Anything -- a Matty Healy Fanfic

45. Resilient

The second the seatbelt sign turned off I bolted out of my seat and sprinted up to the front of the plane. I didn't care if I was that arsehole who shoved his way to the front. All I cared about was Anna.

The flight had been excruciatingly long. The pain in my heart, searing and agonizingly deep, felt like it couldn't get any worse. I was wrong though, when I realized halfway through the flight that this must have been how Anna felt when she flew across the world to help me- stuck on a 12-hour long flight, unable to help or do anything outside of worry and cry. I already knew how much stress I'd put her through, but to live through it myself made knowing the pain I caused her unbearable.

After the flight attendants finally opened the doors (which I had been seconds away from wrenching open myself) I sprinted down the jetway, through the airport, past baggage claim and out the doors where threw myself into the first taxi I could find.

The cab ride went by agonizingly slow, and the fact that Juliette wasn't answering her phone didn't help. She'd texted me while I was on my flight telling me she was heading home to sleep for a few hours since the doctors didn't think Anna would be awake for quite a while- apparently, the levels of Rohypnol they found in her were quite high. I gave up on Juliette and sent a text to George to let him know I landed safely and thanked him once again for the ticket. I knew I wasn't capable of expressing just how grateful I truly was for him right now, but I tried anyway and promised myself I'd call him later to thank him properly.

Right after I hit send on the text, my phone began to ring. I looked at the number, recognizing it immediately as my manager's South American number. I sighed as I looked outside the cab at the motorway, knowing I was still at least 15 minutes away from the hospital, so I hit answer and grumbled a hello as I gazed out the window at the passing cars.

"Hey Matty, how was the flight? Are you doing alright? Is she doing alright?" he asked kindly.

"Long. Not good. Not sure. Just in a cab heading to the hospital now," I answered flatly. I didn't have any emotional energy left for manners.

"Well, I know you have a lot on your plate right now but, err, unfortunately... I'm not sure how to tell you this, but I have to be the bearer of more bad news," he said nervously.

I felt too numb to care, so I didn't respond. Nothing could be worse than what was happening to Anna right now. Nothing else mattered.

After several moments of silence, my manager could tell I wasn't planning on responding, so he continued.

"... I'm afraid... well, I'm afraid there's been another article written about you and Anna," he admitted. "And it's just as unkind as the last one. Honestly, it may be worse."

I winced as I let my face fall into the palm of my hand. I tried to massage the stress out of my forehead to no avail.

"Summarize it for me," I replied as I rubbed my temples.

"They took a lot of photos of you two while she was visiting, Matty- kissing in public in the city and alleyways and in the ocean. They have closeups- admittedly, grainy- of lovebites on Anna's neck. There's also a photo of your chest all scratched up on stage at the concert which they've quoted you from, saying that you pay Anna to kiss you and that you've confirmed it yourself that Anna is a call-girl... They're calling her all sorts of names, as well as you... I won't lie, Matty. It's unrelentingly vulgar and critical. It's bad."

My blood boiled, and if I had any energy left at all, I would be slamming my fist into the seat in front of me and yelling curses out the window. All I could muster was a clenched fist and a muttered 'fuck' as I tried to suppress the angry tears that threatened to fall.

"I'm sorry Matty, but you needed to know. The boys told me to wait to tell you, but I thought you'd rather know so you can prep Anna before she can find out in whatever state she may be in..."

"No, thank you, I appreciate that. Thank you for telling me," I responded, sincerity lacing my angry tone. "I'll call you later today."

"Hopefully with better news, right mate?"

I sighed.

"Hopefully... Talk soon," I said. I hung up and immediately pushed the conversation aside in my mind. I was dreading telling Anna, but that was much lower on my list of worries. All that mattered now was seeing Anna and making sure she was okay.

Once the car finally rolled to a stop outside the doors of the hospital, I threw open the door and ran in and up to the front desk. After trying and only half-failing to sound calm when speaking to the receptionist, I was relieved when someone showed up merely a couple of minutes later to usher me up to the sixth floor. I was so anxious to see Anna that I was barely paying attention to the nurse who led the way out of the elevator.

"... and she's been steady ever since we took her off the ventilator. She was in decent spirits earlier, so she's just resting now," said the nurse as my ears finally perked up.

"Huh? She was awake?" I asked, caught off guard.

"Yes," the nurse offered a kind smile. "Only for a bit. She's quite exhausted, her body went through a lot. But she's handling it well."

The nurse politely pointed out the last door on the left, and I couldn't get down the hallway fast enough. I only stopped once I reached the doorway, freezing right in my tracks as I finally saw her.

She looked angelic, laying there in the early morning sun which streamed in through the hospital blinds onto her peaceful face. Even in her current state, she was breathtaking.

Slowly, I approached the bed. I dragged the armchair up to the edge and sat down before carefully taking Anna's hand in mine. She didn't move as I grazed my thumb against the back of her hand.

It broke my heart to see her like this, she looked so small and so frail in the hospital bed, her skin pale against the grey of the sheets. And yet, I could see her body was fighting. I sniffed quietly as I scanned her face, taking in the rosiness that stained her cheeks and the soft pink of her lips. That was what I loved so much about her- that no matter what was thrown at her, she pushed through. She was too small for this pain, too fragile. And yet every time the world threw something at her, she stayed strong. She was resilient.

I couldn't help the tears as they welled in my eyes, overwhelmed by my love for her. I clamped my other hand over my mouth to hold back a sob. We'd been through so much together, and apart, and I never thought ever in my life I could be as happy as I was when I was with Anna. She was so perfect, and as undeserving as I felt, I knew in this moment that I'd never let her go. No matter what. We were for each other, and there was nothing I wouldn't do for her. Nothing.

I reached out to gently brush a strand of hair from her perfect face, tucking it behind her ear as I caressed her cheek, savouring the warmth of her skin under my hand. Her eyelashes fluttered in response to my touch.

"Anna," I whispered softly with hope.

Her eyes opened, her hazy beautiful green gaze turned towards me, and my heart stopped.