17 Made Mistakes

⋆41༄ The call

Hello! Few things first!
Today is my last day off so it might take me more time now to post new chapters but I'll try not to slack too much!

Please, do share 17 Missed Calls with your friends if you think they should read it! I know some of you already have, so thank you for that!

Can you drop a message on imhereforsmuts board? Haven't seen her for a while and she's been offline for over a month, so I'm just hoping she's all good. Thank you x

Now, the chapter!

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It's been a few really tough hours. Everytime I felt my eyes closing, I replenished the energy with some coffee. I wasn't the only one. Everyone did the same thing, especially Rayna's parents, who, as it turns out, had arrived at the hospital way before Will. I must've been in such shock that I didn't even notice them in the other corner of the room. They must've been informed by the hospital. The personnel certainly found their contact number in Rayna's NHS medical data. The fact that they haven't noticed me either, only proved that I wasn't the only one out of sorts.

The morning eventually finds us. I stare at the door, outside of which, the sky turns a lovely colour of tepid gold. It seems so warm and inviting unlike the cold-white walls and the blue linoleum flooring of the hospital. I want to barrel through that door and feel the rays on my skin. I want to take a deep breath and skew the chill that clinged to me the moment I saw her ankles.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dale?" A doctor approaches Rayna's parents, who relocated to our group, once they'd spotted us in here. "Your daughter is awake. You can go and see her . . ."

My eyes widen. Awake. She's awake. The relief that washes over me is incredible.

Connor buries his face in his hands and starts crying — quietly, but he does. I place my hand on his back and start stroking it. Gosh, he must've been going through a worse inward torment than I had imagined.

Rayna's parents get off their chairs so rapidly, as if they were puppeteers and someone decided to yank at the strings.

The doctor continues. "Not for too long, though. She needs some rest, so ten minutes per person is my recommended maximum." He drags his stare across our group. "And if you can, go in as pairs. She's in the room 182."

Mr. and Mrs. Dale follow the doctor. I glimpse over at Mason. He gives me a warm smile. Imaan is resting her head on Declan's shoulder. They both seem less distraught now. The unfortunate events of this night must've really perturbed them. Nathan scrubs his hand all over his face. I think he's downright relieved but also emotional. One thing's for sure, if Rayna had called me instead, I would have probably ignored her, thinking she got high at her own whim. She owes her life to Nathan. He saved her.

My eyes disengage from his figure. I catch a glimpse of Will's white snickers being dragged closer to his chair. I strive to find the courage to look at him. Why am I even scared? What am I expecting to find in his expression? The return of his frigidity?

My eyes finally travel up to his face. He's peering down at his hands, which restlessly twiddle with the car key. He must've sensed my stare because he looks at me. I stiffen in my chair, nervous that he's already gone back to being his heartless self, but then his eyes shift to whoever is standing behind me.

"She's okay," Mrs. Dale says in a brittle voice, still all shaky. "You can go and see her now."

"Who's gonna go first?" I ask, not wanting to rudely push myself before the others.

"I mean, she doesn't even really know us," Mason speaks about himself, Declan and Imaan. "So you can pick between you four."

I can't go with Nathan because that'll mean that Connor would have to stick with Will. I can't go with Connor either because that in turn, would leave Nathan and Will together. And I can't go with Will because, honestly, it terrifies me. We haven't spoken since I'd told him that I know about his father. Plus, I don't want Nathan thinking that I still have feelings for Will. I mean, it's not that I don't care about him anymore, but a lot has happened lately, and it's been over a month, just here, in London, that we haven't been around each other really. Will had made a decision, and that decision was bound to make me eventually move on.