She took one deep inhalation and closed her eyes.
‘It’s fine, she can come in.’
Suddenly the weight of Sarah was next to her. She didn’t even think twice as they wrapped their arms around each other and Alice held her friend close.
‘There’s my Alice. God, I’ve missed you.’
Alice opened her eyes, and through the tears started to bring her best friend’s face into focus. She took in Sarah’s blonde hair, still fine and short, framing those elfin featuresand those eyes. The eyes that were coloured the deepest, brightest, kindest blue she’d ever seen. To look at them, you couldn’t have found two more opposite people. For all of Sarah’s lightness and brightness, Alice had an intense darkness. One of the guys at work had once kindly described Alice as ‘one of those earthy types. You know, a Stonehenge type of beautiful.’ Despite her pride being just a little wounded, she had to admit she knew what he meant. Still didn’t stop Dan from Accounting being an absolute arsehole though.
The thing was, Alice had a presence about her. Her frame was strong and sturdy, and standing tall at nearly six foot there was no hiding her. Sarah, on the other hand, was small in all directions. Barely tall enough for her head to graze Alice’s armpit, she was slight and dainty.
‘Sarah. Why the hell di—’
‘Don’t even start. My best friend in the entire fucking world has been badly injured, in fact nearlykilled, and on top of that isn’t replying to one single message I send her. Obviously I’m going to fly to be by her bedside. And don’t bullshit me, because I know you’d do exactly the same for me.’
Like she said, there was no way she’d want to go up against Sarah in a fight.
‘Now, move up and make some space for me on this tiny piece-of-shit bed, and tell me what the hell happened.’
‘Jesus Christ. You’re literally here for less than a minute and you’re already telling me what to do.’
‘Yes,’ she said defiantly, swinging her legs up on to the bed without waiting for Alice to move. ‘What did you expect?’
Alice looked her friend square in the face and was filled with such affection it made her heart want to burst.
‘Absolutely nothing less.’
‘I thought so. Now please move up, my arse is hanging off the side here.’
Oddly, considering that Alice had not voluntarily let anyone this close to her since the accident, it didn’t feel uncomfortable having Sarah lie next to her. It felt like coming home.
‘So, now we’re sitting comfortably, are you going to tell me what happened?’
Alice closed her eyes and began reciting all the information about the accident she’d managed to piece together. The only way she was going to get through it was to relay the events as though they belonged to someone else. There was no emotion left in her voice. Sarah listened patiently – she did not flinch or gasp or react, she simply allowed Alice to tell her story in its wholeness. The only sign that she was present was the hand that clasped hers tightly.
‘… and as soon as I was stable they moved me to this ward, I guess to kind of rehabilitate me before they eventually discharge me.’
There was a long pause. Saying it out loud had brought the enormity of what had happened to life, and Alice could see her friend trying to digest it all at once.
‘I can’t believe you went through all of that by yourself!’ She nestled her face into Alice’s neck. ‘If you weren’t in hospital right now, I’d be pretty mad you didn’t demand I come over sooner. In fact, I am livid you didn’t give the hospital my mobile number, but I’m not surprised. It was a very clever move, Alice, but it didn’t work, did it? When will you realize you can’t do everything on your own? Anyway, that’s by the by. I’m here now, aren’t I? Have they said anything about when you might be ready to leave? What’s the treatment plan? Are they helping you enough? Do you want me tospeak to one of the doctors? Someone told me you had barely spoken until recently? It’s not good enough if they aren’t supporting you, Al.’
Hurricane Sarah had officially hit and Alice wasn’t quite sure the Moira Gladstone ward was ready for it. Remnants of last night’s conversation floated through her mind. It seemed that Alfie would actually get the privilege of meeting Sarah in the flesh.
‘Just breathe for a second, will you?’ It was what Alice always used to tell Sarah when she got herself worked up. ‘They’ve been amazing. Truly.’
‘OK.’ Sarah deflated before her eyes. ‘I’m just trying to make up for lost time here. So tell me, what have they done so far?’
Alice could feel her friend’s entire being slow down to a normal pace. It was important to get her to switch gears when she was in these moods, otherwise she had the potential to upturn everything in her path. ‘I’ve had one operation, and depending on how the wounds heal and how bad the scarring is, there may be more. At the moment I’m doing physio to get me moving again, and they are treating the wounds every other day. It’s a bit of a waiting game.’
‘Fine. Well, you know I’ll help you with whatever you need.’ Sarah seemed satisfied with her answer, but Alice knew this was only temporary. Sarah liked action; she practically lived on to-do lists and tasks, and she was willing to bet big money that more questions were just around the corner.
‘And how … how are you feeling about it all?’
There it was. The one question she really didn’t want to answer.
‘I was talking to Alfie about this last night. It’s all stillquite overwhelming. The thought of leaving here feels way too big right now. I can’t even look at myself in the mirror – how am I going to be able to walk down the street, or leave the flat!’
She felt Sarah squeeze her hand tighter.
