Mitch's P.O.V.
A pained scream echoed across the house, followed by a huge crash, scaring everyone in the room. Rob's head shoot around, his eyes immediately going to the hallway which is where the scream came from. We all knew it was Lachlan who screamed, he was the only one from the Pack who wasn't in the room.
Vikk and Preston were on their feet seconds after Lachlan's scream and bolted down the hallway to his and Rob's shared bedroom, closely followed by Rob, Jerome and myself.
Jerome was actually first to the door because he sprinted and started thumping on the door with his fists but no response came from Lachlan. It was silent. It sounded like something had collapsed, and something big for that matter.
The door was locked, so Preston and I started bashing on it with our shoulders until there was a resounding crack and the door swung forwards only just still on it's hinges simply from the force we put on it.
From the doorway where I was standing, all I could see of Lachlan was his arm and part of his leg, but then again that was all anyone could see of him no matter where they were standing.
The layout of the room was simple, two single beds with dressers beside them, a stand alone wardrobe and a desk. Only now the desk was collapsed, the wardrobe tipped over and Lachlan underneath it.
Rob, Jerome and myself rushed forwards and lifted the wardrobe off him and I panicked. He wasn't unconscious but his eyes were bleary, he wasn't concentrating on anything. It looked like the wardrobe had landed on his side, and I pushed his shirt up, black and blue bruising covering his side and arm too. There was a large and heavily bleeding cut on his forehead.
A damp cloth was pressed into my hand and I ran it over the bloody cut, which was actually on his forehead and the blood had leaked into his hair. I could hear muffled mumbling outside the room, someone on the phone I assumed.
Preston crouched down beside me, his face pale with shock.
"Lachlan? Lachy can you hear me?" He didn't respond, his eyes slipping shut every few seconds. I jumped when the door opened and Rob stood there.
"Vikk just called the ambulance, they want to know how he's doing." I nodded, reaching my hand out for the phone without taking my eyes off Lachlan.
"Hello?" It was a lady talking into the phone, the 911 responder.
"Yes?"
"Okay, I've just got some questions so I can send them to the first responders, they have suspicion of a spleen injury from the information your friend gave me. First off, do you know his full name and any previous medical conditions and allergies?" The only thing I heard was spleen injury, and my face paled. I knew a friend who had to have their spleen removed and it was a really serious injury.
"Ummm, his full name is Lachlan Ross Power but he's from Australia so he won't be in the medical system, and as far as I know he doesn't have any allergies or any previous injuries."
"What's he doing, your friend said he was almost passed out." I looked back down to Lachlan to see his eyes were closing slightly, the bleeding continuing on his forehead.
"Yes, he was hit by either the wardrobe or desk collapsing and he's not focusing on anything, we haven't moved him yet because it might hurt him."
"That was good of you, and what's your name?" I blinked, why on earth didn't she need to know my name?
"My name's Mitch and I've got four other friends with me." There was a little intake of breath but I didn't think I was meant to hear it.
"I didn't realise there were so many. Try and keep them out of the way when the ambulance comes, it's almost there."
I could hear the wailing of sirens in the distance and I gently moved Lachlan's t-shirt up so I could see his side. The left side of his chest and stomach were covered in bruises, swollen too, and I gently pressed it only to find that it was very tender.
I heard the front door open and a bit of commotion before several people in high-vis vests came through the doorway, two carrying a stretcher. One moved me back out of the way and they took over, carefully attaching a neck brace around Lachlan and leaning down to talk to him.
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Two hours later we were still in the waiting room at the hospital, having been given no news of how Lachlan was doing. We had followed the ambulance there and then were lead to the waiting room and were told to stay there until we were given news.
Rob was practically asleep, having passed out on Preston's lap an hour into waiting and the rest of us were just playing on our phone, anxiously waiting for any news. Jerome was bouncing his leg up and down as he waited, bringing annoyed glares for several other patrons but he ignored it, Lachlan the number one thought in his mind.
A doctor in light blue scrubs came out of the corridor, her shoes squeaking on the weird hospital floor and looked down at her clipboard. We looked up hopefully and held our breath as she called out a name.
"Friends of Lachlan Power?" Preston was the first on his feet, knocking Rob sideways but he was up soon enough and we were following the lady down the halls, our shoes squeaking in rhythm. She explained on our walk.
