Chasing Blue Roses

4. If You've Got Something to Hide, Make Sure You're Not on TV.

   I was grateful, but I’d mumbled it so quietly that I wasn’t even sure he’d heard.

   “You’re welcome.”

   And now, Harry was standing in front of me. Holding a freaking wheelchair.

   “Harry, come on.”

   His green eyes glinted. “One way or another, you’re getting into this chair, love. I can carry you, if you’d rather?”   

  “Do we have a problem here, Miss Price?” A robust policeman slammed the door of the van, huffing slightly as he jumped out.

   I opened my mouth to reply, but Harry beat me to it.

   “That depends...” He answered the officer, his voice a low warning. He turned back to me, the corner of his mouth quirked, as he nodded at the wheelchair.

   I can carry you, if you’d rather? Harry’s voice rumbled with amusement in my head.

   Fuck that.  

   I huffed out a sigh and eased myself into the wheelchair.

   I expected him to tease me mercilessly about his victory, but he stayed silent. I pretended not to notice when he waved away the policeman's offer to help with the chair and  simply wheeled me down the gravel path gently, towards the centre of the hospital gardens. I could see a stone water feature in the distance.

   As far as gardens went, this one was not so bad. In fact, it was beautiful.

   Red roses and peonies dotted the pathway, standing to attention on either side of the gravel strip. Together, they created an endless aisle of pink, red and yellow and filled the air with the floral scent of spring.

   Grey, stone water features and statues dotted the greenery around the garden, encircled by tulips of every single colour. Even Harry seemed to slow down as he pushed me down the path, taking the time to admire everything and breathe in the fresh air.

   He’d been too tense in the van; like a tightly coiled spring, his mind constantly working in a jumble of stress and nerves. He seemed different now. I think we’d both realised that we were living on time that we’d stolen. In a twist of fate, we may not have been so lucky. We may not have been here at all.

   “What are your favourite flowers?” Harry asked, breaking our comfortable silence.

   I thought for a second.

   “Daisies.” Only a notch above weeds, my dad had always called them.  

   Neither of us said anything else as we made it to the fountain, the overbearing stone walls of the hospital visible in the distance.

   A pretty, brunette nurse was waiting for us as we arrived. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties, but seemed much older. Her skin looked drawn and tired and there were bags beneath her eyes, but it was her eyes themselves that sparkled with compassion and intelligence. Although she was older, you could tell that she'd been stunning back in the day. She still was.

   “Ava Price?” She smiled warmly. She had to have known why she was treating me outside. “I’m Meredith, it’s wonderful to meet you.”  

   Harry’s phone vibrated loudly behind me. I felt a prick of relief as he turned his back to us and answered it reluctantly. I stood up from the wheelchair.

   “It’s nice to meet you too.” I shot her a small smile. “Well, considering the circumstances.”

   “Right now?” Harry’s voice was a low hum as he spoke into his phone.