But now I sleep alone

Chapter 24

I must have fallen asleep as Jaime shaking my arm causes me to bolt upright and fall off the sofa.
"Tone, we're almost there. Jason says it's less than 10 minutes away now."
I nod and pull my shoes and hoody on, ready to jump off the bus as soon as we arrive. I doubt I'll be allowed to see Charlie but I want them to tell her I'm here, for reassurance if nothing else.
The bus pulls up into a car park and I'm out of the door the second we stop moving. Jason shouts after me to turn left and it's around the corner. I sprint in the direction he said and stop outside the doors to catch my breath. I open them and seeing no one on the reception, I ring the bell it says to, my hands shaking the whole time. I ring again after no one appears and this time a policewoman comes in and gives me a dirty look.
"Um, I'm looking for Charlie Thomas. I had a message saying she was here."
"And you are?"
"Her boyfriend" I hear myself say. Maybe that will sway them into letting me see her.
"She's currently in the interview room. I'll tell her you came, shall I?"
"Is there any way I'd be allowed to see her?"
"I doubt it. She is being investigated for murder you know."
"Yes, I had heard" I say sarcastically, sick of this bitches attitude.
She glares again before walking off. I sink down on a nearby chair and close my eyes in despair, wishing I could see her and reassure her but doubting I'll be allowed anywhere near her.
A few minutes pass and the bitchy policewoman comes back.
"It would appear Miss Thomas has been taken to the hospital. If you head there, you may be allowed to see her. Her solicitor is with her."
I jump up and head back out the door before I realise I don't know which hospital. I curse myself and run back in but no one comes.
I jog back to the bus and the guys are full of questions but all I want to know is if Jason knows where the nearest hospital is. He nods and starts the bus up.
Twenty minutes later, we pull up outside a huge building.
"Ysbyty Gwynedd. It's the nearest hospital to Caernarfon" Jason tells us. I thank him as I dash out of the door.
"Do you have a Charlie Thomas here. She was brought in from Caernarfon police station in the last hour I think" I gasp at the lady on the front desk. She glances at her computer.
"We do, but the police said she's not allowed anyone up there. I can ring the ward and tell her solicitor there's someone to see her though." I nod gratefully at her, glad someone is on our side at last. She indicates for me to take a seat but I'm too stressed and just pace frantically up and down.
"Excuse me. I'm Charlie's solicitor. They said you wanted to see her?"
"I'm Tony" is all I get out of my mouth before she nods. I guess Charlie told her about me then.
She pulls me to one side.
"Charlie fell in the police station because they didn't have her medication and she's being X-rayed right now. They think she has a broken arm and concussion. It didn't help that the police officer pushed her into the interview room but I witnessed it all and I've given a statement citing police brutality. I know she would never have harmed her mother and I now need witnesses to back me up. She said the men she was working with will speak up for her but I have no way of contacting them. Do you have the means to do that?"
I nod and pull out my phone, going to the contacts and finding Josh's number. As soon as he answers I tell him what's going on and all of the band say they'll get to the hospital as quickly as they can. I relay the message back to the solicitor and she nods before leading me to an elevator.
"Am I allowed to see Charlie?" I ask, my heart in my mouth.
"I'll see what I can do" I'm told as we walk down a corridor. I see a policewoman stood outside a door near the end and I assume that's where Charlie is. I feel my heart beating faster with each step. The solicitor motions for me to wait a moment while she talks with the policewoman. They exchange a few words before I'm summoned over.
"You're allowed 20 minutes under the circumstances. We will have to accompany you inside for security reasons but we will wait by the door" the policewoman tells me. I nod and follow them inside.
Charlie looks so tiny in the bed somehow. I pull up a chair and take her good hand in mine, kissing it lightly. She turns towards me and a tear trickles down her cheek as she gently squeezes my hand.
"I found her lying there. I went to pull up the covers as she was cold and she wasn't breathing. I can't really remember what happened after that but Josh, Max and Dan must have heard me and they came to see what was wrong. Then a policeman put me in handcuffs and I was taken to the police station. Tony, I wouldn't have hurt her. She was all I had left. How could they think I would?"