Looking at Kate and seeing her sad, disappointed and confused look made me understand that I had made a few more bad choices. I also still had things to explain.

"Kate, she's the girl I was telling you about earlier. I had no idea she would be here or why Dominic reacted the way he did. He seemed to scare her, and I need to try and find her. I'll tell you more about everything as soon as I can. You have the keys to the apartment, so you can head for home if you don't want to stay here."

She didn't speak, nor even nod or shake her head, so I didn't know what she wanted to do, or even if she heard me. I didn't wait for her to answer either. I just wanted to find out where Sophie had gone.

Outside the club, I looked from right to left hoping to see which way Sophie had headed. To the right I spotted a stumbling figure I took to be her. She had gone quite some way, and I was thankful that the street was fairly deserted or I may have missed her.

I ran after her. She didn't look too good. My heart jumped every time she fell. She looked very disorientated. The people she passed didn't seem inclined to stop and help her. When I was almost at her side, she got very close to the edge of the pavement, and I thought my heart would stop when she didn't seem to take any noticed of the traffic.

At the last second she turned and managed to take a few steps away from the road, and then I reached her side.

I couldn't even begin to guess what was going on inside her head. Just as I reached her, she fell again. I bent down to try and get her on her feet, but she pushed me away. She clearly needed help, so why wouldn't she accept any? It worried me that I couldn't get her to look at me.

She stumbled again, but she still pushed me away when I attempted to get her up. She was obviously in no state to get up and go on her own, so I was determined not to give up on her. If necessary, I would hold onto her until she calmed down. It wasn't easy when she was fighting me as hard as she could. She was strong, and I was afraid it could end badly.

She managed to hit me several times, and from the sting I knew I would have some bruises from them. She nearly succeeded in making me lose the grip I had on her when one of the punches hit my cheek. Because I was having to give my whole concentration on dodging her punches and keeping hold of her, I didn't notice that we had somehow wandered out into the street.

During the entire time I was trying to talk to her, and nothing seemed to get through, which was a worry. Why didn't she hear me? I thought she would recognize my voice. Something in her mind must be blocking her.

She screamed, which nearly made me miss spotting the car heading towards us. At the last moment I was able to turn her from the street and push us both up against the pavement, but I slipped. The cars driver leaned on the horn as he tried to brake in time. The tires screamed...

I had just about enough time to think he was driving too fast, and then I felt the bumper make contact with my back.

The pain exploded in me, ten times worse than the punches Sophie had landed. When I got my breath back, I realised I was still holding Sofie tightly. I looked up and saw a woman crouching over us, and Dominic stood behind her.

I bit down my own pain to see if Sofie had made it. I loosened the grip I had on her and started to check her face for scrapes from the fall. I was relieved to find no blood. Looking down her body, it didn't look too serious, and I'd managed to save her from any impact from the car. I was increasingly worried that she hadn't protested or moved. At least I could see she was breathing.

Then I realised the woman was trying to talk with me. I hadn't felt her touching me, or heard the questions. Looking up at her again, I focussed on what she was saying.

"Orlando, are you okay, are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, just some pain from my back."

"Do you think you can move? I think you need to get away from the street."

Actually I wasn't sure if I could move, but I nodded and decided to give it a try. I clench my teeth in readiness for the pain I knew I would feel. I first carefully moved my arm from under Sophie. Dominic had bent down to the right of the woman and took hold of Sophie. Together, they laid her down on the pavement.

That gave me a small space to put my hands in able to push myself up into a sitting position. I hadn't been wrong about the pain. It shot through my entire body. I was determined not to show what I was going through. If my teeth weren't clenched, I would have screamed. I felt that I was near to fainting.

The woman came in my sight again and I could see her concern.

"Are you sure you can get up?"

Trying to talk through teeth still clenched, I let her know I needed a few more minutes, then I would try to get up. She offered to help and support me, and I accepted, slowly getting to my feet again. If she hadn't held onto me I would have fallen. The effort made me light headed.

"Orlando, you need to take a few steps to get you out of the street."

