I don’t rush in. Just step a little closer.
“Hey, Alfie.”
He looks up.
For a second he just stares like he’s trying to work out why I’m here. Then his face crumples again.
“Ava,” he says, and fresh tears spill over. “I want Dad.”
I move closer.
“I know,” I say softly. “He knows you’re here.”
That makes him pause mid-cry.
“He knows?”
“Yes. I just spoke to him.”
“Is he coming?”
“He’s trying to get back as fast as he can.”
That seems to help a tiny bit.
I sit down carefully on the chair next to the bed.
“Can I sit with you until he gets here?”
He nods, still sniffling.
I don’t touch him straight away. Just stay close. Let him decide.
It takes a little while.
His breathing is still uneven. He wipes his nose with his sleeve like he’s trying very hard not to cry anymore and failing.
“I fell,” he says eventually.
“That must have been really scary.”
He nods.
“There was lots of blood.”
“Yeah,” I say gently. “Heads do that. They like to make things look worse than they are.”
A small sniff.
“My head hurts.”
“That makes sense. The doctors are checking you properly so it can get better.”
Another sniff.
“I don’t like it here.”
“I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t like it either.”
