Page 99 of Doc Defence

She leaned her head onto the seat and stared up at the flickering fluorescent lights on the ceiling, becoming so hypnotised by their rhythmic fluctuations in light intensity that she jumped when the receptionist spoke in her ear.

“I have your dad’s file here. There’s been no mistake. All costs associated with your father’s surgery. Surgeon, surgical assistant, anaesthetist and hospital bills have been prepaid in full.”

Hel sighed. “I’m sorry, you must be mistaken. I’m the one paying for the surgery, and I haven’t paid.”

“The gentleman who phoned to pay left a note on the file.”

“Right,” Hel said deliberately.

“He said.When Hel phones, tell her, I’m not taking it back.”

“Who was it?” Hel whispered, already knowing the answer.

“The name on the credit card was Jake Forster.”

Hel sagged in her seat and tried to blink back the tears which collected in her eyes. Frost did this for her dad.

“Hel?” The receptionist enquired when she didn’t answer. “Does that make sense to you? We’ve applied the payment to the correct file.”

She tried so hard not to cry, it hurt to cry with her throbbing eye, but the tears kept coming.

She managed to mutter, “Yes. It makes sense. My dad will see you Friday.”

“That’s fantastic. Glad we could clear it up.”

Hel hung up the phone and stared at it. She pulled up her text message thread with Frost, and her finger hovered over it. She didn’t know what to say. What could she say to a man who left the country—taking a piece of her heart with him—who had just given her the best gift anyone ever could.

Finally, she texted him.‘Thanks. My dad will be having surgery Friday. I’m so grateful for your generosity, I don’t have words to express how much this means to my family.’

Putting her phone on silent, she slipped it back into her handbag and headed to the front desk to check in so they could X-ray her eye.

“Darling. I do wonder if you should consider a change in career.” Gloria handed Hel a glass of champagne so she didn’t have to stand up from her position reclined on the sofa with ice on her bruising eye.

“Some days, I agree with you,” Hel sighed.

Sitting forward, she kept the ice on her eye and took a sip of the cold, crisp, bubbly liquid, which was ‘borrowed’ from Taylor.

Hel used to ask if the actor had given permission, but now she accepted Gloria was going to keep pinching her son’s wine and bring it over to drink and that Taylor didn’t actually mind even when he wasn’t asked.

Clara and Taylor were still away on a month-long honeymoon, and Gloria claimed she was too scared to stay in the big house alone, so she became Hel’s housemate. Something Hel enjoyed as Gloria was excellent company.

Hel stared silently at the ceiling for a few minutes until she blurted. “Frost paid for Dad’s surgery.”

“That’s fabulous news. Although you know Taylor would have paid.”

Hel glared at Gloria. They had argued a few times in the last month about the fact there was no way Hel would ask her son for money. Gloria told her his net worth, which was a figure that made Hel’s head spin, but even then she still insisted she wouldn’t be taking anything off him.

“Yes, yes, yes. Not his problem. Too proud to ask. Blah blah blah.” Gloria waved her hand airily. “You know my son would happily help out his wife’s friends. He knows you’re not after his money.”

Hel huffed. “I know. It just didn’t feel right.”

“How do you feel about Frost paying?” Gloria asked.

“I don’t know. I’m so grateful to him. But it feels wrong. He knew me for such a short amount of time. We never even dated.”

Gloria’s eyes were shrewd. “I’ve told you before, he had a look in his eyes I recognised from seeing Taylor look at Clara. He could have known you only a day, and he would have tried to give you the world.”

Hel couldn’t stop the tears that instantly spilled over at Gloria’s words. It had been a month since she had seen him, and she had hoped her feelings would fade as time passed, although it didn’t seem to have happened yet. She missed him every day and had a constant ache in her chest when she thought about him, which was far too often.

---