Grateful Susan

Chapter - 26

"Uhhmm..." Alex groaned as he woke up. Every inch of his being hurt like hell. He tried to open his eyes, but the bright light made it difficult for him to look around. Blocking the light with his hands, he slowly tried to open his eyes.

"Alex, you are awake!" Susan, who was sitting beside him, squealed in excitement.

"Susan?" Alex, when heard a familiar voice, was visibly relaxed, "Where am I?" Still trying to adjust himself, Alex asked, looking in the direction where he heard Susan from with his eyes slit, trying to see Susan.

"We are at the hospital," Susan told him.

"At the hospital?" Alex, by now, had adjusted to the light and was looking around the room. He was in a room painted all white with all sorts of monitors by his bed. This was indeed a hospital room.

"You don't remember? You passed out in front of the restaurant while fighting those goons," Susan said as she reminded him of the events that dispatched him to the hospital.

"I remember. I was just a bit muddled in my brain," Alex said, rubbing his temples, "But are you alright?" Alex asked as he didn't know what happened after he passed out.

"I am fine. Police was already there when you passed out. They helped me carry you to the hospital. You just need to worry about yourself". Susan said as she helped him sit and poured a glass of water to him.

"Except for the headache. I feel fine," Taking the sip from the glass, Alex said, "By the way, how long I have been out for?" Alex asked, giving the glass back to Susan.

"About two hours or so". Susan said.

"Shit! What time is it now?" Alex asked.

Looking at her phone, Susa told him, "It's nearly half-past ten."

"I need to go back," Trying to leave his bed, Alex said, "My parents might be getting worried," Alex removed the IV drip.

Seeing him leave in such a state, Susan grabbed him and made him sit again, "Wait... wait... wait... Hold your horses, let me call the doctor first, let them give you a quick, thorough checkup. And if everything's fine, we can leave." Susan suggested.

"But..." Alex tried to refute.

"No, ifs and buts... Just let the doctor check you once," Susan sternly intervened.

"Fine". Alex agreed reluctantly.

"Now you lie down here, and I will be back in a jiffy," Susan said and walked out of the ward.

Soon Susan walked in accompanied by a doctor and the nurse. The doctor checked Alex's reports before giving him a thorough examination.

After she checked Alex, the doctor wrote down something alongside the reports he had in her hand. Then she looked at Alex and said, " You can go home now, Mr Alex. There is nothing serious with your injuries. I don't see any kind of fracture or rupture, but I would suggest that you take some time off and rest for a day or two. And yes, please avoid getting the areas bandaged, wet," the doctor instructed Alex.

"Yes, doctor and thanks for taking care of me," Alex expressed his gratitude.

"I am just doing my job," the doctor said and turned towards Susan, "You can complete the procedure for the discharge of your boyfriend".

Alex was stupified while Susan blushed a bit.

"Doctor, I am no..." Alex tried to clarify things, but Susan beat him to it.

"Sure doctor. I will get it done. In the meantime, if there is anything else we need to pay attention to, please let me know," Susan cut him off from clearing the misunderstanding.

The doctor nodded towards Susan and went out of the ward. Not wanting to explain what happened just now, Susan also followed behind her.

Since he was not going to be a one-time meeting with the doctor, Alex was not that keen to resolve the misunderstanding. Waiting for Susan to return, he started looking for his phone, which luckily was still in his jacket, lying folded on the sides. He pulled out his phone and looked through it. There were no calls from anyone but a ton of messages from his father asking him about the date.

Alex replied to his father's message, 'The dinner was fine. I will drop her home before coming back, so I might get late. There is no need to wait for me.'

His father replied within seconds as if waiting for his message, 'Take your time. Better not come back :)'

Reading his father's reply, Alex could only shake his head in amusement. This was a typical reply from his father, which he had expected.

By the time Alex was done replying, Susan too came back, "Well, you are a free man now," She said, waving the discharge paper in front of him.

"Now that's good news, "Alex said, smiling ear to ear, "I forgot to ask, what happened to that thug?"

"The police took him with them," Susan said and then sized up Alex, "I must say, I never took you for a tough guy. The police brought him to the hospital to patch him first," Susan told him.

"Is he still here?" Alex asked, visibly a bit scared.

"No... He regained his consciousness pretty soon, so they took him away. He is a repeat offender, so he won't be out anytime soon."

"What about our statements? Do I need to visit the police station to give my statement?" Alex asked. He was relieved that the fatty was caught.

"There is no need. I have already recounted the incident to the police," Susan told Alex.

"Phew... I don't like the idea of going to the police station for some reason," Alex sighed in relief. Then he suddenly remembered about his bike, "What about my bike? It was parked..."

But Susan again cut him off, "I have already talked to the police as well as the manager of the restaurant. You can go to the restaurant whenever you are free and pick it up," Susan told him.

"You have really taken care of everything," Alex said, pleased with Susan.

Alex got up from the bed and picked up his jacket. He hissed a bit, wearing the jacket. There was a bit of strain on him when he stretched his arm.

"Are you really alright?" Susan asked when she heard him groan.

"Just a bit of pain. I am sure it will ease in a few days," Alex replied and walked towards the door to leave.

Alex has just passed Susan only to hear her call out for him, "Alex, thanks for what you did today".

Alex turned and looked at Susan, "It was nothing, and it was not our fault, to begin with."

"Still, I am very thankful and sorry, because of me you got hurt this bad". Susan said.

"You know it's nothing big, but I accept your gratefulness as well as your apology. Happy now?" Alex said as he rubbed her head and tried to walk away, but Susan held onto his jacket.

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