teach me to be innocent, l.hemmings

#28: expect the unexpected

MOOD BOARD: KATHERINE MURPHY

I had always been one of those people who could sleep in the worst of situations. Tonight had been no different. My back started to ache which alerted my body that it needed to shift. I opened my eyes and cringed when I was blinded by a white light.

"It's okay," Luke hushed gently as I sat up quickly. His placed his hands on my shoulder to calm me down as my breathing increased. The onslaught of memories racked my brain.

"How are they?" I choked out as my eyes searched the waiting room. Calum was sitting in the corner with Michael. His head was resting on Michael's shoulder as the latter scrolled through his phone. The blood was gone from their hands and faces.

"There's been no news." Luke's voice was grave. "Ashton's parents arrived twenty minutes ago."

"How long was I out?" I asked as I threw my feet to the ground. How did I fall asleep across the chairs? No wonder my back ached.

"About two hours." Luke ran his fingers through my hair, twisting the ends slightly.

"Where are his parents?" I searched the waiting room but I couldn't find them.

"They're in a room for family." Luke cleared his throat. "His dad promised to keep us updated if anything changed."

"What about Gabriel?" I hated the idea that he was going through this alone, that somewhere his parents were out living normal lives. God, where their lives going to crash when they heard what happened.

"Actually, I asked Ashton's parents about that." Luke admitted. "Apparently Ashton told them about about Gabriel and his, ah, family situation."

"Family situation?" I frowned, not liking the way the words rested heavily on my tongue. Family situations were rarely happy when brought up in a context like this.

"His parents are dead." Luke said gently, his eyes portraying just how troubled he felt at this information. "He lives with his older brother who's currently serving in the army and they can't get in contact with his sister."

"So... he has no one?" I cleared my throat.

"He'll have us." Luke held me tighter. "We'll be here for both of them when they recover, and they will recover."

I nodded, feeling a little dizzy at this new information. Gabriel, who very well could've saved Ashton's life, had no one by his side. I made it my mission to be by his side when he woke up, no matter the hospital policies.

I was about to ask if Luke wanted some coffee or something to eat whilst we waited but Calum was suddenly standing over us. His eyebrows were pinched and his gaze hardened as he looked over at the exit.

"What are Katherine and Hugh doing here?" He asked slowly.