With all the willpower I could muster, I managed to take the few steps she asked of me. Each step felt as if I had been shot full of buckshot. I was grateful that she was steady as a rock for me to lean against, and never once let me go.

After several minutes of deep breathing, I looked to see where the car had gone. It stood a few meters from us and the driver still sitting behind the wheel, most likely in shock. I continued looking around, noticing the audience we had gathered.

I hadn't got enough strength to spare to worry about any consequences this may bring. Instead, I quickly turned back to see how Sophie was doing. I gripped harder onto my human crutch.

"Please, help me to get down to Sophie."

"No, Orlando that wouldn't be a good idea. You probably wouldn't be able to get up again. You should try to walk around, get your muscles moving."

"I need to see that she is okay, I need to wake her up."

"I think someone called an ambulance, wait until they get here and they can take care of both of you."

When I realised she didn't seem to want to help me, I let go of her. I had to see if Sophie was awake. I took one step, and the pain seared through me. Maybe the woman had been right, I should try to stay upright. There was no way I would be able to get back on my feet if I managed to get down on my knees.

"Dominic, how is it with her? Is she awake?"

He looked up at me and I could see he was worried. As he shook his head I saw his look change from worry to accusation. What was he blaming me for? I knew I had to tell him what was going on as soon as possible, but right now Sophie was the main concern. Why hadn't she woken up?

Once again I considered getting down beside her, no matter what the cost to my body. I looked again at the woman who was supporting me. She seemed worried too. When we made eye contact she shook her head at my unspoken plea for help.

"Please, let me at least come closer to her."

The pain wasn't any better, but I got a little closer. Dominic was stroking her hair and face, and that's what I wanted to be able to do. Looking down at her, she seemed so pale. What was wrong with her?

"Dominic do you feel any movements from her?"

"She is breathing, but she seems to be out."

He had barley answered when she began moving, drawing herself into a foetal position on her side. Within moments she was throwing up. I was instantly worried that she may have hit her head when we hit the road.

For a short moment her breathing was heard between her retching. When there seemed to be nothing left to bring up, she lapsed back into unconsciousness. At that moment the sound of a siren could be heard as the ambulance approached.

"Okay, what's happened here?" The paramedic looked around at the small group of people and his eyes rested on Dominic.

"My friend," he nodded at me, "saved Sofie from getting hit by the car." He gave a new nod, but now at where the car was standing. "She has been out cold except for the minute she thrown up."

"Do you know if she hit her head, or if she suffers from anything else?"

"I don't think she hit her head and she only drank two beers in the club."

The woman let go of me and bent down to talk with the paramedic.

"We drank one earlier this evening. I know she suffers from migraine from time to time, and something may have happened earlier that could have started one off."

"Do you know if she's allergic to anything?"

We all shook our heads. I couldn't remember her having any allergies when I knew her before. As they spoke, they were also checking her over for any signs of injury, and thankfully they didn't seem to find any. They placed her on a stretcher and headed towards the ambulance.

The woman got their attention when she said, "You should take Orlando as well. He took the brunt of the impact from the car on his back."

They looked at Dominic first, who was walking beside her, holding her hand.

Seeing that he answered; "It's not me, it's my friend. We got him up from the street. He is too proud and stubborn to say anything, and he isn't too found of hospitals."

I was standing still, not wanting to take a single step, knowing how each movement would send pain shooting through my body. Dominic was right about my dislike for hospitals, but I wanted to go, for Sophie's sake.

They loaded her, and then one came walking towards me. He asked if he could check my back, and I agreed. I felt him slip my jacket off my shoulders and then draw the shirt out from my trousers. As he lifted it and the cold night air hit my back, I drew in a sharp breath as it felt like a blow.

The woman drew in her breath too.

"How does it look?"

"We need to take you in as well. The car must have hit you really hard. From what I can see, it's a wonder you managed to get to your feet at all."

"It couldn't be worse than when I broke my back."

"Do you think you are able to get into the ambulance or should we call for a new one?"

"I will go with you now. I don't want to leave Sophie, where will you take us?"

"We will go to Charing Cross Hospital, which is the nearest."

"Dominic did you hear that, can't you come after us I still want to talk too you?"

