Groupie ; c.h

twenty-eight - hospital

(just a note: thongs are flip-flops in Australian language) 

When Maely opened her eyes, her vision was filled with nothing but white.

The occasional sniffling and a loud choked sob filled the air. Crying. It sounded like someone was crying. Upon instinct, Maely sat straight up, but instantly regretted it.

A blinding pain shot through her abdomen, and she couldn't help but let out a loud yelp at the feeling.

"Maely," An all-too-familiar voice choked out, and seconds later Calum was at her bedside. "You're awake!"

He looked like shit.

His curly hair sat atop his head in a completely untamed mess, sticking out in all sorts of directions. His skin was red and dirty, and it looked like he hadn't washed his face in days. The skin around his eyes was red and tight, and there were dark circles set deep beneath them. He wore a pair of grey tracksuit pants, black thongs and a black hoodie with an X on the left breast. The stench of B.O. and sweaty boy filled Maely's nostrils, but she tried her best to ignore it.

A smile stretched across Calum's lips as he stared at a now conscious Maely. He quickly leaned forward and pressed his lips to her own, completely distracting from the pain in her lower body.

When he pulled away, Maely could see the tears in Calum's eyes. She quickly reached forward and swiped them away with the pad of her thumb, her heart breaking at the sight.

"Hey," she spoke quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Don't cry. Why are you crying?"

Calum shrugged and sniffled, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie. "I thought you might not wake up."

Maely felt her heart split right into two as the boy she loved broke down before her. "Hey, hey," she reached a hand out and tilted his head up, his big brown eyes gazing up at her. "It's okay. I'm okay."

Calum sniffled again and nodded slowly, his eyes falling to Maely's hands. He reached out and took one in two of his own, bringing it slowly to his lips and planting small kisses all over. Maely's heart fluttered at the gesture, happiness flooding her body at the feeling of his warm lips pecking her hand.

"I'm in hospital, right?" Maely asked, glancing around the room. Three chairs in one corner, one next to her bed that Calum sat on. A machine next to her bed making beeping noises every few seconds. Clear liquid flowing into her body through a tube of some sort. A table beside her bed with a glass of water and a Cosmopolitan magazine.

"Yeah," Calum nodded, his eyes trailing over her face.

"What happened? After Jaxon shot me, I mean."

Calum seemed to become visibly angrier at the mention of Jaxon, and he clenched Maely's hand slightly before relaxing. "Well, you passed out almost instantly. The SWAT team tackled him to the ground and arrested him - he's in custody at the moment, waiting for the trial. We got you straight to hospital, and they operated on you - removed the bullet and all. You've gotta stay put for a few days, but you should be good to go soon enough."

Despite the good news of her being alive and well, Maely found herself frowning. "Jaxon's still alive?" She wasn't sure why she'd expected him to be long gone, but she had. Maely though that maybe once he'd shot her, the SWAT team would've killed him. Isn't that the way it always worked on crime shows? Why hadn't it happened that time?

Calum seemed to be having similar thoughts. He let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, yeah. But he's going to be put away, Maely - there's no doubt about that."

Maely shook her head frantically, panic and worry washing over her face. She pulled her hand out of Calum's grasp, running it through her hair worriedly. "No, Calum, you don't understand. It doesn't matter if they put him away - he'll find a way out. He'll come for me again, until he gets me. H-He'll hurt me, Calum, I-"