Every Day has a Memory

Chapter 9

Tamsyn said that she liked it better this way; lengthier on top but short at the sides. She said it wasn't too long that it fell in my eyes, but it was still long enough to play with—because she was annoying and liked to put my hair in pigtails.

Though, I would never let anyone else do that to me but her, and only her.

I shook it again once I'd finally gotten my hand through the knows, and closed the space to the bathroom door from where I was standing and leaned against it, pressing my nose to the wood. "Hey, baby. I was thinking we could go out for a late breakfast or something—I'm going crazy out here."

The shower was running on the other side, sure, but I'd spoken through the door to her a thousand times before—how could she not hear me now? It wasn't any different.

I frowned. "Baby?" No response. "Tamsyn," I said again, my voice firmer.

Something wasn't right. It didn't take a genius to figure that.

"Tam." I tested the doorknob—unlocked, to my relief. "Answer me if you're okay."

No response.

Are you fucking kidding?

I opened the door in one swift moment, not even holding back in case she was naked or anything—I didn't care at this point—only to find that all the breath in my chest left in one swift go.

Tam was lying on the ground, unresponsive, half-clothed, with shallow breathing, amongst the lingering mist being formed at the heated shower's expense. The scent of lavender filled the air—as it always did when she stayed over.

Holy shit.

My knees hit the ground before I could process. I knew she hadn't been feeling okay a couple weeks back, on her birthday, but I ignored any thoughts about it being something worse than sickness from the heat—as she had claimed.

This was bigger than just a heat-bug. Much bigger—so much bigger that it was out of my hands.

My hands were moving, one after the other as I crawled towards her, tears searing the rims of my eyes. I reached up and shut off the pointless stream of water, then focused on my girl again. "Tamsyn..." I called out helplessly.

God. My heart was in my throat, and I was pathetically, yet effectively, gagging on it. I knew that something was wrong, yet I never thought to do anything about it.

Why was I so naive all the time? I could have fixed this!

How? My useless brain questioned.

I ignored it.

"Tam, baby, wake up." I patted her cheek, clammy from the heat being absorbed in this room. Her cheeks were flushed a vibrant red, despite the fact the rest of her skin bared the ghastly colour of a corpse.

That thought pushed me over the edge—the tears streamed like there was no tomorrow, and I became hysterical. "Tamsyn, wake up!" I cried through thick animalistic sobs. Behind me I could hear Luca howling and crying, too. "Wake up, baby. Please..." I kneeled further over her, pressing my forehead to hers. "Please," I whispered thickly. "Wake up."

She remained motionless; ultimately breaking my heart and smashing it again with a mallet. It hurt like a bitch, and it was only theoretical.

But the pain helped me to get help. To get this girl what she needed to bring her back to me.

Granted, this should've been done when I'd first found her, but I was so paralysed with heartache that I just couldn't do anything.

I dragged Tam into my arms, crying some more when I realised how weightless she was in my arms—she was a solid girl, yeah, but I had noticed that over the weeks she had been dropping an immense amount of it at a time.

How had I missed that?

It was just like how I neglected the thought of her being sick—I didn't bother to acknowledge it.

Like I should have.

My feet were moving, slowly at first, before breaking into a sprint—only briefly stopping to rip a mink-blanket from my couch and bolting out the door; Luca close on my heels, barking and crying at the sight of me. I didn't even bother to shut the door behind me, or write a note for Leesy to find if she came home.

I ran to the first house I could see through my bleary-eyed tunnel vision, and pounded on the door until someone answered.

A man with dark skin and full body tatts answered, looking exceptionally kind in amidst his tough exterior.

Maybe its because you're crying on his doorstep with an unconscious girl in your arms.

But the man didn't even ask for an explanation, just steered Luca inside, and stepped onto the porch, closing the front door behind him and locking it. He then took out his phone and reached for his keys. "Come on, son, I'll take you to the hospital."

There was something so stimulating—yet heart-wrenching—about watching my girlfriend's vital signs flash on this odd piece of machinery. A part of me was duly fascinated with fact that this one machine could identify her heart rate, pulse and temperature—while the other part of me was physically and emotionally upset by what I was seeing.

"You okay, boy?" Marshall—my neighbour—had refused to leave after he brought us to the hospital, and insisted that he would wait until my parents' got there. But unfortunately for my parents, they'd both gotten stuck in 3 o'clock school traffic.

I nodded at the man. "All good," I replied hoarsely, casting a wary glance at Tamsyn who was sleeping soundly, her breathing a little shallow—but otherwise normal. "As long as she's all right and here, I'm okay."

There was a long weighted moment of silence.

Then the man said, "She'll make it. She seems like a fighter."

I smiled, touching Tam's forehead and gently allowing my finger to trace the side of her face. "Yeah. She's fought like crazy all her life."

"Then she'll fight through this," Marshall said supportively. "I can feel it."

Marshall seemed like a very spiritual man with the way he spoke, but there wasn't anything that made me want to doubt that he was wrong—I knew Tam was going to fight this. It wasn't in her nature to back away from a fight.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah," I said softly. "She'll make it through."

***

Okay! I re-edited this chapter, and I am trying my hardest to update faster! I really hope whoever it is reading this, that you like it. This is my first ever story that I am properly trying to finish, and I really hope that you guys are enjoying it! 

Please Comment if you want, I take all constructive criticism into consideration so feel free to leave an opinion: if you don't like the story, tell me, if you do - tell me!!! Also, vote if you want to - its not obligatory :)

I should update in the next few weeks xx