken as Paige was. Whenever she closed her eyes in the shower, all she could see was Juliet lying on the floor in The Hideout. If she wasn't seeing that, Paige was remembering the moment Juliet was practically dying in her arms. This, whatever happened, was going to take a while to process, come to terms with, and then move on from. There was no doubt about that.

"I made you a coffee when I buzzed you up. Sugar?"

Henry shed his jacket and folded it over his arm. "I'd love some coffee. Just one sugar, please." He took a seat, scrubbing a hand down his face as he did so. "Any news from the hospital?"

"No. Dr Nunez said someone would call me once Juliet was settled in ICU. I guess they have a lot to do before anyone can visit." Paige eyed the clock in the kitchen. It had only been ninety minutes or so since she had got home. Even if it had felt like an eternity. "I have so much to do, and I don't know where to begin, H."

Henry looked over at Paige from the couch. "What do you need to do? Other than be with Juliet, what else?"

"Well, I need to go to the bar and clean up. The longer I leave…that stuff on the floor, the harder it will be to get the stain out. If I can even get the stain out."

"That's not something you need to worry about, Paige. I can take care of it."

"I know, but it'll give me something to do and hopefully take my mind off all the waiting. I don't know how long Juliet will be asleep for." Paige's heart constricted. What if something went drastically wrong and Juliet didn't wake up at all? "She will wake up, won't she?"

"You and I both know that she's going to wake up. She's too stubborn to do anything else." Henry winked, coaxing a laugh from Paige. "I've spoken to a few people. They all told me that Big Ron has been asking about Juliet. She was his lawyer a few years ago. Didn't manage to get him off the charges. None of them specifically told me that he was responsible for encouraging Cara, but that has to be how this started. It's too much of a coincidence. I'm guessing they're probably related."

"Right." Paige nodded slowly as she crossed the room with two coffees. "You think it's something to do with this Big Ron, then?"

"Oh, one hundred percent. I have no doubt that he placed Cara at your bar to do exactly what she did. He doesn't care who he hurts or who gets caught in the crossfire. He's always been a selfish, heartless prick." Henry scoffed. "I'm hearing that his wife was terminal at the time he was on trial. He expected Juliet to get him off, she didn't manage it, and so he blames her for him not being with his wife when she passed away."

Paige sat down on the couch facing Henry. "While it's really shit that he couldn't be with her, that's not Juliet's fault. Maybe if he hadn't found himself in court in the first place, none of this would have happened."

Henry smiled at that. "Oh, if only it was that simple. The criminals in this world don't see life the way you see it, Paige. Or how most of us see it. Ron will always be of the opinion that he deserves the very best in life, regardless of the crimes he's committed. The only benefit in all of this is that he'll never see the outside world again. He was sentenced to thirty years inside, and he's already in his seventies."

"But as we've seen recently, he has people who are willing to do whatever he wants them to do." Paige wasn't sure she would settle in the near future, regardless of whether Cara was inside or not. It didn't feel as though this Big Ron guy would just let it go. Not when he had been so close to getting the end result he wanted. "How do we keep her safe, H?"

"You let me deal with that." Something in Henry's eyes changed for a split second. A determination seemed to flash in them. "Nobody is getting away with any of this."

"Please be careful. If anything happens to you, neither of us will forgive ourselves."

Paige was sure that Henry could handle himself, but she didn't know the kind of people they were dealing with here. Yes, they were violent and had no issues trying to kill someone, but just how far would they go when it came to making sure everyone knew who they were? People like Ron thought they were the top dog, and most of the time, they liked to prove exactly that.

Just as Paige was about to try and relax for a little while, her phone started to ring in the pocket of her hoodie. She looked down at the screen. An unknown number was calling her.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Paige. This is Detective Bond calling from St Anne Street police station."

Her shoulders tensed. Hopefully, they were calling to tell Paige that Cara had been arrested. "Hi. Do you have more news?"

