Saturday night had finally arrived, and Beca was knocking on Chloe's door.
Knock knock.
No answer.
Knock knock.
No answer.
Beca had been waiting at the door for the past five minutes. She looked at her phone to see that Chloe still hadn't replied to her message.
'This is weird', she said under her breath.
Suddenly, her phone began to vibrate in her hands. She answered the call.
'Hello?'
'Beca, it's dad. Chloe's aunt has just called me'
Beca felt her heart drop.
'What's wrong?'
'You can't stay at Chloe's tonight- her mum has been in a car accident'
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Beca started the engine of her car and drove as fast as she could to the hospital. Her heart was racing, and yet she felt numb. All she could think about was her girlfriend.
After parking her car in the hospital grounds, she made her way to the ward that Chloe's mum was on. The blinding, fluorescent lights zipped over her head as she paced through ward after ward.
Then she saw her.
Chloe was sitting on a chair, resting her head on her mum's bed whilst holding her hand. Her mum was asleep and covered in cuts and bruises. Both of them looked so vulnerable.
Beca plucked up the courage to step inside the room, and walked over to her girlfriend, but she didn't know what to say.
Chloe glanced up, and then broke down in tears, before Beca wrapped her arms around her.
'It's okay', the brunette whispered.
She let Chloe cry on her for a few minutes, then pulled her out of the chair. Beca sat herself down, and gestured for Chloe to share the seat, slipping under the brunette's arm. The redhead rested her head on her shoulder, still sobbing.
'I'm so sorry', Beca said.
Chloe sniffed and took a deep breath.
They sat in silence until visiting hours were over.
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Beca met Ms Robinson in the corridor outside of Mrs Beale's room.
'Would it be inappropriate to ask if I'm still staying over tonight?'
'It's not inappropriate. I think that Chloe might need some space though', Ms Robinson replied.
'I don't know what to say to her', Beca said, voice wavering.
'Oh, darling. No one knows what to say in these situations- we don't prepare for these things', Ms R put a reassuring hand on Beca's arm.
'Shouldn't I automatically know what to say? She's been my best friend for years'
'I've been her aunt for even more years, and I'm lost for words, so don't worry'
The brunette held back the tears that were welling up and looked at the floor.
'I know that she'll ring you if she needs you', Ms R told her.
Beca said goodbye to Chloe in the hospital car park before they parted ways.
'I'm only a phone call away. You can call me whenever you need to and I'll be there'
Chloe gave her a warm hug, and whispered a thank you into her ear. Beca gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Saying goodbye to Chloe was incredibly hard.
Back in her car, the brunette thumbed over a brown envelope. She pulled out two plane tickets to LA, bit her lip, and then shoved them back under her car seat.
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The next day, the alt girl sent a text to her girlfriend that said:
-Stay positive. Always here for you x-
The reply she received was:
-Thank you x-
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It had now been three days since Chloe's mum was admitted to the hospital, and three days since the girls had seen each other.
Beca knew that it was important for Chloe to have some space to think about the situation, but it was driving her crazy not talking to her. They had only messaged each other once, and so Beca wasn't up to date on what was happening.
She decided to ring Ms Robinson.
'How is she?'
'Still in hospital. They're saying that she's going to need to stay in there for a few weeks at least', Ms R said.
'Oh god, I'm so sorry. How's Chloe?'
'It's hard to tell when she's shut in her bedroom all the time'
The brunette felt sadness wash over her.
'Can I help?'
'She's told me that she doesn't want to see anyone. Sorry, darling'
'Okay, well tell her I love her', Beca croaked.
'She knows you do'
Beca hung up the phone. That night she had to be at work, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to focus on the music. Plus, her boss was being a bit of an ass recently, and she didn't feel in the mood.
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Chloe was still in bed a week after the accident. She hadn't spoken to anyone but her aunt for the whole week, and was listening to music on her iPod.
A mix of Beca's flashed onto the screen.
God, I wish she was here, she thought.
She missed her girlfriend terribly, but she just couldn't handle being around people right now; her mum's health was her main concern.
'Do you want me to ring Beca?', Ms Robinson asked, poking her head into Chloe's room.
Her niece shook her head.
Ms Robinson shut the door and left the redhead alone in her room. She thought about her sister-in-law being in that lonely hospital room, and wondered how to deal with her niece, as she was worried about how she wasn't coping.
But what could she do? She couldn't force her to see Beca, and she couldn't make her forget about everything that was happening.
She was helpless.
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Every hour without her girlfriend was painful, let alone every day that was passing. Beca wanted to see her so badly, but she was trying to respect the redhead's wishes. Her only updates came from Ms Robinson.
'Sorry, Beca, she's still refusing to see anyone'
'It's been nearly two weeks though. I feel like I should be there', Beca pleaded.
'So do I, honey. Hopefully her mum will be coming home soon so that this can end', Ms R told her.
'Tell her I love her please'
The phone was put down.
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Chloe was trapped in her own self pity by staying in her room; she would overthink everything. Right now she was sat at her desk, doodling pictures of intricate flowers. There was a knock at the door.
'Your uncle is visiting your mother today. He's going to ring us at some point, but I'm going to have to go grocery shopping now. Could you answer it when he calls?', Ms R said.
'Yeah, no problem'
Ms R shut the door, and Chloe continued to outline a petal of a rose. It was soft, pink and delicate, but wasn't far from a prickly thorn.
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The phone rang; Chloe dragged herself downstairs to answer it.
'Hello'
'Chlo? Oh my god, are you okay?', Beca said, shocked to finally hear her voice.
'Oh...I thought you would be my uncle', Chloe said quietly.
'Umm...I can- can I still talk to you?'
'I'm a bit busy'
'Your aunt said that you've taken time off work'
Chloe bit her lip.
'I'm going to have to see you at some point, Chlo'
'I know...I'm just feeling...feeling pretty down', Chloe said, a lump forming in her throat.
'I know, I just wish I could help you'
'I'll let you know when I think of something'
'Okay'
'I love you, Beca'
'I'll love you forever, weirdo'