Page 75 of Sixty Meters Under

“What did your father say?”

“Dad said he was going to prove I’m innocent.”

“Good. At least you have your dad to help you.”

Ryosuke rolled his eyes and fell silent. He knew his father’s chances of helping him were slim, almost nonexistent. He himself wasn’t sure that he hadn’t really done it somehow.

“This is awful,” Ayame added, to fill the silence. “I hope this gets resolved. I don’t want to be alone here. I already miss you.”

Ryosuke looked at his hands.She doesn’t even care how I feel. She only thinks that she’ll be lonely without me.

“Why are you not talking to me?” Ayame demanded.

“I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“Don’t you care about me?”

“Ayame, leave me alone.”

With a surprised look Ayame gaped. Ryosuke assumed she thought he was joking, or that she didn’t hear him correctly. But when he continued to ignore her, she turned and left.

?

Björn opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. He had trouble adjusting to the light after many long hours of sleep. Above him he saw a white ceiling, and the whole room was unusually bright.

Where am I?He scanned his surroundings and felt dizzy.

What’s going on? Is this a hospital room? Did I have a car accident?

As he tried to raise his head a little, nausea and headache blunted his senses. He moved his hands and noticed he had an infusion attached to his left arm.

Fuck! It is a hospital. But what happened?Björn couldn’t remember the circumstances that brought him to the hospital bed. He wished to get up but felt too weak. After a while he gave up trying.

A few minutes later he heard footsteps and hoped that it was a nurse.

A young stunning female appeared in his field of vision. “Good morning, Mr. Landberg. How are you feeling today?”

“Am I in heaven?”

“No. You’re still amongst the living,” the nurse replied with a smile.

Björn’s lips stretched into a grin. “I thought you were an angel.”

The nurse started with her procedure. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“What’s your name, angel?”

“Valeria.”

“Cute, and it suits you well. So, tell me, Vally, what happened? Why am I here?”

“It seems you drank a bit too much.” Valeria shook her head. “You suffered alcohol poisoning, but your condition is under control,” she added and attached another bottle with a new tube to his vein.

Björn’s brows furrowed and he laughed shaking his head. “Alcohol poisoning?” He led a relatively healthy lifestyle, so he couldn’t understand how it came to this. It was not his habit to drink excessively.

“Yeah. Your brother found you and brought you to the medical room. You were in really bad shape.”

Björn frowned. “Are you sure?”