Heartdriven: Too Driven To Drive

7. The Book Of Fernando

    Finally arriving back home and getting to sit down on the couch for a moment before taking a shower, Fernando checked his phone to find a few missed calls from the hospital Alice had been staying at. He quickly called them back. Apparently there had been a minor incident, when a male nurse didn't know Alice couldn't speak Spanish, and didn't understand when he told her she could not lie down with her broken ribs, she had to sit upright, and he had tried to help her sit up in the hospital bed, but she had what they described as a 'meltdown' from this, and locked herself in the bathroom. Since they had called Fernando the first time, they had since gotten her out of the bathroom by the help of a female doctor who spoke English, and Alice was now ready to be discharged from the hospital so Fernando could come and pick her up and bring her home with him.
    He allowed himself to sit for 5 minutes before taking another 30 minutes for himself to finally get that shower done and clear his mind. Then the focus was back on, and it was about figuring his way through Alice's suitcase to find some fresh clothes for her to wear out of the hospital. Holding her hand in the hospital bed was one thing, but holding her hand through the entire healing process might be quite a handful for Fernando to take on by himself. The last time he tried, she had kicked him out before he could help more than hand holding.

    They had gotten Alice sit upright in the bed, there didn't seem to be more trouble. She had a tray of a few foods across her lap, that it at least looked like she had picked a bit at. The chocolate remained untouched.
    "Alice," she turned her head towards him by the door as he approached her, "Are you ready to leave?"
    She wasn't saying anything, but expressing everything by her eyes following him until he sat beside her.
    "I brought you some clothes. Why don't you change and we'll talk to the doctor before leaving?", he removed the food trap from her lap and replaced it with the bag of clothes. She looked through it and nodded. Trying to crawl out of the bed, she reached for him in his seat and held onto him to get off the bed until he helped her get up, with her face grimacing in pain. She went to the bathroom and changed, and he buzzed for the doctor who had been expecting their talk.
    The doctor arrived just as quickly as Alice returned from the bathroom, and she got discharged with a bunch of painkillers prescribed, and an order to call if anything was out of the ordinary... ordinary of the pain she had felt thus far.

    Alice remained mute until they got in the car and had driven a few moments. Her voice was still rough, her throat sounding sore, "Where are we going?"
    "Somewhere safe. We're going home."
    "Your house? Or...", although he had explained to her why she couldn't go home yet, there was still that tiny glimmer of hope in her voice of which 'home' he meant.
    He felt bad for postponing that hope, when it was the littlest positivity he had heard in her voice, "It's too soon, Alice. Will—he is still recovering in the hospital. I need to make sure he is not going to bother you anymore, before I let you out of my sight."
    "How will you know? That he won't hurt me?", she was sat clutching her bag of clothes as if it was a pillow for comfort.
    "I took care of it."
    He could feel her frown turning to his catch his eyes off the road, "What does that mean?"
    "It means I took care of it," he stayed firm in his unwillingness to explain.
    "Fernando...", even if she was questioning him, the more she spoke, the more her voice returned to normal.
    "Alice. You said you trusted me. Trust me."
    "Okay. I trust you."
    She spoke no more.

    The next days went rather slow. Alice spent most her time in the guest room, which had become her room. She didn't ask more questions, she didn't say much at all, and as she begun healing, she became more and more independent, and Fernando felt more comfortable returning to his normal work that had been postponed. She didn't hold him back, either. Spending most of her time in her room, until she became more comfortable with her damaged ribs to venture around the house, and further, exploring the neighbourhood with a little digital camera, just minding her own business. Fernando felt safe letting her wander off in the guarded and gated area, knowing William couldn't get to her here.
    Sometimes, Fernando had to leave for a few days in a row, and would return to Alice cooking dinner for him. It was nice returning home to find her waiting for him, to have her around... to live with her.