Chapter Twenty Three

Chloe glanced up at Lee and smiled at him as he helped her to the bench. She sighed to herself as she sat on her bench, gazing around at the familiar surroundings. As much as she disliked being in the hospital, it was better than being here, at least the hospital was warm and comfortable. Lee perched on the bench beside her, watching her closely, still concerned about her. Chloe began to shiver so she pulled down the sleeves on her jumper, trying to keep her hands warm.

"It's going to be cold tonight." she said quietly, her heart plummeting at the thought of spending a night outside in the middle of winter without so much as a blanket. Lee nodded in agreement and glanced around, looking for Danny. He wanted Danny to get here so that the three of them could search for Chloe's possessions and get out of this park as soon as possible. Chloe glanced up as Megan quickly walked over to her.

"Oh my god Chloe, I heard what happened are you okay?!" she exclaimed as soon as she reached Chloe.

"I'm fine." Chloe said quietly. Megan smiled and quickly hugged Chloe.

"Be gentle with me." she winced as Megan squeezed her tightly.

"Sorry." Megan said, quickly letting go of Chloe.

"Everyone has been really worried about you. The police were all over the park yesterday, looking for evidence." Megan told her.

Chloe smiled at Megan, not quite believing her that everyone was worried about her but appreciating that she was trying to be kind. Megan kept glancing at Lee and then raising her eyebrow at Chloe questioningly. Chloe shook her head slowly at Megan, subtly giving her the cue to leave it alone. Chloe chanced a glance at Lee and frowned to herself when she saw that he hadn't moved. He was still sitting, with his arms resting on his thighs, his eyes scanning the park, almost like he was checking for danger. Lee jumped slightly when Chloe slowly linked her arm through his and snuggled against him, trying to get warm when she couldn't stand being cold any longer. He glanced at her for a moment, before quickly returning to gazing around the park.

"Chloe, you look like you're freezing." Megan said quietly when she noticed Chloe shivering. Chloe nodded slowly.

"I'll check if I have a spare blanket." Megan told her, before quickly walking away.

"Are you okay, you haven't said a word since we got here?" Chloe asked Lee as soon as Megan walked away.

"I'm just on high alert, I really don't like you being back here." he said quickly.

"No one will try anything in the daylight." she told him. Lee sighed and eventually turned to face her, frowning to himself when he noticed for the first time that Chloe was shivering. He unlinked their arms and gently took her hands between his, blowing warm air onto them to try and warm them up. Chloe eventually locked eyes with him and smiled slightly under his gaze. She liked this softer side to him that he liked to keep hidden.

"What?" he frowned.

"Nothing." she said quickly. She was saved from any further questioning by Danny quickly walking over to them.

"Shall we go and look for your things?" Danny said as soon as he reached them. Chloe frowned at him, not entirely sure why he was in such a rush.

She suddenly remembered what Lee had told her in the car about him warning Danny to stay away from her, clearly Danny was keen to rush in the hope that Lee would leave once they'd found Chloe's belongings.

"Do you remember where you got stabbed?" Danny prompted when Chloe didn't answer.

"I got changed here." Chloe said thoughtfully, trying to mentally retrace her steps during that fateful night.

"You got changed on a bench?" Lee frowned.

"Yes, it was dark, nobody saw anything." she said quickly, suddenly realising that in her weakened state she'd let something slip. Chloe reluctantly removed her hands from Lee's warm grasp and pointed north.

"Kirstie's house is that way, so I would have headed that direction." she told them.

"Surely you remember where you found her?" Lee blurted at Danny; his eyes fixed on Chloe as he watched her slowly stand up.

"Not really, it's a bit of a blur." Danny said quietly. Lee watched Chloe shuffle along for a moment before he quickly walked over to her and picked her up.

"Put me down!" Chloe protested as he carried her in the direction that she'd pointed out. Danny quickly bringing up the rear.

"I can walk!" she added when he didn't respond.

"I know, but it takes ages, and I don't want to linger." he told her. Chloe sighed to herself, deciding not to argue with him. Even though she liked her independence, she couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of being in his strong arms. Even though she was still in the park, she suddenly felt safe and protected, like nothing could touch her.

"I'm guessing it was here." Lee mumbled, his stomach churning when he noticed a pool of blood on the grass. Chloe looked around and nodded slowly.

"How did you know?" she asked Lee as he carefully set her down.

"There's blood on the ground." Lee told her, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry. Chloe followed his eyeline and gasped as she saw a pool of her own blood on the ground. The realisation suddenly dawning on her of exactly what she had been through.

"If any of your things have been dumped, I think it'll be over there." Danny said quickly, pointing to a wooded area across the park.

