♢ Ryan ♢
I refused to leave her side, even when the ambulance arrived.
She was rushed straight to hospital as they didn't know what kind of condition she was in. I had to make sure she was okay, so I begged the paramedics and Rhi to let me go with her too.
Katie caught up with me just before we left, everyone had been notified about what had happened and there would be a full investigation into who did it.
Katie explained to me and Rhi that we should avoid telling Laura's parents until we found out how serious it was. Her parents would want her to be rushed home and we knew Laura would hate that idea with a passion.
I was now sat in the hospital corridor with a coffee waiting to hear from the doctor, it was very dark outside by now. I glanced at my watch and saw the time. 10:36PM. they wouldn't let me go in while they diagnosed her.
I sat up when a male nurse came out of the room opposite me.
"Mr Lake?" I nodded. "You came here with the young lady, Laura, yes?" I nodded again.
"Yes, is she okay?!" I asked with urgency. I suddenly felt like I was having Déjà vu.
"I'm pleased to say she will be just fine." I smiled with relief and got up from my seat.
"Thank god, Can I see her now?"
"Yes, but first I will need to explain what her diagnosis is and how we have treated her." I raised my eyebrows indicating that he could continue.
"She was severely dehydrated, we have put her on a saline drip for that. She is badly bruised and cut, it appears that she was beaten up badly. All her cuts have been cleaned and treated as appropriate. The reason she lost consciousness was because of her dehydration, the loss of blood and the way she was restrained. She will need a few days bed rest and some good food before she can go back to normal activities. But I am sure that you, as her boyfriend, will be okay to look after her." He said with a grin.
"Uh, I'm not her boyfriend but of course I will look after her." I wished I could say I was.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed." The nurse said with a small laugh before leading me into the room.
There was evident bruising and cuts on her face, one even had to be stitched. She was fast asleep when I sat down next to her. She was so beautiful.
Seeing her lay on a hospital bed with tubes connected to a cannula in her hand reminded me of Lacey again. Lifeless and hurt. I was nearly in tears again.
I have shed too many tears to last a man a life time today.
---
I just sat and looked at her while she slept, she looked so peaceful.
She suddenly started to stir in her sleep, she was probably going to wake up and freak out.
Her eyes opened gradually and she took a deep breath before meeting my gaze.
"Hello." I said quietly before taking her hand gently. She took in her surroundings before speaking.
"Ryan..." she started speaking before frowning and then wincing in pain because of the cuts on her forehead. "Where am I?"
"Shhh, you don't have to worry now, you're in hospital. You're safe." I began to reassure her "I'm so glad you are okay though. You were severely dehydrated and you are covered in cuts and bruises. Do you not remember anything?" I asked with a raised eyebrow and held her hand a little tighter.
"I-I remember following you down the track on our bikes, you got ahead of me." She paused. "I somehow fell off and I must have hit my head, I blacked out after that."
"I'm sorry I got so far ahead, none of this would have happened if I stayed with you." I sighed and stroked her hand gently, steering clear of the cannula attached to it.
"Don't worry, you weren't to know that I was going to fall off." She said, becoming more aware of her surroundings.
"But, you didn't fall off by accident." I stressed, looking straight at her.
"What do you mean?" She croaked and then cleared her throat, wincing once again.
"There was a massive branch shoved between the spokes of your bike, it must have brought you to a sudden halt... not to mention we found you tied up ten feet off the ground on part of the high ropes!" I blurted out. Her mouth fell open in shock, but her expression gradually changed to a look of realisation.
"I remember being tied up." She stated whilst being surprisingly calm. "There were voices talking around me, but I didn't know who it was. I was in so much pain and then I blacked out again." Tears started to roll down her face.
"I think I know who it was." I replied with a weak smile before wiping a tear drop from her cheek. "And I will make sure they get caught. Nobody gets to do this to you and get away with it." I said sternly.
The nurse from earlier walked in the room. We both turned towards him.
"Sorry to interrupt, Mr Lake, your taxi is here to take you back to Tabara." He said, smiling.
"What do you mean?" I asked with a frown.
The nurse sighed and picked up the clip board from the table.
"Laura will need to stay here tonight so we can keep an eye on her." He glanced down to the clip board.
"She will be discharged tomorrow, but unfortunately you can't stay with her." The nurse said before walking out of the room.
I turned back towards Laura and gave her a half smile.
"I'm sorry, I wish I could stay. I will make sure I'm back tomorrow when you're allowed to come back to camp." I squeezed her hand again.
"It's okay." She gave me a weak smile before yawning. "Do my parents know I'm here?" She spoke with sudden worry. I shook my head.
"As far as I know, not yet. I think they are going to wait until you are back at camp. Katie said something about your parents going mad if they found out you were in hospital."
"But I wouldn't worry, we can sort this out later. I've got to go, you need to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." I got up and gently kissed her cheek, avoiding cuts. She nodded as lightly as she could, showing me that she understood.
"See you tomorrow Ryan." She practically whispered before I left the room and walked towards the stairs.
♢ FLASHBACK ♢
"Mr and Mrs Lake." I looked up at the tall doctor who said my parents' names.
"Yes?" My mother asked, appearing to be worried.
"I'd like you to follow me, your sons too." His eyes averted from theirs to me and Matt. We did as the doctor said and followed him into a consultation room.
I couldn't help but notice the large box of tissues and glasses of water placed on the table before us. This was the room where they gave people bad news.
"I'm just going to say this how it is. I have bad news for you."
I knew it.
"Lacey is not going to survive with any treatment we give her." The doctor sighed and my mother began crying in my dad's arms, she grabbed one of the tissues from the box on the table.
I was numb. I didn't know how to feel, I wanted to feel sad but instead I felt nothing. Just empty.
"I'm very sorry." The doctor continued when he realised nobody was going to say anything. I decided to speak up first.
"Why won't she survive?" I asked calmly.
"I can't listen to this." My mother said, still sobbing.
"Mrs Lake, please let me exp-" Before he had finished she had left the room in a state. My father followed her.
"Do you want me to retrieve your parents before I continue?" The doctor looked at me with concern.
"No, please explain it to us." Matt said, wiping his face.
I had already had the past week to accept the fact that she wasn't going to survive. I just had a hunch. I refused to believe that she had a chance to survive because deep down I knew it was what she wanted and she wouldn't fail at getting what she wanted in the end. My sister had always been a determined person.
"Very well." The doctor cleared his throat. "It is very unlikely that she will wake up from the coma unless we try and save her organs. Unfortunately any transplant that we could undertake on her failing organs would not work as her heart is so weak and she would pass away even if we attempted something like that." I was actually squeezing Matt's hand at this point. The doctor took a deep breath before continuing.
"You and your family will need to make an important decision. You need to decide whether to turn her breathing apparatus off or not, which is the only thing keeping her alive."
I still felt empty. I knew there was only one thing to do.
"Turn it off." I whispered bluntly as a tear finally fell down my face. The doctor seemed stunned by my quick and sudden response.
"I need to speak to your parents." The doctor began to stand up.
"Wait." He sat back down. "I don't think my parents will make the right decision. Lacey is only like that because she wanted it to be this way. She wanted to escape from this horrible world and now that's what she is going to get. Whatever my parents say, that machine will be turned off and Lacey will be put to rest."