Page 81 of A Seaside Escape
Another hour passed until the same police officer returned to announce that parts of Little Blue had been found, but there was still no sign of Greg. Mallory’s heart was breaking all over again. She couldn’t bear the thought of Greg being hurt or worse still being found dead. She cried out in physical agony at the terrible thought of losing him; tears relentlessly pouring from her clenched eyes. Ron, Colin, Christine and Stella fussed around her as her body shook uncontrollably and her anguish poured out.
The pub telephone rang at eleven o’clock and Stella ran to answer it. Mallory watched as the colour drained from her face and her hand came up to her mouth as she sobbed.That’s it, he’s gone too, Mallory’s subconscious concluded.
Stella spoke to Colin in low murmurs and they both came over to where Mallory sat.
Colin sat beside her and took her hand. ‘Mallory, you need to come with me. I need to take you to the hospital in Oban.’
Mallory began to shake her head frantically and recoil in her seat as if gripped by absolute terror. ‘No! This can’t be happening again. It can’t. I can’t do this. Please?’ she sobbed, remembering what she had gone through after Sam’s accident.
Colin took a firm grip of her shoulders. ‘Mallory, stop! Please calm yourself and listen to what I have to say!’ His voice was firm, forceful and quite loud. She had never heard him raise his voice before and it grabbed her attention. When he could see that she had calmed down, he spoke again, softer this time. ‘Greg was pulled out of the water an hour ago. He’s in a critical condition, but he’s asking for you. I’d like to take you to him.’
Mallory let out a strange, convulsive grunt of relief as what Colin had said sunk in.
She threw her arms around him. ‘Thank you, Colin, thank you, let’s go. I want to see him.’
Ron and Colin helped Mallory to her feet and towards the door. The rain had slowed and the storm had calmed as Colin went ahead to bring the car over to the pub.
Ron hugged Mallory and with a wavering voice he told her, ‘I have your spare key. I’ll go over and check up on Ruby for you.’
Mallory gasped, ‘Oh no, poor Ruby. The storm… I’d completely forgotten—’
‘Hey, no bother. I’ll head over right now. She’ll be fine.’
Another horrible thought sprang to her mind. ‘Angus!’ Mallory was terrified that he had gone out with Greg.
Ron shook his head. ‘Don’t worry, hen, he’s at Greg’s. Stella has a key and she’s going over there to bring him to the pub now that the weather is calmer.’
Mallory breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her dear old friend tightly.
Colin pulled up in the car and Ron helped Mallory into the passenger seat. Her head was throbbing, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to get to the hospital. Although she was plagued with worry as to what she would see when she got to Greg.
After a silent twenty minute drive, Colin parked the car at the hospital and they made their way inside to the reception desk. They were pointed to intensive care and Mallory almost ran to get there with Colin following close behind.
They buzzed on the door and were let in by a nurse. And they explained their reason for being there after hours. Initially the nurse told them it was family only, but Colin somehow convinced the nurse of their desperate need to see the patient on account of Mallory being asked for specifically.
Reluctantly, and after protest, the nurse let Mallory in alone and she was shown to a side room.
Mallory’s eyes were assaulted by a vision of a bruised and swollen man she hardly recognised. She fought back a sob as she stepped towards the bed where he was laid surrounded by machines; tubes going in and coming out of him; an oxygen mask over his battered face. It was a truly horrific sight.
She reached his bedside and bent to gently kiss his forehead. His eyes were barely visible under all the swelling, his head was bandaged and his ribs were strapped up. She sat on the chair at the side of the bed and held his hand.
A nurse walked in to check on the machines that bleeped and flashed myriad numbers and letters.
She smiled at Mallory kindly. ‘Are you Mallory?’ she asked in a soft Scottish accent.
‘Yes,’ Mallory whispered.
The nurse nodded. ‘Good, he’s been asking for you repeatedly. He keeps drifting in and out of consciousness so you’ll have to bear with him. He’s heavily sedated due to his injuries and the tests we’ve had to do, but talk to him. Hecanhear you and it’ll help him very much to know that you came.’ She patted Mallory’s shoulder and left the room.
‘Greg, it’s me, Mallory.’ She let out a sob. ‘I want you to squeeze my hand so I know you’re okay. I… I just need to know you’re okay.’ She stroked his hand.
He didn’t respond.
She leaned closer. ‘Greg, I want you to know that I’m sorry for how I reacted when you told me about Alice. You said you don’t love her and I should’ve accepted that. It doesn’t matter that you’re still married if you don’t love her. It’s just a piece of paper that can be dealt with… You said you love me and I should’ve just been happy but now I’m scared I’m going to lose you, too. You need to get better, Greg. You need to come home.’
Still nothing.
She stroked his hair where it poked out of the top of the bandaging. ‘It’s strange how it’s taken something like this to kick me up the arse and make me realise exactly how I feel. I was intent on talking to you tonight to see if we could get past what happened between us. But when I found out that you had gone missing I thought over everything we’ve been through. The arguments, the kisses, the laughs. And it dawned on me. Nothing else matters.
