Emmerdale : Bleeding Love (Ross Barton/OFC fanfic)

That Time When... She's Dead

"Vic? What's happened?"

Robert was hot on the heels of his sister as she raced out of the door at Home Farm.

"She's dead."

"What? Who?"

"Katie. Up at the farm. Oh God, Robert, Andy was screaming for us."

"C'mon. Get in my car. Let's go."

* * * * *

After the last of the party guests had left and the police had long gone, Robert had invited Andy to stay. Chrissie had made up the bed in one of the spare rooms and, after downing a few whiskys, Andy had gone upstairs to shut himself away, claiming that he 'just needed to be alone for a while'. No one tried to stop him. Chrissie had since changed out of her wedding gown and now she, Robert and Ollie were sitting around the kitchen table; three glasses and a bottle of Three Barrels in front of them.

As she lifted the glass and took a small sip of the brandy her sister had poured her, Ollie's hand shook. She hadn't stopped shaking since hearing the news about Katie. The warming liquid did the trick and immediately dulled her senses. She hadn't touched a drop of alcohol the entire day, but Chrissie insisted a few sips for 'medicinal purposes' wouldn't do her any harm. Ollie was all too familiar with the dangers of turning to alcohol during a crisis and what those dangers could bring; especially now when it would be so easy to drink herself into oblivion. Another death. This was how it had all started. Her mother's death became the catalyst and in the four years since, she had lost her brother and her father too; and she'd found herself falling deeper down the rabbit hole.

But each time she thought about Katie at the farm, lying there alone in the dark and the cold, she wanted nothing more than to lose herself in the numb comfort that the brandy brought her. She didn't want to have to torture herself with the questions. What had happened up there? How long had she been lying there before Andy found her? How could this be happening again?

Today was meant to be a day of happiness and celebration, but right now it was hard to remember how happy they'd all been just a few short hours ago. She glanced at the clock above the AGA, it was a little after seven pm. Around the time she was supposed to meet up with Katie. Now she would never know what it was her friend wanted to share with her. She wished she could go back. She should have insisted on meeting earlier. Maybe Katie would still be alive. She took another sip. A deeper one this time. Her hand was still shaking.

The kitchen was quiet. Probably the quietest it had ever been. You could hear a pin drop throughout the entire house. Lawrence had felt in the way, so he had taken himself and Bernice to The Woolpack for a quiet drink, and Lachlan had left the party with Jacob to spend a few hours at his friend's house. Robert kept checking his mobile phone. Putting it down. Checking it again. Chrissie was twisting her wedding ring round and round on her finger. No one was saying anything. No one knew what to say. Ollie had barely uttered a word since Victoria had taken Andy's shocking phonecall. Even when the police had arrived to interview a few of the reception guests, she still had nothing to say. What was there to say? Her friend was dead.

But for Chrissie the silence was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Did the police say how it happened?" she asked breaking into the heavy silence.

Robert sighed and nodded. "Floor gave way." He picked up his phone again. "They think she broke her neck," he added.

"Oh my God..." Chrissie closed her eyes briefly and let go of a quiet breath. "I don't understand what she was doing up there in the first place," she said quietly.

"You heard what Diane said. She spent a lot of time there."

"Yes, but why? We pulled the sale. It wasn't going through. Did she want the place so badly? God, Robert, why do I feel so wretched about all of it?"