Chapter 8
Hi guys, sorry for not updating in a while, I moved back to England recently and then had to move again to university. It's been busy to say the least. Hope this chapter is okay, I'm struggling to get back into the swing of writing. Just a note, since I am starting quite an intense degree, updates may be much less frequent so I apologise for that but I have to put my education first. I will try to write and update whenever I have some free time but I can't make any promises that it will be updated weekly.
Elle POV
Elle walked into the reception of the ED that boring with a heavy heart. She had been thinking about Alicia all night, and although her conversation with Charlie the previous evening after she had left Alicias house had made her feel less alone in this situation she had been thrown into, she still had no idea what to do.
It was an instinctual reaction to call Charlie after having watched Alicia fall apart right in front of her eyes. After all, it was a well know fact that Charlie had a lot of experience in the mental health department and she knew he would be able to understand the situation much better than anyone else. Yes, the majority of her colleagues were Doctors and would have some experience with the emotional and mental side of things, but Charlie was on a whole other level.
Seeing Charlie leaning against the reception desk, Elle walked up to him, hoping she could talk to him in person about what she had experienced last night. Charlie had obviously seen her enter reception and was watching her walking towards him with a serious expression on his face.
'How are you feeling?' The senior nurse asked her. 'You seemed pretty shaken up last night'.
'Oh Charlie, I really don't know. When I went to see her I didn't expect to walk in on her in that state'. Elle sighed and brought a hand up to her forehead, rubbing it as if to ease some of the tension that had been building up since the previous night.
'What should I do Charlie? Dealing with patients in that state is one thing, but dealing with a colleague? A friend? It's heartbreaking'.
Charlie sighed and took some time to think about his answer. In all honesty he was slightly unsure of what to do as well. From what he had gathered last night, Alicia had given no explanation as to what had happened and without that information it was difficult come up with a plan to help her. There were certain questions that needed to be answered first, was Alicia just having a bad day? Possibly, but that didn't explain the injuries that Elle had described to him. They needed more information straight form her mouth, playing guessing games wouldn't do anyone any good.
'I think we need to have a little chat with her before we can take it any further' Charlie verbalised his thoughts. 'Do you reckon she will show up for work today?'.
'I really don't know Charlie. From what I saw last night, work is the last thing she will be thinking about right now'. The words came out of her mouth in an exhaustion riddled stream, she had paused in rubbing her forehead and simply stood there, her head down and hand still covering her face.
It was at that moment they heard Noel, who was a mere few feet away from them carrying out his typical daily receptionist duties, let out a short heavy breath. It was a noise that they both recognised as a reaction to something surprising, something that might indicate something interesting was happening, so they turned around and looked towards where Noel was looking, eyes slightly widened and phone hanging limply in his hand.
Elle had to stop herself from gasping at the sight before her. There, walking slowly, towards Connies office was Alicia looking much worse than she did last night. A large purple bruise was evident underneath her chin, cuts on her face red and painful looking.
Elle had seen these injuries last night, and although they were even more distressing in the fluorescent lighting of the E.D, what shocked Elle more was her deathly pale complexion. The young doctor was, as many people would describe such a complexion, 'white as a sheet'. This only highlighted the severity of the bruising and the dark circles that lay underneath her eyes. Eyes that were once so bright and happy, but now looked empty and emotionless.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Elle glanced at Charlie who was standing silently beside her. The concern on his face had grown more prominent, causing the creases and lines in his face to deepen and age him quite radically. She supposed that hearing about Alicias appearance from her over the phone was much, much different than seeing it in person.
They both watched as Alicia made her way to Connies office, knock on the door and enter without saying a word to anyone. It was uncharacteristic, and quite concerning.
'Do you see what I mean?' Elle questioned Charlie after a few seconds of standing together in silence.
'I do' he replied solemnly, picking up a patient file and turning around to continue with his work. Elle decided to do the same, heading to the staff room to prepare for her shift. It was going to be a long day, the distraction of some hard cases would be welcome.
Alicia POV
Walking into the E.D, Alicia made her way straight to Connie office. She just needed to get this over and done with so she could go home. All she could think about was the bottle of wine in her cupboard, it was as if it was calling her, enticing her with the promise of a numbed sense of reality.
Feeling exhausted, sluggish and in a lot of pain from the various different injuries she had sustained, she made it to Ms. Beauchamps office and knocked on the door. She could feel eyes around the E.D watching her but she was determined not to acknowledge anyone here. She just wanted this to be done so she could be alone again.
Hearing a muffled call from Mrs. Beauchamp to enter, she opened the door and slipped in quietly. She shut the door and moved slowly into the centre of the room in front of Connies desk and stood silently, trying to focus on the woman in front of her as opposed to the lightheadedness she had been feeling all morning.
Ms. Beauchamp had not looked up yet, seemingly immersed in paperwork that was just too important to set aside for a few moments to talk to one of her doctors. Alicia was overcome by a sudden and overwhelming anger. Five minutes of her time, that is all she needed and yet she wasn't even given that from her boss.
The anger subsided quickly, as did many of her significant emotions lately. It wasn't as if Mrs. Beauchamp had any reason to put her before her work, so she just waited, feeling more and more unwell as the seconds ticked on and praying that Ms. Beauchamp would talk to her soon so she could leave. The dizziness was becoming more and more of an issue and she knew that she couldn't ignore it for much longer.
Becoming impatient and ever more aware of the dizziness that was now causing her vision to become unfocused, Alicia decided to just get straight to the point.
'I'm handing in my notice with immediate effect, I'm sorry for the inconvenience but I'm sure you'll manage'. Her voice was tired and almost monotonous as she churned out the words that she had rehearsed in her head on the way to the hospital.
She knew she had not been as polite as she could have been, but what was the use in wasting her limited energy on manners when Mrs. Beauchamp was no longer going to be her boss.
This was just another person who was going to let her spiral into a place that she wasn't sure she would be able to return from. She wasn't going to waste energy on people who were not going to return the favour.
So lost in her thoughts, Alicia did not notice Connie whip her head up from the paperwork she had been reading to stare at Alicia in surprise at her abrupt and unexpected resignation.
Having said her piece, Alicia pulled her resignation letter out of her pocket and dropped it onto the desk. She then turned to leave, her steps becoming unsteady as she made her way towards the door. She felt as if her shoes had suddenly turned to lead, making it near impossible to lift her feet.
Panicking as her vision became even more blurry, Alicia grasped the handle in an attempt to get out of Ms. Beauchamps office and away from the hospital as soon as possible.
However, before she could pull open the door that seemed much heavier than usual, her knees buckled and she felt herself falling. Tightening her grip on the door handle, she managed to stay upright but she knew it was only a matter of time before that would no longer be the case.
As she battled with unconsciousness, she felt a soft grip on her elbows. Startled by the unexpected contact, she shrieked and pulled away from the touch, stumbling in the process. This was it, this was all she needed. No longer having the door to support herself, she again felt herself falling, but this time there was no way of helping herself.
Before she succumbed to the darkness that was very quickly taking over her, she caught a glimpse of a figure in front of her. The figure was blurry, but basic common sense told her that it could only be one person, the person who had attempted to help her just moments ago and the last person she wanted to see her in this state.