"He can go with us in the ambulance."

Dominic was fast to answer the paramedic, "No, Berlinda wants to come too. We'll follow in a cab."

With as little movement as possible, I tried to get into the ambulance. Since getting up the pain hadn't eased, and I began to worry about how much damage my back had sustained. I wanted to believe that there would be no permanent injury. It couldn't happen to me now…

I somehow managed to get into the ambulance and sit down. Even though it wasn't too far to the hospital, I felt every bump and turn in the road. I was very relieved when we pulled up outside A&E. Sophie had been out for the count for the entire trip, and worry about her made me forget most of my own pain. What was happening to her?

Lucky it didn’t take long to hail a cab and we were soon following the ambulance to the hospital. Berlinda ensured me that Sofie would be okay, even though she wasn’t awake when they took her away. Her words of comfort didn’t calm me at all and I still couldn’t grasp what had actually happened.

I ran the evenings events through my mind trying to get to grips with them. I was very emotional as I followed Orlando and Berlinda out from Borderline, and having to wait to collect my jacket was only making things worse. I stopped outside, not sure which direction to take as I couldn’t see anyone. I finally turned right, thinking that was the way to the closest station, and the way Sofie would have run.

I walked about 500 meters and spotted Berlinda. Then I saw what she was looking at. Everything happened so fast, but I saw Orlando snatch Sofie away from the path of an oncoming car, only to take the blow himself.

It didn’t look good. Berlinda and I ran as fast as we could to reach them. Both seemed to be out for the count, but Orlando quickly regained his senses. Maybe seeing his concern for Sofie made me understand that there was something deep going on between them than no-one had told me about. I still felt protective towards her though, after all, it was me she had gone out with this evening.

I was glad that Berlinda took command and tried to get Orlando’s attention. He was laying in the street, with Sofie up on the pavement. When he finally acknowledged Berlinda, she asked him if he could get up out of the danger area in the street. He was half under Sofie, so Berlinda and I took care of supporting her, moving her gently away from the edge. That gave Orlando the space to try and get up.

Knowing him as I did, I could see that he was trying not to show how much pain he was in. Small, hard wrinkles could be seen around his eyes, and his mouth was set in a hard line. Berlinda went to his side and I concentrated on Sofie.

She was still unconscious, which worried me. I had seen Orlando checking her over and it didn’t look as though he found any obvious injuries, so I didn’t understand why she was still out.

When Orlando finally managed to get to his feet and away from the street, he wanted to get back down to Sofie to check her out again. When Berlinda told him no, he looked down at me, a silent question in his eyes. I raised my head to look at him and couldn’t speak. I simply shook my head.

I was still fighting my emotions. I was angry with him and was blaming him for everything that had happened. Or was this anything to do with the accident she had mentioned earlier in the day? Did he know anything about it? Not knowing the answer to so many questions left me angry and frustrated.

My concern for Sofie calmed me down, and I concentrated on her again. I brushed some of the hair away from her face. It was thick but soft at the same time. I ran my fingers gently over her face in the hope of waking her up.

“Dominic do you feel any movement from her?”

“She is breathing, but she seems to be out.”

I was about to add that I couldn’t understand why, when she moved. She drew herself up into a fetal position and turned to one side. In the next second she began to throw up. Luckily she had turned away from me so I didn’t end up covered. I tried to keep her hair from the flow.

Between the heaves, her breathing was audible and didn’t sound good. After a few minutes, the heaving subsided and she sank back into unconsciousness which she hadn’t really arisen from completely.

It was a great relief when the ambulance arrived. As usual the paramedics were very efficient and had everything under control in no time. As I was the one holding Sofie, they aimed their questions at me.

“My friend,” I said and nodded at Orlando when I still had my hands supporting Sofie, “saved Sofie from getting hit by the car.” As I could see that the car had stopped and was still standing a distance away from us I nodded at that direction. “She has been out cold except for the minute she was threw up.”

“Do you know if she hit her head or suffer of anything else?”

“I don’t think she hit her head and she only drank two beers in the club.”

