I turned back to my brother and rolled my eyes. “I’m fu-flipping responsible. I’m thirty-three and own a business, so it’d be a little bit crap if I couldn’t close up the place wouldn’t it?
“Yeah but you obviously can’t,” Amy muttered. “I mean, you fell on the wet floor and knocked yourself out.”
Elijah laughed and high-fived her, which earned them a flip of the finger each. Mum sighed and pushed her way to the side of the bed, laying a hand on Frankie’s back as he continued to hug me and look up at me with his big soulful eyes.
“Come on Frankie,” she said softly. “Let’s go and give Mummy and Daddy a few minutes together, hey?”
“Mum,” Elijah said. “I’m not sure he’ll be allowed to do that just yet, if he’s even up to it.”
Amy back-handed him against his chest. “Just get out.”
Eli laughed and blew me a kiss. “See you later bro. Come on Frankie, you come with me and Auntie Amy, we’ll go and get Bella from her other nanna and grandad and then go for a burger, how does that sound?”
Frankie’s head shot up and he looked up at me warily. “You’ll be okay now, won’t you?”
I ruffled his hair and nodded. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll see Daddy soon,” Maisie said. “He’s going to come and stay with us until he’s better.”
My head almost swiveled off my neck, causing my pain to spike, but I swallowed back the groan.
“I am?”
She nodded and gave me a shy smile. “Yes, you are.”
I was too busy watching her to notice everyone leave, even Frankie being taken from my arms didn’t register. It was only when Maisie’s gaze went toward the door that I realised we were alone and that my hand was still in hers.
“You sure you want to have me as a patient?” I asked, pulling her closer.
“Yes, I’m sure. I hate the thought you were lying there all that time.”
“I’m not going to fall again. I’m not some doddery old bloke, I’ll be okay.”
She shook her head and took a deep breath as though steeling herself.
“I want you near us,” she whispered. “I was so scared.”
Tears formed in her eyes and if the pain hadn’t been raging in my head, I would have pulled her down and kissed her. I needed painkillers though and it was getting harder to concentrate on anything else, even the beautiful woman who I was falling for, standing in front of me.
“It wasn’t Josh, you’re sure?” she asked, her question hurried. “I know you need to get some rest, so I just need to know.”
“No, babe. I would have said. You really thought he might have clocked me one over the head.”
“Yeah,” she groaned through a quiet laugh. “I suppose it was a little dramatic, but I got the police to check where he’d been all night.”
Squeezing her hand, I lifted it to my lips and kissed it. “I promise you, I slipped. Now go home and get some sleep, okay?”
I was shattered and couldn’t wait for the nurse to come back with my meds. I knew I’d been unconscious, but I was desperate to close my eyes again and get some sleep.
“Okay, and you make sure you rest too.” Maisie leaned down, her soft lips landing on mine. “We’ll be back later tonight.”
My eyes drifted against sleep and discomfort and I nodded, loosening my grip on her hand. She gave me one last kiss to my forehead and then she was gone, her space next to my bed filled by Kerry the nurse who gave me what I needed to reach a few hours of painless oblivion.
Maisie
the present
Sam had been home, or at least in my home, for three days having received the all clear. After a couple of days of observation, the doctors were confident it had been a severe concussion and he shouldn’t have any lasting effects of it.
