Image source

Dinner went well. They had quite a few laughs and before they could even think it was nearly midnight. They all walked outside to their respective cars. Peter stood on the sidewalk, and waved goodbye to his new friends. He had to park around the corner earlier as he arrived a bit late. 

He knew he wasn’t going to unpack anything further tonight, but he was quite tired and was looking forward to a good night's sleep. Time flies when you’re having fun.   

He walked over to his car and suddenly realized that he left his keys inside.  

“Dammit! I have to go back.”  

It was a bit chilly outside, so he put his hands in his jacket pockets to cross the road. When he looked up, he saw someone standing under the tree in front of the restaurant. It was dark, and he couldn’t see the face clearly. He never knew what hit him.  

When he woke up there was a small crowd of people standing around him. He had no idea what happened.

  “Are you alright sir?"Asked the restaurant owner who recognized him, and tried to help him stand up.

 “Do you know what happened sir?”  Peter still did not have the faintest idea. All he knew is that his face hurt and that he had a burning pain his chest.  

“What happened?” he asked when he was finally able to get on his feet? 

"I don’t know sir, I was helping Mr and Mrs Bentley grab a cab when I saw you lying here under the tree. I recognized you from earlier. Were you mugged?"

 “I am not sure…. I know I came back to fetch my keys, and then I saw someone standing here…but I have no idea..... I need to get home. I need my keys.” 

The restaurant owner walked back inside and came out a few minutes later with the keys.  

"You don’t look well sir, is there anyone I can call for you?" Peter just shook his head and walked over to his car. He drove straight home and he felt even worse when he arrived home. He took off his shirt in the bathroom and could see the blue marks on his rib-cage. His face did not look much better, and he had one hell of a headache. He took a shower and then stood before the mirror to inspect the damage. 

He had a small cut on the right side of his eye and he was sure he needed stitches, but he was too damn tired to care about that now. It’ll have to wait for the morning. He took two pain tablets and went straight to bed. 

He slept straight through and was awoken the next morning with a loud ringing in his ears. His head was throbbing and the sound just didn’t want to go away. He turned around to check his alarm clock and tried to find out where that irritating sound was coming from…. 

He was still in a haze when he noticed the cell phone on the floor. He sat up straight to pick it up. It was Mary. 

“What happened to you Peter? Mr Mitchell from the restaurant phoned me just now to get your number. He told me that you’d been mugged? Oh my goodness, are you ok?” 

Peter told her what he could remember. “Dan and I are coming over”  

Fifteen minutes later they stopped in front of the house. He unlocked the door to let them in, and walked over to the kitchen.  

“Look at you!” Mary said. “What the hell did they do to you? You need stitches on that cut, let me take you to the hospital to get checked out properly."  He felt too terrible to disagree. 

Four stitches and two broken ribs later they arrived back home.  

“You’re not going anywhere today mate” They really did a good job on you."

They all moved to the kitchen where Mary made some coffee. She even unpacked two of his boxes while searching for the coffee mugs.  

“Why would anyone want to hurt you Peter?" Asked Dan.  

“I really wish I knew, but everything is just a blur today”  

“Well, we can’t hang around the whole day. Phone us if you need us. You need to get some rest” Dan said.  

He thanked them for taking him to the hospital, and as soon as they left, he took two more pain tablets and went back to bed. 

He started drifting away, and all of a sudden remembered about Sarah’s birthday party.  

“I’ll have to cancel” he thought to himself. No one is in the mood to listen to him sulking the whole evening.  

He dialed the number and it was William who answered. Peter explained the situation and although stunned, William understood. He told Peter to feel better and that he would convey the message to Sarah.   

• Chapter 1 - https://steemit.com/ficion/@giantbear/time-heals-all-wounds-an-original-story-fiction-chapter-1 
• Chapter 2 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/time-heals-all-wounds-an-original-story-fiction-chapter-2 
• Chapter 3 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/time-heals-all-wounds-an-original-story-fiction-chapter-3
• Chapter 4 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/time-heals-all-wounds-an-original-story-fiction-chapter-4
• Chapter 5 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/time-heals-all-wounds-an-original-story-fiction-chapter-5 
• Chapter 6 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/time-heals-all-wounds-an-original-story-fiction-chapter-6

Please follow me if you enjoy my content