Back in Town

Chapter 6: Post Trauma - Day Two

*12:00pm*

At precisely twelve o'clock P.M., the beginning of visiting hours, Alec Hardy came up to and was buzzed into the doors of the ICU ward, washing and sanitizing his hands before approaching Liv's room. He knew there would be very little change in the sixteen hours since he had walked away from Olivia MacDonald's bedside, but he was still itching to get back to her. There she still lay, in a coma, face beaten, right arm in a cast and wrapped close to her body to prevent her shoulder from moving when nurses shifted her body for examination.

After a restless night of his own, in which he hadn't fallen asleep till the early morning hours, Alec awoke thinking for a moment he thought perhaps this whole incident had just been a nightmare. That he'd wake up and reach over to take his phone off the bedside table and find a 'good morning' text from Liv. Instead, there was a text from Ellie related to the case, giving him a quick reminder that indeed, this nightmare was a reality.

Now, a few hours later, he was here to spend the rest of the day. He walked around to the opposite side of the hospital bed, moved the chair as close as possible to the bed, and sat down. He had it turned so that he faced the head of the bed. As he took a long moment to look over her face, and the outline of her blanket-covered body, Alec tried hard to see changes in Liv's condition, but really there were none. He tried to remind himself that this was only the second day. But he found it hard to not be impatient. Sitting in the hospital room, in the quiet, hearing the beeping of the machines Liv was attached to, and the occasional hustle and bustle outside the room, it was all starting to get to Alec. As Alec looked over her broken body, he thought to himself that Olivia MacDonald had been beaten and bruised too many times in life. He determined he'd do everything he could to be sure it never happened again, and to be sure whoever had done it this time would live to regret it.

-*-*-

*Flashback – Month 2 of Alec and Liv*

Liv MacDonald sat back in a deck chair on the patio of Ellie Miller's house, the stem of a glass of wine fitted between two fingers. Alec Hardy sat next to her in another chair, a glass of beer in hand. Mark Latimer was working over the grill while Ellie and Beth played with their youngest children in the field. Chloe, Tom, and Daisy were playing video games in Tom's room until dinnertime.

"So, has Ellie told you all about my childhood yet, then?" Liv asked as she looked to Hardy.

Alec looked over at the red-headed Scot. It was rare that he could say he 'enjoyed' someone's company, but he found himself thinking that more and more about Liv. She seemed to know when to push him into conversation, and when to allow silence. Something, he thought, her best friend hadn't quite gotten the knack of. He appreciated Ellie Miller, his work relationship and friendship with her, but she seemed to not quite know when to stop nagging. He thought for a moment about the question. Now that he thought about it, it was interesting that Ellie hadn't given more information to Alec about Liv. "No, she hasn't. I suppose she feels that it's your story to tell." Alec paused and waited, but Liv merely nodded and sipped on her wine. "Well, go ahead, if you want. I already spewed forth my own sad tale weeks ago."

"Even the short version of the story feels long. But I'll try to be brief. I too had an alcoholic father. Mine had several mental disorders—and refused to take medication the doctors said would have helped. Why? Because if he drank and took the medication it could kill him. So, he chose alcohol over sanity. My mam sent me here to my Granny's every summer – to get me away from him. When I was ten, my mam came with me for the summer. She had finally had enough herself, I s'pose. It started out as such a delightful summer, then he came after us. He came all the way to Broadchurch in a mad fit, came right into my grandmother's house and started beating both of us. The cops were called. He was put in an asylum without choice where he lived out the rest of his short life. The beating he gave my mother caused irreparable brain damage that changed the rest of her life. We took her back home, to Scotland and my Nana there, she helped me take care of her. Mum died when I was 14 and I lived with my Nana until I was almost done with secondary school. She died and I was sent down here to live with my Granny. She passed the summer after I finished my A-levels and I was on my own."