Faking Feelings (Muke)

Ch. 29 - Date With Death

"Ugh, what happened?!" I mumble in confusion, blinking quickly as my eyes adjust to the sunlight. I hear someone groan beside me, followed by a gasp of fear.

"CALUM" I hear Ashton scream, causing me to jump in fright, "NO, NO, NO!".

My vision focuses enough for me to realise we are in a car... And all the windows are smashed all over- and oh god, is that smoke?

"Calum!" Ashton cries again, and I hear the click of a seatbelt being undone. I turn to face Ashton as he starts to scramble I to the back of the car from the drivers seat.

Ashton's appearance had startled me when I saw him, as the left side of his face was covered in blood from a cut on his forehead.

"Ashton, what happened?" I groan as I turn to see him shaking Calum, who was unconscious and absolutely soaked in blood. "Calum?" I gasp, my eyes narrowing on the huge shards of glass sticking out Calum; one in his chest and one in his forehead.

"No, no, no, no, no" Ashton says quickly as he checks Calum to find a pulse. "Do something!" Ashton begs, looking back at me, "Anything! Call for help, wake him up, I don't know, just please do something!".

I just stare at him in shock for a moment before directio my attention to movement outside; people are jumping out of cars.

My eyes widen and I undo my seatbelt and jump out of the car. I run to the closest group of people and, in tears, say "Call for help, please! My friend, he's-" my breath catches in my throat as the word 'dying' hits me like a truck.

"We've already called, are you okay though? That cut looks awfully bad" the lady I was closest to says worriedly.

"Huh?" I ask in confusion, reaching up to touch my forehead in the spot she was staring at to feel a jab of pain shoot through my head.

"Maybe you should sit down" she says in concern, gesturing to an empty seat in the car behind her.

"No" I say quickly, starting to head back towards my car, which I can now see is completely ruined, "No, I need to stay with my friends".

Two men, both my hight and build, follow me, saying that they will help remove Calum from the car so that their friend, who happens to be a paramedic and was just getting a fist-aid kit out of the boot of her car, could see what she could do to help him.

The two men help Ashton remove Ashton from the car and lay him down on the road, and I have to hold Ashton back so the paramedic could get to work.

"I have a day off and I find and I still find myself trying to save someone's life" the paramedic had joked as she arrived. Then she saw Calum and suddenly looked concerned. "Does he have a pulse? Did anyone check?" She asks as she kneels down beside Calum.

"He does" Ashton chokes out, "But it's faint".

"Oh dear, okay" she says, sounding slightly panicked as she opens her first-aid kit.

I can't turn away because I'm standing behind Ashton to hold him back, but I don't want to watch so I bury my face into Ashton's neck.

I block out all the orders the paramedic gives her friends, except for the one asking to find out if anyone was hurt in the other car.

The other car. I hadn't even thought about the people in the other car.

"They are okay, just a few cuts" one man says, "They were the first out of their car".

Admittedly thankful that nobody else was seriously injured, I start to block everything out again.... Until the paramedic goes quiet and I feel Ashton tense up in my arms. "No" he gasps quietly.

I look up quickly to look at Calum; his head had been bandaged, and the paramedic looked like she had been trying to stop the gash on Calum's chest to stop bleeding.

Key word being had. She had one hand up checking his pulse, but slowly pulls it away and sets both hands in her lap before looking up at Ashton & I with a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry" she apologises, "He's gone, there's nothing else I can do".

My heart skips a beat and I fall to the ground, mostly because Ashton had fallen and taken me with him. I wrap my arms around him from behind and our tears start to intensify.

"He can't be gone" Ashton chokes out, "Not my Calum".