Charlie POV
When I get home from class on Wednesday afternoon, I'm not expecting to find Nick in our flat at all, let alone curled up on the sofa with tears running down his face. He's supposed to be working today and normally he tells me if something changes but I haven't heard from him all day. I drop my bag to the floor and hurry over to him, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"What's wrong, Nick? What's happened?"
"It's my mum. She's in hospital." My heart starts to race at his words. I can only imagine what he's feeling right now.
"Is she okay?"
"She passed out at the grocery store this morning and hit her head on a shelf when she fell." More tears start to fall from his eyes and I can only hug him tighter.
"Oh no..." I don't know what to say.
"The hospital called me when I was on my tea break this morning. I left work straight away but I could barely get here without crashing the car."
"Okay. Look, let's get some clothes packed and I'll drive you home."
"But you have classes tomorrow."
"I don't care. I'll drive myself back up here tomorrow but right now, I need to be with you. Come on, up you get." I pull him to his feet and lead him to our room.
He digs around under the bed for our suitcase while I busy myself pulling clothes from the wardrobe. Mostly his clothes because I figure he'll stay with his mum for at least a couple of days, but I get a change of clothes for myself too. We work in silence to pack everything away and before long we're in the car, speeding along the highway towards our hometown.
Nick is quiet on the journey. He's not crying any more but he's not his usual self either. I ask if he's got any more information about his mum's condition but apparently the doctor wouldn't say much more over the phone.
It's nearly midnight when we arrive at the hospital and we rush through the front doors to a reception desk.
"How can I help you?" The lady behind the desk looks up.
"Um, I'm here to see my mum. She was brought in this morning. Sarah Nelson."
"Give me a second to find where she is." As we wait, I notice Nick is becoming fidgety, tapping his toes and fiddling with his fingers. I take hold of his hand, weaving our fingers together and rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand. It seems to calm him a bit, enough that he isn't so tense any more. "Here we go. She's up on ward 34, bed 16. Just follow the blue line to the lifts and go up to level three. The ward is first on your left."
"Thank you." I say. We follow the lady's instructions, finding the lifts easily. "How are you feeling, Nicky?" I ask him when the doors slide shut.
"Scared." He admits and I nod.
"It will be okay. She's already on the ward instead of in the ICU or something so they must think she's okay."
"I know. I just want to know what's happened."
Minutes later, we're being shown to a room at the end of a hallway by a nurse. The nurse knocks on the door softly before pushing it open.
"Mrs Nelson, your sons are here to see you." Neither Nick or I bother correcting her. She's not technically wrong anyway, I am Sarah's son-in-law.
"Hi, mum." Nick is in the room first and we see Sarah sitting up in the hospital bed.
"Nick, Charlie, what are you doing here?"
"The hospital called me when you were brought in." Nick explains, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Mum, what happened?"
"I'm okay, Nicky. Stop your worrying." Sarah smiles but it looks wrong with how pale she is and with the bandage on her forehead. "It was a silly accident."
"They don't bring you to hospital for a silly accident mum."
"Sarah, we're worried about you. That's why we're here." I speak up and she looks up to where I'm standing beside Nick.
"I forgot to take my medication this morning, so when I was at the shops, my blood pressure dropped and I fainted. That's all."
"Since when do you take medication?" Nick asks, looking stunned.
"A couple of months now. My doctor was worried about my blood pressure. Says it gets a bit low."
"You should have told me, mum."
"You've been busy, Nicky. I didn't need to give you anything else to worry about. Anyway, I'm okay. They're just keeping me here overnight for observation."
Nick leans over to hug her, "Just because I live far away and I'm married, doesn't mean I don't want to know what's going on in your life, mum. I was so scared when the hospital called."
"I'm sorry, Nicky."
Nick and I stay at the hospital for another half an hour before a nurse advises us to come back in the morning. We drive to Nick's childhood home and it's not long before he falls asleep, the emotions of the day exhausting him. I stay awake for a little while, just holding him, but I eventually fall asleep too
**********
"Are you sure you're okay to drive back by yourself?" Nick asks me, arms around me tightly.
"I'll be fine. I'm not in a rush so if I need to, I will stop for a break." He's going to stay in town with his mum for a few days, making sure she's settled back in at home and doing okay. We decided that I will take our car back to Leeds and he will catch the train home when he's ready.
"Okay. I'm going to miss you, Char."
"I'll miss you too. But it's only a few days. We've been apart for longer."
"True, but not since we got married." I push myself up onto my toes to kiss him, my hands gripping to his shirt.
"It will only make our reunion that much sweeter." I whisper, "Give your mum a hug from me and keep me updated how everything goes, okay?"
"I will. Drive safely, babe." He gives me one last kiss before I pull away from him and get into the car. He watches as I drive away, waving just before I get out of his sight.
I sigh and focus my attention on the road. It's a long drive home and my mind has so many things to think about. It's going to be a tough few days.
YOU ARE READING
Moment in the Sun
FanfictionA series of adventures over their lives as they navigate the real world.
