by Iris Deorre
‘Do you remember what happened?’ She gazed at her daughter all bandaged. Only her eyes, nose and mouth were revealed.
Her mouth and nose were swollen, she could barely see out of her eyes. Her mother looked like a blurry screen.
‘No.’
‘Oh sweetie.’ It hurt her to know that someone could do this to her child.
‘What happened to me?’
‘You were burned honey. Someone set you alight.’
Bits and pieces of that night flashed before her. She panicked and her blood pressure fell. She remembered the smell, the pain, the whisper and then it was gone. Hospital staff rushed over to her and asked Ivy to move aside. It was awhile before they could stabilise her again.
‘She’s still in shock. It would be a good idea to keep her calm for the next few days. No questions or police. Just until she’s out of the woods,’ said Doctor Patterson.
‘Yes, yes absolutely.’ Ivy couldn’t lose her only child. It wasn’t normal for a child to go before her mother.
She sat with Faith for the next couple of hours. She prayed. She made sure she was comfortable. She sent the police away, just until she was okay. It had been a horrible couple of days, but soon, bit by bit, Faith began to get stronger.
****
The medical students did rounds with a doctor.
‘Patterson.’ The doctor nodded at her.
She looked at the man and smiled. ‘This is Logan Davenport. He suffered injury to the neck, arm and left leg during an accident. He was also high on cocaine when he arrived. So far his vitals are good, he has no injury to the spine, but will need to keep the neck brace on. He’ll also need therapy on his leg and arm,’ said Crystal.
‘We’ll move him to the recovery ward, he’s out of the woods now,’ said the doctor. ‘Do you have any questions, Mister Davenport?’
‘Could I have a word with Doctor Patterson, in private?’
The doctor looked at Crystal, she gave nothing. He nodded and led the group to the next patient.
‘You’ve been avoiding me,’ he said.
‘I’m at work. I’m not sure what you want from me.’
‘I need to ask you something.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Do the police have a right to see my medical records?’
‘You were under the influence of alcohol and drugs. It’s a criminal case.’
‘I could lose everything, everything I worked for.’
She was quiet.
‘You have to help me.’
‘I can’t do anything about it.’
‘You can change my records.’
‘Are you crazy? I’ll lose everything I’ve worked for if they find out.’
‘Now you know how I feel.’
‘No, that’s not the same.’ She tried to keep her voice down.
‘What will your boss think about your side business?’
‘You want to pull that one on me?’
‘I need your help.’
She took in a deep breath. It had never occurred to her that this would happen. What had been the chances?
‘I’ve got to go,’ she said.
‘Please.’
‘I have to go.’ She left him.
He lay in a panic, but it was short lived when Daryl and Owen stepped in.
‘Man!’ said Daryl.
‘Hey!’
‘What happened man? We’ve been here the past couple of days, but you were out of it.’
‘I know. Things went sour. I’m fucked up.’
‘Don’t sweat it. Your dad will sort it out.’
‘I don’t want him to. He’ll never let it go.’
‘So what? You’ll let them arrest you? You’ll lose your licence. You’ll never be a broker again.’
‘Don’t you think I don’t know that?’
‘Just saying.’
‘I have a plan.’
‘What’s that man?’
‘The doctor, she’ll help me out.’
‘What doctor?’
‘The one I picked up the night of the accident. I could tell her boss what she does.’
‘She could deny it.’
‘Well, it doesn’t look like she would.’
They studied him. It was going to be a long road to recovery.
‘Have the police contacted you yet?’
‘I believe they’ve been in, but I wasn’t awake to answer any of their questions.’
‘You better get ready, it’s not looking good,’ said Daryl.
‘You’re not helping.’
‘Well you need someone to tell you how it is.’
He turned away. He didn’t want to know that. He had his whole career ahead of him, but now it looked bleak. They trio chatted for a while longer. They tried to joke around, but things weren’t that funny anymore. They finally left him, alone, and with his thoughts. Life had taken a huge nose dive, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get out of it.
He was moved to the ward three days later. He would’ve loved to leave, but that wasn’t about to happen. There was still a lot of recovery. Friends and family came and left, but his life didn’t improve. His father had dealt with the police, keeping them away just until he was well enough to deal with it. He was grateful, but he knew that it wasn’t just going to disappear. He was lucky no one had lost their lives, but he knew there would be a price to pay for the damaged caused.
A week later, a woman was wheeled into the ward and placed on the bed not far from his. She was covered in bandages. She was quiet most of the times, and she had a visitor here and there, but nothing really happened more than that.
One Sunday afternoon a red head walked in with a large bouquet.
‘Hey, how are you doing?’ asked Mel.
‘Not to great,’ said Faith.
Logan, bored out of his mind listened in. He’d been doing that a lot lately.
‘I’m really sorry about all this.’
Faith was silent. She’d never been this helpless in her life.
‘He hasn’t come to see me yet.’ She was almost in tears. ‘Jacob, he hasn’t seen me yet.’
Mel took her bandaged hand.
