Crystal Clear

Chapter Ten

Richard twitched slightly as his eyes opened; they adjusted to the early morning light which flooded the small cramped hospital room. He glanced over in his mother’s direction and the sides of his mouth turned up, before looking over at Ava and looking more confused by her presence. In a very raspy voice he murmured “Mum, where’s Jayne?” all the time looking over towards Ava.

Richard’s mother leaned forward towards the hospital bed and placed her hand on his leg before she told him “Darling. She’s where she’s been for quite some time now… in Bingham. You’ve hardly spoken in years. I can get hold of her if you want?”. Ava’s heart thumped in her chest. He can’t remember me she thought, he doesn’t remember me. His burns were healing but who knew what this accident had taken from his memory. A large tear rolled down her cheek and she attempted to wipe it away as discreetly as possible.

“Excuse me. Who are you? I’m sorry I can’t remember if I’ve met you before or not. Are you a friend of my mum’s?” Richard turned to her and asked. Ava shook her head, apologised to him and Richard’s mother and left the room. She ran down the corridor and out of the hospital doors. She couldn’t deal with all these emotions right now. The idea of what she had planned for when he woke up had shattered the second, she saw he expression on his face. The stubble covered his jaw, his eyes were sunken. He was a changed man and if he didn’t remember me then it was easier to walk away and gather my thoughts than upset him further by trying to convince him of their love. She left the room in tears, not saying goodbye to Sally. She clutched her phone up to her ear to call a taxi and she started to walk towards the memorial park opposite the hospital, when someone grabbed her arm. Her blood ran cold. “Heya, Fancy seeing you here!” Ava spun around to see the mirror image of the man she’d just heard say he didn’t remember her. He ran her fingers through the first few strands of her hair. “Hope you don’t mind me saying’ but you’re looking rough hun. What’s wrong?”. Ava hung up the phone and slid it in her pocket. Daniel tilted his head to one side as he saw Ava’s tears, he pulled her in closer for a hug. Ava inhaled his smell and as she rested her head on his chest, she could feel the warmth of his taut chest underneath his checked shirt. She felt guilty for the pleasure she took in his touch but the thought of going back to Richard right now was heart-breaking. Ava wasn’t the best person to deal with emotions if she could avoid them; she figured she could save herself the hurt and anguish of being unrecognisable to him. Maybe she would wait until Richard’s mother called her up if he asked about her, she wondered. Right now, she was in-between the arms of a man that made her feel something that she hadn’t felt in a long time. All she had felt for the last few weeks was guilt and ultimately numbness. She raised her head up and her lips found his. They embraced stood to one side of the pavement, she looked as rough as Dan had suggested with her matted hair and two-day old clothes. His presence had ignited feelings again and she couldn’t resist acting on them. “Come back to mine Ava and get cleaned up. I’ve missed you” He suggested. The fight and cross words faded into a distant memory as his arm wrapped around her shoulder and they walked side by side to the taxi rank.