It was mid afternoon when Alex got a call from the hospital, telling him Norma was ready to come home. And to be honest, he couldn't be happier. Not only had he missed her being around, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could cope with Ashley. She clearly didn't get the hint that he wasn't interested in her, and she just kept on flirting and flirting. He was just now starting to see why Norma hated her so much.
He parked up at the hospital, finding the room she had been staying in yet again. When he got there, he could see the nurse helping her into her crutches. He smiled, opening the door.
"Alex!" Norma looked up and smiled. "This is a good look, right?" she gestured down towards the cast on her leg.
"Oh, you've never looked better." he teased, laughing slightly.
"Well, I think you're all ready to go." The nurse tapped Norma's shoulder, before turning towards Alex. "Here's some painkillers, she can take them as much as she wants...but no more than 4 a day with 4 hours in between each one she takes. The leg will probably still be painful for the first few days, but it should ease away as the days go on. In those first few days, it's best to take it easy. Stay sitting, with the leg raised up on a soft pillow. It'll help the swelling go down." she handed him an information pack. "Anything else you need to know is in here, the cast will be on for 6 weeks...so you'll need to come back to have it taken off at that time. You need anything in between that time, if something happens to make the leg worse...just call."
Norma slid her arms fully into her crutches, making her way over to Alex and the nurse. She took the information pack and painkillers out of Alex's hand, looking at the nurse. "I don't need a carer, i'm fully capable of looking after myself...thank you very much." she took one arm out of one crutch, pushing open the door and quickly stepping through.
Alex gave the nurse an apologetic look before following Norma out. "Give me those." he shook his head, sighing and taking the things from her hands. "You might not want people taking care of you, but it's tough...because that's what you're getting."
"I just don't want to be patronized. That woman was talking about me to you like as if I was your child or something." she pulled a face, walking ahead of him. She stopped when they got to another door, separating them from yet another corridor. Why did this place have to be so damn difficult to get out of? She felt trapped, and she just wanted to be back home. She pulled one of her arms out of her crutches, leaning forward quickly to grab the door and wobbling.
"Woah-" Alex stepped forward, grabbing her hips to steady her.
Norma's eyes widened slightly as his hands touched her hips. She almost felt as if she had butterflies in her stomach. Nah, must just be a side effect from the leg injury.
"You good?" he gently took his hands away from her hips, moving to stand next to her.
"Huh?" she turned to look at him. "Oh! Right, yes! Yeah, i'm good." she cleared her throat quickly, nodding.
"I think after that you'd better let me help, don't you?" he raised an eyebrow, pushing open the door and holding it open for her.
Norma let out a sigh of defeat, nodding and hopping on through the doorway.
"I'll take that loud sigh as a yes." he laughed, walking along with her. When they eventually got out of the hospital, he led her to his car. He waited until they were right by his car, until looking at her. Okay, this was going to be difficult. "I think you'll have to sit sideways in the back seat, and keep your leg up on the seat." he said, opening the back door and tilting his head slightly as if trying to work out how she could get in.
She sighed and threw her crutches down on the floor of the backseat, holding out her hand. "Give me your hand."
He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was about to do. But he obliged, and held her hand.
