April 30, 1939
Elizabeth lay, with the cap over her eyes, on the bench in front of the hospital- enjoying the last rays of sunshine in the low evening sun.
Her arms crossed on her stomach and the backpack served as a pillow.
All day long, she had drawn chalk paintings in this area, which is why the floor and her face were covered with bright coloured dust. Unlike Bert, she was always traveling in various corners of London with her chalk.
In the last three months she painted alone, because Bert, had to work more than before, because of a sudden rent increase. And since the job as a chimney sweep was more profitable than that of a screever, he took on as many jobs as possible. The teenager had seen Mary only twice since Christmas, as she again often had families outside London; She was currently in Cambridge. When she was not in the park or decorating the pavements, she met with people who were outsiders; She felt as if they understood her. They are like her… Bert had once remarked that he did not like, that she had so much to do with those dodgy people; however, she also enjoyed a certain reputation, which was good for her damaged ego.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud squeak and a subsequent impact. She was sitting straight on the bench right now, and saw a car, about fifty yards away- it was smoking and people were standing in shock. "Shit!" Without hesitating she ran to the accident: in the car sat only a motionless person. "Get a doctor," Elizabeth called as she opened the door, which fortunately didn't jam.
When she could see the injured man, who was moaning in pain, her breath caught for a moment: "Matthew!?" He wanted to turn his head to her, but Liz could hold it at the last moment. "Don't move ya 'ead! Can you understand me?"
"Yes," the injured man brought out heavily, his eyes pinched.
"Okay... what's 'urting ya?" As she asked the questions, she got a first glimpse of him: on his temple, Matthew had a bleeding wound on which she pressed her handkerchief, which was fortunately unused. He also had some minor wounds, red spots, and bruises on his face; presumably he hit his head on the steering wheel.
His arm had various cuts, which probably came from the glass of the windshield.
"My head hurts... especially my forehead", he wanted to point to the spot, "Ah! ... And my hand."
"Does ya neck or back 'urt too?"
"The neck a little bit...", he closed his eyes and shivered in pain.
'Oh, Matthew...' Even though Elizabeth was still angry and disappointed with his words at her last meeting, the sight did more than hurt her. After all, he had been her best friend for years and they were almost like siblings. She would do everything for him; no matter what comes.
"Excuse me, can we... Elizabeth?", Julia Smith came with Dr. Andrews, the doctor with whom Liz had the most to do, to the scene of the accident- Elizabeth continued to press the cloth on the wound.
"'e 'as pain in at the fore'ead, neck an' 'ands. 'e was conscious all the time and I pressed me 'andkerchief directly on a bleeding wound on the temple… Oh, and when 'e wanted to move 'is 'ead I could stop 'im. "
"Thanks, Elizabeth, I'll take care of him," said the middle-aged doctor, and she took a few steps to the side, watching for a moment.
Various thoughts rushed through her head: in the city probably happens several accidents - why necessarily Matthew? And why was she of all people in the immediate vicinity of exactly this accident? Did this mean something or was it just a stupid coincidence?
One thing was clear to her: her anger and disappointment are forgotten for now.
—
It was already dark, when Elizabeth went back to the hospital and asked if she would pay Matthew a visit. Since the people there knew her and knew that they could trust her, an exception was made - because the visiting hours were already over.
Slowly she walked along the long and empty corridor. Her footsteps echoed down the hall and she felt tiny. When she stood at the room, she stopped briefly. Should she really do this? Timidly she knocked on the door and entered the room even more timidly.
"Elizabeth?", he straightened up.
"'ey... I wanna see 'ow ya are...", she took something out of her backpack and held it up, "I also got some chocolate."
"I'm fine... really ..."
"Glad t' 'ear," she stepped closer and handed him the chocolate, which he gratefully accepted. "Are ya still in pain?"
"No… Not really. This astonishes also the doctors and sisters. Probably because of the medication that I got ... But I should still keep calm."
