Oh, Jesus.
"He has... or had, an abusive girlfriend. She put him here."
There was a long, horribly uncomfortable silence. "Evie, are you sure the two of you are just friends? I mean, did something happen...?"
"No!" I said, a little louder than I meant to, causing a couple of nurses to look my way. I gave them an apologetic grimace before lowering my voice. "No, it's nothing like that. God, Mum. But, even if it was, what she did to him..." I trailed off, shaking my head, even though she couldn't see me. I glanced back into the room through the small window in the door. He was still asleep, thankfully. He needed the rest.
"Well, maybe you can tell me more about it later," Mum said.
"Yeah. Maybe." After another short pause, I said, "I should go. I'll call you when I know what time I'll be leaving."
"Okay, sweetheart. I'll talk to you later."
As we hung up, I sighed again, pocketing my phone.
I hadn't considered the consequences of cancelling on my mum in terms of all the questions I'd be asked. No doubt, Ash would have come up at some point if we'd stayed friends, but this wasn't the ideal way to bring him up for the first time. I wished it was different. Wished everything was different, but it wasn't. It was all messy, and I couldn't see that changing any time soon.
Ash slept for most of the time I was there. When he did wake up, he always turned his head to the left, as if to check I was still there, and when he was happy that I was, he fell right back to sleep. He must have been exhausted, not just from the beating he took, but mentally, too. Trying to somehow process all that had happened was going to take a lot out of him, and the longer he slept, the better equipped he'd be to deal with it all. The police came back to see him briefly, to ask a few more questions. I’d wanted to leave the room when they questioned him about what had happened, but he wouldn’t let me. Having seen his injuries, I really didn’t want to hear how he’d got them. He remained strong whil
e he recounted the disturbing details, and I’d tried hard to do the same. A few tears escaped me here and there, but I managed to keep a grip on myself for the most part. The police let Ash know that his girlfriend was still at the station and was 'co-operating'. The mention of her caused his whole body to start shaking, but once he was satisfied that she wouldn't be able to get anywhere near him, he calmed down again.
I was eventually asked to leave by the nurses at four that afternoon, and by then, I was tired too. It had been a long day spent worrying and trying to not overthink.
When I had to go, he was still asleep, and I asked the nurse if I could have a few minutes to say goodbye. She agreed, giving me a kind smile, and when she left the room, I reached over and gently swept Ash's hair from his forehead, careful not to touch any of his bruises. I didn't want to wake him, but if I just left, I knew how he'd feel. Lonely. Abandoned. I couldn't and wouldn't allow it.
"Ash," I whispered, lightly touching his hand and stroking my thumb along the back of it.
After a second, he stirred and his eyelids fluttered open. When his gaze fixed on me, he said, "Sorry."
I tilted my head to the side. "What for?"
His voice was croaky when he spoke again. "I asked you to come here and all I've done is sleep. I'm sorry I ruined your Christmas."
"You didn't," I told him, making sure to look him in the eye so he really understood. "I wouldn't have left you. But... I do have to go now. Visiting hours are over, and I have to go and see my mum."
Ash nodded slowly. "Sure. I've kept you here long enough."
"You didn't keep me. I could have left any time, but I wanted to stay."
He gave me a small smile, wincing as the movement pulled at his cuts. "Well, thank you. For coming and for staying."
A slight darkness crossed his eyes, something that resembled fear or uncertainty, and I said, "I'll be back tomorrow. As soon as they'll let me in."
"You don't have to." He shook his head, looking away from me for a second. It was like he knew I'd sensed his worries and he somehow felt guilty for expressing them. My heart twinged again.
What the hell had that evil witch put him through that he was even scared of his own facial expressions?
"Ash, I will be here every day until you get out of here if you want me to be."
Slowly, he nodded. "Evie, I do appreciate you being here."
"I know."
With a sigh, he said, "It's going to be a long night."
"Do you have your phone here?"
"I think so." He shuffled across, closer to the other side of the bed, letting out a few groans of discomfort as he did, and reached into the small cabinet beside his bed. There was a shelf, and as he pulled his hand out, his phone was in it.