twisted - muke - the distortion trilogy 1

2.4

MICHAEL'S P.O.V.

"Like inpatient," I say with malice, hoping to make my mother feel bad about making this decision without consulting me. And hoping that I'll be wrong.

"Yes, sweetie," Mum sighs, refusing to meet my eyes. "Like inpatient."

No. Absolutely not.

"W-what if I don't want to?" I ask. All of the confidence I had only seconds earlier with Luke is gone, the ounce of stubbornness in my voice has disappeared. Now all I care about is pleasing Gordon, making sure he doesn't get upset with me.

"Michael," my father sighs. "It's not up for debate."

Luke's hand tightens in my grip, but I am the one whose hands begin to shake.

"D-Dad..." I want to tell him that he can't do this to me. I want to tell him that Gordon will be furious and that this will make things worse and Gordon make me try to...you know...again. But instead, my tongue goes dry, and my head begins to spin. I scrunch my eyes shut. I can't breathe.

"Michael, I'm sorry," he promises. "But we're doing what's best for you, because we love you."

Why does everyone always do things they know I don't want because they 'have my best interest in mind'? Luke, Gordon, my parents...why don't I get a say in what's best for me?

If they loved you, they wouldn't be abandoning you in a hospital halfway across the country.

"H-halfway across the c-country?" I whimper, eyes widening.

"What's that, Michael?" Mum asks.

"Y-you're moving me halfway across the country?" I accuse, and Luke inhales sharply.

"No, sweetie!" She is quick to shut me down, and I wish I could say I let out a sigh of relief, but I still can barely breathe. "There's a great hospital with a ward for teenagers just like you only a few miles away from home."

'Teenagers just like you'? There's no one else like you. You're too different to be categorized.

Gordon jeers the word 'different' at me, and it's an insult, not a compliment.

I turn desperately to Luke—hoping for comfort and reassurance—but he is looking awkwardly at our hands, joined and resting in his lap. Does he notice how hard mine is shaking?

"B-but not home." Not with Luke.

It may not be across the country, but they're still gonna drop you off in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and they're going to leave.

I whimper at Gordon's words, my heart beginning to pound at the idea of being alone. I'm afraid of people, yes, but I'm even more afraid of being alone. "W-won't you be with m-me?"

"Bud?" My dad frowns. "You know we won't be there."

Obviously—why does everyone think I'm talking to them when I'm talking to Gordon? I want to roll my eyes, but I don't have much control over my body.

"Baby, are you okay?" I hear Luke's voice, but it sounds distant, like I'm underwater. I want to respond—to tell him that no I am but and to please help me—but I'm not sure if I can speak.

Of course I'll be there with you. It's just you and me, forever. No Mum, no Dad, no Calum, no Amber, no Luke. Just you and me. Forever.

"N-no—!"

FOREVER.

-

LUKE'S P.O.V.

"N-no—!" Michael shouts, ripping his hand out of mine as he instinctively curls himself into a ball, rocking back and forth—just like when I found him half dead, only a few days ago.

"Michael?" I ask, my worry louder than both of his parents' combined, who are also calling his name.

"I c-c-can't" he chokes out. "S-scared."

One of his hands is tugging on his hair, his skin, anything he can get too. The other hand is attempting to pull the bandages off the 'tugging' hand. Eyes wide and braver than the rest of us, his mother reaches for his hand to stop him, but he slaps her hand away and rips the IV out of his arm, causing bloody to begin to trickle down it.

I inhale sharply and find myself backing up against the wall, away from Michael. Because soon, Michael won't be Michael and I'm scared of Gordon.

"Press the emergency call button," Karen barks, and Daryl rushes to do so.

"Breathe," Karen tries to soothe her son, but her words cause him to let out an ear piercing scream, and with that, the nurses rush in.

My head begins to spin, and I can't keep up with how fast Karen is talking, explaining the situation to the nurses. It feels like déjà vu, watching a ton of medical workers take my boyfriend away from me, but the difference is this time, I'm not even fighting for him. This time, I'm afraid.

With tears in my eyes, I watch a nurse stick a needle into Michael's neck, and he stops screaming. His body collapses on the bed, not moving. She sedated him.

I cover my mouth to muffle the sounds of the sobs that are leaving my lips without my permission, and Karen immediately directs her attention to me.

She comes and wraps her arms around me, mumbling something along the lines of, "Why don't we go call your mum, yeah?" and she leads me out of the room. Even in the midst of all of this, Michael's mother is absolutely selfless, and willing to take care of me even when her own son needs her. The thought makes me cry a little harder.

-

After Karen called her, my mum came to pick me up. Karen promised she would call us with updates on Michael as soon as possible, and I overheard her whispering to my mum that they were going to have an ambulance take Michael to the hospital he'll be staying at for the next few weeks as soon as he's stable.

My heart broke a little then, and it continues to break now.

It's a little before midnight, and I've been lying in my bed since I got home from the hospital. I haven't slept or ate, and I've only gotten up once to pee. I'm just sitting here, thinking. And as we all know, that's equivalent to playing with fire.

I haven't cried this much since the whole situation with Ashton at my old school in my old town. But then, I wasn't crying for Ashton. I was crying because of Ashton, and I was crying for me. Now, I cry for my precious Michael, whom I am not sure when I will see again.

I don't know how I got myself into this situation—falling in love with someone even more troubled than I am. I don't regret it, though, never in a million years. Michael is the brightest star in my galaxy, the center point around which I rotate. He has saved me.

And now—how? I am not yet sure, but I swear—it is my turn to save him.

~

A/N: soooooo THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF TWISTED!!!!! :(((( this is actually so upsetting wow this book is my child BUT !! i am writing a sequel! i'm not sure what it will be called yet but i have it plotted out and i'm super excited about it! (if you have any title name ideas hmu bro)

i want to thank everyone that has read and commented and voted for and shared twisted! it honestly means so much to me because i never thought that it would reach this many people(: special thanks to @manicpanicmuke, @TrillieUniverse, @fragilevenom, and so many more for constantly being in my notifications and encouraging me to continue with this story!

others that i see a lot in my notifications but they won't let me tag include: mi__kayla (ilysm), reader_writer_19, bibble-, _MikeysGirl_ and so many more! thank you so much (:

i'm so happy that so many people have enjoyed my writing, and i really believe i've improved a lot as a writer by creating this story. i can't wait to continue telling yall luke and michael's stories!

I LOVE YOU ALL SM, THANK YOU!!!!