Clopwyck River - revised version

Chapter Twenty-six

I walk down the hall to the only place I could think to go, relieved to see that there isn't a nurse sitting at the desk leading into the unit where I first saw Ben, as I doubt I'm here during visiting hours. I open the door and close it gently behind me, most of the patients are sleeping in their beds, just a few reading books by lamplight, or reaching out to the outside world with their tablets or smartphones.​
​Ben is still in the same bed as when I first visited, but he doesn't look the same. His cheekbones are almost cutting through his skin, and his eye sockets are just shadows of what his eyes used to be. They've taken some of his bandages off, and although the signs of his angry, seared flesh have started to heal, he looks older, and weaker.
​I walk to the side of his bed, and look down at his body, so decrepit cocooned inside the white hospital sheets. I stare at him, this person that I hardly know, but have been through so much with.
​I close my eyes, trying to reach into the deepest memories inside of me, trying to remember playing with Ben when I was little, to remember walking through the woods with him the day he was attacked, the babysitter, anything. But my mind just feels like a black hole, a deep chasm where I can't grasp anything or get a foothold onto a seedling of a memory or a clue about what happened.
​"Ben," I whisper. "What happened?"
​"What are you doing here?"
​My eyes flick open and I blink in the artificial light as Ciara stands on the other side of the bed, her hands on her hips.
​"I just....I just wanted to see him, Ciara. Please don't start with me, I'm not in the mood."
​Ciara rolls her eyes and sits down next to Ben, folding her arms. "Okay, princess. I didn't ask for your life story." She looks up at me. "Well? Sit down if you must."
​I keep my eyes on her as I pull a chair up and sit down. "How's he doing?"
​"How do you think he's doing? Look at him. There's no improvement. They've taken some of his bandages off and there's minimal scarring, which is good, but apart from that..." She looks down her nose at me. "Not that it's any of your business."
​"If only you knew." I whisper.
​"What does that mean?"
​I shake my head. "Never mind."
​"No, tell me." Ciara pulls herself up, uncrossing her legs and shuffles forward on her chair.
​"Nothing, just, I found out that I knew Ben from before." I test the words out, but they don't sound right coming from my mouth. "Apparently I used to live here."
​"Who told you that?"
​Not the reaction I was expecting, but anyway. "Ben's Dad. Then I spoke to my sister about it."
​Ciara shifts further forwards, putting her hands on Ben's bed. Her blue eyes are round in their sockets, drinking in my words. "What else did they tell you, Demi?"
​"Uh, they told me what happened to Ben, and that I got a concussion. Why?"
​"Is that all?"
​"Yes, but I think-"
​"They're lying to you, Demi."
​Ciara's face is almost the same colour as Ben's bed sheets, and she leans over the bed, gripping Ben's limp hand tightly. Her expression makes my hairs stand on end, her usually firm jaw wobbling as she swallows a few times. I wait for her to go on, but she doesn't seem to be able to find the words.
​"Who's lying to me?"
​Her head jerks up at the sound of footsteps, and I turn in my seat, my heart sinking as Dan walks between the rows of beds towards us. I look back at Ciara, as she fixes her eyes on me.
​"You should go. I'll tell you later."
​I start to stand up. "Where?"
​"I'll come to your house; just wait for me there." My head feels like it's floating off my body as I try to nod at the one person I never expected to get answers from. She frowns at me. "God, could you be any more obvious. Just get out of here and I'll see you in a bit."
​I trip over my feet and walk towards the door, ducking my head down as I pass Dan, but he puts a hand on my arm and I have to stop.
​"Demi, I'm glad to see you. Are you okay?"
​"Uh-huh."
​"Good. I wasn't sure after you left the church. Have you been here to see Ben?"
​"Uh-huh."
​He frowns at me. "Are you sure you're okay?"
​"Yeah, sorry, I'm fine. I'm just, I'm just tired I guess. I should get home."
​"All right then, I won't keep you. You know where I am if you need me."
​"Thanks," I squeak and hurry to the door.
​I look back just as Dan sits down in my chair, and Ciara blinds him with one of her Hollywood smiles. He holds Ben's hand and starts talking to him, just as Ciara catches my eye and nods at me.
​I guess I'll see her later.