Page 45 of Welcome to the Cornish Country Hospital

‘Don’t you dare!’ She cut Lucas off before he could turn into even more of a walking cliché than he’d already become. ‘Don’t even try it, because this is exactly what it looks like.’

‘I’ve got to… I’ve got to go and see a patient.’ Thalia didn’t even look at Danni as she mumbled an excuse to leave, and she was clearly terrified by the rage that felt as if it was radiating from every cell in Danni’s body. But this wasn’t about her; it was about Lucas and what he was doing to Esther. And as far as Danni was concerned, Thalia disappearing could only be a good thing.

‘Don’t overreact.’ Lucas’s attempt to reach out to Danni, the moment Thalia had left the room, made her roar.

‘Overreact! You’re supposed to be getting married. You told me you were certain and that all of this other stuff had proved to you how much you love Esther. So explain to me how grinding your body against Thalia’s, and telling her God knows what to get her into bed, helps prove how much you love your fiancée.’

‘It wasn’t like that.’ Lucas looked directly at Danni and she could still remember the first time their eyes had locked, and how she’d felt something she couldn’t even describe. But now she knew it was a trick. Lucas had a way of making you feel like you were the only person in the room, the only person in the world, when he wanted to. Except it had just been an act, because he could turn it on and off whenever he chose.

‘So, whatwasit like, then?’ Every word she said to him tasted bitter in her mouth, but part of her wanted to know just how many more lies he was willing to tell.

‘I’ve just been feeling overwhelmed by the anniversary of losing Mum, and because she and Dad won’t be at the wedding. Thalia was just comforting me, that’s all.’ He sounded so convincing that Danni was beginning to think he believed his own excuses, but she’d heard it all before.

‘The anniversary was weeks ago, and your parents have both been dead for a long time; when are you going to stop using that to try and get you out of trouble? You’re not a fourteen-year-old coping with life without your mum any more, and it’s time you grew the hell up and stopped using your parents’ deaths as a way of getting whatever you want from the latest sap willing to fall for it. God, I wish I’d learnt my lesson about you right at the start. I feel sorry for Thalia.’

‘No you don’t; you’re a jealous bitch.’ The change in Lucas’s expression was like day turning to night and he almost spat the words at her, a look of pure venom in his eyes. ‘You’ve always been jealous of my relationship with Esther, hanging around when we didn’t want you there, desperate for attention from both of us, but most of all from me. Now you can’t stand it, because Thalia’s the one I’m leaning on for support. You knew you could never have me the way you wanted to, because I love Esther, so you got your kicks from trying to be close to me in whatever way you could: telling me about your dad and comparing that to losing my parents. But I’ve seen through you now.’

‘You’ve seen through me! Are you for real? I should have told Esther a long time ago, but when she finds out about—’

Lucas grabbed hold of her wrist hard, before she could finish speaking, and the heat of his breath on her face made her stomach churn. ‘Esther isn’t going to find out anything, because there’s nothing to tell. She already knows you wish it was you I was marrying. We laugh at you when we’re together, you do realise that, don’t you? Esther is more sympathetic, of course: “Poor Danni, following you around like a lovesick puppy, I wish she’d find someone who could make her as happy as you make me.” But she knows how jealous you are really. And if you go running to her now, trying to tell her that there’s something going on between me and Thalia, she’ll know you’re lying and she’ll know why. Because you want the one thing you’re never going to get, and you can’t stand the thought of her having it instead. It’s you who’ll be pushed out of Esther’s life, not me, and then what will you have? Nothing.’

‘I’d rather risk that than know I stood by and let her make the biggest mistake of her life.’ Danni’s words were full of bravado as she finally wrenched her wrist free from his grasp, and she’d rather have died than let him see the tears that were stinging her eyes. Grabbing the door handle, she bolted from the room, not looking back in case Lucas was behind her. She kept running, down the corridor, out through the double doors. If she looked down, she was convinced she’d be able to see blood seeping through her top, because Lucas’s words had been like a blade cutting into her, over and over again.

The things he’d said about her were true, or at least they had been once. When she’d talked to Lucas about losing their parents, she’d really believed they understood each other on a level no one else would. Only now she could see it was part of his plan; he was a master manipulator and it had taken her all this time to see it. Even if it cost her everything, she had to try to help Esther see through the façade as well, before it was too late. With Lucas’s final threat that she’d be left with nothing ringing in her ears, she finally stopped running as she reached the entrance to A&E. Taking a deep breath, she went in.

