Page 126 of Versions Of Us

“Kinda hot?” I ask.

“That’s her.”

The nurse clears her throat again as she steps in front of us. “You know you aren’t meant to leave your room without assistance, Mr. Henley. Your girlfriend is going to have me fired.”

“Ahh, so Kristen is in on this?”

“Yes,” she replies. “That feisty little thing has us watching you like a hawk. Told us you’d try to escape the second you were alone in that room.”

“She knows you well,” Katie muses.

“Yeah.” I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head to the side. “I guess she does.”

“We were just going to go to the courtyard for some air,” Katie explains. “And technically he does have assistance. He has me.”

“Hmm,” the nurse grunts, then she nods in the direction of the courtyard. “Go quickly. Before she comes back and kicks my ass.”

She returns to the nurses’ station as we continue down the hallway and out of the large sliding doors that lead to the quad. It isn’t much to look at, unless you love architecture, I guess. There’s nothing but buildings for miles. Give me sandy beaches and waves any day of the week.

But I’m getting fresh air and I’m not confined to four walls, so I’ll take this as a win.

“How are you feeling about all of this?” Katie asks me.

I blow out a long breath. “I don’t even really know where to begin to answer that.”

“Try.”

“Since I got out of prison, I’ve been having these flashbacks. Of the accident. Of being attacked in prison. I see the scenes playing out so vividly in my head, it’s like I’m right back there reliving it all over again. I can even hear the screams, the car tyres spinning out on the road.” I hear Katie stifle a sob. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she says, her voice firm. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Alex.”

“Yeah,” I mutter. “I’m starting to see that. Kristen thinks I have PTSD. She wants me to see a therapist. I think I will.”

“That could be good for you,” she says. “How are things at the tavern?” she asks.

“Okay, I guess. I mean, I don’t think Dylan thought much of me at first, but he came to visit me yesterday and we had a good talk. Besides, I can’t blame him for being pissed at me. I’ve been doing a pretty shitty job.”

A laugh burst from Katie, and it makes me laugh too. It’s nice. Being able to laugh with her again. It almost feels like it did when we were young.

“You gonna keep living in the loft?”

“Well, I’m going to be staying with Kristen for a while when I get out of hospital. Her apartment has an elevator, and I don’t think I can climb stairs just yet.”

“Fair enough,” Katie says.

“But I have been doing some thinking about the future these past few days.”

“Uh huh,” she replies. “You mean while you’ve been hopped up on oxy?”

“Shut up.” I laugh, reaching out to slap her playfully on the knee. “I think I want to open up my own business. As a handyman. I mean, I’ll need to finish up my qualifications and obviously I need to be able to cover start-up costs, so it isn’t going to happen straight away. But it’s something I’m ready to work towards.”

Katie’s eyes search mine and I can’t decipher what she’s thinking from her expression.

“You think I’m crazy, right?” I say, shaking my head. “It’s a dumb idea. Too many painkillers obviously and …”

“I think it’s an amazing idea,” she interrupts, her tone serious. “I mean it. I think you’d be great.”

“Yeah?”

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