Capturing Ella

Chapter 41 - Joe

10:11am, the same day.

I sat anxiously in the waiting room of Barnstaple hospital, unable to sit in with Ella when they do all the medical examinations. We had to go in under fake names, selecting one of the fake professional ID's that had been in the backpack. We had arrived at the hospital about half six this morning and had an hour wait in the lobby before we were moved up to the ward that I was waiting in now. The nurses had no idea what could be wrong with Ella to cause the bleeding and were now doing a battery of tests which is why I was sent out the room.

I was terrified for my girl, though. I wanted to jump up and go barging into that room and demand to be there with her, hold her hand through all the tests but I knew they would just kick me out again and turn me back into this waiting room. Ella must be so scared, in there on her own with a fear of hospitals. However, when the nurse asked if she wanted me to stay, she could only reply telepathically, the fear closing out her voice. When people say they have an innate fear of hospitals, they tend to mean they can't relax and feel welcomed in one. Ella actually couldn't function when in one, meaning she was an unresponsive mess. She could use me as a translator for her, with her feeding me telepathic messages for me to reply to the triage nurses' question but when it came to the nurses asking Ella if she wanted me to stay in, and Ella begged for me too but couldn't say a word they had to turn me out into the waiting room. Since then, no matter what I asked Ella through telepathy she wasn't able to reply.

I scanned the waiting room, hunched in the little wipe clean chair. The waiting room was tucked away in the corner of the ward, with about thirty odd chairs in a three sided square shape, the nurse's desk making the disjointed fourth wall. On the white pillar that went down the middle posters of flu jabs and hand washing was on display. About six or seven nurses sat in the bay, catching up with chart history and quietly talking to each other about cases, using only the initials of the patients for confidentially reasons. The smell of brewed coffee was strong, as more patients strolled into the emergency ward. It wasn't busy, though, just the odd kid injury from falling over at the beach and so on.

Joe, I'm so sorry. Ella telepathically whispered to me, and it sounded like she was crying.

Ella, what's up? What's wrong? I tried to urge back but she completely cut out again, leaving me to wonder what the Hell was up with her.

The agonising wait continued on for another ten or so minutes, every minute feeling like a century knowing that Ella was upset on the other side of that wall but there was nothing I could do about it. I traced a pattern on my knee. I love Ella, it was quite simple. This only proved to myself that I did. I had to tell her, but it sounded at the moment like she had bigger fish to fry.

I jumped in my seat as the nurse touched me on my shoulder to get my attention. She smiled apologetically at me.

'Mr Friar, can you just come with me for a second,' She asked and it took me a second to put two and two together. It was the contact name we put on the forms for Ella's fake ID.

'We have found out two or three reasons for the bleeding of your girlfriend, Laura. How long have you two been together?' The nurse asked me.

'Er, not too long I guess.'

'Laura mentioned that you got together one night at a party under the influence of alcohol in late March, is this true?' I frowned, wondering why Ella brought up this information. Was this why she was so distressed.

'Yeah – is she okay?'

'She's asleep at the moment. She's quite distressed as well, we'll try and get you a pass so you can stay with her from now on in. I think it's better for her health if you stay with her. She needs someone to keep her calm. Okay, thank you Mr. Friar for answering those questions.'

'Why did you need to ask them, it seems a bit off an odd question?'

'We know what is wrong with Laura to cause that internal bleeding –'