Hey! Sorry it's been a little while again, things are really busy and stressful right now and I have a lot of college work to do! I'll try and update quicker though!
Please vote and comment, tell me what you think! Enjoy! <3
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Shrill, rhythmic beeping woke me up.
I listened with my eyes closed for a second, assuming that it was my alarm and it would soon shut itself up. When it didn’t, it wasn’t long before I made an attempt to reach for the snooze button.
The slight movement of my hand sent an indescribable feeling washing over my body, and I realised that I couldn’t feel the plastic alarm clock on my nightstand that I usually could. My arm harshly collided with a metal bar of some sort, causing my eyes to fly open, and the first thing I saw was white walls and a bright light above me.
I was instantly sent into a state of panic at the realisation that I didn’t have a clue where I was. Though, I seemed to feel extremely groggy, and it was only then that I realised something was covering my nose and mouth.
Trying my absolute hardest to sit up—though it was, for some reason, proving to be extremely hard—I ripped the plastic thing away from my face, staring down at it and widening my eyes when I came to the realisation that it was an oxygen mask. A slight whimper left my lips, and suddenly, someone from beside me grabbed my hand.
Sharply turning my head, the first thing I saw was a terrified-looking Zacky. He looked absolutely exhausted, and his eyes were red as if he’d been crying. Just seeing him triggered something in my mind, and the memories of walking in on him and Gena and him following me to my house afterwards began to flood back into my head. I soon remembered arguing with him and getting drunk afterwards, but anything after that just wouldn’t come to my mind.
“Midge.” He was the first to speak, his voice cracking like he was about to start sobbing.
I found that I wasn’t able to answer, even if I wanted to. And despite the fact that I was desperate to know what was going on, I had no particular want to talk to him while the imagine of him and Gena was replaying in my mind.
I made no effort to pull away, keeping my hand loosely beneath his as I stared around the room. It appeared to be a typical hospital room with the thick, unpleasant smell that all hospitals had and the white linoleum floor. The door was firmly shut, and it appeared to be just Zacky and I in the room, but the empty chair next to him was pushed back as if someone had been previously sat in it and had since gotten up and left.
Another whimper escaped my mouth and I made another attempt to hoist myself up. My confusion seemed to be somewhat upsetting me, and as a frown fell onto my face, I blinked away tears, no longer being able to take not knowing what happened
“Wh—‘’ I attempted to speak, wincing at the sore, raspy feeling in my throat. “Why am I here? What’s going on?”
Zacky used his free hand to drag over his face, licking his lips. “There was a fire at your house, Midge.” He told me, the cracking still evident in his voice.
“A fire?” I repeated his words, blinking. “What? I...how bad?”
“Pretty bad.” He nodded. “I got all the way the home. Gena was there...and she and I argued. I told her where to shove it and stormed back out. I just wanted to see if you were okay, so I went back to yours...and I found the place in flames. I went straight in there to get you out. Your neighbour called the fire fighters and an ambulance and you were taken here.”
Again, I blinked. “...How long have I—‘’
“Only the night and all of today. It’s evening time already.” He cut in, shifting. “This all happened last night. I called your dad. He’s uh...around somewhere. He just went to get some water.”
I was finding it extremely hard to take it all in, so much that it didn’t feel real. The last thing I expected after everything had happened was for my house to catch on fire...and I didn’t know how.
A frown shadowed my face and I pulled my hand from Zacky’s grasp, chewing my nail as I stared forward. It felt almost as if I was about to hyperventilate, and he quickly reached forward, squeezing my arm.
“Hey. You’re okay.” He said, though he didn’t seem all that reassured himself, as this time, a sob really did come out. “I got you out of there and you’re okay.”
But, of course, I didn’t feel okay. It was ridiculously unfair that all of this had happened. In one day, my dad had practically expressed that he hated me and stormed out, my mother had called me out of the blue and also decided to throw her particular dislike for me out there, I’d walked in on the only guy I’d ever loved cheating on me with his ex-girlfriend, and now I’d found out that my house had also caught fire.
It had to be the worst luck ever.
