Siren Call

Turn Of The Tide

After being discharged, I was practically dragged back to Roxy's house, where her and Sean insisted that I was staying there until I'd had time to recover. It was clear that the accident had shaken Roxy, and it made me feel awful. I hated seeing that look of fear on her face, and the way that she cried as she clung to me when she saw me. It was then that it hit me, that such a stupid little accident could have been so much worse, and I we could have lost each other. Of course Jamie had told her about my reluctance for an ambulance, and hell I paid for that one. Roxy lost her nut when she'd finally overcome the majority of her fear, and only calmed when I reminded her I had a concussion and held her in my arms, apologising, and promising to never scare her like that again.

A few days later I was sitting in the kitchen whilst Roxy prepared dinner. I'd been home all day again, just trying to pass the time without dying of boredom. The time away from work wasn't agreeing with me. The knowledge of the growing pile of work for me to do, along with annoyance at not being allowed to do anything, was making the compulsory rest, difficult to say the least. I sighed, standing and crossing to the fridge and opening the door. My fingers had barely closed around the neck of the bottle before Roxy's voice rang out harshly from her place in front of the stove.

"No."

I turned to see her still facing away from me, stirring the mince meat in the frying pan and adding a spoonful of mustard.

"No, what?"

"You're not allowed to drink, not until you've been cleared to."

I groaned and reached for the milk instead, deciding to make a coffee.

"Or that."

"For fuck's sake, how are you doing that?" I half snapped, releasing the milk bottle and leaning against the fridge door.

Roxy turned to face me, a playful, yet determined, smirk on her face.

"I know you Ev. And you know that you're to keep caffeine to a minimum, and no alcohol."

"Kill me now." I sighed, reaching back into the fridge and pulling the bottle of fruit juice out. "Is this okay?" I asked sarcastically.

Roxy fiddled with the dial on the cooker, turning down the heat, then proceeded to walk towards me, stopping in front of me and wrapping her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I felt the stress and anger that was bubbling through me, begin to ebb away in her embrace, and I put the juice down on the counter and hugged her back.

"You'll be back at work soon, this isn't for long. Just stick to the rules, rest and get better, for me."

I chuckled softly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I've been a dick, haven't I?" I asked.

"No more than usual."

I swatted her on the arm, feeling her laugh against my chest.

"I'm kidding!" She said, straightening up and looking me in the eyes. "You've been fine, it's just a few more days."

"Thank you." I smiled.

The sound of the doorbell chimed through the house. I stepped around Roxy, nodding for her to go back to the stove.

"I'll get it."

Reaching the front door, I pulled it open to see Kat standing on the other side, looking beautiful in a flowing black halter-neck top, under a dark red, leather jacket, with grey skinny jeans and black ankle boots. It was the first time I'd seen her since the hospital, and it felt strange at first, remembering her touch that day. It felt somewhat awkward being face to face with her after she'd seen me at my weakest, but I saw nothing but care in her warm eyes.