Mindless

Twenty One

~Cole~

It's a 9 hour drive from Montrose back to Kredrith. 9 hours I didn't have to spend on the road when Callie was potentially dying on some fucking surgery table. 9 hours I wasn't spending in a car with Theo telling me to calm down, to breath and relax and he was sure it'd be okay. I'd pulled out every possible stop to find a private jet that would get us to the hospital sooner and it did. Less than 4 hours after getting the call from Callie I was running down hospital corridors to get to where she was. 

Lilah had only been an hour away and Theo called her and putting her foot down meant she was at the hospital by the time Callie was finally out of the wreck and we were getting on the plane. There hadn't been a huge amount of updates when we landed and I have no idea if that's a good or bad thing. 

"Cole-" I ignored Lilah, instead pushing past her into the room she was trying to guard. I'd spent hours trying to work out what the best case scenario would be right now. The worst was obviously getting here and finding out Callie had bled out or the damage was too intense or like my mum, she died on impact. But somehow, standing at the bottom of the bed and watching her hooked up to monitors, her right hand in plaster, cuts and bruises across her face and tears in her eyes, this hurt so much worse than I'd been expecting and this was a better outcome. She was alive, awake. No tubes, not in ICU, the monitor was beeping quickly.  I swallowed, letting my eyes trail over her quickly before I moved around the bed. 

"You- you're supposed to be in-" I grabbed a hold of Callie's head, gently pushing my fingers back into her hair. I shook my head, wanting her to just stay quiet so I can't hear the pain in her voice. I swipe my thumb over the cut on her lip gently. 

I bring myself down, planting a soft kiss gently on her lips until she takes a slow staggered breath, grabbing for me with one hand. I want to slide my tongue into her mouth and claim her as mine completely and if this cut wasn't on her lip, if I knew it wouldn't hurt her, I would. I would hold her tight and I'd kiss her like my life depends on it because I'm starting to think it does. I've spent 4 hours breathing like there's cement in my lungs and poison in my blood and Callie is the only antidote. 

" So, I think- I think I scratched the car a little." Callie forces a smile when I pull back. "Just a little. It might buff out." 

"Just a scratch huh? They definitely didn't need to cut the side off and pull you out on a stretcher?" 

"How'd you eve-" A quick 2 knocks on the door stop Callie asking how I knew about the stretcher and the side, thankfully. 

"Caroline Fraser?" Two police officers slipped into the room, eyes immediately darting to mine as I stood beside her, my  hand on the back of her neck, thumb circling over her pulse points just to remind me she was still okay. 

"That's me. This is-" 

"Cole Ambrose, Callie's boyfriend." They looked to Callie who nodded her head, shifting in the space and tugging on my tee-shirt until I sat down beside her and pulled her into my side. The police continued to stare at the two of us. 

"We're going to have to ask you to leave. Just whilst we ask a few question-" 

"Look guys, I know you're doing your job and everything but I've just flown across the country to get to my girlfriend with the only knowledge of what happened being the screech of tires on the other end of the phone line and friends telling me my car was totaled and there was a fuck tonne of blood. I appreciate you're trying to make sure I'm no harm to Cal but I can assure you, I'm harmless." 

"It was your car?" 

"She was driving it too and from work whilst I was out of town." 

"Anyone know she had your car?"