AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Okay. I’ll call Jim and get him to contact Charlie’s family. When you’re done, give me a call; you can’t walk back looking like that.’ She nodded towards the blood on Alex’s jeans.
He looked down, seeming to see it for the first time. ‘Yeah, okay. Thanks. Zack did well. Don’t forget to tell him that.’
‘I won’t.’
Zack had been frightened, but he’d done everything he’d been asked. Marie wondered whether her little brother would have been able to do that before he’d come to work here, and was proud of how far he’d come.
/> She watched as Alex spoke to the paramedic and then got into the back of the vehicle. The doors closed and the driver climbed into her seat. There was a short pause, and then the ambulance drew away from the kerb.
* * *
Jim had arrived at the hospital with Charlie’s parents. About ten minutes later Charlie’s older brother and his wife had come bursting through the doors of the waiting room.
Alex had sat them all down and explained what had happened, and the surgeon’s prognosis. Charlie would need an operation to set his leg, and he’d be in hospital for a few days, but he had no other major injuries. The bruise on his face looked distressing, but it would heal.
When Charlie’s mother saw her son her hand flew to her mouth, but she steadied herself and walked over to his bed, kissing him. Charlie’s father shook his hand and thanked him, and Alex knew that it was time for him to leave.
He called Marie and then sat on a bench outside the A&E department, adrenaline and concern for Charlie still thrumming in his veins. All he wanted to do was hug Marie—but he saw Zack walking towards him from the direction of the car park.
‘I said I’d come. Marie needed to wrap things up at the clinic.’ Zack settled himself down on the bench next to him, asking the obvious question. ‘How’s Charlie?’
‘They’ll need to set the leg, and that means—’
‘An operation and he’ll be here for a few days. Yeah, Marie told me. They didn’t find anything else?’
‘No. He’s got lots of cuts and bruises, but he’ll be fine.’
Alex grinned. Marie had obviously talked everything through with Zack and he seemed to be taking it all in his stride.
‘When can we go and see him?’ Zack peered at the doors of the A&E unit, obviously wondering if he might go in and see Charlie now.
‘His family are with him, and we shouldn’t interrupt. I’ll call tomorrow, and you can take some time off in the afternoon if he’s up to having visitors.’
‘Great. Thanks. I’ll make the time up.’
‘That’s okay. I think it counts as official clinic business. Charlie’s one of ours.’
Zack nodded, his face suddenly thoughtful.
‘What, Zack?’ Alex leaned back on the bench, ready to listen to whatever Zack had to say.
‘It’s nothing really. I just...’ Zack turned the corners of his mouth down. ‘I didn’t know what to do.’
‘Your sister’s a doctor. She’s been trained to know what to do.’
Zack nodded. ‘Yeah, I know. But... I was afraid. I said we should phone someone to come and let us in. If we’d done that Charlie might have bled to death. She was so brave the whole time, and nothing stopped her. I didn’t know she knew about breaking and entering.’
‘The coat hanger trick?’ Alex grinned again. Marie hadn’t actually used a coat hanger, but she’d found a piece of wire that had done just as well. ‘I taught her that years ago.’
‘Really?’ Zack gave him a searching look. ‘It was you that led her astray, then?’
Not really. Getting Marie into her student flat—when he could have asked her back to his place for the night—could be construed as not leading either of them astray. But Zack didn’t need to know that.
‘You did well, Zack. You did what we needed you to do and let us work.’ Alex held out his hand, reckoning that Zack needed something a little more definite than words. ‘I’m proud of you.’
‘Thanks.’ Zack brightened suddenly, shaking Alex’s hand. ‘You know, Marie’s always looked after me... Mum too. A bit too much sometimes.’
That was Alex’s opinion, too. But he had no business saying it.