* * *

Danni had wanted to blurt everything out to Esther the moment she’d seen her. But her best friend had been in the middle of treating a young boy with a nasty gash on his forehead, after falling off his bicycle. At the same time, Danni had been dealing with a middle-aged woman who’d presented with the symptoms of a possible stroke, all the time praying that the next patient through the doors wouldn’t be someone they’d need to call Lucas down to assess. She needed to speak to Esther first, before Lucas did. Although, knowing him, he’d still be betting on the fact that Danni wouldn’t risk her friendship with Esther by saying anything. Looking back now, she suspected there’d been numerous other women who’dcomfortedLucas over the years. He’d always claimed the attention she’d witnessed him getting was one-sided, but now she wasn’t so sure. In fact, she was almost certain of it.

‘We’ve got another patient on the way in.’ Gary’s voice behind Danni made her jump. She’d just been able to downgrade the suspected stroke patient when the scan results had shown a TIA, or mini-stroke. Danni had arranged for the woman to be moved to the clinical decisions unit for further observation and tests, before a decision was made by one of the specialist teams about a treatment plan. So she’d been staring into the distance, thinking about the situation with Esther and Lucas, when Gary had alerted her with the news that another patient was about to arrive, and she turned slowly to look at him. ‘The patient’s a sixty-nine-year-old male who was witnessed having a fall outside a shop on Harbour Street. According to those on scene, there was a brief loss of consciousness, but they’re unsure if that’s as a result of the fall, or if it’s what caused the fall. He’s talking and coherent now, with a GCS of fifteen.’

‘Thank you.’ Danni’s response sounded robotic, but she was going to have to rely on going into a kind of professional autopilot until she’d had the chance to speak to Esther.

‘He should be here in about two minutes. Oh, hold on, that looks like him now.’ Gary was facing the entrance to the department and, when Danni turned around, she realised straight away that she knew the patient.

‘Richard?’ She might be about to assess his condition, but she didn’t need a monitor to tell her that her own heartrate had suddenly shot up. This wasn’t just any patient; this was Charlie’s dad, and she couldn’t bear the thought that the chance for them to get to know one another might be slipping away.

‘I’ve been an idiot.’ There was so much sadness in his eyes, it gave Danni goosebumps as she walked by the side of the trolley stretchering Richard into resus.

‘Do you want me to call Charlie?’ If this moment of vulnerability was the one chance of Richard letting his guard down for long enough to let his son in, she didn’t want to miss it.

‘I asked the woman who called the ambulance to do it. He said he’d come straight here.’ Richard closed his eyes for a moment. ‘I’m scared I’ve left it too late, all because I’m the same pig-headed idiot I’ve always been.’

‘If Charlie’s on his way in, it must mean he wants to see you.’ Danni wasn’t going to tell him she already knew how much Charlie wanted the chance to get to know his biological father; that was a conversation for the two of them to have. But she wanted to be able to give Richard some comfort.

‘I know and I don’t deserve that, after the way I’ve treated him. But I’m worried that there won’t be any time. I haven’t been taking the medication I was prescribed, thinking I could get by myself. But when I felt myself falling and I knew I was going to faint again, I realised just how much of a fool I’ve been.’

‘If it’s your blood pressure again, we’ll get it sorted. It’s not too late for anything and, even though I shouldn’t be saying this as your doctor, maybe it’s a good thing if it’s made you realise what you want.’

‘You’re some maid, do you know that? It’s no wonder Charlie likes you so much.’ Richard smiled for the first time and Danni wrinkled her nose as she tried to work out whethersome maidwas a compliment or not.

‘It means “what a woman”.’ Gary grinned. ‘It’s an old Cornish expression, a bit before your time, but I think you’ve got yourself another new friend.’

‘Thank you.’ Danni reached out and touched Richard’s arm, wanting to tell him just how much she liked Charlie too. It wasn’t the time or the place, but it lifted a tiny bit of the weight that had been pressing down on her since the row with Lucas. If things went the way he’d predicted with Esther, Danni was going to need all the new friends she could get.

* * *

‘Well, your blood pressure was sky high, which probably explains why you fainted again, but we seem to have been able to get it all under control now.’ Danni fixed Richard with a serious look. ‘We’re going to need to run a few more tests and admit you overnight for observation. Hopefully it will all just be down to you not taking your medication, but you can’t keep taking chances like this.’

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