"At the moment, no. We're continuing enquiries. We do need to take a statement from you, though. Is now a good time to head over and do that?"

She eyed Henry. He would have to leave, that was for sure. "Sure. Could you give me about thirty minutes?"

"Absolutely. We'll see you then."

"Okay. Bye." Paige lowered her phone to the couch and turned her attention back to Henry. "That was the police. They're coming over to take my statement, so you should probably get out of here."

Henry nodded and took his jacket from the arm of the couch. "No problem. I'll be downstairs if you need anything. Just give me a call when you're ready to head back to the hospital, and I'll take you."

Paige rose to her feet and pulled Henry into a hug. She couldn't say she had ever done that before, Henry didn't seem like the type to be affectionate, but he readily accepted it. "Thanks, H. I appreciate you being here."

"I'll always be around. If I hear anything else, I'll let you know."

Henry crossed the room and left, closing the door softly behind him. He was a burly guy, he must have stood at almost seven foot, but there was a kindness and a gentleness to him that Paige didn't expect when she first heard about the visit he'd paid to James. Henry was the very definition of never judge a book by its cover.

Sitting alone, Paige decided she would use this time to clear her head. When she arrived back at the hospital later that evening, she wanted Juliet to only feel calm. She may be sedated, but Paige was sure she would feel it.

She feels everything between us.

Paige lifted Juliet's hand and kissed it, placing it against her face where it felt right. Whenever Juliet touched her face, Paige always felt tremendous love pouring into her. Even now, unconscious, Juliet still offered that. She always would. No matter what the outcome of all of this, Paige would never not feel the love Juliet had for her.

She closed her eyes, leaning into Juliet's touch. Just a few hours ago, Paige had been sitting on the floor of the bar, begging this very woman to live. She had rocked her and soothed her and prayed to anyone who could be listening. Somehow, Juliet had pulled through, though for the sheer amount of blood, Paige couldn't fathom how. It hadn't seemed possible as she asked Juliet to stay awake. As Juliet's once shaking body had become limp in her lap, Paige hadn't imagined sitting here, waiting for the love of her life to wake up.

It may take some time, but it would happen.

She would see Juliet's beautiful smile again.

As Paige lowered Juliet's hand and stroked her fingers gently against the back of it, there was a light knock on the door. The door opened, and a nurse popped her head inside. "You have some visitors. We only usually allow two at the bedside, but I can make an exception this evening."

Paige smiled and nodded. It would be Hannah and Caz. "Thanks. Tell them to come in, please."

The nurse stepped away, and in walked a shaking Hannah and a very pale looking Caz. Neither of them said anything, just a supportive hand from both of them placed to Paige's shoulders.

"Thanks for coming in. The silence was beginning to drive me insane."

Hannah squeezed Paige's shoulder, and then she sniffled. "I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this."

"Yeah, it's pretty rough. But she's alive, and that's all I care about." Paige closed her eyes, only to open them suddenly when an image of a dying Juliet flashed in her mind again. God, she needed to block those memories out. She'd never sleep again otherwise. "Have a seat if you like." Paige glanced back over her shoulder, her heart hurting at the sight of Caz standing in the corner, tears slipping down her face. "Hey, come on. She's going to be okay."

"I-I know." Caz pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. "It's just a lot to see. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise. You're our friends. It's a shock." Paige wished she could come clean about why this had happened, or at least why they believed it had happened, but she couldn't do that without speaking to Juliet first. "Please don't tell her I let you two see her like this."

"Oh, God. None of us would ever live it down," Hannah said, lightening the mood. The slight laughter around Juliet's bed was very much appreciated. "If she asks, she had a full face of makeup on, and her hair was immaculate."

"Perfect." Paige smiled, lifting Juliet's hand again and pressing it to her face. "She's lovely and warm."

"Good. We all need her to be as comfortable as possible." Caz finally took the seat beside Hannah, looking up at the ceiling as she blinked away the last of her tears. "Have you heard anything from the police?"

