Preston's P.O.V.
Vikk slept for almost a day straight after the fire and being released from the hospital, as did most of the others. We were staying at Mitch's mums house so there wasn't enough room for all of us, and as a result Vikk and I were forced to sleep on the fold out couch. Everyone tried to keep it down but I still couldn't sleep, I lay awake while Vikk slept on my lap, trying to distract myself with music or videos.
Mitch and Jerome didn't seem to want to sleep because I saw them wandering around the house for most of the afternoon and evening, even into the night as well, after we were released. Both were unsettled and shaken, neither of them speaking a word to anyone. I tried to talk to Mitch as he passed the bed, where Vikk was still asleep on me, but he simply shook his head sadly, going back to his boyfriend.
Rob and Lachlan slept like Vikk did in the guest room upstairs, they had been the most injured and also the most exhausted after they were released. What with Rob's broken leg and the time both of them had spent on a ventilator, plus the trauma of you know, being in a house fire, they were both physically and mentally exhausted, and all they wanted to do was sleep. So we let them.
About midnight Mitch's mum came to check on me and although I appreciated everything she was doing for us, letting us stay at her house at such short notice, I really couldn't talk at that moment. I just smiled at her and gestured at Vikk and then at myself, hoping she would get it. She did and I leaned back into the couch, closing my eyes.
God, I just wanted everything to turn out okay.
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The piercing scream in the middle of the night woke me from my deep sleep, surprising me so much that I almost threw myself off the couch and it woke Vikk up as well. He blinked, surprised, staring around the room for the source of the sound, which seemed to have come from upstairs. We were completely alone downstairs, everyone else was asleep.
"What was that?" He whispered, his ears perked up, listening for more commotion. There were footsteps, thumping footsteps, and my heart started to pound because I knew something was up.
"I don't know- let's go." I said, pulling him off the couch to see what was up. I hadn't recognised the voice but it was likely one of the boys, maybe having a nightmare?
It definitely wasn't that.
The door to Lachlan and Rob's was thrown wide open and the light was on, and Lachlan was sobbing on the floor. Mitch, Jerome and Mitch's mother were all gathered around the bed, Jerome was on the phone and everyone was in a massive state of panic- I had no idea what was going on.
"Lachlan!" I cried out, scrambling to his side. Vikk came with me and hurried to comfort our distraught friend, who was curled up in the corner of the room, bawling his eyes out. "What's going on!?"
"Ro-Rob!" He cried out, curling up tighter. "He- he-!"
He couldn't even get the sentence out but after I had wrapped my arms around him I turned to the bed, where Rob was lying- motionless. My heart dropped.
I managed to catch Jerome as he paced around the room, still on the phone, tugging on the leg of his pants to get his attention. He stopped for only a moment, crouching down to press a gentle hand to the still sobbing Lachlan's forehead, taking in shuddering breaths.
"What's going on?" I whispered, biting down on my lip as Lachlan took a shuddering breath, sandwiched between Vikk and I.
"Rob he's- he's not breathing well, they're saying a secondary infection from the smoke inhalation and an ambulance is on its way." He mumbled, the phone still his ear. "He's not... god, he's not doing well. Just keep Lachlan distracted, okay?"
I could only nod, making sure to cover Lachlan's ear so he couldn't hear anything of what was going on in the background and Vikk was getting stressed too, his hands shaking. So now, as well as holding Lachlan close and making sure he wasn't hearing anything to stress him, I was trying to cling to Vikk as well, his head partially buried in my shoulder.
Behind me I was trying to ignore the panicked voices of the others while Rob lay quiet, and his breathing was stuttering, heavy and shallow.
Honestly, couldn't the ambulance get there any faster?
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Once Rob was taken away, Jerome going with him as he was really the only one competent enough to tell the hospital workers what had happened to us only a day before. Lachlan was still an absolute mess, crying and panicked and Vikk was verging on that as well, only staying put together because he was resting in my arms. Mitch was pretty panicked but his mum was there, taking control of the situation, so he stayed together as well- for the time being at least.
Mitch's mother drove the four of us to the hospital after 10 minutes of trying to gather ourselves and Lachlan rode in the back with me and Vikk, curled up in between us with his eyes closed. Mitch was bouncing his leg in the front centre, his hand always on his phone, on which were a flood of messages from Jerome giving him updates on Rob's condition. As far as I could tell it wasn't looking good.
We arrived as fast as we could, ushering Lachlan from the car while Mitch ran inside to try and find Jerome. Vikk and I stood either side of Lachlan and helped him walk inside, my face pinched with worry as I went up to the front desk to ask for my friend.
"Robert Latsky?" I asked quietly, my hand still on the back of Lachlan's. Vikk stood on his other side, on arm around the younger boys waist.
"Fourth floor, ICU. He's stabilizing at the moment but it looks like he's pulling through. I'll get the doctor to brief you." I nodded in thanks and we headed to the lift, Mitch must have already been up there with Jerome.
As it turns out, he was. Both of them were sitting in plastic chairs in the hall, hands intertwined tightly. Jerome looked up as we got closer and smiled shakily, letting out a low sigh of relief as Lachlan practically collapsed into a chair beside them, tucking his knees up to his chest.
"How's he?" I whispered to Jerome, careful not to stir the distressed boy.
"Stabilizing. They're saying secondary smoke inhalation but he should be fine after he gets some oxygen but it was a close call. They're trying to work out why he was discharged in the first place and why it wasn't spotted." He said stiffly, squeezing Mitch's hand. "We'll be able to see him in a couple of minutes."
"Hear that Lachy? You'll see him soon."
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Rob was held in hospital for just over three days, just to make sure that nothing went wrong again. Lachlan barely left his side, sleeping in the hospital either curled up on his boyfriends bed or sleeping on a plastic chair beside his bed. We tried to get him to come home- to Mitch's mother house I mean- for some proper sleep, but he kept refusing. I couldn't blame him though.
Eventually, after months and months of fighting with insurance, moving into a different house and buying new belongings, we got back on our feet. Rob made a full recovery after a month or so as well, the cast came off his leg and he was back to normal. He and Lachlan were attached at the hip, I almost never saw them apart.
Vikk and I just really spent the time trying to keep it together, chasing away the nightmares of the burning house. We stuck together as a group with the others in the Pack, just trying to live our lives.
Lachlan smiled happily as he kicked his feet up over Rob, giggling. The latter only rolled his eyes at his boyfriends antics, leaning back into the couch, his eyes turning to fix on the television. Mitch and Jerome were curled up on a beanbag on the floor and beside me, Vikk was tucked into my side.
It was comforting to have all of them with me, and I loved it.
I was finally relaxed, and happy. We might have been through a lot but now it was all okay- we were together, content and happy.