Page 29 of Deep Down
“And Darren wasn’t aware of these visits prior to today that you are aware of?”
Craig shook his head. “No. I didn’t tell him.”
“Why not?”
He was silent again. He could think of one sole reason why he didn’t tell Darren about Alex’s visit. “Because I didn’t want to get Alex into trouble.”
“Why would telling Darren get Alex into trouble?” Ava asked.
“Darren would’ve complained about the house call, saying it was an invasion of privacy and would’ve caused trouble for Alex. I didn’t want him to get fired.”
“That’s noble of you, Craig.” Logan peered at his notepad. “Has anything else happened over the last few weeks?”
Craig explained about his first A&E visit and his subsequent one, following it with an admission of a few tirades over the past couple of weeks. He was beginning to understand where everyone was coming from with the abuse. It was difficult for him to acknowledge it because it was his life…had been his life for a long time, he wasn’t sure what to think. It all felt like it was happening to someone else.
“Alright. Thank you for what you’ve given us so far. We’re going to let you rest up now, but we will be back again later to see if you have any more information for us. Is that alright?”
“That’s fine.”
“Alex. Can we speak with you, please?”
“I’ll be out in a few minutes. I want to check his vitals before I leave.” Alex nodded.
“Sure. See you soon, Craig.” Logan and Ava left.
He watched as Alex checked his file in silence. “Good news. Your results are back, and everything appears straightforward. I’m going to give you some more pain relief to allow you to rest.” Alex busied around, checking his blood pressure and whatever else was on the list.
Craig was worried Alex wasn’t happy with him for telling the police about his visits. “I’m sorry.” His voice quiet.
Alex stilled and gaped at him. “Whatever for?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything about your visits.”
Alex sobered and shook his head. “No, you’re fine. If you hadn’t have told them, I would’ve when I spoke to them. I’m not at all bothered about it. Rest easy.”
Craig felt marginally better now that he knew Alex wasn’t angry with him.
“Alright. You’re all set. I’ll administer the pain relief, and you’ll be able to rest. But be warned, the nurses—and me—will be in regularly to check your vitals and will, likely, wake you up. You may not feel as rested afterwards as you would like. You have time, Craig. Get some sleep. You did good.”
He had closed his eyes as Alex had been talking, and he felt fingers brush across his forehead before Alex stepped away. Craig wanted to call him back, but a powerful need to sleep came over him.
He’d deal with the repercussions when he woke.
****
Craig woke, his heart trying to beat out of his chest, him panting for breath with his hands gripping the sheets under him. For a few seconds, he tried to figure out where he was, relaxing as he recognised the hospital room. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing but opened them quickly when the remnants of the dream ricocheted around his brain.
Craig was excited. This was his first proper night out in years, and Darren had taken him to a Chinese restaurant to meet a couple of his work friends. They had been together over a year now, and Craig was glad to finally be able to meet them. They sat in a booth large enough to comfortably seat six people and enclosed on three sides, allowing them muted chatter from other customers, instead of ear-splittingly loud. Craig gazed around, taking in the layout, excited to be able to choose cuisine he’d never tried before.
“Let’s get some food,” Darren said, getting up from the booth and letting Craig slide out.
“Yeah, I’m starving,” Craig replied.
They trailed around the offerings which were laid out before them in warmed dishes on a buffet table. Craig had never seen so much food before. He followed Darren’s lead and chose some items to fill his plate—it was an all you can eat buffet. He knew he didn’t have to worry about taking too much.
Finished before Darren had, he took his food back to the table. One of the other guys, Nelson, had already sat and was gorging on a mountain set before him.
“It tastes delicious,” Nelson said, smiling.
