Tears of Sorrow

Part 15

After thirty minutes of sitting in the waiting room, a nurse walked over to where Jim was sitting.

"Are you the man who called the ambulance?" She asked.

"Yes. Is she ok?"

"The patient is fine, she will see you now."

Jim was almost shaking with relief as he got up and followed the nurse.

Bek was alert and sitting up in bed when he entered the room. As soon as she caught sight of Jim, her eyes widened in surprise. "Jim? They told me a man had called the ambulance but I had no idea it was you."

"I was even more surprised to find you curled up in the park, covered in blood."

She looked embarrassed as she replied, "I'm sorry you had to see that Jim."

"Sorry for me?" he asked incredulously, "What about you? What the hell happened?!"

A chorus of shhh's followed Jim's outburst from the nurses tending to the other patients in the ward.

"I'll tell you when we get somewhere more private." Bek whispered back.

As it happened, there was a small room across the corridor where they could talk without being a disturbance to others.

"You look awful." said Jim taking in the blood stained clothing, matted hair and bloody bandages covering the gashes on Bek's head, arms and torso.

"I don't feel so great either, believe it or not." Bek replied with the hint of a smile.

"So... what happened?"

Bek looked down. "Do you remember how I told you that I had booked a hotel?"

"Yes."

"Well, I... Um... Didn't."

"Excuse me?"

"I never actually booked a hotel."

"I see. Why not?"

"I didn't know where I would be staying."

"Surely they had vacancies?"

"I don't know, I never checked, there was no point. Even if they did have a vacancy I wouldn't be able to stay there."

"Why on Earth not?"

"I... I couldn't afford it."

"You couldn't afford it?! Why didn't you say something?!"

"I was embarrassed and didn't know how you would react. I already felt like I was imposing and I didn't want to be a burden."

He opened his mouth to say something, but was immediately cut off by her continuing explanation. Bek talked quickly as the fear from that night was reflected in her eyes. She was determined not to stop, afraid that if she did, she would never finish.

"I left the house and started walking. I had nowhere to go, and nothing to carry. I just wandered aimlessly until I reached the park. I sat on the bench as it got colder and darker around me. A few hours later some goons came along, they were drunk and looking for "entertainment"." She shuddered. "Of course when they saw me, they decided I would provide just that. I tried to fight them off, but they were all much bigger than me and there was more of them. I think one of them hit me over the head with a bottle an knocked me unconscious."

Jim was dumbfounded. All this had happened because she was afraid of him? That's why she didn't say anything about her not having anywhere to stay? This was his fault? He was only trying to protect his wife wasn't he? Or had it been something else? Jealousy? Was he jealous that Em wanted to spend time with Bek instead of him? Suddenly Jim felt sick. His selfishness had turned him into a monster. His envy had caused a young woman, his wife's best friend to be mugged. He looked up. Bek was sitting awkwardly, staring at the floor. He saw her injuries differently now, as if he himself had wielded the weapons that caused them. Wave after wave of guilt crashed over Jim, until he felt emotionally battered.