The girls all took the bus to the hospital after school, they had called their parents to tell them what had happened. Lucia was mainly being kept in for observation due to her concussion though the ribs were apparently a concern.

When they got to the hospital Lucia's mother met them in the foyer, she took one look at the gaggle of schoolgirls and said loudly "Out!" Pointing to the exit. "This is your fault, I don't want her near any of you!" The girls protested but a nurse gave them a glare for causing a scene so they slunk off.

Back outside they sat on covered benches near the bus stop, the rain was making a staccato drumming on the perspex overhead.

"Well this sucks." Susan huffed. "Poor Lucia's done nothing to deserve this."

"I don't see why her mum thinks it's our fault." Heather moaned.

"Not our, my." Jo admitted quietly. Hanging her head.

"Our." Susan insisted, subtly looking at Abby and Anne. "But now she's lumping everyone in on the blame."

"I think if anyone is to blame it's her, if Lucia had been allowed to talk to us she wouldn't have been alone for this to happen." Heather said angrily.

The girls fell silent, listening to the drumming of the rain.

"When's your mum arriving?" Jo asked eventually.

"Probably another half hour. She finished work at four so it will probably take about that to get here." Susan answered.

"My dad will be here soon. He was at home today so he would have left when I sent him that text." Jenny said. "You wanting a lift?"

"I'm wanting backup." Jo admitted, "an adult to fight in Lucia's corner."

"Lucia's mum is a religious zealot. I doubt she would listen anyway." Heather spat.

"Well. Worth a try." The rain returned to center point as the girls all got lost in their own thoughts.

Eventually a Mercedes Pulled up, it's windscreen wipers ineffectually swiping at the rain at full speed. The window rolled halfway down and Jenny's dad shouted "Who am I taking home?" Over the noise of the rain.

"We didn't get to see Lucia, her mum's being a bitch." Jenny called from the shelter of the perspex roof. "Jo was hoping you could try talking sense into her!" He nodded and the car pulled away to find a carpark. They didn't see him again until Susan's mum turned up, they were just having the same conversation and asking her to intervene when he showed up, collar up and hat on against the rain.

"She is adamant that Lucia isn't allowed visitors." He shouted, the rain beating abnormally loud on the roof. "She says she's sending her to another school!"

"But… it isn't our fault some psycho bitch tried to kill her." Susan complained.

"No, it's not, it's a knee jerk reaction but she wouldn't listen to me." Jenny's dad admitted. "Now, is anyone coming home in my car?"

He took Anne, Abby and his daughter home. Susan persuaded her mum to have a try talking to the woman so she and Jo were alone for a while staring out at the rain.

"You know, I normally like the rain." Jo said, staring morosely at the sheets of water bouncing off the tarmac. "I like running in it, and sitting watching it. I love thunderstorms." She twilled off, Susan didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue.

"Today it just seems depressing." She eventually finished.

Susan scooted over and gave her a hug. Cuddling up despite their wet jackets.

When eventually Susans mum turned up they looked at her hopefully only to see her shaking her head.

"She got quite heated, the nurse suggested I leave. Sorry girls."

The drive home was morose, Susan turned the radio off after what seemed like the fifth ad break without any music in-between.

"I hope she sends her to the same school as Mae." She said to fill the silence. "They could both do with a good friend at school. It must be really hard to make friends when everyone else has been there for almost five years already."

"It took me most of those five years myself." Jo reminded her.

"Oh yeah, I'm so glad Anne made friends with you." Susan said, turning and smiling at her girlfriend in the back seat.

"Are you? If she hadn't all this wouldn't be happening." Jo reminded her.

"Hey, it would have happened eventually." She glanced at her mum and decided not to continue that tack.

"I think her mum is just looking to control her, she's probably scared she's going to lose her when she goes to university." She frowned. "Perhaps Mae and Lucia can use that to get into the same uni as us? She could suggest that she would be close and then get a flat together in the same building as us all."

"I think perhaps you should run this grand plan past your father and I." Susan mum said ominously.

Susan's phone chimed, she pulled it out to check the text message, "Susan, it's not your fault. I'm going to be fine. I'm going to miss you but please, don't text back." Susan just stared at the phone, unbeliving, tears pooling in her eyes.