“She’s bad, sweetheart. The Doctors have told us to wait and see, but right now she’s not responding to anything. Her surgery went okay, though, which is a good sign. We have to hold on to the positives.
Bex looked her father in the eyes and wore an expression that seemed to hold more sadness than should have been possible for such a young girl. “Why did they do this to us, Dad?”
Andrew shook his head and looked down at the floor. “I don’t know, honey. Really, I don’t.”
“They would have killed us all if you hadn’t done something.”
Andrew sighed. “I got you both stabbed!”
“It would have been worse if you’d done nothing.”
“I might not have gotten the chance if Davie hadn’t tried to put a stop to things first.”
Bex looked concern. “You think he’ll be okay? What if the others blame him?”
Andrew shrugged his shoulders and winced at the pain that shot through his ribs. “To be honest the only people I’m concerned about is you and your mother. Davie still sat and watched Frankie torture us all. He did what was right at the end, but it wasn’t enough.”
“Don’t be angry, Dad.”
Andrew looked at his daughter. “Don’t be angry. Are you joking?”
She shook her head wearily. “If you’re angry then you’re just letting them get away with even more. Of course I want them all arrested and sent to prison…for-like-ever…but I won’t let them inside my head one moment longer. They don’t deserve to change who we are, Dad. You’re not an angry person, so don’t let them make you one.”
Andrew couldn’t believe his daughter was so willing to move on. Would she feel the same way if the Doctors came in right now and told her that her mother was dead? Would she let anger into her heart then? Andrew understood what his daughter was saying, but it was too late to put aside his emotions – anger had already chronically infected his soul. There was no going back to the man he was before.
He needed to change the subject, for dwelling on the subject was already making his heart grow heavy with rage. “Should I go home and get you some things, sweetheart? What would you like?”
Bex smiled at him, but seemed trapped in a constant state of drowsiness – as if she could not escape the fringes of sleep. “That would be nice,” she muttered. “Can you pick me up some magazines from the shop as well? Then I just want my iPod and my…phone.”
Andrew thought about his own phone. He had not called work in days and would probably not have a job to return to anymore. Sympathy was not something his firm was known for and they would offer little understanding to the events of the past few days. He put such worries aside for now – they seemed so utterly unimportant – and gave Bex a warm smile to match the one she had given him. “I’ll go home now and get them for you. I won’t be long, but you try and get some rest in the meantime.”
Bex nodded and already seemed to be snoozing into a deep sleep. Andrew exited the room silently, not wanting to disturb her, although he was sure that no amount of racket would have woken her now. The corridor outside was bustling with staff and patients, in contrast to the deathly silence of the ICU ward. An old man ambled past, trundling a drip-stand behind him. He said “hello” and Andrew said the same, surprising himself that pleasantries were still within his capabilities.
A middle-aged, male-nurse passed by next and Andrew reached out to stop him. “Excuse me? Is there somewhere I could find a taxi?”
The nurse nodded. “There’s a small taxi rank on the east-side of the car park, can’t miss it.”
Andrew hadn’t seen it when he’d entered the hospital, but then he had not been paying attention to such things. His plan was to catch a taxi home, get Bex’s things, then immediately return via taxi as well – he wasn’t up to driving with his nerves the way they were.