I watched as Berlinda let go of Orlando to bent down and give them some more information. “We drank one earlier this evening. I know she is prone to migraines, and something happened earlier that could have triggered one.”

Right then I probably realized that I really didn’t know all that much about her. She had been quiet about her life. She obviously was a very private person. Why was she so afraid to open up a little? Maybe it would be a good thing if she wanted to stay close to us.

“Does anyone of you know if she is allergic to anything?”

I had to shake my head in reply, as did Orlando and Berlinda. As one paramedic asked us questions while checking Sofie out, the other brought over a stretcher and soon they had Sofie in place and headed towards the ambulance. I rose and followed them. I didn’t want to leave her and held her hand so she would know she wasn’t alone.

“You should take Orlando with you. He took the full force of the impact on his back.” I could hear Berlinda tell the paramedics.

They stopped moving and looked over at me.

“It’s not me, it is my friend. We got him up from the street. He’s too proud to say he needs help, and he’s not too found of hospitals.”

They loaded Sofie into the back and one of them went over to where Orlando was standing. He hadn’t moved an inch. After the paramedic had removed his jacket and shirt to uncover his back, it was hard to stay silent. A huge bruise was already spreading right across it. They understandably wanted him in the ambulance too.

Of his question where they would be taken the paramedics said Charing Cross Hospital.

“Dominic did you hear that, can’t you come after us I still want to talk too you?” Orlando said.

“He can go with us in the ambulance.” I think it was the guy that said that and I was fast to answer; “No, I think Berlinda want to come too, we catch a cab.”

I didn’t want to leave her behind as she was Sofie’s friend. Orlando could hold Sofie’s hand in the ambulance, and the paramedics would look after both of them.

The cab quickly dropped us outside the hospital. Just as we were about to enter my mobile rang. I didn’t bother to check the caller ID as I was sure it was Billy. By now he had most likely heard what had happened.

No ‘hello’, he went directly to ask what had happened and how everyone was.

“I don’t know anything yet. Sofie was unconscious when they took her away. Orlando was hit by a car, his back doesn’t look good. We’re about to go into the ER to find out more.”

“Which hospital are you at?”

“At Charing Cross.”

“Okay, then I will come over to you. The guys can take my things. See you soon.”

I shut off the phone and told Berlinda that Billy was on his way. We entered the ER.

After talking to the receptionist, we learnt that they had been taken to separate examinations rooms and the doctor was with Sofie. The only thing we could do was to sit and wait.

Dominic didn’t seem able to sit still. His leg continually shook as he sat, until I laid my hand on his thigh. The minutes seemed to drag forward, I was nervous and worried and could only sit in silence as I waited for news. I could only hope that it wouldn’t be too long before they discovered why Sofie had collapsed.

As I sat there, I tried to remember everything she had told me about herself. What had she said apart from the fact that she suffered from migraines and had been in some kind of accident a few years previously? Could this have anything to do with her current condition, and the reason why she had a problem with her memory?

I began thinking that it had been an accidental slip when she had begun talking about her past, and she didn’t go into any details. I hadn’t wanted to pry, so I hadn’t asked her any questions. I regretted that now, as I may have learnt something that would help the doctors now. The fact was that I knew very little about her, even though I considered her a close friend. She was open and friendly on the most part, but she kept her personal life a closely guarded secret.

We had been sitting there for almost half an hour before the doctor came out of one room and headed for the next. Dominic was about to jump up and confront him, but I held him back.

“I think they will come and speak to us when they are ready. I’m sure he will want to check Orlando over before he says anything,” I told him.

“I want to be with her.”

“Dominic, maybe it is best to wait some. She didn’t look happy after you pushed her away from Orlando on the dance floor.”

“I’m finding it very hard to come to terms with the fact that one minute she denied knowing him, and the next she was locked in an intimate embrance.”

“I haven’t all the facts but I will tell you what I know. I have known Sofie little longer than you have.”

Dominic was silent for a moment and then said; “She did say she had a problem with her memory, and that she had been in an accident six years ago. She didn’t go into the details, and I didn’t want to press her. I think there’s a lot more to it than that. This morning she also said that a lot had happen to her yesterday.”

