I check Archie over, and he’s breathing, but unconscious. The smell of alcohol is overwhelming, so strong it’s almost as though he’s doused himself in it. How he even managed to drive here is beyond me.
Adedayo leans over and inhales, frowning as he looks at me.
“Sir, can you smell that?”
“Alcohol, yeah. He’s drenched in it.”
Adedayo’s frown deepens, and he crouches down beside me.
At that moment, my phone starts to ring.
29
DOMINIC
The nurses don’t knowwhere to look. The waiting room is full of every player from Arlington FC, as well as Barry, Kasia, Charlotte, my dad, and me. No one is saying anything, and every time someone wanders past, they stop short and gawp for a second, before being moved on by security.
It’s a farce.
“I shouldn’t have let her go,” Charlotte finally says, her voice strained as she tries not to cry. Immediately she’s surrounded by players, Troy and Jordan on either side of her, trying to comfort her.
“You couldn’t have known,” I tell her. “None of us could.”
“She said she just wanted to be back in her own space, and she wanted to take Tank for a walk, and she must have fallen asleep…” Charlotte breaks off as she starts to sob, covering her face, and Jordan puts an arm around her.
“I just don’t understand how this could happen,” Kasia says, bracing her hands against her waist and sighing heavily.
The doors to the ward open, and a doctor comes striding out, stopping short at the crowd he’s met with.
“Goodness. Quite a gathering here. I’m Doctor Harold, who is here for Mia Brookes?”
Charlotte and I jump to our feet.
“We are,” she says quickly. “Is she alright?”
“Yes, she is.”
A collective sigh goes up from everyone assembled.
“She’s a little short of breath and has some chest pain, but otherwise she seems to not have suffered any major damage,” Dr Harold goes on. “Thankfully she wasn’t in the smoke for too long.”
“The neighbours spotted the fire before it got too big,” Charlotte says, and Dr Harold nods.
“She’s a very lucky young lady.”
“Can we see her?” I ask.
“Certainly.” Dr Harold warily eyes the waiting room. “Uh, though only two of you, I think.”
Charlotte and I follow him down the corridor, past rooms of beeping monitors and bright lights, to a room at the end of the hallway. My heart wrenches when I see Mia lying in the bed. She’s covered in several blankets, and underneath the oxygen mask on her face she’s so pale it’s frightening. But her eyes light up as she sees us, smiling under the mask.
“She shouldn’t talk too much,” Dr Harold says as Charlotte and I rush into the room. “Her throat is probably quite sore.”
The strong smell of smoke meets me as I sit down beside Mia and take her hand.
“Hello,” she croaks. “You both look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Charlotte bursts into tears and puts her head on the bed, clutching onto Mia’s hand.
