Charlie was being questioned by Tim and Lydia in the dining room. I could hear them talk. They wanted to know where they had both come from, but I knew where Shirley was from.
I sat there thinking whilst I stared at her face and I realised something. I wondered if my sister had also recognised Shirley. I wasn't sure if she had seen her before at school all those years ago, but then Janice was a few years older than myself and she would have been 18 by then. She had gone away to university to study Nursing. She probably hadn't known her personally, but she would have, at least, heard of her.
I decided that I would keep this to myself for a while as I sat there and stared at Shirley's weak, ashen face. The paleness of her cheeks had given her a weak, sullen expression. I wondered if she would make it until her eyelids, slowly flickered open and stared into mine.
Suddenly, her eyes widened with fear. Her mouth opened and loud, piercing screams yelled repeatedly from her lungs. I tried to calm her, but she just fought me until Jenny appeared and injected something into the side of her arm. Shirley's body went limp after a few seconds and I fell back into the chair, knowing that she would once again, freak out when she saw my face.
28. Lydia Brown - The Past
I ran into the room and saw Aiden standing by the bed and Jenny holding an empty needle in her hand.
"What happened in here? I heard screams!" I asked urgently as I, frantically, looked at Aiden, then at Jenny.
"Well... I had to give her something to calm her down... she was suddenly hysterical," said Jenny.
"But why is she like that?" I asked curiously.
"Lydia, I need to talk to you." Aiden interrupted.
I stared at him and saw that he seemed upset about something. I noticed how he winced as he walked towards me.
"Are you okay Aiden? What's wrong?"
He pulled me outside into the hallway and took a sharp, deep breath before speaking.
"I know her," he said.
"Know who?" I asked.
"Shirley... I knew her years ago at school. She was big then too and she was bullied by everyone because of it. The kids that bullied her were my friends." He said as he paced up and down like a nervous child.
"Your friends? Did you bully her too?" I asked as I felt disbelief waft over.
"No... God no... not me... I never did anything, but I never stopped it either. I was always standing in the background though... whilst it went on." Aiden expressed ashamedly.
"Why didn't you stop it? You just don't seem the type to... well... you know... be a bully." I said honestly.
"Trust me Lydia... I'm not a bully... but I was a coward." Aiden said as I watched him bow down his head with shame.
"Aiden... I'm sure she will understand as soon as you explain it to her. Don't worry... it will work itself out... I'm sure of it." I said trying to reassure him.
"I hope so... because now she has seen me... well... I think she is afraid or maybe she's just angry with me." He said with animosity.
"Don't worry about it... there are more things to worry about these days than that... you were only young back then... weren't you? How old were you?" I asked.
"I was 15 years old and a stupid, dumb kid... I got involved with those fools I hung around with. I felt sorry for Shirley and I wanted to do something for her... help her... but I didn't and now she's here."
"Hey... it'll be fine... she will forgive you... I'm sure of it." I lied looking at Shirley at the same time. Somehow, I knew she was going to be bitter with Aiden.
"How can you be so sure?" he asked.
"I just am... now go and get something to eat and forget about this for a while... go... or I'll get Tim and Joe to drag you out of here." I said, smiling at him.
Aiden was a good person. I could see that now. He was pretty genuine and I wanted to ease his pain. I didn't think he should dwell on the past, because we had more worrying things on our plate at present. For one thing, Tim wanted Shirley and Charlie to leave tomorrow, but I wasn't too sure that he was right. We worried that we might need more people to help us survive and Shirley seemed determined about that part.
I decided to go and chat with Tim. I wanted to persuade him and make him see it my way. I walked into the dining room and saw Charlie sitting there with him.
"Everything okay in here?" I asked as I walked over and pulled a chair out next to Tim.
"Yep... everything is good so far." Tim said.
"Good... hey... Charlie.... Why don't you go in that room over there and sit with Shirley for a while... she's sleeping, but she's going to be just fine." I said pointing to the door opposite us.
"Hey Lydia... I'm not finished with Charlie yet... I need to ask him some more questions." Tim said.
"I'm sure you've asked enough for now. Go on Charlie... go see her in there." I said with authority.
I watched Charlie leave the room. I was aware that Tim was staring at me with a curious, screwed up expression on his face.
"What did you do that for? Why did you interrupt like that? You know I was in the middle of asking him some important questions." Tim said as I noticed his tone wasn't angry, but it was kind of soft
