Stay With Me (Muke)

Ch. 1 - Comatose

"C-Comatose?" The word stumbles out of my mouth in a horrible attempt at sounding calm.

As if I would sound calm anyway though, I mean, I did just find out that my boyfriend is in a coma.

"He lost a lot of blood, the doctor said that's what caused it" Calum explains.

"There was also the collapsed lung" Ashton adds. I let out an upset groan. "Sorry" Ashton mumbles, biting his lip nervously.

I want to kick and shout and curse the skies above. I want to punch a hole in the wall and scream at the top of my lungs until I can't breath anymore and my throat hurts.

My knees give way and I start to fall to the floor, before I could actually hit the ground though, Calum's arms wrap around my waist and pull me back up.

At first, only a few tears slip from my eyes. Then, without warning, I burst into tears. Calum pulls me closer and I sob quietly on his shoulder.

"He'll be okay" Calum whispers, rubbing my back. "This is Michael we're talking about, remember? He's a tough cookie" he tells me.

"Cookies crumble!" I sob.

"Bad choice of words.." Ashton tells Calum, who just hushes him.

"Luke, you know damn well how hard headed Michael is, you know how determined he always is! He will get through this!" Calum says confidently.

"What if he figures that it would be easier to give up this time? That there isn't anything worth fighting for?" I cry on Calum's shoulder.

"He has family back home, he has Ash & I, he has all our fans and he has you!" Calum says.

"And I know damn well you mean more to him than anything else in the world" Ashton tells me. I go quiet for a moment.

"Can I see him?!" I ask, pulling away from Calum.

"I'll go find out" Ashton says before disappearing.

I return to the warmth of Calum's strong arms and continue to cry on his shoulder.

*10 Minutes Later*

"Hey, Mikey" I say softly, picking his cold hand up in mine, as I sit down in the chair Calum had pulled over beside the bed before leaving with Ashton. "Sorry, I took so long to get here" I sigh.

I stare at the small cuts on his emotionless face and all the scratches along his arms. It's hard to look at him like this.

"You look a mess, baby" I tell him with the slightest laugh. A few tears slip from my eyes and I quickly wipe them away with the back of my hands. "Look what you're doing to me, I'm crying" I shake my head, trying not to smile at how stupid I must look right now.

"For the record, you still look beautiful" I say softly, caressing his cheek with my free hand. "I just wish you would figure out how to breath on your own, then they could take that tube thing that's down your throat, breathing for you, out.. It would make me a little more relaxed, that's for sure" I ramble on to Michael, even though he might not even be able to hear me.

I'm not sure what to tell him next. So for a few minutes, I just sit in silence, running through all the different thoughts buzzing around my head. I keep getting distracted by all the different noises coming from all the machines that Michael is hooked up to.

"Ya know, Calum is determined you are going to get through this" I laugh. "I mean, so am I, but he called you hard headed... Which you kind of are, by the way... And he said your determination is going to help you get through this easier" I explain.

I don't want to tell Michael, but I'm not sure that I 100% agree with Calum... I mean, he's right about Michael having determination but... I also know that Michael has a bad habit of just giving up if things get too difficult... I can imagine that trying to stay alive could be pretty difficult.

I clear my throat, not wanting to think about Michael giving up. "So I, uhh, I was really looking forward to our date tonight" I sigh, drawing circles on Michael's hand with my thumb. "I know I wouldn't tell you where we were going because I wanted it to be a surprise... You know how I'm not a fan of fancy restaurant dates? Well I know you happen to be a big sap when it comes to them... So I booked us a table for dinner at that really fancy restaurant you are always pointing out" I smile, remembering all the times Michael would point to it with the biggest smile on his face as we drove past and then he would drop hints about wanting to go there one day.

I laugh, momentarily forgetting how sad I actually felt. "I can just picture us, sitting in this fancy restaurant, surrounded by people dressed in fancy clothes while we are sitting there in our usual punk-rocker style outfits" I laugh.

Michael remains emotionless and still, and it makes me feel uneasy because normally, even when he's doing nothing, he can't sit still for more than a few seconds.

"You would have loved tonight" I say softly, smiling at him. Tears start to form in my eyes again, but this time, instead of wiping them away, I let them slip down my cheeks.

"You know" I whisper, trying to ignore the tears dripping off of my jaw onto the hospital bed sheets. "I didn't want to believe what I was hearing when Ashton called me, crying his eyes out about what had happened to you... But you're going to be okay, I know you will... Because I need you... I need you to stay with me" tell him.

"Please, don't leave me, Mikey!" I sob, bursting into tears.

A few seconds later someone is wrapping their arms around me from behind. "Shh, it's okay" he whispers. It's Ashton. "I think it's time to go now" he tells me, pulling me to my feet slowly.

I nod and reluctantly let Ashton lead me out of the room after saying goodbye to Michael.

If I could, I would stay with Michael, all day and all night. But I can't stay, so there's no point arguing about it.

I know we almost weren't aloud to see Michael in the first place. He's in the ICU and there's this rule thing about only family members are aloud to visit. But since Calum, Ashton & I are the only people here in London for Michael, we were aloud in. Ashton explained that Michael's parents are back in Australia and might not be able to get here to see him.

So basically, an exception was made for us... And I feel like it's partly because we are famous.

Anyway, we took a taxi back home and I've never in my life been in such a quiet car drive.

I guess we were all too busy grieving, even the driver, who is a fan of ours apparently. She said she knew the driver that was driving the taxi Michael was in, so she was extra upset. I felt sorry for her, they were apparently close friends.

When we got home, I turned my phone off, not wanting to talk to people who wanted to apologise for something they didn't even do.