"Sure, such a car accident is somethin' serious."
Silence.
"Who knows what it would have been like if you had not been there, Elizabeth ..."
"Same as now, I guess."
Silence.
"Liz," Matthew broke the silence after a while what felt like an eternity, "I think I must apologise to you."
"Ya don't 'ave t' do this," but inwardly she waited for it. Normally, she would have let go of a silly spell like 'oh, how comes that you talk to a filthy little thief?' Or 'that you talk to someone like me ... are not you afraid that my fleas will jump on you?' But under the circumstances, even she did it does not have the heart to talk to to him like that; So she let him talk.
"No, I was an idiot when we last saw each other! Nobody deserves to be treated that way; certainly not you! I treated you more or less like dirt. We were inseparable for years and ... I'm sorry! I'm still thinking about it and wanted to talk to you about it but did not dare to meet you. I thought you probably would not want to see me again after this... I am also sorry that it happened that way and that we split up in the fight but ... I was so happy when I saw you again today. And when you examined me, I was in good hands and felt well ... To be honest ... I miss you, Liz. "
Elizabeth had come closer during the monologue and was now sitting on the edge of the bed. By the way he spoke and stuttered lightly, she realised he was serious and a small tear gathered in the corner of her eyes.
"I miss ya, too."
"So you forgive me?"
"Ya words really 'urt me and I think it will never be the same again... But yes, I accept the apology." She took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. Of course she forgave him! Although she was pretty sure she would never be the same between them as it was then, she did not want to lose him as a friend.
Another silence filled the room; however, this was anything but unpleasant. They just enjoyed it to be together again- as they did then, without prejudice.
After a while, Elizabeth took his other hand and inspected the bandage on his arm, which was more than bad. Without hesitation, she opened this.
"What are you doing?" He asked, frowning; but let her do it.
"This's the worst bandage I've ever seen! Do you still feel anything or was your blood completely squeezed out? "
"Uhm... should not it be so tight?"
"It shouldn't slip and have a certain tightness.. But your blood should still be able to run through ya veins!", With skillful grips, she bandaged his arm and smiled contentedly, "better?"
"Yes, indeed ... Why are you able to to these things?"
"Err.. I've read a lot and worked 'ere for a few days..." she scratched the back of her head embarrassed; a habit she never took off.
"And you do not work here anymore?"
"Err"
"Why?"
Elizabeth had to think about the best way to put it: "I ...", she cleared her throat, "I'm still too young ... That was just to see if I liked it."
"Can you imagine working in the hospital?" Matthew was visibly impressed and interested.
She shook her head and averted his gaze as she started to reply, "I don't think it's right for me ... It was fun, but that doesn't mean you're meant t' do it or anything. An' I'm not so good that they 'ire me directly. "
"I'm not an expert, but it seems to me you already know what you're doing."
"But-"
A knock on the door interrupted her and got her full attention, and a nurse came into the room. "I don't want to bother you, but you should go now, Elizabeth. It's rather late…"
"Yea', of course ...", with a nod, the woman went out of the room, then the teenager turned back to her old pal "will I see ya more often now?"
Matthew's expression darkened and he averted his gaze as he played on his bandage. "We've just moved to Brighton. I was just here to do some more stuff. "
"Oh... I understand."
When he looked up, he saw directly the shadow that had settled over her face: "But when I'm back in London, I'll definitely look over!"
A hearty smile fell to her lips; just the smile she had as a child. However, a glance at the clock revealed that it was really late and that Matthew should sleep- after all, he had a car accident just hours before!
"I think I should go... good night, Matthew..."
"Good night, Liz," he took her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss this, quite gentleman-like, "and sleep well."
Instantly, the blush shot into her cheeks and let her get up abruptly.
"Thanks... and get well soon," she stammered before leaving the room.
That was one of the strangest days of her life.
I hope you didn't mind that there was no Mary and Bert this time. But you should also know what's going on in the lives of others haha
I'm always looking forward to reviews :)