Last midnight

I wish...

TW: Slight mentions of ED's

He wasn't allowed to see her.

They only let EJ, Cash and her parents see her, leaving only him and Gina out in the cold waiting room. Gina did sustain a fractured wrist and knee, but she was in much better condition than Ashlyn.

Ashlyn. Last the two had heard about her condition, she was severely injured from the fall.

But she was going to live, she had made it out in time to not greet death just yet.

"You kids should head on home," Debbie Caswell said as she stepped out of Ashlyn's room. "It's very late."

"We can tell Mr. Caswell, but I'm not leaving until I see Ashlyn." Big Red was firm and direct, he just wanted this one thing.

"Sweet child, she's alright. I know you care a lot for her, but you won't be allowed in until the doctor says so-"

"I don't care what the doctor says, I need her to know that I came for her. I need to see her, she's part of the reason why I'm even still here today."

Debbie knew what he referred to and felt pity for the poor boy, he just wanted to see her daughter, who was the girl he loved so dearly. She knew that she had to follow the doctor's orders, but he didn't have to know about a certain guest visiting that wasn't exactly family.

"Alright, come in quickly. Only for a few minutes however, I really don't want to get in trouble with the doctor."

His face curled into a joyful smile as he rushed into the room, Debbie quickly shot a look to Gina, who was scared and confused.

"Mrs. Caswell-"

"If the doctor comes, say that he went to the bathroom."

Gina bit her lip in hesitation. "Okay, but what if-"

"I'll handle the consequences."

She didn't want for Mrs. Caswell to get in trouble! But what were the odds that the doctor came? They had to be pretty small, right?

She hoped she was right.

"Alright."

~~~~

Location: Ashlyn's hospital room

Beep, beep

"Big Red?" He heard EJ call as he stepped into the room, he saw how Mr. Caswell shot Mrs. Caswell a concerned look.

"Debbie, the doctor said-"

"I know what the doctor said Dennis, but he needs to see her. It isn't fair for him to not see her, he's her boyfriend."

"But-"

"A few minutes, alright?" She whispered into his ear, he shot Big Red a look of discomfort before stepping aside.

"A few minutes and you're out, got it?"

"A few minutes is all I need, Mr. Caswell."

He walked up to the bed right then, gasping when he saw the sight of his dearly beloved. She was asleep, finally at peace from these horrific past hours unlike him, but her face displayed lasting memories of the loss of her safe haven. He couldn't see the full extent of her injuries, but his mind was already flooded with the stuff he never wanted to see on Ashlyn.

Why her?

What did she do to deserve this?

"Ashlyn..." he began to say through his soft tears. "I love you; you were so brave tonight. I wish I was there to protect you; I wish I did everything different today, as I could have been there to save you. I just want you to know that I love you, and that I will do anything to make sure that you feel safe again."

His tears were pouring like a waterfall down his face, but he couldn't care less as his mind was only focused on Ashlyn. He leaned over and pressed a kiss on her cheek, it was the most he could do as it was a loving gesture.

"Oh Red..." He heard EJ say to himself before sniffling back his own tears.

The room was silent for a few seconds more, until he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Are you done?" He heard Mrs. Caswell say from behind him.

He glanced to her again, his eyes couldn't just look away from the sleeping beauty.

"Yeah."

His eyes never left her until he finally left the room, where he was greeted by Gina once more.

"The doctor came and asked where you were, I just repeated the lie that Debbie told me to say."

"Was that hard for you?"

"Not really, imagine if Seb was asked to lie to authority."

Big Red could only just imagine the scene.

"That would be a two-act show, along with twenty-minute intermission."

The duo laughed as they began to walk down the hallway, talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. It was nice, a great conversation with each other was just enough to distract themselves from their current reality.

Well, it was nice until Big Red felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

He took it out, gasping in shock when he saw what awaited him.

~~~~

Location: Carlos's house

"Carlos!" Seb banged on the bathroom door repeatedly, it had been ten minutes since Carlos had entered that bathroom and locked it. He thought at first that he just needed the toilet, but he grew concerned when Carlos hadn't left after ten minutes.

"Seb! Please just go home!"

"I'm not going home until you tell me what's wrong! Besides, don't we always tell each other everything?"

"Well, that certainly didn't apply when you never told me about your eating disorder from middle school."

Ouch, those words from Carlos deeply punctured Seb in his heart. He wanted to scream from the mere mention of his horrible past, but he knew that Carlos had a point there.

He had hidden his eating disorder for too long from Carlos, and it was really beginning to show.

"Okay, I'm sorry for not telling you earlier and I really regret that, but we can't keep making the same mistakes if we want to stay together!"

Carlos didn't respond, he just unlocked the door and peeked his head slightly through the crack.

"Are you saying that... we aren't meant for each other?"

Seb sighed. "No... I mean, maybe we should start telling each other everything from now on?"

"Seb... I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm just so frustrated, so tired, everything inside me is screaming in pain. I just don't know what to do."

"Well," Seb went in and sat him down on the bathroom floor, lightly clutching his hand in comfort. "Let's start talking now? What is on your mind?"

Carlos let out a deep breath. "I..."

"Yeah?" Seb's heart raced to the ticking of the clock in the lounge room downstairs, his hand was now practically squeezing Carlos's at that point.

"I have a clue on who may be behind the attacks."