"Yeah probably, I don't care about my clothes and things, just the sentimental items." she sighed, leaning her back against a tree.

"We might find the photo album and your Dad's letter, but whoever robbed you will have kept your parents wedding rings, since they are the only thing of value you own." Danny told her gently.

"I know." Chloe whispered, gently stroking her bare neck. Danny nodded slowly before walking away, towards the wooded area.

"I feel so weird not having them round my neck anymore." Chloe admitted thoughtfully. Lee stared at her, wishing there was something that he could do to help but knowing there was nothing he could say or do to make her feel better.

"That's when I fought back when he ripped them off my neck." she continued, gazing at the pool of blood on the ground, almost as if she was talking to herself.

"Well, they meant a lot to you didn't they." he sighed sadly as he watched her heart slowly breaking. Chloe nodded slowly before quickly pushing herself up off the tree. She kept her eyes fixed on the wooded area as she slowly walked towards it, determined to reach it on her own. Lee followed closely, making sure he was beside her in case she fell again. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at the determined expression on her pretty features. She'd been through so much in her twenty-four years, but she was mentally stronger than a lot of people that he knew. No matter how much she got knocked down she refused to be beaten. Eventually they caught up to Danny who was still rummaging through the bushes. Chloe glanced at Lee as he stood glaring at passers-by that were watching Chloe struggling to hold herself up.

He heard them whispering to each other, suggesting that Chloe was one of the park junkies.

"This really isn't good; you should be at home resting." Lee sighed when Chloe wobbled again, and he quickly reached out to steady her.

"I'm fine." she whispered, shivering against him.

"No, you're not, I'm taking you home." Lee insisted.

"You can't take me home." she said quietly. Her heart pounded against her chest as she suddenly realised that Lee wasn't going to stop pressuring her until she caved in and told him the truth. She'd never wanted to tell anyone about her living situation, to see the pity on their faces as they realised just how pathetic she really was. Chloe glanced up as Danny pulled her backpack out of a bush and walked over to her, quickly placing it on the floor and rummaging through it.

"I think most of your clothes are still in here." Danny told her.

"I don't care about my clothes." she sighed.

"Why don't you look through the bag and I'll check the surrounding area?" Danny suggested.

Chloe nodded and slowly placed her bag on a tree stump, before carefully leaning over and rummaging through it. Lee watched her closely as she frantically pulled out her belongings, desperately searching for something. He glanced at the bag as she suddenly stopped rummaging and slowly pulled out a photo album, her hands trembling slightly. She opened the album, sighing in relief when she saw the letter from her father still safely tucked inside the front cover. Before Lee could react, she dropped to her knees, clutching the photo album tightly against her heart, her fingernails digging into it. His heart broke as she began to cry, her breath coming out in loud sobs that she couldn't control. The relief of finding the only connection that she now had to her parents, overwhelming her and bringing everything to the surface that she had been keeping in check for some time. Lee stared at her, not entirely sure what to do as he watched her emotionally breaking down in front of him, her sobs filled with such anguish that he could feel himself becoming emotional.

Danny glared at Lee accusingly as he walked back over to join them, clearly thinking that Lee had said something to upset her.

"Why couldn't he have just killed me?!" she sobbed sadly.

"I have nothing left to live for anyway." she continued.

"Don't say that." Lee sniffed, trying to keep his emotions in check, even though he was struggling with seeing the woman he loved in so much pain and anguish. Chloe ignored him and continued to sob, unable to control her emotions anymore. Every time that she let out a sob, she felt a searing pain tear through her abdomen, but she didn't care. She'd been holding back on how she was feeling for so many months that she just couldn't pretend any longer. She had nothing, not even a home to call her own and nobody that cared about her. Her existence seeming small and insignificant.

"I want my family back; I'd give anything to feel loved again." she whispered sadly. Lee opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it again, not entirely sure what he was going to say anyway. He watched her as she sat silently, not even moving, too exhausted to even cry anymore. Lee couldn't stand seeing her like that anymore, when he knew that there was nothing, he could do to take her pain away.

"I need a minute." Lee muttered, before walking away from her. He knew that he had to get away from her before he could no longer control his emotions. Chloe glanced up at him as he walked away, slightly confused as to why he was leaving her side when up until now he'd refused too. She decided not to dwell on it and opened the photo album, slowly leafing through the pages, smiling as she stared at the happy memories of her and her family, before everything was torn apart.

"I'll go and see if I can find any more of your things." Danny said awkwardly, feeling slightly uncomfortable that he had no idea what to say to her. Chloe nodded, sighing quietly to herself as she sat alone with her thoughts.