AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Beau, hi. I’m Nathan, part of the Psych Liaison Team here in the hospital.” He was a softly spoken man and I strained to hear him. “Are you feeling up to talking?”
He sat on the chair Ziggy had vacated earlier, a clipboard on his lap.
“I think so, maybe not for long, though. My throat’s a little sore.”
“Of course. Tell me what you want. I’m here to listen.” The way he spoke, his whole demeanour, put me at ease, and I found myself telling him everything.
He hadn’t asked me where it all started. He didn’t need to. He just listened as I spoke. I tried to start from the beginning, but it all came out in a rush; nothing was in order. I told him about Megan and recalled talking about Kwan. Just the mention of his name and my heart beat harder. The thought of what he’d done hurt, and despite what Ziggy had said, I didn’t know if I wanted to see him again.
At some point, Nathan touched my hand, and I stopped my rambling mid-flow. “Let’s leave it here for today. I can see you’re tired, and I’ll come back again tomorrow. We’ll talk some more then. You’ve done exceptionally well today, and I know we can get you through this. Get some rest, Beau. You’ve had a lot going on and need to take some time for you.”
He was right. I’d spent almost the last eight years looking after Megan, going through her many rounds of rehab, her many relapses. I’d worked nonstop, lived on the streets, and now that Nathan had mentioned it, I’d taken very little time for myself.
Getting better was my priority now, my sole focus, and I had no time for Megan or Kwan. I knew Ziggy and Marc would both be there for me, and I had to take comfort from that.
* * *
The following few days, I had more visits from Nathan and a couple more from Ziggy. I’d been given the all-clear physically—no lasting effects from my dip in the Irish Sea—but mentally, there was still a long way to go. I’d cried on more than one occasion, and Nathan would just touch my hand, telling me to take my time.
There was never any judgement from him, just a sympathetic ear and a promise at the end of each visit that he’d get me through it, and I had no doubt he would. Today though, it was different. I was being allowed out of the hospital but into the care of Ziggy and Marc. The psych team didn’t think it was a good idea for me to be home alone, and I had to agree.
As far as I knew I’d come in the past few days, the fact that I regretted my decision the moment I went under the water, I knew I still needed help. It wasn’t going to be an easy road to walk, but I knew I had my friends with me to help along the way.
Even though I was being released, I’d still have contact with the Community Mental Health Team, and it’d be up to them to decide whether I needed medication or if just talking things through, working through my problems, would help. With what Megan had gone through, the thought of taking drugs no matter how different to the painkillers she’d become hooked on, I was in two minds.
A little after eleven, Nathan came in, accompanied by Ziggy and Marc.
Nathan spoke, his soothing tone calming me. “Are you ready to go today? I think you are. You’ve good friends here that have offered their home until you’re in a better place. You’re doing the right thing going there.”
“I know, and I know to keep talking, to not let things fester.”
“You have my card if you need me, but the other team will be in touch very soon. It’s been lovely to meet you, Beau. I’m confident you’ll be okay.” He held his hand out, and I shook it. For such a gentle man, he had a firm handshake.
“I can’t thank you enough, Nathan. You’ve helped enormously. I know I still have a long way to go, but I can do this.”
“You can. I have every faith. I have to go see my next patient now, but good luck.” He squeezed my shoulder before leaving, and tears filled my eyes. Despite the little time I’d spent with the man, he’d helped me no end.
“I brought you some clothes, Beau,” Ziggy said as Nathan closed the door behind him. “Let’s get you out of here. I have a pathological hate of hospitals.”
I didn’t doubt it and hurried to the bathroom to get dressed. I looked thinner, paler, dark circles around my eyes, my cheeks a little sunken. I’d not eaten much since being here, but for the first time in a week, I actually felt hungry.
“Can we get some food on the way back to yours?” Ziggy and Marc broke apart as I walked back into the hospital room, an embarrassed look on their faces. “Were you making out? Can’t you do that when you get home?”
I didn’t think they had been. They’d been deep in conversation, and I wondered just what that was all about. I had no bags or belongings to take with me, the clothes I’d been wearing no doubt discarded. I’d taken nothing with me that day other than the money to get me to the beach, so I had nothing to leave with.
We stopped for food, a takeaway burger with fries and a strawberry milkshake, and I tucked into it hungrily before we’d even reached their house.
I noticed the glances between them, the continued whispered conversations the nearer we got until I was starting to feel a little paranoid. In light of what I’d just gone through, I didn’t want to feel like this.
I walked inside, realising Ziggy and Marc were still at the doorway and that actually, I wasn’t alone in the house.
Kwan stepped out of the kitchen into the lounge, and if it hadn’t been a waste, I’d have thrown my milkshake at him.
“You’ve got a fucking nerve, showing up like this. I told Ziggy I never wanted to see you again. Why the fuck are you here now?”
