Chapter Eleven
Freddie
The week from hell continued to go downhill rapidly. Freddie split his time between three suddenly terminal patients. His heart ached for all of them—the ones with no hope left. They had nothing to do but wait.
By Friday evening, Freddie had reached a point of sheer exhaustion. He’d driven around Cardiff and the surrounding areas, bouncing from one hospital or facility to the other. Twenty doctors, six specialists, three separate families, all looking at him to organise schedules and manage the whens and wheres of treatment.
Freddie usually found all the chaos to be exhilarating. He loved organising the madness. Helping people get better also made it worthwhile.
Not so much when I can’t do a thing to actually make their lives better.
And certainly not this week—maybe next will be better.
Freddie took a moment to rest. He had grown exhausted from watching Katie continue her downhill slide. He wanted to be close enough to help. His stomach grumbled loudly at him, a reminder he’d forgotten to eat both lunch and supper.
The hospital café was already closed. Freddie resigned himself to either another set of leftovers begged from one of the other nurses, or a stale packet from the vending machines. He could head out to his flat, but if he went home now, he’d sleep for hours.
His Mini Cooper had played camper for the past two nights. Freddie didn’t know if his back could handle another one. A better question was like how well his brain would function to get him home safely.
“Delivery for a Mr Bunny.”
Freddie’s head shot up, his eyes suddenly going wide and his brain alert for the first time in hours. He stared dumbfounded at the familiar tall figure of Taine Afoa looming over him in the hallway. “What are you doing here? How’d you even know where to find me? Actually, more importantly, why are you here?”
“You asked the same question twice.” Taine apparently didn’t see the need to actually answer any of his queries—duplicates or not. He held up a bag in a hand that had sun-warmed bronze skin, which brought to Freddie’s mind sandy beaches and island gods. “Hungry? I’ve brought a chicken curry. It’s a favourite of mine from Katiwok.”
It had to be the oddest first date on record. They sat side by side in the waiting room in incredibly uncomfortable chairs, sharing a meal from a single container of steamed rice with the curry. They certainly had several of the doctors and nurses giving them odd looks as they walked through to another section of the ward.
Freddie found it unusual and intriguing of the man to simply show up. “I’m appreciative of the meal as I’m half-starved, but it’s a bit stalkerish. How’d you know to find me here?”
“I asked BC, who asked Graham, who asked Genevieve.”
Freddie blinked at the man. “Never mind.”
“Drink?” Taine lifted two bottles of water from the bag. “I’ve also got chocolate samosas instead of pudding. I think there’s a side of spring rolls as well.”
“Couldn’t wait for me to text you again for a first date?” Freddie lifted the bottle of water to salute him with it. “Thanks for this. It’s been a shit week. I’m dead on my feet, and it’s not over. This—helped.”
“Freddie?” Genevieve paused midstep on her way down the hall. “I thought you went home to rest for a bit?”
“Katie—”
“She’ll still be here in the morning, Freddie. Go get a shower and some clean clothes. I don’t want to see you until after eight in the morning.” She skewered him with a serious glare before her gaze shifted over to Taine. Her eyes gleamed shrewdly at the man. “Could you give him a ride home? I’m worried he’ll drive himself into a building in the state he’s been in today. Doctor’s orders.”
“Gen.” Freddie tried to sound outraged, but a yawn ruined the effect. “I’m fine to drive.”
Taine began putting away the takeaway packets. “Right. You can barely lift a spoon to your mouth.”
“Traitor.”
Genevieve turned her gaze away from Taine and smirked at Freddie. “You’ll thank me later when you’re thinking more clearly.”
Freddie choked on his last bite of spring roll. “Yes, thanks. Twmffat.”
“I heard that, Whittle,” she called over her shoulder. “You will thank me later—with a bottle of wine. You know the kind.”
If Freddie had to be honest, the delicious food had gone straight to his head. It filled him with a beautiful warmth, spreading from his satisfied stomach through his body to make him immediately ready for a nap. Taine being practically pressed up against his side only made the comforting fuzziness worse.
His eyes started to drift close without his permission. “I might could use a nap.”
Taine lifted him up out of his chair with embarrassing ease. Freddie struggled out of his hold. He might be sleepy and unsteady, but no first date would be carrying him around like a sack of potatoes.
With his brain not connecting all the dots, Freddie led them to his car instead of following Taine to his. He struggled to keep himself awake while walking. His tripping over his own feet made the man following him chuckle.
Taine’s rather impressive hands tightened into fists at his sides. “That’s new damage on your car.”
“Yes.” Freddie had gotten the original words buffed off the door only to have the vandalism repeated for the second time. “They’re getting creative.”
“They did it again.” He sounded as if he spoke through painfully clenched teeth. “What did the police say?”
“What could they say?” Freddie shrugged. “The world will always have its share of bigoted arseholes.”
From the deep scowl and murderous glare, Taine didn’t feel quite so calm about the situation. He caught Freddie by the shoulder to guide him towards the Bentley a few rows over. The big rugby player didn’t say a word while they got into the vehicle.
“How am I supposed to get to work in the morning?” Freddie didn’t quite see the point of the fuss being made. “I am perfectly capable of driving myself home.”
“No, no you aren’t.” Taine gestured towards his GPS and Freddie plugged in his address. “Feel free to nap on the way.”
Freddie intended to respond. He did. But his eyes wouldn’t open, and his mouth wouldn’t work.
I can respond later.
Three things occurred to Freddie at the same time when he regained awareness. It was morning. He was tucked into his bed with Bitsy nearby. And someone had left a fairly fresh mug of coffee on his nightstand.
I could’ve sworn that was a dream.
He found his phone and shoes on the foot of his bed with a note. Be back to give you a lift. T. Since the coffee was still warm, he figured Taine couldn’t have been gone for too long. He had plenty of time for a shower, breakfast, and deciding how he felt about the man sticking around to ensure everything was fine.
The last one might take me a while.
Coffee first.