Liam came bowling in behind and sat awkwardly on the bed. ‘’Ere, have ya seen the bird in the dayroom? Cor, she’s a right tasty little number.’

Ricky’s smile drooped at that question. ‘I know you’re trying to cheer me up, but I feel so bad about Kendall.’

Arty looked down. ‘Er . . . yeah, sorry, mate.’

Liam, the less conscious of the two, and ignoring the sullen mood, said, ‘She might need cheering up. Poor cow. She looks like she’s taken a clump around the head. Her face has a fat plaster on it, and I think she might have broken her ankle.’

‘I ain’t seen her yet,’ Ricky said, feeling sorry for himself. ‘I’ve been stuck in here. The doctor reckons I won’t be out until the end of the week now. Something about fluid on the brain.’

Liam laughed. ‘Cheer up, mate. That’s good news. At least they think you have one, then!’

Ricky joined in the laughter at that quip. ‘Come on, boys, help me up. Let’s go and meet this bird, ’cos if I’m in here for a few days, I might have someone to talk to, eh?’

With no finesse, both Arty and Liam grabbed Ricky’s arms and pulled him to his feet.

Liam joked again. ‘Shall I get ya a Zimmer frame?’

Ricky punched him on the arm. ‘Fuck off.’ He chuckled.

Carefully, Ricky steadied his legs and began by shuffling along.

Liam still had the giggles. ‘Are you sure about that Zimmer frame, Grandad?’

Arty shot him a look that said, ‘Reel your neck in,’ to which Liam just pursed his lips and smiled.

The dayroom was a short walk along the corridor. Although small, it was pleasant, with bright lemon walls and green blinds, and the hospital had furnished it with a few cushioned plastic chairs, a large wall-mounted TV, and a few magazines. Ricky was the first to enter and paused in the doorway. They weren’t kidding then, he thought.

‘Hi,’ said Ricky, as Liam pushed him forward.

The blonde slowly turned her head away from watching The Jeremy Kyle Show. She tried to smile, but her cheek was still sore.

‘Mind if we join ya?’ asked Ricky.

She looked at the three lads and was quite taken with how handsome two of them were; she was intrigued, though, by the cheeky grin on the ugly lad’s face.

‘It’s a free country, I suppose,’ was all she could muster.

Ricky tried to walk without his shuffle and only just made it to one of the chairs, where he slid down and caught his breath.

‘Ricky, ya wanna a drink? Some chocolate?’ asked Arty.

A full smile lit up his face. ‘Yeah. I’ll have a cold beer or a Tango and a Snickers bar.’ He looked at the girl. ‘Fancy a cold juice and some chocolate?’