"Lachlan does have a spleen injury, he was just screened by a CT scanner and they've identified internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen. He also has very low blood pressure which is very serious because of how young he is and Dr Hansel, who's his doctor by the way, thinks it may be more serious than the CT scan showed." She paused, thinking, before she spoke again.
"He's awake but still very confused and probably has blurred vision because he isn't focusing on us. The doctors have done a physical examination too and he has a very high heart rate so we'll probably have to operate."
I took in a sharp breath, if they removed his spleen he would be affected for life. The spleen creates white blood cells and fights certain bacteria so having it removed puts you at high risk of life-threatening diseases and infections. He would also have to have a lot of injections, like injections for meningococcus, haemophilus influenza type B a few days after the surgery.
He would also have to wear a Medic Alert bracelet because there was a high chance that if he caught anything the symptoms wouldn't show until it was too late and he could collapse.
"You know?" I nodded, remembering all the times my friend couldn't do such and such because of his injury.
"Because of his state he can't give permission to surgery and because his family, um, isn't around they can't do it either. Normally we would wait a bit to get family communication but because of how serious it is they've put the decision down to you, but there isn't much choice. He could die if he doesn't have this operation."
I took in a deep breath.
"He'll have to have it won't he? There's no choice in this and he would die." The others nodded and the nurse poked her head around the doorway of a small room.
"They've said yes." There was silence for a few seconds before a group of people came out of the door wheeling a bed. On the bed was a lifeless looking Lachlan and they went down the corridor opposite to the way we had been coming from.
"Sorry you don't get to see him, they need to do it right away to avoid permanent injuries and they just needed to get your permission. You can go and wait in his room if you want."
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The clock kept ticking and still no Lachlan. The doctor had kept us up to date with how his surgery had been going but there wasn't much to go by, just that it was going okay and there would be no permanent injuries.
Rob had passed out again and Preston had followed, leaving Jerome, Vikk and myself to share anxious glances and scared jolts whenever we heard a bed rolling past the door.
It had been two hours, the doctor said a normal operation would take about that long so we were on high alert, jumping at every noise. The doctor, the one who had looking after Lachlan poked his head around the door and smiled at us, waving us out of the room.
"Lachlan's in the recovery ward right now, it's a public ward where he can be kept an eye on. He's done brilliantly and he should be out of here in a week or so once we've got everything sorted, which I'm sure your aware of."
The doctor, the other one who had come to get us had briefed us on what would happen and we knew all of the effect the surgery would have on him. It wouldn't effect in any ways in terms of YouTube, maybe he would have to be more careful in crowds because if he caught any bugs they could potentially kill him.
A simple cold wouldn't do anything, maybe knock him down for a few days but anything more serious like a bad case of the flu could get him into hospital.
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The ward was bright and white, beds with people in them everywhere. I could see Lachlan's blond head at the end of the ward, wires attached to his hands and upper arms.
The sheets were set up in such a way that they were tucked in just under his armpits so we could see his arms and his head was well clear of the sheets. There was nurse beside his bed, checking his vitals or something like that but he was still out.
She smiled as we approached her, and we all took seats around the bed waiting for one thing or another.
"He should be awake in about half an hour, but he'll do just fine and we'll talk to you all about future plans when he's fully awake. Because he's not from here we'll have some complications but he's got travel insurance so it's all good and paid for."
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4 weeks later and Lachlan was home again, well sort of. He was staying at Preston's, which was practically his home anyway. The silver bracelet which was constantly on his wrist was a grim reminder of what had happened.
He had had a few injections in the days following his surgery and his bright smile had come back in the days he was released.
He had become incredibly pale in the two weeks he had spent in hospital, the poor food and lack of sun not helping his case. He had done a small vlog apologizing for his absence but the fans had taken it well so it was okay.
He had gone back to recording in his third week, just once a day but that was because Preston and Rob refused to let him do any more. Vikk had gone back to Britain but had called everyday and Jerome and I had come up for a week, the day Lachlan was released from hospital.
I could see him from where I was sitting, he was on the couch making the most of the last few hours of sunlight. The colour had come back into his face and he was leaning against black leather.
I caught his eye and he smiled a little, blue eyes shining. My friend had done a lot worse in the weeks following his operation and had collapsed, going back into hospital.
Lachlan had done none of that, he was definitely stronger than anyone gave him credit for, especially because surgery was never the easiest thing to go through.