Before I Saw You(10)

As the two companions returned to the ward, steaming cups of sickly sweet hot chocolate and blueberry muffins in hand, they saw Sharon waiting for them at the entrance.

‘You won’t believe what I’ve just heard!’ Her green eyes were wide with excitement. The joy that gossip brought to this lady’s life was quite unbelievable.

Mr Peterson rolled his eyes. As much as he would try to deny it, Alfie knew he loved the snippets of information Sharon offered – he just didn’t like her to know that. ‘What is it this time?’

Sharon smirked. ‘It’s about that lady in bed thirteen. The mute one.’

‘She’s not mute, Sharon, she’s traumatized.’ Alfie sighed.

‘OK, well you know what I mean. I heard that every time she gets up out of her bed we all have to stay hidden away in ours with the curtains closed. Can you believe it? It’s like a mini lockdown!’

‘Where on earth did you hear that?’ Alfie loved Sharon but he had to admit he didn’t always trust her.

‘I overheard the nurses talking about it just now. So, not only is she refusing to speak but she’s point blank refusing to let anyone see her. They didn’t sound best pleased. I’m not surprised though – who does this woman think she is!’ Sharon suddenly gasped so loudly that Alfie nearly gave himself whiplash looking behind him. ‘Maybe she’s royalty.’ Her eyes were now so wide they occupied half of her face.

‘Give over. What planet are you on?’ Mr Peterson looked genuinely hurt by her wild fantasy. ‘They wouldn’t send a member of the royal family to this place.’

‘You don’t know that for certain.’ Sharon folded her arms across her chest, clearly a little put out.

‘No, but I would bet the rest of my years left on this planet that she isn’t royalty.’ The old man turned to Alfie. ‘Find out what the hell is happening, will you? I can’t be dealing with all this fussing. Now come on, let’s get back inside. My drink’s getting cold.’

Alfie wasn’t filled with quite the same confidence, but he knew it couldn’t hurt to ask.

‘Fine, but I can’t promise you I’ll get anywhere. This patient might turn out to be the hospital’s best-kept secret.’

The three of them made their way back through the ward.

‘Agnes is visiting later, and I need to finish all this before she gets on at me again about my sugar levels.’ Mr Peterson took a giant swig from his cup. ‘In the meantime, kid, you’d better hurry up and get to work on uncovering this bloody mystery. If anyone is going to be able to get information out of Nurse Angles, it’s you.’

‘Yes, and the moment you find out anything, you’d better tell me!’ Sharon smiled sweetly, poking Alfie hard in the chest before making her way back to her bed.

‘Let’s give it a day at least, and then I’ll start asking questions.’

His friends didn’t look satisfied by Alfie’s proposal, but he knew this would be a waiting game. A test of patience. Something Alfie found incredibly difficult, but something he knew he’d have to get good at quickly.

‘One step is a step closer …’ he muttered to himself.





9


Alice





‘Who’s in that bed, Mum?’

Alice woke lazily from her sleep to see the shadow of a little figure standing outside her bay.

‘What, sweetie?’ A voice from the other end of the room drifted past.

‘Next to Alfie. The curtains are closed. Is someone in there?’

Then the girl started to raise her hand. Alice saw the tiny pearl fingertips grip the material that was keeping her hidden and safe. Everything was moving in slow motion. How on earth was she going to get this girl away? Should she scream? She wasn’t sure her voice could take it, but she had to do something.

‘Ruby! No!’ one of the nurses barked. The girl dropped the curtain immediately. ‘Sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to shout. It’s just there’s someone behind there that doesn’t want visitors today.’

Alice could see another silhouette steering Ruby away. Beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead and her heart was thumping in her chest.

‘But who doesn’t want visitors?’ The surprise in Ruby’s voice made Alice’s heart sink. ‘Everybody wants friends, don’t they?’

‘Yes, of course they do. Just not right now. Come over here and show your mum how good you are at Snakes and Ladders, OK?’

Alice watched as the silhouettes faded away but the little girl’s question rang loudly in her ears.

It was her third day on the ward, and Alice realized that the ‘lie back and let the days pass you by’ plan she’d wanted to adopt wasn’t going to be as easy to execute as she’d hoped. In fact, from the very first morning she could see the outline of other patients strolling past her curtains, subtly lingering in the hope they might snatch a look at her. Failing any sightings, the whispers had started, and she’d definitely heard more than a couple of ‘have you seen her yets’ float past. Clearly this wasn’t a ward where you could keep yourself to yourself. Most of the time she managed to ignore it, relying on her old friend sleep to take her out and away from the ward, but sometimes, if the shape of someone lingered a little too long, or stood a little too close to her curtain, her heart rate would spike and anxiety would begin to course through her veins. This, however, had been the closest call yet, and Alice’s breath had barely steadied before she heard the sound of someone else approaching.