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“You don’t have to do that, but thank you. Seeing as I’m treating myself to a day off, would you mind if I tagged along with you to the hospital? I’d like to see how George is doing.”

* * *

Alice foundherself willing time with Ash to go slower, despite their little misunderstanding at the café, which had been entirely Alice’s fault… again. Jumping to conclusions was her superpower. Even though things with Ash seemed uncomplicated, she didn’t want to leap from one tangled mess to another, and it’d literally been four days since she’d ended the longest relationship she’d ever had.

Four days.

Her chest still ached when she thought about Fran for too long and she was struggling to ignore the fact that time with Ash felt like a magic balm that soothed the ache. Every moment spent with Ash was time not spent in her own head, thinking about Fran or Jeremy. She’d trusted him. She’d felt sorry for him. And now she just felt a bit stupid.

The Daltons are probably sipping their expensive red wine and having a good old laugh about silly little Alice, far too naïve to realise she was being played.

They arrived at the hospital and after an awkward hug, Ash left in one direction and Alice in the other, towards the hospital shop. She hadn’t yet managed to do her own grocery shopping, but she wanted to pick up a few things for George.

After browsing the well-stocked aisles, Alice checked out with a large bar of Fruit & Nut, a bottle of Lucozade, some green grapes, and a copy ofCountryfilemagazine, with a cute fluffy lamb on the cover.After all his talk about pigs, hopefully George likes lambs too.Alice tapped her credit card without pausing to debate it with herself.Tomorrow’s problem.Today she was visiting her friend. If you could call someone who you hadn’t met whilst they’d been consciousa friend.

Somehow, Alice navigated her way to George’s ward. The nurse from the other day — Marjorie, Alice recalled from her name badge — was exiting the room as she arrived.

“Oh, you’re in luck today.” Marjorie beamed. “Mr George is awake and making much more sense.”

“He is? That’s great. Is he okay to have a visitor?” Alice craned to peer into the room. The man sat propped up in the bed, staring into the void.

Marjorie chuckled. “He’s been asking for you.”

“Me? But?—”

She peered over her glasses. “Yes, you’re Alice, right?”

Alice swallowed hard and nodded.Oh, God, he knows I dropped him.

“You better get in there before he drifts off again.”

George turned and fixed Alice with an unblinking stare as she stepped into the room, and she suddenly felt very unsure of herself.Actually, why am I here?

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Alice.”

“I know.” His voice was a raspy whisper, and Alice was sure he still hadn’t blinked yet.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I found you in the road and I brought you here.”

“After dropping me on my head.” His bushy eyebrows framed his scowl.

Alice preferred him when he was asleep; at least then they got along alright.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, but the doctor said it isn’t likely to have caused any complications.”

George scoffed. “It might explain the skull-cracking headache though.”

Alice shifted her weight between her feet and the carrier bag brushed her leg. “Oh, um, I bought you a few things.” She held up the bag. “It’s not much, but?—”

George’s frowning face relaxed and Alice puffed out a breath.

“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I went with the usual.” She pulled the items from the carrier bag and placed them on the over-bed table.

“Is this compensation for the head injury?” George smirked as he fumbled with the punnet of grapes until his thick fingers tore the packaging open and he popped one in his mouth.

“I guess, I…”

“I’m just messing with you. Sit down, will you? Have a grape.”