An exhausted, exasperated and completely stressed sob left my lips, and I buried my face deeply into my hands, feeling hot tears stream down my cheeks. Zacky’s hand stayed firmly on my arm, giving it a comforting squeeze as he quietly cried along with me, but whatever he was trying to gain from his gesture wasn’t happening. I was getting absolutely nothing from his sympathy.
“We just have to focus on the positives.” He choked out another sob, snivelling and wiping at his eyes with one hand. “You got out of there alive and you still have us and everything is going to be okay.”
“Oh, yeah?” I cried harder, digging my nails into my head. “Then how come you’ve never sounded so unsure about something before, huh? Why can’t I believe you?”
A shaky, uneven breath left his mouth and my demanding questions only seemed to make him cry harder. Retracting his hand from my arm, he buried his face into his palms, pulling at his hair. It honestly did pain me to see him like this, considering nothing had changed the fact that I was completely and utterly in love with him, but I wasn’t ready to comfort him. It was supposed to be the other way round and I was determined to keep it that way.
After calming himself down a little, he proceeded to sit back in his chair and silently stare around the room, his expression giving it away that numerous thoughts were whirring around his head. Again, he licked his lips, as if he was nervous about something, and his gaze eventually met mine.
“There’s something I need to tell you. Something you’re probably not going to be all that happy about.” He said, causing my stomach to drop even more. I really couldn’t deal with any more negative things right now.
“Just say it.” I demanded, resting my head back and staring at the ceiling with my stinging eyes, glazed over by my tears. “How much worse can life get, after all?”
He sighed at that and shifted again, and my stare slowly wandered back over to him. I took in the fact that he looked somewhat timid and unsure about whatever news he was about to deliver, and he refused to meet my gaze, dropping his own to his hands.
“You’re going to be staying with me for a while.” He announced, not once looking up. “I’m not sure how long for. It depends on how long it’ll take for your house to be completely fixed. We could be looking at months.”
I felt the need to groan at that, but I suppressed it, clearly being able to tell that he had more to say.
“Your dad will be staying with one of the other guys. Jimmy, I think.” He continued. “Again...that’ll be until your house is fixed.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why can’t I go where my dad goes, huh? I’m sure Jimmy won’t mind one more person in his house. I get that you’re trying to help, or whatever, but my dad is the person I need in all of this.”
He sharply looked up, shaking his head. “It was your dad’s choice that you guys live separately.” He said, causing me to scoff in disbelief. “He thought it best that I take you in.”
I knew my dad was beyond angry and that we weren’t on the best of terms right now, but after something like this happening, I knew he wasn’t the type to continue holding a grudge. I expected him to burst in here with open arms and be over the moon that I was okay. That was purely why I couldn’t believe what Zacky was saying.
“Why would he do that, huh?” I snapped a little harshly, my eyes still narrowed in a glare. “After being in the middle of a house fire, I’m pretty sure my dad will just be thankful that I’m alive and will save whatever problems he has with me for later.”
“He is thankful that you’re alive.” He nodded with a shrug. “But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s extremely angry with you. Livid, even.”
The way he spoke the words immediately gave me no choice but to believe him, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, work out why. I knew that I’d betrayed my dad’s trust and done some terrible things recently, but it didn’t feel fair that he’d hold those things over me at a time like this. I just wanted him to hug me and comfort me. And tell me that everything was going to be okay.
“Why?” My voice cracked again as another sob left my lips. “Why is he mad at me?”
He sighed again and dropped his gaze back to his hands, uncomfortably fidgeting in his chair. It was easy to tell that he didn’t want to tell me the reason, but he knew he had no choice.
“Because the cause of the fire was inspected, Midge.” He explained, studying my face nervously. “And they’ve said that it was started deliberately.”
Of course, I immediately knew what he was insinuating, but I didn’t want to believe it. There was no way I could believe it. It was completely unfair, and I was quickly growing defensive.
“How can you sit there and say that?” I raised my voice, wincing again. “I know exactly what you’re saying and it’s not fair! I won’t let you—‘’
“The fire was started deliberately, Midge!” He also raised his voice, his upset turning to anger.
“So?”
“Deliberately.” He repeated, shaking head. “And you were the only one in the house.”
And the only reason I didn’t run away from what he was saying was because I was stuck in the stupid, small hospital room.