"They've been and taken a statement from me, but I didn't have very much to tell them since I arrived after it happened." Paige hoped that would satisfy their friends. She couldn't say much more than that. "Does Edie know?"

"She…knows Juliet is in hospital, but she doesn't know why."

Paige nodded. "Probably for the best at the minute. No use frightening the kid if you don't need to." Paige and Juliet knew all about Edie and her anxiety. It was important she only knew the bare minimum. The reasons for Juliet being here wouldn't make a difference, not really. Edie's mental health took priority. "Is she staying with a friend, or is she home alone tonight?"

"She has her best friend over. They're having a film night with snacks while we're out. Edie mentioned something about her birthday planning, too."

"I still can't believe she's turning sixteen in a few months."

Hannah puffed out her cheeks. "God, I know. It's hard to believe I've managed to keep her alive all this time. When I had Edie, I could barely look after myself."

Paige found that hard to believe. When she looked at Hannah, all she saw was a picture of strength. Hannah always seemed calm and unbothered by life. But Paige didn't know the old Hannah. She only knew this one. "Whatever the plans, we'd like to be involved."

"You really think she would agree to anything without you and Juliet there?" Caz cut in, a brow lifted. "Edie adores you both."

"And we adore her." Paige kissed the back of Juliet's hand. "Right, babe?"

The room fell silent, with everyone secretly wishing Juliet would respond. But she didn't…she couldn't. Paige swallowed down the lump in her throat, wondering just how long it would take for Juliet to open her eyes. She knew it wouldn't be in the next couple of days, Dr Nunez had explained as much, but would it be weeks? God, she hoped not.

"Have you eaten, Paige?" Caz shifted in her seat. "Are you keeping hydrated?"

"Yeah. I can't drink any more water. The officer outside will think I keep running to the toilets to do coke or something."

That garnered a slight chuckle from Caz. "And the food? You are eating, right?"

"I managed a round of toast before I came back here before. Couldn't stomach anything else." Paige had always had a great appetite. Even if she wanted to eat, she just couldn't. She didn't feel hungry. She just felt nervous and wary of everything going on around her. "I'll eat once I feel like something, though. Promise."

Hannah sighed, smirking as she eyed Caz. "You're such a mum, babe."

Paige watched their interaction, preferring it over the miserable atmosphere in this room. Even though the air con was on, it felt stuffy. Even though it was still light outside the window—the summer night's approaching—it felt dreary in here. There was very little life happening inside these four walls, even if the room was filled with people.

"Look, if Juliet finds out that we haven't been taking care of Paige, all hell will break loose. Do you really want to be on the receiving end of that?"

"No. You're right." Hannah slumped back in her seat. "Get some food down you, Paige. Do as you're told."

Paige laughed, squeezing Juliet's hand gently. "She knows you're both looking after me. Don't worry about that."

"So, what's next?" Hannah asked.

"Well, I need to go to the bar and clean up. The place is…looking less than desirable at the minute."

Hannah hung her head at that. "Do you think it's a good idea for you to take care of that? We could always hire a company to come in and do what needs to be done. I'll look around for you."

Paige shook her head. "No. I'd like to do it myself. It might help me to come to terms with what the fuck has happened today."

Caz draped an arm around Paige's shoulders. "If you need us, you'll call?"

"Of course. But I think I'll be okay. I just want to make sure Juliet has a restful night before I even think about leaving here again. I'll probably go over there tomorrow to at least see what the damage is. I think I ended up wearing more of her blood than the floor did." Paige's voice wavered slightly, but she managed to compose herself. "Anyway, none of that is important tonight. Juliet is still here; she's going to recover, and we will all forget about this soon." Paige lowered her head to the forearm resting across the rail around Juliet's bed. She just needed five minutes to find some energy, and then she would step outside for fresh air. "If I fall asleep, wake me up in ten."