“I think I can help you with that as I’ve recently been able to put a few things together. Things certainly did happen for her yesterday, not only the fact that we went to the Globe and then met you and went out after. Earlier, she told me that she’d met someone. She didn’t tell me who, but said it could have been her boyfriend from about seven years ago. She seemed very unsure if what she’d been told by him was true as she had no recollection of him at all.” I let this sink in before I continued. “Sofie said she’d recognized him, but from his films and not on a personal level, When I saw her in Orlando’s arms, it all fell into place. At first I wondered why she became fidgety and changed the subject if I ever mentioned Orlando. You might have noticed the same yesterday when you and Billy came close to mentioning him.”

“What do you know about the accident?”

“Not much… now that I think of it. She’s only really talked about the side effects it left her with, the memory problem and the migraine attacks she has from time to time. It also seems to have left her very cautious about some things”

Dominic just leaned back, staring at the door. He probably wondered what her reaction would be when she was awake and what a future relationship would be.

“What she said to me earlier makes me think she won’t do anything hasty. She will most likely not make any big decisions until she’s sure of where her feelings lie, and until she knows where you and Orlando stands,” I said, hoping to make him feel a little better.

We both fell silent again, but it didn’t last too long as Billy finally arrived. He came up to us and sat in the empty seat next to me.

“Sorry i'm late, couldn’t get a bloody taxi. 'ave ye heard anything?” He said as he had our attention.

“Not a word.” Dominic replied.

“What happened?” was Billy’s next question. We both told him our version and fell silent once more.

When an hour had passed with no word, I started to get worried wondering what was taking so long. I decided to give them ten more minutes before going to find someone to ask, but a few minutes later a nurse came out to us.

“Are you Mr Bloom’s friends?” she asked.

“Yes, can we see them?” wondered Dominic.

“We are about to move them to a private room. You can see them as soon as they are settled,” she replied.

Dominic’s fear and concern were evident in his voice as he asked, “But… what about them? Is Sofie awake? How is Orlando’s back?”

“As I’ve been told neither of them have any family here, and you are good friends, I think I can bend hospital policy and give you some information. Sofie is asleep. She did wake up for a while and was able to talk to us, then we gave her some medication to help her rest. She had a severe migraine, which started to ease after the medication. The doctor wants to keep her for at least tonight. Orlando is awake, but has a lot of back pain from the collision. He’s a very lucky young man as the x-ray has shown no damage. He will most likely be bruised and stiff for some time,” she informed us.

We all breathed a collective sigh of relief that the news wasn’t worse, and true to her word, as soon as they were settled into their room, the nurse took us to see them. Orlando looked up as we entered. He didn’t move from where he lay. He was on his side, and turned in such a way that he could both look and touch Sofie. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, no sign of pain or worry on her face.

After a moment’s silence we began talking in low voices so as not to wake her. Orlando told us how they had met and known each other all those years before. There were still some gaps to be filled though, as he had no idea what had happened to her after 1998.

The staff had managed to get me laying down on a bed, and I felt it was a lot better than sitting or standing. I really hated to be there, laying almost unable to move brought back bad memories. Although it wasn’t as bad as the last time, I was still in almost as much pain, and I was beginning to wish I had no feeling at all. Now every little movement was like being stabbed all along my spine with razor sharp knives.

Not knowing or hearing any news about Sophie didn’t help either. When the doctor finally arrived to look at me, I had accepted the pain I was in. A nurse asked me how attached I was to my shirt, explaining that cutting it off would cause me less pain than moving me to take it off in one piece. That sounded like the best idea, so I told her to go ahead. Shirts can be replaced.

“I see the paramedics made a note of the fact that you mentioned you have previously broken your back. Is that correct?” The doctor asked.

“Yes. I fell several storeys in 1998, resulting in a broken back. I was lucky though, following some surgeries I was able to walk again after twelve days.”

“I can see the scar. I hope you realise that you carry a higher risk of any damage to your back can causing paralysis now.”

“Yes, I know, but when you are trying to save the woman you love, that isn’t top on your list of worries. How is Sophie? Has she woken up yet?”

