REMIND ME // Calum Hood

Six // hospital - part 2

(Listen to Hold me while you wait by Lewis Capaldi to feel Calums pain)

Calum's POV

May 8th, 2018
8:50 a.m.

"You can go inside first" Tara tells me
We are back to the waiting room, sitting directly across Room 304 for what felt like an eternity now. The hours dragged by, the clock mocking me every time I looked at the wall to check if it had finally hit 9 a.m. The hallways are not so quiet and empty anymore but my seat remained free, as if expecting my return. I don't sit down though, leaving it available for the small girl beside me, but Tara also doesn't take the seat, perhaps too anxious to do so.
"I'll go grab something to eat with Aaron to give you some time alone with her"
"Thank you, Tara" I place my hand over her shoulder, not feeling comfortable enough to hug the girl "For everything"
The door to Room 304 clicks open, with a sound almost imperceptible for anyone that hasn't spent the last eight hours eagerly waiting for it to happen. Aaron exits his sister's room, walking towards us with his head hanging too low to be bearing any good news.
"She hasn't woken up yet" He tells us, hugging his girlfriend's side "The doctors say Gia's anemic and that makes her blood thinner so she'll probably have to stay overnight"
"She's anemic?" Tara steals the words coming out of my mouth "I mean, I noticed she had lost weight but I didn't think much of it"
"None of us did" Aaron lets out a tired sigh "I was texting Jason just now... He said she isn't eating much and sleeps for most part of the day"
I feel what there was left of heart shatter into pieces. A mix of sadness, agony, anger, guilt and pain tightening my chest in an unbearable way. Without another minute to spare, I take long strides towards Room 304, blinded by my desperate need to see her. My hands turn the knob slowly, trying to be as silent as possible. The room is dark and silent, only the quiet beeping of the machines attached to the hospital bed filling the air.
"Nooo" The dragged word leaves my mouth, carried with all the emotions I can't deal at the moment
The sight in front of me burns my eyes, instantly blurring my vision with tears. My shattered heart aches inside of me, pounding so hard that could cut through my ribs. I approach the bed where my baby lies unconscious, overcome by the craving need to be near her, to take her in my arms and make it all okay. Scared by the lethargy of her motionless body, I check for a pulse with desperate speed but still not fast enough.
"Baby" I sob loudly, my hand cupping her delicate face "I'm so sorry, baby"
Warm tears roll down my face as I trace her cold skin with my fingertips. With Gia's small frame looking even more fragile and weaker due to the weight loss, I touch her gently, afraid that any sudden move will hurt her. I intertwine our fingers for the first time in three months, watching her chest rise and fall calmly.
"I'm sorry I let this happen to you, baby" I caress her smooth hair, knowing damn well that I'm taking advantage of her unconsciousness to touch every exposed inch of her skin
If she were awake, Georgia wouldn't want me coming this near. She probably wouldn't want me in the room, much less touching her.
"I can't believe they did this to you, such fucking horrible cruel people. How could they hurt my precious girl like that?" I hear myself say in between tears "You don't deserve to go through any of this, G. You are way too good for this world"
Her peaceful expression reminds me of an angel, my angel, but is no match to the nasty cut on her cheek and the wicked bruises in both her arms, that fall limply beside her skinny body.
"I'm here now, baby" I shush my already silent girl, holding her numb frame delicately in my arms "I'm here. No one will hurt you again, ever again"
I cry in silence, lying beside my Georgia in that hospital bed, a place I wished to never be with her. Holding onto to her, I prayed that I never had to let go of her again, even if I knew I would.
"Come back to me, my love"

11:45 a.m.

Aaron and Tara sit on the small cream colored couch filling me in about their wedding plans. Tara does most of the talk, since I know that, like me, Aaron would be perfectly fine with the silence. I listen to her lighthearted speech, her animated voice telling me that Gia will be one of the bridesmaids, and my eyes, that never once left the sleeping girl in front of me, picture her looking as beautiful as ever in a white dress.
There is a light knock on the door, before Ellen enters the room, followed by Ron. Her mother's eyes immediately filling with tears as she rushes to touch her daughter's unconscious body. Ron greets Aaron with a long hug, not sparing any time before he asks the million dollar question.
"What happened?"
I watch Gia's brother struggle to explain what none of us could understand, her parents talking as if they hadn't noticed my presence yet. Aaron chooses his words with expertise, careful to leave out the ugly parts such as the excessive blood loss and Derek's debt, but speaking truth about her anemia and head concussion.
"We are here waiting for her to wake up since then but the doctors say she need the rest. So since she's stable, we don't have much to worry about"