The Dark Days

19

(Note: you can imagine these characters however you want, but in my mind Ian looks like Cameron Riley Monaghan- Ian from the tv show Shameless.)

Ian's POV

"Lauren hasn't responded to any of my messages so I'm going over there." I call out to my mom. I hear no response. Of course. That what it's like to live with someone who lives in bed because of her mental illness.

I get in my car and start driving towards Lauren's house, the house I have been to hundreds of times in my childhood. I smile at that, remembering all the giggles and smiles... Lauren's smile is so beautiful.

I shake my head and continue driving until I pull into her houses driveway. I can't think like that, she's with Aaron now.

Her front door is wide open. That's strange... I think, but I shrug it off. She probably just forgot to close it.

I slowly step inside and call out her name. Silence. I step upstairs and peek in her room, knocking first to not invade her privacy. When I do peek in, though, the scene is horrific.

Lauren is laying on the bed, naked and unconscious- well, I hope she's unconscious- with blood all around her. Her blood. Her arms are tied up to the headboard so she can't call for help.

"Lauren!" I yell, running closer to the bed, not paying attention to the blood on the floor. "Lauren can you hear me?"

"Laur!" I yell again. Her eyes flutter open slightly but then squeeze back shut. I now see why. The wound in her lower chest, above her ribs but just below her heart. She's so skinny that it probably did a lot of damage. "Oh my god Laur! What the hell?! How... hang on."

I jump into action, and with shaky hands I untie the knots holding her hands above her head. I learned a little about medical when I was at military training but I didn't learn enough to deal with this. What i do know, though, is she needs to get to a hospital asap before it's too late... if it isn't already.

The shoulder movements cause Lauren to moan out in pain.

"Shit Laur!" I exclaim, panicked. Then, her breathing starts to slow and her furrowed brow starts to relax as she slowly starts to become unconscious again.

I gently tuck my arms under her small frame and lift her into my arms, careful not to move her too much. She lets out one more moan before slipping back unconscious again. She rests her head on my chest as I carry her out.

•••

She looks so small... so venerable in that hospital bed. She's in critical condition and might not survive, but I can't help noticing how stunning she is. Her long, beautiful brown hair is messy and falls across her face, hiding her shiny brown eyes. Her skin is perfect and she has a gorgeous body. She looks very peaceful, although I can't imagine the pain she's going through. She looks so beautiful, even in a hospital gown.

All of a sudden her eyes start to flutter open, snapping me out of my thoughts. She tries to sit up, but she only gets a few inches before she let's out a horrible noise and falls back down again. I can't imagine how much pain she is in.

"Laur! You're awake!" I run up beside her, letting her know I'm here. I push a stray strand of her hair out of her beautiful eyes.

She tries to speak, but her body tightens in pain. "No! Don't speak." I say softly. "You lost a lot of blood...." my voice catches. Her breathing is raged and it looks painful.

She starts to slip unconscious again, but before she's completely gone, she mouths one word to me.

Meghan.

•••

Meghan. Our childhood bestie. She was murdered. Whoever murdered her probably tried to kill Lauren. Did she know too much?

The doctor came in a few times with pain meds and to check up on her, but he said it's hard to tell whether she'll make it or not. She's already been through one small surgery and barely made it through. They checked to see if she has internal bleeding or something like that. So far they have found nothing too threatening, but once she's more stable they have to do more procedures. They did say that she might have a punctured lung or something like that.

I slowly fall asleep in the uncomfortable chair across from her bed. There's no way I'm leaving her here to wake up alone. Her mom is on her way, but she won't be here for a while. The hospital couldn't get in touch with her until now. I continue to look at her frail, beautiful body as I slowly fall asleep.
•
I jolt awake to a loud beeping noise and nurses and doctors rushing all around me. I look up at her body. She's jerking around on her bed. A doctor yells that she's having a seizure. A small dot of red on the front of her hospital gown tells me that her wound has opened up again. Before you know it, I'm rushed out of the room and into the waiting room where I see Lauren's mom, sitting, crying softly to herself. When she sees me she stands up and pulls me into a big hug. She then wipes a tear that's streaking down my face. I didn't even realize I was crying.

"What.... is she.... I...." she tries to speak but can't.

"It's ok." I say, even though I'm not sure if it is ok. I can tell she doesn't believe me. I hug her again and she sobs into my shoulder. We cry together.

I can't help wondering why Aaron isn't here. Her boyfriend should be here with her!

She doesn't deserve him, selfishly, she deserves me. I would care for her. Aaron isn't even here!

•••

She looks asleep. Peacefully having a nap on a lazy Sunday afternoon. But I know she's not.

The doctor enters. "I have good news and bad news. She is stable after the seizure, but she seems to have slipped into a coma. We aren't sure if she will ever wake up."

Lauren's mom lets out a tiny whimper and I start cursing. How could this happen? I want to scream. This is so unfair!

"There has to be something you can do." I say.

"I'm afraid not. We will do everything we can, but there is no cure for a coma. Only when the body is ready will the patient wake up, if that does happen." he goes on about her condition using medical terms I've only ever heard in dire cases in the military. "Ms. McBonny, I need to speak to you... outside."

Lauren's mom looks up at me. I nod. I know what they're discussing. They're talking about what to do if she never wakes up. But she has to wake up.

She can't leave me.

I love her and I will not loose her.

----------------------------------------------
Authors note:

Woah does Ian like Lauren? Does Lauren like Ian? Will Lauren ever wake up? Who knows.... well, I do!😈