Secrets Untold

Chapter 8

A/N: Vote/Comment/Enjoy :D

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The air was surprisingly hot for a mid-afternoon during the fall, and the fact that I was feeling extremely uncomfortable didn't help much. Ashton and I sat in silence while I drove us as fast as I could to the hospital. When we finally arrived, I pulled into the parking lot when Ashton finally broke the silence.

"Hey, thanks for the ride," Ashton said, attempting a slight smile.

"It's fine," I said, wondering whether I should get out of the car and follow Ashton into the hospital or not. Pushing the door open, I decided to at least get out and stretch my legs.

"You can go back now," Ashton said. "I'm fine now."

"Are you sure?" I asked skeptically.

"Yeah, positive," he nodded and once again we fell into silence. A part of my mind urged to convince him to let me stay because as curious as ever, I wondered what was going on with whoever was inside the hospital. Shifting uncomfortably, I tried desperately to come up with some kind of an excuse why I couldn't leave. You're so nosy, I reprimanded myself silently before clearing my throat and forcing out an excuse.

"I can't really go back," I said.

"Why not?" he asked dubiously.

"Well, I don't have a legit excuse anymore to get to class," I said.

He clenched his fist and for the longest time, we stood there with the sun beating down. I expected him to tell me how I needed to go back and to just suddenly leave. But to my surprise, he relented. "Fine. But you seriously can't tell anyone." He suddenly took a step closer; his eyes bore into my own and for a moment, I felt a little bit frightened by the intensity of the glare. "And I seriously mean anyone."

I nodded in consent before turning around to lock my car and running to catch up with him. "So what's going on?" I asked, following him into the now seemingly-familiar aura of the hospital.

Without turning around, he answered abruptly, "It's really a long story."

Not wanting to pry more, I followed silently in his wake while my mind came up with all sorts of crazy stories. When we finally reached the room, he suddenly stopped and turned back to me as if regretting already the choice of letting me come with him. His eyes looked both worried and fearful and I wondered what could possibly be running through his mind. His mouth opened, as if he was going to say something, and then closed again. Nervously, I shifted under his scrutinizing stare and felt immediately conscious of exactly what I looked like at that moment.

"I'll tell you later," he finally said before turning around and opening the door. To my shock, the door revealed a large amount of activity going on. Ashton quickly grabbed my hand, to my surprise, and pulled me into the room.

The same hospital room that had previously been so serene had turned into practical but somehow silent and organized chaos. Ashton pushed through two nurses who were both looking at some sort of chart to whom I assumed was the main doctor.

"What's going on?" he asked under his breath, maintaining the quietness of the room. His eyes darted to the bed, and I followed his gaze.

Underneath the hospital bedspread laid a fragile looking woman with several tubes coming out of her arms. Her eyes fluttered slightly and a bare movement in her chest showed me that she was still breathing. Her black matted hair was splayed out on the pillow, and her pale skin seemed nearly as white as the bedspread. Leaning a little closer, I could see a faint line of sweatA nurse hurried over to her side, blocking my view of her, and I immediately turned back towards where Ashton was talking to the doctor.