Stand A Little Too Tall, Say A Little Too Much

“Don’t worry about Josh for now, he can be dealt with later. Alex has been wheeled off into surgery.”
“Did the doctors say if he was gonna be alright?”
“They said he’ll recover soon but he needs to rest. Which is the exact reason I’m moving in with him.”
“Really? Blimey. I don’t blame you, but don’t you worry, Josh is gonna pay. We’re all gonna make him pay.” She sounded angry but concerned at the same time.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you guys. Seriously. If he can do that to Alex, imagine what he could do to you!”
“Trust. He won’t do that to us. We have history.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah. I’ll explain in a bit. It’s a bit of a long story.”
“Do you wanna come down to the hospital? I’m gonna be here for a few hours at least.”
“Sure. I’ll make my way up now.”
“Thankyou. I don’t know what to expect when he comes out of surgery. I really don’t.” I could feel the lump in my throat expanding again.
“He’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”
“I hope so. He means the world to me. I don’t think anyone really understands how much.”
“Well, I think he’s definitely proved how much he loves you. Not many guys would do what Alex has done to Josh.” She laughed.
“True. I’ll explain what happened this morning when you get here. How long you gonna be?”
“Not long. I’ll get Mum to drop me off at the shop and grab some munchies on the way. You’ve not had lunch, have you?”
“I’ve had nothing today, at all.”
“Can you stomach anything?”
“I think so. I don’t feel sick or anything but just everything that’s been going on has just distracted me from eating.”
“Okay. I’m on my way now! Must go or Mum’s gonna kill me! I’ll be there soon!”
“See ya later!” I hung up. This is also another reason why I love Chloe. She’s not just concerned with herself, she thinks about others too.

Whilst waiting for Chloe, I went into a deep thought about what was happening to Alex. I hope the surgeons weren’t going to be long. I missed him so bad. He was literally everything I’ve ever asked for. How many guys would go after their girlfriend’s attempted-rapist? Not many as I’ve learned from experience with friends.

I couldn’t help but replay everything that had happened over the last few days. I wanted to go back to when I was at the lake with Alex. That evening was so magical. The sunset was beautiful and I can remember everything so vividly. I remember our little moment before he kissed my forehead and left me at my front door. Then that vile idiot came along and ruined it all. He ruined everything and now Alex was in hospital because of him and my memory is scarred for life. I felt so angry. I wanted to hurt Josh mentally and physically, like he’d done to Alex and myself. He was going to pay. No matter how long it took.
I looked down at my fists and realised that they were clenched up tight and were starting to ache. I put my knees up to my head and rested them there for a while. Chloe better hurry up otherwise I’d end up falling asleep on this bench, which wasn’t a good look. Maybe it would be better to go back to Alex’s cubicle and wait for him there but then again Chloe was on her way and I didn’t want to cause hassle with her trying to find her way to the cubicle. I doubt Alex wanted to see all my friends at the moment anyway.

I was interrupted by a few pounding footsteps and looked up to see Chloe running with a few shopping bags with Layna and Ellie running behind her with more bags.

“Bloody hell, how many bags?!” I yelled.
“Well, we kinda bought lots.” Chloe replied.
“I guessed!”
“Looks like a picnic is in order!”
“Indeed.” I replied.

We all sat down on the bench and started to unpack the bags. Layna kept looking at me and it made me feel edgy. Chloe put her bags on the floor and took the bags from Layna and Ellie. She got out a blanket and started to pull food out of the carrier bags and set them out on the blanket. Once everything was all in place, Chloe told us we could finally sit down on the blanket and dig into whatever we wanted. I sat eating quietly and could feel eyes staring at me when I looked down at the ground. I didn’t know what to say considering it was pretty awkward. Chloe was quick to break the silence.

“So Justine, when do you reckon Alex will be out of theatre?”
“I don’t know. I hope it’s not long, I miss him so much.”
“Aw bless you hun. I’m sure he won’t be long. Anyway, what was this thing you were gonna tell me about this morning?”
“Oh.” I looked at Layna and Ellie and realised they were listening in too. “Basically, I argued with my mum and I fell down the stairs and then ran all the way to school and collapsed against the wall once I’d got there.” I paused and they were all looking at me, gesturing me to continue. “Alex took me away from school and he took care of me.”
“He’s sounds like an amazing guy,” Ellie chipped in.
“He is. The best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I replied.
“Are you both okay now?” Layna looked towards me with the same concerned face earlier at the incident outside Kirkland’s college.
“I’m fine. I’m more concerned for Alex right now, I don’t care about me.”

We carried on talking for a bit longer and before I knew it a couple of hours had passed back. I decided to go back into the hospital and see if Alex had been wheeled out from surgery. Chloe caught up with me once she’d said her goodbyes to Layna and Ellie. I had whispered a brisk goodbye. I needed to get to the cubicle now.

We rushed up the stairs and asked the nurse to lead us back to the room. She took us past a few X-Ray rooms and then turned a sharp corner and left us outside the cubicle. The curtains had been closed and it looked so dark inside. It looked as if Alex was back.
I made my way towards the door cautiously and let my hand lie on the door handle for a few seconds. Chloe put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently. I told her to stay outside the room for a bit and that I’d be out as soon as I could. I turned the door handle and opened the door slowly. I could hear quiet beeps from the machines inside. I went round the corner of the door and shut it quickly behind me. 2 doctors were standing over Alex’s bed and I could see a figure lying there motionless. My face filled with fear and I could feel my heart breaking as the words from the doctors came tumbling out.

“Hiya, are you Justine? There’s been a problem with Alex’s surgery…”