Girl on the Bench [Completed]

Don't give up

Rosa

It had been weeks since Dominic told me to leave. Every time I close my eyes, I saw the horror growing on his face as he stared down at his bed, at the place where his lower left leg should be. Every time I tried to rest, all I could hear was him telling me to leave. I knew why he was doing it. He didn't want to be a burden. I wish he'd asked me because he would never be one to me. 

The day after he told me to leave, I returned to the entrance of the Intensive Care and asked to see him. Another nurse, not Millie, told me that he'd refused all visitors. He didn't have anyone else so I knew that he meant me. So I went back to the waiting room and, well, waited. The next day I did the same, the day after that and the day after that until the days tipped into weeks and now it was edging on two months since I had seen him. 

I knew he had his phone, I'd left it with Millie. I sent him a text message every day, telling him something light like I'd tried a new cake recipe at the shop and it had exploded when I'd opened the oven and I would always finish it with "I love you."

He never replied. 

My chest physically hurt, right on my sternum and I'd spend hours absent-mindedly rubbing it. I couldn't sleep, I struggled to eat and I knew what it was, I had a broken heart. Unfortunately for Dominic, I was stubborn. I was, after all, my mother's daughter and when we promise to love someone, we do it with everything we have. 

I stepped into the lift and pressed the button automatically down to the floor that the Intensive Care was and, just as the doors closed, a woman slipped in.

"Phew! Made it!" She gasped and leant against the rail that ran along the side. The hospital was warm but she was wrapped up in jeans and a thick coat. She pulled her purple beanie off of her head and fluffed her cropped hair. Her dark eyes sparkled at me. 

I smiled at her and then I did a double take. 

"Lola?"

She straightened up and stared at me awkwardly, "Yes?"

"I'm Rosa. I called you about Dominic when he had the accident?" My heart thudded in my chest as I remembered the last time we met, when she threatened to hurt me.

Lola ran a hand through her cropped hair and flashed me a soft smile. She looked healthier, the dark smudges under her eyes had gone and her skin was clearer. She looked like she was clean. 

"Rosa. Right, sorry I didn't call back. I..I was in rehab," Lola shifted her position from foot to foot.

"It's ok. I'm glad you got my messages. How are you?"

"Good, I'm doing good. I've been clean for seven weeks now which is the longest I've been in years."

"Congratulations, that's something to be very proud of. I know Dominic will be so happy for you."

"Have you seen him? My flight landed this morning and I.."

The lift stopped on our floor and we both walked into the corridor.

"This is the first time you'll have seen him?" I asked, my voice thick with emotion. Shit, did she know about his injuries?

"Yes, a nurse called me last week and told me he was being moved to a rehabilitation ward to help him recover. She..she told me about his leg. I don't know how he's going to cope with this. He's always been so strong. He's always had to be."

I chewed my bottom lip and stared at the insipid green paint on the wall behind Lola's head. I missed him so much.

"Lola, I should tell you. The day he woke up, he found out about his leg and he told me to leave. He's refused to see me since. I just, I can't give up on him. He means too much to me," I blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall. 

Lola started to move towards me, stopped then she reached out and pulled me into a hug. 

"I am so sorry, Rosa. I'm sorry for everything that I've said to you in the past. I wasn't well. I was barely alive. I'm sorry that this has happened between you and Dominic but believe me, he'll think he's protecting you. It's what he's always done. Has he..has he told you about our family?"

I gave my head a little shake, I couldn't bring myself to talk to her. My knees threatened to buckle under me as I fought to fight the tears from falling.

"We'll talk about it another day but I think it'll make you realise why he did this. Let me talk to him and I'll see how he is. Do you want to wait?"

I nodded frantically.

"Give me your phone number so we can talk again. I don't really know anyone anymore so it'd be nice to speak to someone about Dominic. Would that be ok?" She smiled gently at me and I could see Dominic in her.

"Yes, that would be great." 

We exchanged numbers and I walked with her towards the door that led to the Intensive Care Unit. Lola pressed the bell and waited. A familiar nurse opened the door and smiled awkwardly at me.

"Still no, I'm afraid, Rosa," she said quietly. I tried to ignore the searing pain in the centre of my chest.

"That's alright, tell him that I'm here. Like always. This is his sister, Lola. I think he was expecting her."

The nurse nodded and pulled back slightly to let Lola in. She looked over her shoulder and flashed a sweet smile at me. 

"Don't give up, Rosa."

The door closed behind her and I made my way back to my seat in the waiting room.

And I waited.