Wrong Direction

Chapter 25: Tripper

I felt a hand wrap around my own and I squeezed it tightly.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

I continued to stare at my sleeping sister - she looked so fragile yet so peaceful as she laid in her pale blue hospital gown. My eyes fell to her wrists once more and my stomach twisted into a knot while the head-pounding was more painful than ever.

"Here, sit down." Harry lead me over to the couch as if reading my mind.

I leaned forward and put my head in my hands. I couldn't believe that Lillian would actually try to take her own life... I had never even thought it was possible for her to have thoughts like that.

Another buzzing sound came from Harry's pocket and he glanced at the screen. He gently squeezed my leg as he stood and exited the room to answer it. I wondered if it was Paul again...

I looked away from Harry, who was now pacing back and forth in the window as he spoke, and back to Lillian. I stood up and gently held her hand in mine, saying a silent prayer as a tear escaped.

"She's going to be just fine."

I looked up to see the cloaked Doctor standing on the other side of Lil, his soft smile still on his face.

"She only managed to make minor cuts to her wrists before she passed out from the sight of the blood and then your father found her," he spoke softly. "She can leave the hospital when she wakes up."

I thought about Lillian and blood - she could never handle even the slightest amount. I couldn't even comprehend her holding a blade to her own skin - it sent shivers down my spine.

"Are you sure?" I whispered. "Sure that she tried to commit suicide?"

There was a short silence before he nodded sincerely.

"It's my fault." I shook my head, my eyes filling with tears. "If I had been there, this would never have happened."

"You can't blame yourself for this, my dear." The Doctor put down the clipboard that he'd been holding and sighed. "I see this almost every day, and blaming yourself  will not help your sister recover - you need to be positive and be there for her now, don't think about what happened before."

I looked back to Lil - her features soft, making her look half her age as she slept.

"Tomorrow is supposed to be the best day of her life," I choked, remembering that the One Direction concert was tomorrow night. "And now it will be her worst."

"I know it looks bad, but she's going to be completely fine," the Doctor tried to reassure me.

"Then why is she in Intensive Care?" I questioned, wiping a stray tear from my cheek.

"We had to put her here." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "We were made aware that your family has had some media attention lately, so your uncle was persistent on keeping her in our most secure wing, which is here in ICU."

"Paul?" I frowned. "He's here?"

Suddenly a knock came on the door. The Doctor and I looked up to see Paul standing in the doorway. It was as if I had yelled out his name.

"There you are," he huffed, looking as though he had just run a marathon.

"I'll give you two a minute," the Doctor said, taking his clipboard and closing the door behind him.

I noticed Harry looking into the room, still on his phone but looking at me. Obviously he wasn't speaking with Paul. I looked away and faced my uncle.

"Where have you been?" I asked the first thing that popped into my head.

"Talking to the police." He sighed.