20 Ways To Kill Yourself ➳ Bullied By 5SOS

Chapter 40 - Coma

I gripped my phone so tightly in my hand that my wrist began to hurt. But the pain in my heart was greater. I ran past all the doctors and nurses passing through the hallways, barged visitors out the way and rushed to the front desk. My heart pounded in my chest and my eyes had become cloudy.

"Ashton Irwin, please what room?!" I begged, breathing heavily as the surprised receptionist looked at me quickly then to her computer screen, tapping keys on her keyboard before answering.

"23 miss." She replied, pushing a visitor's clipboard before me. I didn't want to waste a single second so I ran off, hearing her call after me, but ignoring it as I rushed into an elevator and rapidly pushed the button for the second floor. Although the journey up was short, it felt too long as I paced around, rubbing my head in disbelief. It couldn't be true.

I ran out as the elevator finally let out a "ding" and looked around like a madman for the correct room. Out of breath, and gasping for air, I stood in front of the 23rd room that lay in front of me, holding onto the doorknob but not twisting it as I was too afraid to see what lay behind.

"Are you alright madam?" A voice said behind me and I jumped at the unexpected hand that was on my shoulder. It was a nurse dressed in hospital scrubs, a clipboard in her hand and a medical sheet with my brother's name on it.

"Yeah, umm I uhh, got a call about umm, and yeah..." I trailed off.

"Oh you must be Maya, Maya Irwin. Ashton requested that we shouldn't call you, but we had no other choice seeing as you are listed in the emergency related contacts." She said politely, offering me a sad smile and leading me inside the room.

"He didn't want you to call me?" I whispered, hand on my chest where my heart was as I took in a deep inhale, seeing Ashton lie on the hospital bed, lifeless. He was so still, his chest barely moving, his fingers completely still as he resembled a corpse. The only indication that he was still alive was the slow, but steady beeping of the heart monitor that stood beside his bed.

"When we told him that it was compulsory for us to contact a member of immediate family in cases of emergency he refused." The nurse told me as I walked slowly to his bedside and sat next to him, watching my brother, tears sliding down my cheeks.

"Is he ok?" I asked, my hand reaching for his. "I got a call telling me to come here for Ashton but I hang up and rushed here before they got to tell me why."

"I'm sorry to say, but he's fallen into a coma."

"What?!" I looked up at the nurse whose hands were at her side, a sombre expression painted on her face.

"He came in a few hours ago in the A&E so we had a look at him. The brain scans show a significant increase of tumour growth and he had a seizure. We were able to stabilise him, but he's fallen into a coma and... we don't think he's going to make it." She said, staring at me in pity. I buried my head in my hands and just broke down.

I choked up sobs that I had been holding back for so long and now, I just let everything out. My eyelids were like a dam that was holding back my seas of tears but that small crack widened and everything came flooding out.

First my mother.

Please don't let my brother be next, I hoped... 

(a/n): i made a couple changes to previous chapters like labelling each of her "ways" so its a lot clearer and i've made it clear who Reese is. (if you dont remember, he comes in teh chapter where maya skips school, goes to the ice cream shop, before meeting her father again etc.) he's Hayley's sister. 

anyway, err, this chapter was kinda... depressing... 

but let me know your thoughts, k?