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This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. Euan took a step towards her and she moved to steady him. Suddenly she was in his arms. He held her tight, and it seemed that they supported each other through to the sitting room, where Euan lowered himself onto the sofa. He reached for her and she sat down next to him.
‘What’s going on, Euan? Don’t you want me here?’ She was calmer now.
‘Of course I do. But you’ve been through enough already. I should never have put you in a position where you had to face someone with a knife.’
She stared at him in disbelief. ‘It wasn’t your fault. And, anyway, you came back for me.’
‘I was too late, Sam.’ He’d been too late to help Marie, and now somehow he’d managed to make the same mistake again. History was starting to repeat itself and he had to stop it right now. ‘You’ll be much better off at David and Sandra’s tonight.’
‘You don’t get it, do you?’ She took his hand, holding it between hers. ‘I don’t need to be anywhere but here. You came back for me. Do you know how many people have done that? How much it means?’
He hadn’t thought about it that way. ‘No, I... Sam, I’m so sorry.’
‘Don’t be. I’m not asking for your pity.’
‘Good. You’re not getting it.’ Pity wasn’t the word that sprang to mind in connection with Sam. Respect, yes.
She smiled. It was luminous in the gathering darkness of the evening. ‘I won’t pretend that I didn’t get a scare when I saw the blood.’
‘Yeah. Me too.’
‘So it was just bravado. All of the it’s-just-a-scratch stuff.’
‘I don’t think I actually said that, did I?’
She wrinkled her nose at him. ‘No. That would have been a stupid thing to say.’
He chuckled. ‘Okay. You want to give me a break?’
‘I’ll think about it. If you behave.’ She pulled away from him, levering herself to her feet. ‘I’ll call David, let him know that you’ve been discharged, and that I’m staying here tonight.’
‘Thanks, Sam.’ With a sigh he leaned back on the cushions she’d arranged for him and closed his eyes.
* * *
He’d asked for water and had drunk two glassfuls, obviously thirsty, either from the heat of the hospital or the painkillers that Rob had given him. Or maybe from the loss of blood, but Sam didn’t like to think about that.
Blood and grime still streaked his forearms,
and he was awkwardly trying to keep his injured side away from the sofa cushions. He needed to wash, get comfortable and get some food inside him. She could send him upstairs to the bathroom while she prepared something to eat, but suppose he became dizzy and fell? Surely, in the circumstances, it would be all right to go with him?
If [a condition holds true] Then [take one course of action] Else [don’t even go there]
If...Then...Else. It was a simple, logical sequence, part of the programming language that Sam used every day, and it had become second nature to approach almost any decision on those terms. But logic didn’t help much when it came to dealing with Euan. She was going to have to take a leaf from his book and just go with the flow.
‘Come upstairs.’
He raised one eyebrow and she ignored him. ‘You need to wash and I’m not having you fall and crack your head open in the bathroom. I’ve had enough of hospitals for tonight.’
‘I can manage.’
‘I dare say you can. I’ll just make sure that you live up to that promise.’
He hesitated then got painfully to his feet and made for the stairs. Maybe now he was willing to admit that even though he could do it alone, it was better with someone there. Or maybe he was just humouring her.
By the time he’d climbed the stairs, exhaustion was showing on his face. He allowed her to take his arm and support him into the bathroom then fetch a stool so that he could sit down by the basin.
He said nothing when she carefully stripped his shirt off, taping some plastic film from the kitchen over the dressing on his side. Watched as she filled the basin with warm water.
