11
It felt as if the hospital room had a revolving door with people continuously coming and going. After hours spent in the Emergency Room, Ben had been transferred to a smaller room on the second floor, but it was anything but private. He lay in the relatively narrow bed, a white cotton sheet and blanket pulled up to his waist, as a nurse fussed at his bedside. She had replaced the bag of saline that was hanging off the stand to his left and then fiddled around preparing to inject some sort of painkiller or sedative into the port on the tubing that flowed into his arm. His mum stood watching, twisting her hands. Ben wished he could take away the lines that creased her forehead.
He turned his focus to the doctor. Through his pounding headache, he tried to concentrate on what the lady was saying.
“You are a very lucky young man. The laceration to your arm just missed an artery. It was deep but has been stitched, and you will need to keep the arm immobilised for a couple of weeks, but it should heal well. You also have a mild concussion and some other minor cuts and abrasions. We want to keep you in overnight for monitoring but don’t expect any complications. You should be able to be released in the morning. Do you have any questions, Mr Cooper?”
He shook his head, regretting the movement as the nausea welled up again. The doctor left the room, followed shortly afterwards by the nurse. His mother moved closer to the bed and picked up his good hand from where it lay on the covers.
Tears had left tracks down her cheeks. “Oh, my darling. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that you had to get involved and that you got hurt.” She looked at him with such love and pain in her eyes.
Ben hated seeing her so sad. “Don’t cry, Mum. I’m okay, or at least I will be. It could have been so much worse.”
“I know, darling, but I wish I could change what happened. If only—”
“No! Don’t say that. It’s not your fault. You didn’t cause this; it’s firmly on Dad’s shoulders.”
“But—”
“Mum, can we focus on the fact that I’m okay and coming home tomorrow? We can talk then.”
She stroked his forehead. “I’m sorry. You’ve got a headache and should get some rest. Of course we can talk about things later.”
Ben sighed in relief. He really didn’t want to relive any moments of the last few hours. However, the choice was taken away as two uniformed officers appeared at the door to the hospital room.
The older-looking of the officers met his gaze. “Mr Cooper. We need to ask you a few questions.”
* * *
After the policetook his statement and left, and as the meds kicked in, Ben couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. He ceased fighting the pull of sleep and allowed himself to fall into a world where his focus wasn’t on his worry for his mother or his pain. He dozed, sometimes aware of the muted hum of conversation and the quiet beeps of the equipment in the hospital room. At others, his dreams were full of strange things. His father coming at him with his fists raised, mouth contorted as he shouted words that Ben couldn’t hear; Mrs Jones and her husband on their hands and knees in the soil of the beautiful garden he’d created, pulling out fistfuls of flowers; Spence in the distance, his arms outstretched, but so very far away. Ben woke with a start. The dream haunted the corner of his mind, but the details quickly faded, leaving him with a profound sense of sadness.
He blinked in the dim light of the hospital room. The nausea was gone, and his headache was so much better, but his arm throbbed with a dull and persistent ache. He gazed across the room to see his mother seated in one of the stiff-backed visitor chairs and Maddy in the other one. Maddy held their mum’s hand, and they quietly engaged in whispered conversation, worry etched on both their faces. He turned his head. Cameron and Mel stood by the window, staring at the skyline in the distance.
Ben looked to the door to see Suzie enter with a cardboard tray full of coffees. She was the first to notice he was awake. “Ben. You’re awake!” There was obvious joy in her voice. She placed the tray of drinks on his bedside trolley and reached over to give him a gentle hug as the others crowded the bed.
“Mate, am I glad to see you’re okay!”
“Poor Ben, are you in pain?”
“Darling, can I get you anything?”
He ignored the barrage of questions as he raised his uninjured arm and beckoned to Maddy, who rushed to his side with a large sob. She climbed onto the narrow hospital bed and settled into his side. He gently stroked her hair as she quietly cried, her tears hot on his neck.
Everyone seemed to understand he needed some time alone with his family, based on their tactful retreat. Mel, Cameron, and Suzie each took a coffee, patted his shoulder, and left the room.
Ben turned his focus to Maddy. “It’s going to be okay, Maddy. You’ll see. Dad won’t ever be able to hurt any of us again. The police will see to that.”
“That’s true, darling. This time there will be charges laid.” His mum looked Ben directly in the eye and gave a firm nod. “Your dad won’t be able to hurt any of us again.”
She leaned in to embrace both Ben and Maddy. They stayed like that for a long while, comforting each other. Ben hugged them close, appreciating the fact that they were all okay and together.My family is safe.
By the time Suzie, Cameron, and Mel returned, with Cameron complaining bitterly about the crap hospital coffee, Ben was in a much better frame of mind, happy enough to laugh at the look on Cameron’s face.Thank God for my friends.
“Thanks for coming to see me, guys.”
Cameron rolled his eyes. “As if we’d be anywhere else.”
“Oh my God, I was horrified when Maddy called,” Mel said. “Of course we wanted to be here for you. All of you.”
