Mirrors {Sequel to Ghosts}

Bittersweet Tragedy

"Are you Lyndsey?" a man asked me, a clipboard in his hands. I nodded, my eyes bloodshot while my shoulders drooped, exhaustion making me slow. 

"I'm Ava's doctor. We're sorry to keep you waiting. She was hurt pretty badly. She's asleep right now, and we've got her hooked up on I.V.s currently. We don't know when she'll wake up, but she's got quite a couple stitches and bad bruises. She also suffered from several broken ribs that punctured her lungs and a major concussion. We don't know how things will heal for her, but um..because of the broken ribs, we need to do a surgery. There are several negative possibilities that may occur from the procedure, and we are not sure if her memory will be the same once she wakes up. If you decide to do the surgery, we do strongly recommend physical therapy."

"You mean..she might forget everything?" I asked, my throat closing up. "Will she forget me..?"

The doctor sighed, looking like he was sorry for me. I shook my head. "What are the outcomes of the surgery?" I wondered frantically. "Well, because the lung was punctured, we will have her on oxygen, but the lungs may fail and not be able to even take in the air. Suffocation, basically," the doctor told me, looking somber.

Tears fell from my eyes as I shook uncontrollably. I didn't know what to do, what to say. She was my everything, I couldn't live without her. I needed her to be okay. I needed her to be safe.

"I can give you some time to think about it. But we do need to know in the next couple hours so we can get her breathing correctly and nothing is damaged even more," he told me, just before walking away. I sat in one of the waiting room chairs, sobbing heavily, my face in my hands. 

"Lynn?" Brian said, sitting next to me. He put his arm around me, rubbing my back lightly. "What happened? Did the doctor talk to you?"

I nodded, my eyes bloodshot as I looked into his. "What did he say?" Brian questioned.

I took in a shaky breath, licking my chapped lips. "H-he said that...she has some broken ribs and that..that they p-punctured her lungs. She got a lot of stitches and a major concussion, but..but he wants her to have surgery. For the lung. B-but there's a possibility she could suffocate and n-not m-make it. If she does have it, her memory could be damaged" I stuttered, a fresh wave of tears flowing down my cheeks.

Brian's face dropped as he listened to me. "Oh, shit..Shit..Hey, Lynn, it's gonna be okay. But I think we should say yes to the surgery. If there's a chance she could survive, let's take it. If she doesn't have the surgery, things will be even worse. It's up to you, but I think it's important. I talked to the police and they're trying to track down Emily. They're doing everything they can," he assured me, pulling me into a hug.

I cried into his shoulder, holding him tightly. It felt like everything was crumbling around me, slipping through my fingertips and I couldn't do anything to stop it. "Shh, Lynn, it's okay. Ava is going to be okay. She's strong. She's gonna make it," he promised me, kissing my forehead. 

I sniffled, nodding. Alex walked over to us, coffee in his hand. He offered it to me and I took it gladly. "Do you want me to go get the doctor?" Alex asked me. I nodded my head yes and sipped at my drink slowly. Jess had gone back to her house to get blankets and pillows for us while we waited, and to give to Ava once she woke up. If she woke up.

No, I couldn't think like that. She was going to make it. Everything was going to be okay.

I saw Alex walking back to me a few minutes later, Ava's doctor trailing close behind. "You needed to speak to me?" the man asked, sitting beside me.

"Yeah. Um..So about the surgery. What's the chance of her making it?" I wondered, rubbing my tired eyes. "There's about a 68% chance. About half of the people who have this surgery have recovered," he told me. I looked at him for a moment. "Okay..I think we should do it. If there's a chance she'll make it, I need to take it."

The doctor nodded. "We're going to start preparing her for surgery immediately then. It'll take about 4 hours. We'll check in with you."

I nodded before he left, consulting a nurse. 

I turned to Alex. "We can't finish the tour. Whether or not she makes it. I..I need to be with her when she's recovering. We need to cancel the rest of it. I need to watch over her," I announced. "I know. I agree. The tour can wait. What's important right now is Ava's recovery."

Brian agreed to. He said he would talk to our manager soon, and while we waited for Jess to return, Alex and I sat in silence, staring at the tile beneath our feet. 

//

I didn't know if Ava would be okay. I had no idea what to do if she wasn't. She made my world spin, and I couldn't lose her. 

There was around 30 minutes left of the surgery, and my anxiety practically ate me alive as I checked the time every two minutes. I tried to think positively, but it was hard when I had no idea if Ava would survive. I needed her to. I needed her to stay strong.

I bit my nails nervously, bouncing my leg up and down. I stood up and paced back and forth, ignoring Brian and Jess's protests. Alex told me I should rest, but I refused, not willing to miss any information about Ava. 

It seemed like hours, months that I had been pacing in the waiting room. I ignored the stares from various people, not caring. All I cared about was Ava. That was it.

Once I saw Ava's doctor emerge from the surgical ward, I ran over to him. "Is she okay? How did it go?" I asked loudly. He took off his glasses and looked at me. "The surgery went well. She's okay. In fact, she's awake right now. You can visit her," he told me. I stared at him in disbelief before hugging him tightly. "Thank you, thank you," I exclaimed, feeling more tears escape. 

"You're welcome," he said. I pulled away and smiled at him before walking into the ward she was in. I found her room and knocked before coming in. She turned her head toward me, her eyes lighting up. "Lynn?" her voice was raw and patchy, but she looked so much better. My eyes began to water as I walked over to her, unable to believe what I was seeing.

Ava was okay, she was alive and okay. "I was so scared baby, I was so scared," I cried, hugging her softly, not wanting to hurt her. "What happened? I just remember..seeing her and then feeling pain. Everything went black and I woke up in this room," she told me. "After we got in that fight..I went looking for you, so I went to the music shop. I saw this blond haired girl standing over you and I told her to get out. I tried to see if you were okay but she started attacking me and I tried to keep her away from you. I..I blacked out after she left," I explained, stroking her face.

"Shit. I..I'm so sorry I never told you about her. She was my girlfriend for a while, until..some stuff happened. It was..She took me to a party and drugged me. I didn't know she did. I blacked out and, um..woke up in someone's bed with bruises all over my wrists and neck. She came in the room and told me she had been looking for me and had no idea what happened. A few weeks later, I found out she was cheating on me with some other girl. And I found out everything that happened at the party. Some..guy just..touched me and..God, I couldn't get away from her. I locked myself in my room for two weeks and wouldn't talk to anybody. My parents somehow found out and told the police. We moved away and I had no contact with her. I don't know how she found me," Ava told me, staring at the wall in front of her.

I stared at her in disbelief. "Oh, my God Ava...I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry she did that to you," I said, hugging her again. She was shaking beneath my touch and I rubbed circles on her hand as I held her close. "I'm never going to let anyone hurt you ever again."

"I love you," she whispered, hanging on to me. I held on to her too, afraid to let her go. I felt like if I did, I would never get her back ever again. I was never going to let anything bad happen to her ever again. She was my world, and I would have done anything to keep her safe.

"I love you too, Ava. I always will."

Tbh I never wanted to make this story as dramatic as it is and eh. This chapter is shit and GAH. anyway, Ava is okay so ye

QOTD: What's your favorite band?