“Visiting a Friend”

Abby sat on the edge of her hospital bed, wondering what she was going to do. The doctor had signed her release forms a few minutes earlier and was told she could leave the hospital as soon as she was ready to do so. But was she... ready? She’d only been there a few days, not even a full week, though it felt like a mere hours to her. The doctor had wanted to release her sooner, but Abby had protested, went into complete despair, and in the end the doctor decided to keep her there another couple of days.

Her life as she’d known it was gone - destroyed in a matter of minutes. Sure, she’d picked herself up and moved on with her life more than once, but nothing like this. Finally, she stood up and headed down the hallway, deciding to stop in and see how Alex Ross was doing. The fact that he’d come to her house to rescue her from Dwayne wasn’t lost on her, even if he didn’t get to carry out his plan. That, of course, was all her fault, having mistaken him for Dwayne and then stabbed him in the chest. She shuddered, thinking of how she could have ever been capable of doing such a horrible thing, especially to Alex.

Abby soon found herself standing outside his room, working up the courage to go in. The last time she’d visited, Libby had been there with her, helped her work up the nerve. He’d said he’d forgiven her, but had he really or was that just the pain killers talking? Finally, she took a deep breath, pushed the door open and walked into his room.

Alex was awake, smiled when he saw her enter the room. “Hey there, doll,” he said, rather hoarsely, “Thought you might have deserted me.”

“Hi Alex,” Abby smiled back, stepping closer to his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better,” he grinned. “Luckily for me you didn’t use a bigger knife on me. Doc said you just missed puncturing my heart or lung by mere centimeters.”

“Oh Alex, please, if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you,” she told him, “I feel just awful about this, really!”

“As they say here in Oz, no worries,” he grinned, “Seriously, doll, you just bein’ here with me now means more to me than you know.”

She smiled at him, blushing slightly.

“So, um... just curious, where are you gonna stay now that... um... well, I didn’t think you’d be goin’ back to your... house... now,” Alex stammered, unsure of just how to broach the matter, “You got someone you can stay with for a while? In town, maybe?”

“I...I’m not sure, actually,” she confessed, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “I can’t bring myself to go back to that house, not after... everything.” She looked down at her hands, “I could never impose myself on one of my friends, not that I have very many.”

“You’ve got... me,” Alex told her, quietly.

She blushed again, looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot to me,” she replied, then added, “Seein’ how you’ve gone and gotten yourself laid up in this hospital for a while, I can’t really go and flop at your place, either,” she teased, trying to break the tension. “Nope, I guess its back to the boarding house... for a while, anyway, until I can sort things out.”

“Ah, then we’ll be neighbors again,” Alex brightened.

“Yes, I suppose we will.”

An awkward silence fell between them for a moment, broken by Abby clearing her throat, “Well, I guess I should go see about renting that room then,” she told him, as she stood up to leave.

“Yeah, uh... if they don’t have any... um... available right now, you’re welcome to stay in my room for now, seein’ how I’m not exactly using it and all,” Alex told her, coyly.

Abby smiled at him, leaned in and gave him a small peck on the cheek. “Thanks,” she said, then turned and left the room.

Alex lay there, staring at the spot where she’d just been standing, a sloppy grin spread across his face, “Anytime,” he said quietly, after she’d gone. “Anytime.”