CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

 

 

The journey to Scunthorpe had been agony. Jason had managed to get them there in a little less time than expected, but still, for two and a half hours Charlie had barely said a word, unable to think of anything other than Jake and the future he might never get to have.

Having the life squeezed out of her wasn’t really helping, so she was relieved to be able to breathe again when Cara pulled back from the hug she gave her in the small reception area of the hospital. “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”

Standing there in the stark white foyer, Charlie looked at the three friends who had come all this way to support her, even Jason who hadn’t really taken to Jake, or so she thought. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. None of them had known Jake for long, so the fact they’d done this for her made her all emotional.

Nodding to her friend, she inhaled those emotions down as deep as she could. “Yes. I’ll be fine. Why don’t you guys go and see if there’s a Maccies nearby. I’ll call or text if I need you.”

Cara nodded, taking her hand and giving it a quick squeeze. “We’ll be back here in a heartbeat. Okay?”

Smiling, Charlie left them. As she followed the signs and the markings on the floor to the ICU, the sparse walls of the quiet corridors began to close in on her. Thankfully, she didn’t get lost. Stopping at the intercom outside the main door, she inhaled deeply, letting out her breath slowly to try and calm her nerves as she pressed the buzzer. All she was aware of whilst waiting for an answer was the sound of her heart pounding in her chest in the eerie silence of the hospital. This late at night most patients would be sleeping, nursing staff settled in for the night shift. No visitors.

A clicking sound came from the little metal box on the wall at the side of the double doors. A voice crackled through the speaker. “Hello?”

“Hi. My name’s Charlie. I was told I could come and visit Jake Sure.”

“Just one moment.”

Closing her eyes, she tried to breathe away the anxiety that was stinging her chest, putting a trembling hand over it. The loud buzz that followed did nothing to help. Figuring that was her cue, Charlie pushed the door and it opened. When she walked inside, there was a nurse coming down the corridor with a smile ready to greet her.

“Charlie?” she said as she approached. “I’m Janet who called you earlier.”

Oh, thank God. “Hi.” At least she didn’t have to explain herself again.

“Come this way,” she said walking back the way she’d come from and into a small waiting room that had a hot drinks machine just inside the door. “You must be tired after the trip here. Do you want a tea or coffee, chocolate?”

Her stomach was in knots, but maybe some caffeine would help a bit. “Coffee, please.”

“Take a seat.”

Picking the chair closest, she sat down, putting her bag on the floor next to her as the nurse set to making a drink. The room was a typical waiting room, but felt warmer because of the lamplight in the corner opposite. Chairs lined the whole edge and there was a wood coffee table in the middle with piles of magazines and leaflets.

“How was the journey here?” the nurse asked, passing her a hot paper cup. “I didn’t know if we’d see you tonight.”

“It was fine, the roads were pretty quiet. I didn’t want to wait; couldn’t stand to think of him on his own. I mean, I know he’s not alone, but—”

“We’re strangers,” she said as she carried her drink over to the chair opposite. “It’s completely understandable. Are you his girlfriend?”

She wasn’t sure if it was disrespectful to put that label on their relationship when they’d barely had one, but it might make things easier while she was there. “Yes. We haven’t known each other all that long.”

In the silence that followed, she blew over the top of her cup and took a gentle sip of coffee. “What happened to him? I know you can only say so much, but—”

“He was shot.”

Ice froze in Charlie’s veins, a cold shiver running over her skin. It was the last thing she’d expected to hear. Thought maybe he’d been beaten up, or even stabbed seeing as that bastard liked knives. “Shot?” In shock, she could barely manage a whisper.

“I can tell you what I know since he was brought to the hospital. We operated straight away. The surgeons managed to stem the bleeding pretty quickly and remove the bullet from his abdomen. The man is very lucky it did no other damage in there. He did lose quite a lot of blood and has since had another transfusion. It was very close when they brought him in. Whoever called 999 saved his life, there’s no question. He also has some bruising to the ribs and back, but those wounds look a little older. I think they were inflicted before he got shot.

It was hard not to ask the next question; she feared the answer. “Is he going to pull through?”

“His vitals have improved. The transfusions have done their job and his blood pressure, although still a little low, has improved over the last few hours. We’re quite confident at this point.”

The sting of tears had her blinking quickly, a glimmer of hope pushing through and taking the lead, although the worry was still there, it was definitely better news than she expected.

“What about the person who did this to him?”

A slight shrug. “The police were here earlier. I spoke to them briefly to explain Jake’s condition. All they said was they were searching for the perpetrator.”

Which meant that bastard was still out there. Nausea hit the pit of her stomach.

“Would you like to see him? He’s sleeping, and will most likely be out of it for some time. His body has been through a lot. He needs the rest.”

Charlie nodded and the nurse got up, putting her cup in the bin at the side of the drinks trolley. “I’ll take you to him.”

