A Little Bit Of Joy | ✔

Chapter Twenty Nine : The Girl Who Gave Him Hope

"Okay, cool. Now-now go in there and hold your sister. Do whatever she says and don't freak out, okay? I-I'll come with blankets and we'll take her to the hospital. It's raining very heavily and she shouldn't be left cold," he was almost murmuring the last sentence to himself while simultaneously searching for thick blankets. He glanced at Gemma who got up nervously and he reiterated, "Do you understand?" to which she nodded again. Logan then yelled, "Then go!"

Gemma scurried to the bathroom as Logan collected Joy's jacket, boots and the blankets. He stumbled towards her and found her sprawled on the floor with Gemma holding her tenderly. The bleeding hadn't stopped, but it was significantly lesser. It didn't matter because she had lost much of her blood already.

Logan guided Joy's limp arms in the sleeves of her jacket while Gemma slipped her sister's pale feet in the boots.

"Where are we going?" Joy's voice was a mere whisper.

"To the hospital, there's no network to call anyone," Logan replied and hauled the blankets over her body, wrapping it warmly around her.

"No, we can't-no-we can't go there!" Joy ejaculated suddenly with little energy and Logan tried to soothe her. "You-you can't take me there . . . You'll get caught Logan . . . Your-your uncle . . . "

"Don't be stupid," he muttered, his jaw clenching as he slowly gathered her in his arms. She weakly protested when he picked her up gingerly in bridal style and once comfortable, he started walking. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, not because of the fear of getting caught. He knew that he was surrendering himself the moment he would step in that hospital. Those tears were of gratitude to God who created somebody as wildly beautiful, simply kind and extremely selfless sunflower like Joy.

Gemma opened the door and ushered them out. Logan warily climbed down the stairs, afraid that he would drop Joy. Joy wasn't heavy to carry, quite the opposite in fact, her frail body writhing underneath the blankets. Once they were on the ground, Logan increased his pace and bolted towards the boat, Gemma clutching the enormous umbrella over their heads.

The umbrella couldn't withstand the rage of nature. Gemma was swaying with it and all of them were already drenched. Logan was thankful of the blankets draped over Joy who wasn't left cold, but he could notice Gemma getting fidgety. He concluded that she simply didn't like getting wet or it was because of apprehension.

They got into the unsteady boat, Logan placing Joy on Gemma's lap so he could switch on the motor. Joy's grandpa had taught him how to steer it and he did the same way he had practised numerous times. He twisted the handle towards him to make it go faster and shouted over the roaring of the storm, "Hold Joy tightly Gemma!"

Gemma clinged to Joy and Logan grabbed the bucket to empty the boat which was fast filling with water. After several futile attempts, he chucked the bucket away in vexation and focused on to move ahead. The waves were dashing and swirling causing Logan to stagger. He gripped the handle and relentlessly battled with the ocean. 

What should have been a two minute trip from the lighthouse to the coast took approximately over ten minutes. Nevertheless, they arrived and struggled through the sticky sand. Once they were on the road, Logan's heart thudded loudly. The road was deserted and no car passed by.

"Fucking storm! This is bullshit, absolute bullshit! There's nobody here!" Logan cried out and clutched Joy tighter against his chest. He then lowered his voice and mumbled against Joy's ears, "Hold on a-a little, okay? We're going to reach soon and everything will be alright. Just a few more minutes, okay? P-Please just . . . just don't give up. "

His voice cracked at the end, desperately wanting no harm to touch Joy and wanting to believe his own words. He roughly wiped the water running down his face and shook his head, mentally preparing himself to remain strong. Then he and Gemma started sprinting towards a nearby café, but luckily a van stopped for them.

The friendly face of the van driver called out, "Hop on in!"

Gemma looked sceptical, but Logan shoved her in. There wasn't any option and he was ready to take chances. They both sat in the back seat with Joy lying on their laps, her eyes half closed. She was murmuring something incoherent continuously.

"To the hospital aye?" The man didn't question, it was much of a statement. Joy looked subconscious and with blood stains all over them, it was obvious. Gemma wriggled on her seat, feeling yucky and squirmish. Logan pushed back his wet hair and nodded plainly. "There's a rug underneath the seat. Mind you it's dusty, but it'll keep her warm."

Logan thanked the generous stranger and retrieved the large rug. Gemma helped him discard the saturated blankets over Joy and replaced it with the rug. Joy was shaking uncontrollably and her temperature was rising too. Gemma caressed her sister's hands to provide solace and Logan cradled her in his arms.

He brushed her damp hair backwards and carefully wiped the thin blood still dripping from her nose. Her nose was swollen and dry blood started to cake around it. She looked white like a ghost and Logan frequently checked if she was breathing fine, bile rising each time in his throat at the thought of losing her.

He was bargaining with God inwardly- to share some of her pain. It was foolish of him, he knew that, because firstly it wasn't possible or realistic and secondly he had a plethora of his own problems. He still felt the similar heaviness looming over him, only less intense now. The counselling had helped him definitely, but not cured him. He knew it was going to take a lot of time until he could really breathe- really live.

He didn't tell this to anyone because he felt alright around people- especially around his dear Joy. Being around people- even around Joy's grumpy old grandpa helped him. He didn't confess that he wasn't fully okay to Joy because he didn't want to let her down. Whenever he was alone and the traumatizing thoughts engulfed him, he thought of her. He thought about how the dark night would pass and once it would be morning again, he would see her in the flower shop. For him, she was the brightest flower.

Now, the heaviness was crushing him, stomping on his body and suffocating him. He avoided to even think about the future since he was bound to get caught. He would be sent to Scotland and the little time he could spend with Joy would be snatched away. He tugged at his sleeves, no, no, no, I have to be strong, he thought forcefully.

They arrived at the hospital and the driver, Gemma and Logan with Joy in his arms rushed in. Logan took a last glimpse of Joy and fresh tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. A lone tear escaped, falling down and landing on Joy's cheek with a soft splat. He bent down and his cold lips kissed her burning forehead lightly. "Goodbye, Joy."