The drive to the hospital was a little on the awkward side. I didn’t really know Mouse that well – just an acquaintance. I tried to calm him, he was clearly worried about Charlie.
“She’ll be ok, you know” I tried to break the moody silence
“I hope so. I just can’t lose her. Not now. I need her” he replied, his eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead but his voice cracked a little.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s heading to the best place she could be in. And I wouldn’t read too much into the fact that she didn’t want you to go with her”
I could tell that had stung his pride a little but he would never show it.
“I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me. I.. I didn’t mean to get with Coco. She was just, I guess she was just there. When I read about Charlie & Whip I got wasted and Coco was just there”
“Yeah I kinda got the impression she was that kind of girl” I tried to be diplomatic, from what I’d heard about Coco she was a gold-digger.
“I didn’t really want anyone, Coco was a nice girl but not what I wanted. I just wanted to hurt Charlie”
I laughed “Coco? A nice girl? A psycho more like” I couldn’t help it but after what she’d done to Charlie I couldn’t hold it in.
“What do you mean?” for the first time in our conversation he looked over at me puzzled.
“Err, nothing. I guess you don’t know”
“Tell me, What do you mean?” he asked
“I shouldn’t. But I think you should know. I don’t know the whole story just what Itchy’s told me” I told him “Coco went round to Charlie’s one night and was threatening Charlie and it ended up that Coco stabbed her, in her side I think”
“WHAT??” He genuinely looked stunned. He pulled the car over to the side of the road “Tell me. Please” He begged
“Look that’s all I know I swear. Charlie hasn’t mentioned it and I didn’t get a chance to ask her before tonight. I’m not sure how Itchy found out but he told me, he asked me to talk to her to try and find out if she was ok. I’d arranged to meet for a drink later this week but then…well then this happened” I tried to explain.
“Why did no-one tell me?” he was wounded. It was awful seeing such a strong muscular guy in pain like this. I got the impression he didn’t show his emotions very often.
“I don’t know Mouse, I really don’t know. And I’m sorry I truly am. I wasn’t aware that you didn’t know”
“Well thank you for telling me” he said as he started to pull the car out of the parking space and headed towards the hospital
“I just wish I hadn’t been the one to tell you. You shouldn’t have found out like this” I said.
“What do I do now? No wonder she doesn’t want me anywhere near her. Me & Whip cleared up what happened. I can’t believe I was so stupid and didn’t believe her. She’s never going to forgive me now”
“She loves you” I told him “that’s why she was so hurt by your actions. I’ve seen the way she looks at you Mouse, there is still something there but she’s hurt. It will take work but you two are meant to be together”
“You reckon?” he glanced over again, looking for reassurance
“Yes, of course. I’ll help you in any way I can. Even if I have to knock your heads together myself. It’ll take some hard work on your part but I’m sure you can win her around”
“Ok, Thanks. What should I do?” he asked
“Well for now, all you can do is be there for her. She’s not really about the big romantic gestures. More about the little ones – the personal ones that mean more. She’d take 1 single rose over a hundred if it had a card with it that you’d written a loving note in” I explained. Some guys just believed that all girls wanted the big expensive presents all the time. The truth is that all most girls want is to be appreciated.
We arrived at the hospital and went to the Emergency department to find out where they’d taken Charlie. We found Whippet in the hallway hugging a coffee cup
“They’ve taken her for surgery” he said “she’s ok though, she was conscious and stable. She’s lost quite a bit of blood. They’re just patching her up”
“Mate, why didn’t you tell me about Coco?” Mouse asked him. The hurt was still fresh on his mind
“I tried but you wouldn’t listen mate, I could tell she was a gold-digger”
“No, I meant about her stabbing Charlie?” he said
“Mate how do you tell your best mate that his girlfriend is a psycho? Charlie told me not to. You’ve seen her temper, haven’t you? Any way Coco-nutjob is out of the picture now isn’t she?” he smirked. Only Whippet could get away with humour at a time like this. I stifled a laugh. Coco-nutjob was quite an apt name for her.
We went to sit in the visitor’s area waiting for Charlie to come out of surgery. After a few hours, I was so exhausted from the day’s events I curled up & rested my head on Mouse (I was too tired to be shy around him now). Ever the gentleman he put his hoodie around me as I was still in just a tee & my shorts – he could see the goosebumps on my arms from the air-conditioning. After a couple of hours of dozing (and panicking that I wasn’t snoring) I decided it was best to leave the guys at the hospital. They offered to take me back to Bondi but I could tell neither of them wanted to leave so I told them I’d jump in a cab. I jumped in a cab and I was halfway back to Bondi when I realised I had no purse, no cards nothing – just my phone. I frantically called Justin. He said he’d sort the money out when the cab arrived, he started to ask me what had gone on as the last he saw of me was my flying off down the promenade hours earlier. I told him I’d explain when I got back.
When the cab pulled up, Justin was stood outside on the porch waiting for me. He paid the cabbie and walked me inside, he walked me to my apartment so I could pay him back and I explained what had happened. After hanging around the beaches of Sydney, he knew Charlie so was understandably concerned. I assured him she’d be ok. He said good night and headed off back downstairs. I was exhausted, I flopped on the bed, it was now 6am and don’t remember anything else until there was a knock at the door.