‘What kind of boyfriend does that?’
‘Don’t stress about it. I’m sure he’ll come.’
‘You’d think he’d be the first one to be here.’ She sniffed. ‘But there’s no sign of him. I can’t call him, and he hasn’t called me.’
‘Would you like me to try him?’
‘If you don’t mind. It would be nice to see him.’
‘I’ll call him later today. Perhaps he’s just scared. I’m sure there’s some explanation.’
‘I’m not so sure. I don’t know what I’m going to do. Noah is trying his best to head the company, but without me there, things might just fall apart.’
‘Oh honey. Have more trust in your staff. It will be fine.’
She nodded, she wanted to believe that, but she felt down in the dumps, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to push through.
‘Is there anything you need?’ Mel asked.
‘No.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
Mel was worried. She’d never seen her friend this low. The person who had done that horrible thing to her, deserved to die.
‘The police are coming to see me later.’
‘Are you ready for that?’
‘I’m not sure.’ She took a deep breath. ‘But I guess the person who did this, needs to pay for it.’
‘Yes they should. Do you want me to stay, support you while you talk to the police?’
‘I think I’ll be okay. You don’t have to do that.’
‘I’m not in a hurry anywhere.’
‘I’ll be fine.’ She tried to say bravely.
They chatted for a while longer; Logan continued to eaves drop, he had nothing better to do. Finally Mel said her goodbyes, and promised to visit the following day, and to contact Logan as soon as she got home.
The cops arrived an
hour later. She felt worn out, but she was willing to give as much as she could. It would make her feel safer.
‘I’m sorry we have to do this here, but there wasn’t any other place.’
‘It’s fine.’
Again Logan’s ears perked up.
‘Do you remember the night of the incident?’
‘Vaguely.’
‘Tell us what you remember.’
‘I remember hearing rattling. That’s one thing that stands out. When he threw the…’ She took deep breaths. ‘Fuel on me, I heard rattling.’ She was quiet for a while. Bits and pieces flashed back into her mind. Her heart raced, she felt itchy all over. She wanted to free herself of the bandages, but she knew that wasn’t possible. ‘I remember arriving home from drinks with a friend. I unlocked the door to my house, stepped in about to disabled the alarm, but it had already been disabled. I flicked on the light and…’ She panted.
‘And what, Miss Hutton?’
She breathed heavier.
‘It’s okay, take your time.’ The woman cop placed a hand on her shoulder.
‘The light was red.’
‘Red?’
‘Yes, the house was a dark deep red. The person had changed my bulb, I’m sure of it.’ She took deep breaths.
‘Had you noticed anything odd before this?’
The question alerted her. All the odd little things that had happened made sense.
‘Yes, now I think about it.’
She told the police about how her toothbrush had been moved around, the rearrangement of clothes and shoes. She told them everything she could remember. The police took down the details. Faiths house had been searched through by forensics, but they had found no fingerprints out of the ordinary. All the prints belonged to the cleaner and people she knew. They’d ruled out the cleaning staff.
‘What happened after you turned on the light?’
‘He was standing there and staring at me.’
‘Did you see his face?’
‘No, I couldn’t, I was terrified.’
‘Was there anything out of the ordinary you noticed?’
She was quiet a moment. Her mind went back to the awful night, but she couldn’t recall all the details. She shook her head.
‘Okay, take your time. You might remember something later.’
She nodded.
‘Don’t worry we’ll catch the person who did this.’
‘I hope so,’ she said softly. Not that that would bring her life back. The person had destroyed her. He had got what he wanted.
The police finally left. Logan lay back and took a few breaths. It was a terrible thing that had happened to the woman beside him. The curtain that separated them opened. He took a moment to gaze at her, but she didn’t move. Instead she was dead silent. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t, it wasn’t any of his business. The stay in hospital was driving him crazy.
Later that day Doctor Patterson did rounds and checked on her patients. She checked Faith first. She seemed fine, and she was making progress externally, but she was worried about her mental well being. Faith barely said a word.
‘How are you feeling today?’ she tried to make small talk.
‘The same as yesterday.’
‘And how did you feel yesterday?’
‘Miserable.’
‘You’re doing well, don’t give up hope.’
‘I did that the day my body was burned. How can I not give up hope?’ She felt bitter.
‘I understand.’
‘Do you? I don’t think you do. You don’t understand, so please don’t say you do.’
‘Okay, I don’t. Perhaps I could send one of our counsellors to help you through this.’
‘I can’t.’
‘It will help.’
‘Not right now!’ she snapped.
‘Okay, perhaps with time.’
Faith was silent.
‘A senior consultant will come and see you later today, see how everything’s going.’
Faith nodded. There wasn’t more she could do. Her life had become an event of drugs, prodding by doctors and tears. It was hopeless and horrible and she didn’t want to exist anymore.
The doctor moved onto Logan. She pulled the curtain around him so she could examine him in private. She tried not to look him in the eye, and be as professional as possible.