“Are you her boyfriend or husband?”

At first I didn’t know whether to tell the truth, but knew I would then not be told of her condition. “I’m her boyfriend, and her family doesn’t live in England, so I’m all she has.”

“She’s sleeping right now. We had to give her some heavy medication for her migraine. She did wake up for a few minutes, so I was able to have a few words with her. She should be a lot better in the morning. After examining her, I could find no wounds, so you saved her. We want to keep her in over night for safety though. I need to run a few tests when she’s awake as I learned that she was sick about the same time you were.”

The doctor handed some paperwork to the nurse and turned back to me. “Now, about you, young man. As you are obviously in a lot of pain, I’ll give you some drugs to ease it, and your history being as it is, we will x-ray your back. We need to make sure that your spine and discs are aligned.”

“Okay. Would it be possible for me to stay with Sophie?”

“I don’t think that would be a problem. We’ll fix that as soon as you’ve had your x-rays.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Could you let my friends know I’m okay, or possibly let them come in and see me?” I asked him. Before he replied, I thought about the possible consequences of what happened, so I added, “And if it isn’t too much to ask, could you try and make sure the media don’t find out I’m here?”

At my last remark, the doctor really looked at me. It took a few moments, but he finally seemed to place me. “I’ll do as you ask, Mr Bloom. Would it help if we changed your name on the registration?”

“That would be great, you can use Stone instead.”

It hoped that would help keep some of the ‘hounds’ away. The medication helped me to relax, and knowing I would soon be with Sophie again relaxed me even more. Whatever the nurse had given me kicked in straight away and the pain in my back eased up a lot. She pushed my bed through the door, down the corridor, and into a new room.

Looking at all the machinery, I knew this was the x-ray department. I was asked to lie down on my stomach, and when I’d managed that, she started to take some pictures. When she’d finished, I was pushed back into the first room.

I lost track of the time and dozed off before the doctor returned.

“I’ve taken a look at the x-rays, and have to tell you that you are one lucky young man. There must be someone watching over you as there haven’t been any shifts in the discs, and the spine looks good. You do have quite a big bruise down your back though, and you’ll be in some discomfort for a while. You’re back will most likely stiffen up, but gentle movements as often as you can should ease that for you and help the healing process. I’ll give you a prescription for some medication if the pain gets too bad.”

“That’s a relief to hear. I don’t have time to be sick.”

“In a few moments, we’ll move you in with Sophie, then when you’re settled, your friends can come into see you, but they mustn’t stay for more than a few minutes. I’ll be back to check on both of you in the morning.”

It wasn’t long before the nurse came in and moved me. Sophie was already there and looked to be sleeping peacefully.

When the nurse was about to leave I asked her, “Can’t you put the beds side by side? I want to be close to her.”

She smiled and did as I asked. I slowly turned until I was on my side, enabling me to see and touch her.

“Here you are.” The nurse said, placing the emergency button by my side. “Give it a push if you need anything, okay.”

I heard the door open, looked up and felt every move I made was agony, even with the pain medication, so I tried to keep still. Seeing my friends and the unknown lady cheered me up. As they stood looking at us, their faces showed both relief and curiosity.

There was a moment of awkward silence before any of us dared to speak. When the woman asked how Sophie was doing, she did so in a whisper. Like me, she probably wanted to make sure we didn’t wake her, so we continued talking in low voices as to not disturb her rest.

“She’s okay. The doctor said it was a migraine, which they treated her for, and that they were sure that I had managed to save her from any major damage. They want to keep her in overnight for safety though.” I said, leaving out the fact that they would be undertaking tests in the morning.

“How about you?” Dominic asked.

“I didn’t think for a minute that saving her might put me in danger. The doctor said my guardian angel must have been watching over me. The x-ray didn’t show any damage, so my back should be fine, apart from a lot bruising and stiffness for a while.”

“The nurse told us that. Maybe I should rephrase the question,” Dominic said. “How did you come to know her? Is what Berlinda told us true, that you are an old boyfriend to Sofie?”

