Imprinted → lashton [book one]

3.3

a/n: new character/almost to 15k reads.. if i get there before Christmas I'll right one in the p.o.v of your choices. like in calum's or carter's or michael's. bam.

Ashton's P.O.V.

My eyes were heavy, I couldn't open them. The smell of bleach made me almost gag, the sounds of multiple making small talk around me made my head spin. My thoughts morphed into a headache; it felt as if my arms were going to fall off.

I shifted, groaning out in pain. All conversation stopped, silence taking over around me. I forced my eyes opened, instantly re-blinded by the bright light above me. Sunlight was fighting through the windowpane, the off-white blinds chopping them into separate rays.

"He's awake!" I hear Calum scream. I throw my head in the direction of his voice in confusion. "You're here?" I ask, shifting again, a bolt of pain shooting through my arm. I let out a gasp of pain, falling back into place, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Oh, here," Michael reaches forward to grab a bag of what looked like ice and rested it on my sore arm. The ice burned my skin, causing my stitched cuts to throb. The pain slowly started to work, numbing my arm. I lean up to look around the room.

"Your dad and Luke are talking in the hallway," Calum tells me, noticing my glancing and ignoring my question to him. Michael sat up fully, smiling at me fondly. "How're you feeling?"

I shrug my well shoulder, examining the room thoroughly. Calum was sat in a wheelchair, Michael was sat in a chair by him, Carsyn was standing, smiling at me. The room was white, with 6 chairs lining the walls.

Calum told me about how Niall's supposed to be flying in tomorrow and then Michael told me about Luke making dinner plans with his dad for tonight, which caught my attention completely.

It wasn't long after that my dad and Luke walked in with a doctor. Luke smiles at me, rushing over to the side of the bed to peck my lips lovingly. I giggled at his action. The doctor was frowning slightly, his eyebrows furrowed. My father's lips were pressed in a straight line, his grey hair ruffled in all direction.

"Uh, hi?" I say, pushing myself up even more. I ignore the pain, only showing a wince. The doctor forces a smile at me. "Would you like the good or bad news?"

"Bad," I say, finally looking at my tricep. They weren't even that deep, how could they have almost killed me? Why did I need stitches

"There were so many, you lost a lot of blood; the stitches are to help them heal quicker," Luke tells me.

I said that out loud?

Luke smirks at me, "Mhm."

Fuck.

The doctor shifts on his feet, before starting, "Your father, Mr. Hemmings, and I have spoke. We have decided you should spend some time in our mental hospital here. Luke told us about your recent and past eating problems, so that decided it. It's your complete decision, but it's for the best."

"You want me to go to a mental ward?" I whisper, directing it at Luke. It made my heart hurt. Luke shook his head quickly, "No, no."

"It's not the ward, Ashton. It's the hospital. Not for long, either. You'll get out a few days before Christmas," the doctor informs me. I glance at his name tag, it said Doctor Lagoni. Let's stick to doctor.

"With the alcoholics, other suicidal teens, and the other people with eating disorders," my father chimes in. "I would never send you to a psychiatry ward, Ashton."

My eyes were back to Luke's now. He cupped my jaw before saying, "Listen, Ashton. I just want what's best for you, and if this is it, then I want you to go. I'm scared, Ashton. I'm so scared I'm going to lose you again. This was a close call Ashton.