Authors' note: There will be offensive language in this chapter that does NOT under any circumstances reflect the view of us (the authors). We would NEVER use this under ANY circumstances. We apologize in advance.
- A & M
C a l u m
"What do you mean she won't let you? She's fucking unconscious!" I stood in front of Crystal, as she left the living room, where Makayla was still knocked out.
"Exactly that. Her subconscious is fighting anything I try to do. I think she may be having a nightmare of some kind."
"Well, then wake her up, Jesus-"
"I can't," she said, stepping closer to me. "Someone gave her a muscle relaxer that was way too strong."
"What? You're saying this is my fault?" I'd been getting angrier ever since me and Ashton's fight in the car. "Bullshit. Maybe you just don't know what the hell you're doing."
I could practically hear the flash of anger flushing her face, as her eyes narrowed.
"Whoa," Mike spoke up, stepping between us. "Let's just all calm down, ok?"
"Sorry, Mike, but right now, I don't give a flying fuck about you little girlfriend-"
"What the fuck did you just call me, Ching Chong?"
"STOP!" Michael shouted, in a surprisingly demanding voice. "Look, we do not need to be fighting right now, ok?"
"Calum, she is trying her best. You know that. Makayla is going to be fine, we just have to wait until she wakes up." Mikey's soft, mediator's voice came back, as he squeezed my shoulder. "Crys, you know Calum didn't mean any of that. He's just scared for-"
"Hey, I'm not-"
"Buddy, shut up, ok?" Mike sighed at me. "I'm trying to keep her from throttling you, ok?" I nodded, and he turned back to his girlfriend. "He's just...worried is all. Right, Calum?"
"Right." And I meant it. "You were right the first time, Mike. I'm scared to fuckin' death, Kayla's my best friend. I'm sorry, Crys, I really do appreciate everything you're doing."
" I know," she smiled, "it's ok, Cal." She turned to Mike, looking at him expectantly. "Well? You gonna let me hug my friend?"
Mike put his hands up, as if in surrender, and Crys stepped forward, pulling me into a hug. She ran her fingers through my hair, all the way down my neck, just like Mali used to-
Oh my God.
"Oh my God." I pulled away from her.
"What?" Mike said as I grabbed his shoulder, feeling all my blood run cold.
"I- I can't. I-I-I-"
"Cal." All I could see Ashton move from his spot, just outside the bathroom, coming towards me, but he was getting fuzzier by the second. I reached out for him, just as I slid to the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey." Ash pulled me to my knees by my arms. His hands slid up to either side of my face, making me look him in the eyes. "Hey, it's ok. You're ok."
"No, I'm... I feel like I'm... like I'm dying."
"I know, mate, but you're not. Look, it's me. There's Mike. And Crystal. Makayla is in the room. She's not dying, we're not dying, you're not dying."
I nodded, but my breathing continued to get shorter.
"Hey, it's ok. Just look at me. My eyes, yeah? The colors. What colors do you see?"
"Uhh..." All I saw were colors, but my mind was going so fast, I couldn't see them. "Uh, I don't know." I shook my head, feeling tears on my cheeks, stinging my eyes, as I tried to close them.
"Calum, there's no one else. Just you and me. Now, what colors do you see?" I opened my eyes, Aston's eyes becoming clearer. "I see, um, yellow...and...and green..." I said, feeling my breathing slow down a bit. "Purple, for some reason, black... Brown, a lot of brown." I laughed, and he chuckled with me, wiping away the tears with his thumbs.
"Good... Calum, what happened? What was the trigger?"
"Mali." I all but sobbed out.
"Mali?" He asked me, brushing my hair out of my face. "What about her?"
"She- She was supposed to come home from London today. I was supposed to pick her up from the airport this morning. What if-"
"Hey, none of that, ok?" He stood me up, sitting me down at the table. "We'll find her, ok, bub?" He leaned down, pressing his lips against my forehead softly, knowing I needed human contact at all times after one of my episodes. He pulled out a chair, opposite me, and sat down intertwining our fingers. "We'll call her, see if she's okay, where she is."
Michael walked over to me, carding his fingers in my curls on top of my head, in a not-Mali way. "And that'll be the first thing we do, okay, mate? If she doesn't answer, we'll go to the airport, okay? We're not gonna stop until we find her."
"Ok," I whispered, not trusting my voice yet. Mike's phone rang, and he visibly tensed, then relaxed after he saw who it was.
"Who is it?" Ashton asked, squeezing my hand.
"Luke. He, Angelle, and Sierra should be here. I'll go let them in."
-
As soon as the rest of our group stepped into the house, we all rushed over to them. It was all hugs, forehead and cheek kisses, fingers in hair, and "are you okay?"'s and "what happened?"'s. I heard little noises coming from the living room, and I all but ran to check on Kayla. She wasn't quite awake, yet. She was twitching around, eyes fluttering, and strained sounds of pain escaping her.
I felt it was safe to try to wake her up and keep her awake. "Kayla? Come on, Sweetie, wake up." She groaned in annoyance, then took in a sharp breath of pain, and let out a choked sob. "Crystal!" I screamed, louder than I have in my life. I heard so many running footsteps, I thought it was a stampede. "Hey, it's ok." I cooed, brushing her hair back.
"Hurts, Cal." She choked out, and it physically hurt seeing the strongest person I know in so much pain.
"I know, hon. It'll be ok. Crys will fix everything ok?"
"Ok." She nodded and smiled through the pain, and I was, once again, amazed by her strength. Just then, Crys came bursting through the door, with everyone else behind her.
"Hey, Makayla. How are you feeling?" She asked, sympathetically, gathering her supplies.
"Um, I have a broken ankle. How do you think?" She said, in true Makayla fashion.
"Fair enough." She chuckled, as Mike handed her an ice pack. "Everything's gonna be fine, though, ok? Do you trust me?"
"Yeah. It's ok, Crys."
"Ok, I'm gonna have to reset the bone. It's gonna hurt, but then it'll be over, and it will feel a lot better, okay, Kayla?"
"Ok." She said, nodding her head, taking a deep breath. Luke handed me an old bandana, and I used it to keep Makayla cool, wiping the sweat, and tears of pain off of her face. In her head, I think she was preparing herself for it, but her body rejected any touch at her ankle. Crystal tried to grasp it one more time, but she flinched again, and Makayla broke out into a fit of sobs, I think half out of frustration that she couldn't do it.
"Stop!" Ashton shouted suddenly, from the corner. "You're hurting her."
"It's gonna hurt more if I don't reset it, Ashton." Crystal said, annoyed at the sudden outburst.
"Why do you care so much, Ash?" I turned to him, and his face went pale, and he stayed silent. "You have been acting weird ever since last night? Did something happen?"
"I-"
"Ok." Crys interrupted Ashton by clapping her hands together, standing up, and heading towards us. "Now is not the time, idiots. Go and figure out your shit. But not here. Out."
"But-" I tried to argue, as she ripped me from Makayla's side.
"OUT!" Crys shoved us out the door and slammed it, and I heard it lock.
A/N Ok, just so you know A LOT happens in these last nine chapters, and some of them are my favorite things I've ever written. K, bye.