NO SHAME

XXXII

Luke

    It had been a few hours since Aspen left, and I was beginning to worry about her. I hadn't heard from her since she stormed out the door, and I called her multiple times.

    My phone began to ring and I quickly picked it up, only to see the caller ID was Calum, and not Aspen.

    "Yes?" I asked, annoyance laced in my tone.

    "Luke, turn on the news, right now." Calum demanded.

    "What? Why?"

    "Trust me, mate."

    I did as Calum told me to and my heart began to sink into my stomach, dread building.

    "Cal, that's Aspen's car," I whispered into the phone, fear for my girlfriend growing.

    "I know. I'm about to leave for the hospital, I'll meet you there?"

    "Yeah, yeah, I'll see you in a few minutes, bye Cal," I said before hanging up the phone.

    Tears began to stream down my face as I frantically gathered a few things before leaving to meet Calum at the hospital. Once I got there I saw him waiting outside for me, and he pulled me into a hug as soon as I approached him.

    "This is all my fault, Cal," I whispered.

    "No, Luke, let's go see her before you do this to yourself," Calum whispered back. I nodded and let him lead the way to the front desk.

    "Hi, can you tell me what room Aspen Miller is in, please?" I choked out as Calum and I approached the receptionist.

    "Yes, baby, let me check on that for you," the older woman told us.

    "We got in a fight Cal, and I told her to leave," I whispered.

    "This isn't your fault, Luke, it's the fault of whatever asshole hit her, okay?" Calum reassured me.

    "Alright, she's in room 298, on the second floor, boys," the receptionist told us before Calum and I hurried off to the elevators.

    The journey to Aspen's room was brutal as I tried to keep myself together. Once we reached the room, Calum told me he would wait outside before I went in.

    Upon entering the room, I noticed the middle-aged couple standing over the hospital bed, before seeing Aspen laying in said hospital bed, all sorts of wires coming from her.

    "Excuse me, young man, please get out of our daughter's room," the woman said to me.

    "I'm sorry, I'm Aspen's boyfriend, Luke, you must be her parents," I clarified for them.

    "Our daughter's boyfriend is Jake, not you, please leave," The woman demanded.

    "Aspen and Jake broke up a few months ago, me and her have been dating for about three months, I'm sorry she didn't tell you," I informed them.

    "You are no good for our daughter, get out!"

    "Please, I need to see her," I begged. "I need to know she's okay."

    "Out!"

    I was shoved out of the room by Aspen's father, the door slamming in my face. I stared at the closed door and hoped that Aspen was okay before returning to Calum.

    "Hey, is she okay? What happened?" Calum asked as I approached.

    "Her psycho parents wouldn't let me see her. I don't think they believed that I'm her boyfriend. It seems like she doesn't really talk to them because they thought she was still with Jake," I filled him in.