When they got to the ICU, they walked past a nurses’ station that was at the centre of the room overlooking a semicircle of beds separated by half closed privacy curtains. Charlie’s eyes moved around quickly, taking everything in as the sounds of machines beeping took precedence over everything else, the clinical smell burning the back of her nose. They passed the open beds to another area that had individual rooms, each with windows that spanned the whole length of the walls. When they got to the second one along, Charlie peered in as they walked past to the door.

There he was.

Her heart sank.

The man who had become so familiar to her in a crazy short space of time was lying propped up a little on a bed with wires coming out of him from various places. The lighting was low, coming from a small wall light behind the bed. Her eyes never left him as she followed the nurse inside. Charlie choked back a sob, an invisible hand squeezing her oesophagus as sorrow pinched her heart to see him that way.

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want to. It will be good for him to see a familiar face when he wakes up.”

“Thank you,” Charlie somehow managed to say as she approached Jake’s bedside, taking everything in with blurry eyes until she wiped them swiftly. Standing there looking down at him, her stomach twisted at his pallid complexion. His cheeks looked a little hollow, highlighted by the dark stubble he’d grown in. Still so handsome. There was a chair at the side of the bed that she scooted closer. When she sat down, she rested her hand beside his arm on the mattress.

It was crazy to think what had happened. Her brain couldn’t comprehend that he’d been shot. When she’d worried for his safety, she’d honestly thought Jake would have been okay; that maybe worst case scenario was him arguing with his stepdad, maybe even fighting each other, and the police doing the rest.

Now she wondered what had happened to the man she knew had done this. Had he got away again? Did he think he’d won and that Jake had died? Anger swirled like a tornado in the pit of her stomach, increasing to a category five as her mind was hit with flashes of memories from the night that man had attacked her. He’d intended on killing her and framing Jake for her murder that night. When it didn’t work, he’d obviously changed his plans and got hold of a gun.

That evil prick had meant to kill Jake, there was no question. And he’d almost succeeded.

Where was he now?

After sitting there looking at Jake, silently willing him to open his eyes for God only knew how long, a nurse came in to check things over, doing something to the drip that was in his arm, and logging something on his chart. There was a tube up his nose, taped at the end, but she noticed he was breathing steadily, his strong chest moving up and down in a reassuring rhythm. He was breathing. He was stable. He was alive.

She felt sure he was going to pull through.

Charlie took the time to message Cara to let her know she was with him and that Jake was sleeping, and she smiled when Cara text back to say they’d stuffed themselves, and had brought her back an apple pie. She told Charlie they weren’t going anywhere and were currently sitting in the car.

 

Jas is trying to sleep, but keeps grumping at the two of us for keeping him awake while we’re playing Heads Up. Love ya girl.

xxx

 

Smiling, she put her phone back in her bag and shot back up in her seat when she heard a faint grumble, hoping to see Jake awake. But his eyes were closed and he was lying still, although she was sure his arm had moved a little.

Again, Charlie sat looking at him lying so peaceful under her gaze. She couldn’t imagine how different things would have been last night when the paramedics had brought him in, bleeding, crashing, the chaotic conditions as the emergency team battled to save his life.

Stomach twisting again, Charlie couldn’t think about what might have happened if the person who’d called the ambulance hadn’t found him.

Jake had a guardian angel, for sure.

Sometime later, Janet, the nice nurse, came back in to the room holding a steaming cup. “I brought you a coffee. Milk, two sugars, wasn’t it?” When she handed it over, Charlie could have jumped up and hugged her. Too worried about leaving Jake’s side in case he woke up alone, she hadn’t moved for at least a couple of hours, so the coffee was very welcome and appreciated.

“Your friend brought this up for you.” The nurse handed her a carrier bag. “Asked me to tell you to eat all of it even if you don’t want to.”

“Thank you.” Opening the bag, Charlie peered inside to see the Maccies apple pie, a packet of crisps, and a cheese and ham sandwich in a bubble pack. Her stomach rumbled so she took out the sandwich. “Oh, I definitely want to.”

The nurse smiled at her before checking the screen of the monitor next to Jake’s bed. When her eyebrows popped a little, Charlie worried for a minute, but the woman looked over at her with the same smile. “Another slight improvement in his blood pressure. It’s looking very good.”

Relief caused a sharp exhale and Charlie sat forward in the chair, all of a sudden wanting to get closer to him. “Did you hear that, Jake?” she said in a low whisper. “You’re going to be okay. You got this.”

The nurse nodded and gave her one last smile as she went to leave. “If you need the toilet, or want to take a break, get a drink from the trolley, just come and let one of us know and someone will sit with him until you come back.”

“I will. Thank you.” When she’d left the room, Charlie reached up and put her hand on the bed next to his arm again, watching him sleep for another few minutes. Then she stroked her finger over the side of his forearm, the first time she’d touched him since getting here. The soft dusting of hairs tickled her finger. His skin was so warm. Then she glanced at him before sitting back to eat her sandwich, silently thanking Cara for the food, and whoever was looking out for Jake.

Her heart felt a little lighter.

He was going to make it.