Darkness Finds You [Andley]

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A/N: fun fact: chapter 26 was labeled as 27 for about twenty minutes after uploading it and i flipped when i realize i skipped 26 rip

Andy sat in the waiting room, hands folded and pressed against his lips and eyes closed.
The entire room was silent.

But that's how it always was, wasn't it? Silent? Of course it was.

The people who sat in this room in particular were awaiting for either the best new or the worst news of their life. They were waiting to hear that their loved one had made it, or maybe didn't make it.

No one wanted happiness here. They wanted comfort and reassurance, but neither of those would be options until they had answers first, and sometimes those answers only offered more grief and pain, sometime regret.

There was a woman on the opposite end of the room who stood to greet the doctor that had quietly approached her and the man beside her, probably her husband.
Andy wasn't paying attention to the words, but he could have guessed what the news was by the reaction. The woman who was previously standing was now collapsed onto her knees, and her husband quickly kneeling to hold her as she cried. 

Whoever it was they were there for was gone.

Who would dare to be bold enough to smile in a place like this? A place where the air was so tense, and the mood was so fragile that if it were a wall it would shatter into a trillion pieces with the tap of a plastic knife.

Andy didn't want happiness right now. He didn't want to see rainbows, butterflies, or smiles anywhere. The thought of sunshine made him sick, and the thought of warm hug made him shudder, the thought of conversation made him want to scream, and the thought of love... the thought of warm, sweet, tender love made him want to cry. But he couldn't.

He had already cried too much, to the point where his eyes were dry, but red, and his heart was wrenching every which way with each sob muffled into his hands.

The sound of footsteps approaching Andy were almost as loud as the gunshot that shot Ashley, echoing around in his mind and taunting him.

"Mr. Biersack?" The doctor cleared his throat. Andy looked up immediately, eyes gazing desperately up at him.
"He's okay- Please tell me he is." Andy stood, hugging himself tightly.

The doctor offered him a pitiful smile. "He's a trooper. Almost lost him a few times but he pulled through." He said calmly. Andy nearly collapsed, but fell back into his seat instead. He covered his face with his hands, unable to suppress his cries anymore. "He's not awake yet, but he should be soon. You may go see him. Room 243, left side of the hall."

Andy nodded and shakily stood, walking down to the room reluctantly. He was a bit scared. He didn't know why, but he was. Andy found the room and went inside slowly, seeing Ashley laying still in the bed, hooked up to vital monitors.

"Hey, Ashley..." Andy whispered quietly, pulling a chair up to the side of the bed and sat down. "You did it. You made it."

Andy grabbed one of his hands. "Thank you." He pursed his trembling lips. "I don't deserve you, I really don't. I- I doubted you, and I didn't listen and- and it's my fault." 

He laid his forehead against the edge of the bed. "I'm just so glad you're okay- Fuck, I was so scared." He closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

There was a slight twitch in the hand Andy was holding, but he was too lost in his own overwhelmed thoughts and emotions to notice. There was a bit of shuffling on the bed and suddenly a hand gently placed itself on Andy's head, tenderly brushing his hair back.

Andy sat up quickly, eyes widening. "Ashley?" He gasped.
"Hey, Kitten." Ashley croaked, his chapped lips pulled up into a faint smile.

Andy stood and leaned over to hug him, sobbing into his shoulder. "I missed you so much- I was so scared.."
Ashley closed his eyes and lifted his arm to wrap around Andy. "Sh... Andy, I know." He whispered. "I love you, why would I leave you all by yourself, hm?" His voice was fondly teasing, making Andy giggle a little amidst his happy tears. Andy stood up a bit, looking at him.
"I love you, too." Andy answered quietly, wiping his eyes with his sleeves.

A/N: ok so this is significantly shorter than most other chapters I write, but I'm pressed for time rn and I felt like you guys deserved some closure for that last one haha