‘You still haven’t told me about my file,’ he said.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
For the first time, Faith’s ears perked up. There wasn’t anything better for her to do.
‘I asked you to change some stuff.’
‘And I told you that that could cost me my job.’
‘You don’t get it do you? I could lose everything.’
‘I do, I could too, and I’m not risking it.’
‘Then I’ll have to tell your seniors about your side dealings.’
She did a few more examinations then said, ‘It’s the risk I’ll take.’
He felt defeated, this woman was no push over.
‘In the next few weeks you’ll start more advanced rehabilitation.’
‘I see.’ He gazed ahead bitter.
‘Listen, I’m sorry this happened to you, but I can’t do anything to help you.’
He was silent. The rest of the examination was done in silence and soon she moved onto the next patient. Faith wondered what he’d done, and why he was trying to get a doctor to change his records. She also wondered what he had on the doctor. She lay back and wondered, it took her away from the dreadful life that had befallen her.
The days dragged on and neither of them had said a word to each other, but it felt as though they were getting to know each other more and more, just by the conversations they had with others. Faith had a sense that Logan was a spoilt rich boy, who felt the world owed him. It seemed his father had done a lot of problem solving for him, and she’d yet to see him walk into the hospital.
She’d seen his friends. There had been no girlfriend, no brother or sister. He seemed to live a lonely life; that was her observation anyway. Logan had learnt a bit about Faith too. Listening into conversations, she sounded like an extremely successful woman, who had a stroke of bad luck. He grew fond of knowing who would visit her and what they would talk about, and even though they were complete strangers he felt as though he knew her.
****
‘Daniella, what are you doing here?’ Faith was shocked to see the pretty assistant at her bedside.
‘I had to come and see you.’ She sat down.
‘I didn’t think you’d want that. I wasn’t very nice to you the last time we spoke.’
‘Actually, you were right,’ she said. ‘What you said to me made me think. It was the first time someone looked beyond my looks, and reminded me that I am bright enough to be the best I can.’
‘I’m glad to hear it.’ It felt a little good to hear it, but also sad that she’d lost her looks.
Logan’s ears perked up and he eavesdropped on the conversation.
‘I’m sorry about what happened,’ said Daniella. ‘I realise that it could happen to anyone.’
Faith was silent.
‘It got me a little frightened.’
‘Well, I don’t know what to say. I wish I could tell you not to be afraid, but I can’t. This person ruined my life.’ She felt the tears threaten. ‘I don’t even know how I will start over.’
‘I had to see you.’
‘I’m glad you came. Thank you.’ She sniffed.
‘Things at Hutton aren’t looking good.’
Faith tried to turn to look at her, but it was difficult. She found a comfortable angle just enough to see her.
‘A lot of meetings have been taking place. I’m never invited to any of them, like when you did them.’
‘I see.’
‘I was in the toilet the other day, in the cubicle and I over heard some of the ladies say that we’re about to lose our big contract.’
‘Why
wouldn’t Noah tell me this? I’ve heard nothing from my lawyers or anyone. This can’t be right. You know how I feel about rumours.’
‘I know, but I just wanted to give you the heads up.’
‘It’s my company, they can’t run it without my say so.’ She panicked. ‘What the hell is going on?’
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘You didn’t. In fact, thank you for letting me know. It seems Noah has different plans for Hutton.’ She sighed. ‘But he really can’t do anything without my say so.’
‘I know, I just thought you should know.’
‘Keep an eye on things. Let me know what happens, and thanks for this.’ Her heart raced. Not only had she lost her physical self, it felt as though her company was being taken away too.
‘How are you doing?’ Faith asked. ‘You getting on all right?’
‘Yes, it’s a bit hard without you there.’
‘I’m sure it was harder with me there.’ She tried to make light of it.
‘No, actually, I liked the push. You are the person I want to be like. No more using my looks.’
‘Well, it hasn’t really worked out for me, has it?’
‘I wouldn’t say that.’ Daniella felt upset that the woman she looked up to had a negative view on things.
‘Listen. I know things can be hard. Look at me. And right now, I’m not in the mood to be upbeat and positive. For the first time in my life I feel defeated.’ She had to admit it. ‘I feel like nothing.’ The emotions raged again. ‘I’m nothing.’
‘That’s not true. You’re Faith Hutton.’
‘Yes, well, I don’t feel like that. But I don’t want my misery to put you down. Live your life.’
Daniella nodded. It was sad to see her once strong, go getting boss turn to a woman who felt sorry for herself. They chatted a while longer, Faith not giving much, but listening instead. Logan had learnt a lot more about her, and each word that came out of her mouth, saddened him every time. He wished he had the guts to say something, but something held him back.
‘Thanks for coming,’ Faith said as Daniella got ready to leave.
‘I’ll come again next week, if that’s okay.’
‘If you feel like it, I’m not the best company though.’
Daniella smiled and left her. It had been hard for both of them. An hour later, an unexpected visitor arrived. The moment she saw him, her heart picked up pace, and her life didn’t feel so bad anymore. Perhaps there was still one thing she had.