Morning came. The storm had left the air feeling flat and threatened, as if there were another storm waiting to follow. The wind had blown the grass flat, and the air smelled of fresh soil and the faint smell of charred lightening.
Zoe awoke to the sound of Max's door opening. She remained still, keeping her eyes closed. She felt her heart flutter in her chest.
She heard the sound of a mug being put down on the bedside table. She rolled over. Max was crawling back into the bed, two cups of something hot stood on the table next to him.
"Tea?"
He asked, leaning back against the headboard and taking hold of a mug to pass to her. He waited while she sat up to pass it to her.
"Thanks."
She swept the hair from her face and took a sip.
"How long have you been awake?"
She asked, taking another sip and hugging the mug to her chest to keep the warmth in.
"Not long..."
He answered.
"It's all gone quiet now...downstairs."
She watched him speak, he was pale in the morning light, his hair stuck up on one side and the whites of his eyes were pink and tired. There was no trace of a smile.
She nodded into her mug, the steam rose up into her face, she closed her eyes momentarily.
"What time is it?"
She whispered.
He cleared his throat and took the phone from the drawer again.
"6:38."
He said, placing the phone back. His eyes were glazed, he placed his hands around the mug, keeping them there despite the heat from the tea burning through the mug.
She opened her eyes and set the half drunk mug on the table next to her.
"I'd better get dressed..."
He nodded, his eyes unfocused.
"The bathroom's just across the hall. No one's awake yet."
He said, blinking several times and taking another sip of his tea.
She gathered up her clothes and made her way to the bathroom. She noticed a damp patch right outside of his bedroom door. It smelled of dettol and febreeze. She guessed Max had already been cleaning up from the night before.
She locked herself into the small bathroom and placed her clothes on top of the closed toilet seat. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her make up was surprisingly in tact except for a pale smudge under each eye. She dipped her head to the sink and splashed her face, wiping away the remnants of any make up. She stood up and looked about for a towel. There were none visible, she caught sight of a dressing gown hanging on the back of the door. She pressed it lightly against her face to dry her skin. It smelled of Max. Of chocolate and that deodorant..whatever it was. It smelled of sweat and faintly of cigarettes. She found herself breathing in the smell of him several times. The dressing gown was soft and warm against her face.
She sighed. And let the gown fall back against the door, limp and motionless.
She changed slowly back into her own clothes. She folded the tracksuit bottoms up and folded the hoody she wore on top of them. She slipped her heels on and opened the door, checking briefly to see that no one was coming before making her way back into Max's room.
His head was against the wall behind his headboard, his eyes closed, his chest rose and fell slowly and his mug was tilted in his lap, tea lapping against the edge of it, threatening to spill over.
She placed the clothes down on the chair near the wardrobe and gently removed his tea from his hand and placed it back on the bedside table. She looked at him. Just above his right eye was a dark purple bruise from where he had hit his head in the night. It had just pierced the skin and blood had dried in a streak reaching into his hairline.
She reached out, gently placing two fingers against the bruise. She leaned toward him and kissed him softly, her lips just brushing over the bruised area.
"Thank you."
She whispered, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.
She left the room silently and made her way down the stairs, her head bowed, her ears alert, listening for any sound that might mean someone was awake.
All was quiet. She made her way down the last and final set of stairs and to the front door. She stepped over some glasses piled haphazardly against the skirting and opened the door slowly, slipping through it and closing it softly behind herself and walking quickly to her car, stumbling slightly on the gravel.
She climbed into her car and started the engine, pulling out of the driveway and onto the lane, only daring to exhale once she had reached the main road. Her heart was pounding, she could feel the adrenaline vibrating through her veins.
The hospital was busy, as usual. She was an hour early, Connie had not yet arrived and the night shift were just finishing up.
She reapplied her make up and made a changed from the clothes she had been wearing for the past few days into a black shift dress that she had in her locker.
The morning was spent answering emails and phone calls. Midday came and still she hadn't seen Connie. She left her office, feeling as though she had left a bubble. The office had cocooned her for the first hours of the day. The noise and majority of people in on the ward seemed to come as a surprise.
Tess greeted her with a wave of a patients notes and a nod of her head whilst she spoke on the ward phone.
"Zoe..."
Charlie moved past her to the computer.
"Morning Charlie."
She glanced up at the patient board.
"Has Mr Mayhew gone up to theatre yet?"
She asked, noticing his name was still listed their despite his theatre time having been ten minutes ago.
"Uhh..."
Charlie looked up from the computer and haled down Cal who was just leaving Mr Mayhew's cubicle.
"Mr Mayhew?"
He asked.
Cal held up his notes.
"Just waiting for a porter."
He confirmed, placing the notes down on the ever growing pile that adorned the nurses station.
"Right well can you give them another call please or he'll lose his slot."
Zoe raised her voice over the sound of someone nearby speaking loudly on their mobile phone.
"And can tell whoever that is to turn that off?"
She asked, glancing at Mr Mayhew's notes.
"Will do..."
Cal answered, making his way over to the waiting room.
"Tess..."
Tess had hung up the phone and was writing something down on a piece of paper.
"Zoe are you alright, we missed you last night..?"
She asked, pausing in her writing.
"Fine, just not feeling great."
She attempted a convincing smile.
"Where's Connie I haven't seen her yet?"
"Darwin I think"
Tess answered, signing her signature at the bottom of one of the pages she was holding and closing the file.
"Right..."
She glanced at Mr Mayhew's cubicle, the curtain was still closed.
"Isn't anyone going to take Mr Mayhew up to theatre?!"
She asked, looking about for Cal.
"Cal has called for a porter several times."
Tess answered, picking up half the pile of notes that were left on the side.
"I'm sure someone else is capable of pushing a bed to theatre."
Zoe muttered, moving over to the cubicle and slipping in between the curtains.
"Mr Mayhew, sorry for the delay..."
She began, Mr Mayhew looked up from his bed and smiled slightly from underneath his oxygen mask.
"Somebody order a porter?"
Max appeared from between the folds of the curtains.
"Hello."
He nodded his head to Mr Mayhew and kicked off the breaks of the bed. He pushed open the cubicle curtain with one hand and began to wheel him out backwards, without once looking at Zoe.
She watched him leave, unsure of whether or not to follow. She stood for a moment, watching until Max turned a corner with the bed, only then did he glance ever so briefly in her direction. His eyes looked tired even from the distance, his expression did not change and he turned back to push the bed through the double doors towards theatre.