I watched Sophie sleeping for a moment. It looked like I wasn’t the only one she had confided in. Turning back to Dominic, I replied. “Yes, we used to be together. We first met back in ‘94 when she was over here on a visit. We fell in love, and we were together for a few years. Sadly we lost contact with each other just before I broke my back. I knew that I really loved her, and I’ve been looking for her ever since. I’d almost lost hope of ever seeing her again. I was so surprised and overjoyed when I bumped into her in Soho yesterday.”

More to himself than to me. Dominic asked. “She denied knowing you when I asked... Why?”

“Sofie told me she was confused and didn’t really have any memory of the time when we spoke earlier. I think she didn’t want to say yes or no,” Berlinda said, bring all eyes onto her. “What I know about her is that she finds it very hard to speak about things, especially if it has anything to do with the time she lost her memory. She said she hadn’t any personal memories about Orlando. She did admit that she knew him… you… well from your films.” She turned direct to me before continuing. “Orlando, what was it you said to her on the dance floor?”

“You mean before she threw her arms around me?” his reply sounded like both a question and a statement.

She nodded.

“I whispered a strophe from ‘Much ado about nothing’. Sophie loves Shakespeare, and we often read the play together. I’m sure it must have been the final proof to her that I was telling the true about us knowing each other, or more likely the first time she realised that she actually remembered our time together,” I smiled, “A true memory.”   

“If you loved her that much, and have been searching for her, why have you never talked about her?” asked Dominic.

“You know a lot happened back in ‘98. In the beginning it was too hard since I missed her so much after loosing her. The pain was as great as the wound to my back had given me. I felt that speaking about her would open up the wound in my heart, and to prevent that wound from bleeding too much, I avoided talking about her. Although I think I might have slipped once in a while, but I would have called her by her old name, Camilla.”

“So this is the lass that you always talked about every time you get drunk?” Billy said and he continued, “That’s why I recognized the tattoo.”

“Billy, do you mean you’ve seen her photo?” I could tell Dominic wasn’t too happy about being left out.

“Yes. Orlando has a thumbed one in his wallet. Isn’t that right?” Billy turned to me.

I felt a blush creep up on me. “That’s right. Hopefully I can change that to a new one… soon.”

For some time the only sound in the room was that of our breathing, the silence only broken by the sound of someone walking along the corridor outside our room. I could lie there watching Sophie’s chest rise and fall with her breathing, taking in her features for a lifetime. I enjoyed watching her more and more with every second that passed. I began to realise that all my sleeping feelings for her were beginning to awaken.

“How did you lose her? It certainly looks like there are feeling between you.” Dominic asked, breaking the silence.

“It’s a long story. You know that she’s not English. It’s very hard sustaining a relationship with someone living in another country. We gave it a good try, and the first few years went really well, but things easily work their way in between you, especially if you are young, and believe you have all the time in the world in front of you. I was caught up in my studies, partying with friends, and before I realised what was happening, it becoming weeks in between calling or writing to her. I first realised I had lost touch with her when I broke my back. When I was fit enough, I began searching for her. I wanted her back, and was determined to find her. I was beside myself with worry when I couldn’t find her, and she was never far from my thoughts.”

“So, you mean that even when we were in New Zeeland you were still trying to find her?” Dominic persisted.

“Yes I did, even though it wasn’t easy. If I hadn’t kept trying I think I would have felt guilty.”    

Next Dominic asked to see the photo, and when I didn’t want to move because of the pain, he took my wallet to get to the photos inside. Watching him go through them, back and forth until he decided he had stopped on the right one, made me smile. I hadn’t said anything about how different she now look.

Dominic held up a photo, asking, “Is this it?” After I confirmed that he was right, they all hung over it comparing it to Sophie. I could see what was going through their heads. Was the beautiful girl asleep in the hospital bed really that shorthaired, heavy girl in the picture?

“It is her. You’re a lucky guy.” Dominic finally stated. It sounded like he accepted he had lost something.

I asked him why he tried to hit me in the club. He and Billy then filled me in on what had taken place the previous evening. If I had stayed, this might not have happened. Dominic said he really thought he had a chance with Sophie, so seeing us together made him see red.