Stay for Me (Hold Me Close Prequel)

Chapter Twenty Three: Mass

[Huh, RIP I came on here to publish this chapter and none of it saved. Thanks Wattpad! :D]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=Evan=-

Hunter was on the other side of the stainless steel counter, on the ground. I rushed over to his collapsed form and had to stop myself from yelling by biting on my paw. He was shaking violently and foaming at the mouth. Blood was literally pouring out of a deep looking gash on the side of his face, and something had to be done about it.

"Someone call 911!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, grabbing a brilliant white clean dish towel off of the rack. I wrapped the towel around Hunter's head and tied it into a knot, as tight as I could. Within seconds the once bright white towel had started to take up a scarlet hue, but it was still keeping the well needed pressure.

"I'm on it!" Sam shouted back from around the corner. A couple seconds later I could hear his panicked voice talking to the emergency services operator.

The best that I could do was cradle him against myself, trying to stop him from hurting himself. Everything around me, from the buzz of everyone running around to even the fucking hum of the lights above my head, all dulled down into a quiet blur of sounds. Even my vision seemed to focus in, turning into a vignette, zoned in exclusively on Hunter.

I was rocking back and forth, tears silently falling down my face.

Maybe two minutes or so later a loud siren started to come within earshot. Soon after, the ambulance had pulled up alongside the curb just outside. Two paramedic furs came jumping out of the back, lifting a neon yellow stretcher in tow. They barged through the door and past the two patrons that stayed behind to see what happened.

"Where is he?" One asked Sam.

"In the back." Sam responded, pointing over to the kitchen area. The two came up alongside me with haste, putting the stretcher on the ground.

"Sir, I need you to please let go. Sir. Sir please let go." One of them commanded.

"I-I can't leave him!" I shakily said. He paused a second, kneeling down next to me and placing a paw on my shoulder.

"You can come with us in the back, but for just this second I need you to let us do our job." He gently reassured me. Reluctantly, I let go of Hunter's delicate body and stood up. I wiped my eyes to try and hide the fact that I was crying, but I think I made it even worse. My eyes felt puffy and I had to sniffle every few seconds. I followed the paramedics out the door and into the back of the ambulance, where I buckled myself into the seat right beside Hunter, who had stopped convulsing and was just laying there, limp and bloody.

I squeezed his paw the entire way, which flew by in a flash. But I guess that's to be expected when travelling 70mph to the hospital.

The medical staff that greeted the ambulance at the emergency room doors also instructed me to come in to a private waiting room for family, and asked me if there were other people to call, and because I had taken Hunter's phone off of the counter, I said that I would handle it and they left me alone.

Hunter's phone was cold to my touch as I rolled it over in my paws. His password was generic, only being his birthday, which I had taken upon myself to memorize. Once I was in, I found his contacts and called his mother.

The line only rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello?" She asked innocently, expecting nothing more out of this conversation than an update from her son.

"M-Ma'am? It-t's Evan." I said, my voice quivering.

"Evan? What's wrong dear? Is everything alright?" She asked, a worried tone creeping into her voice.

"N-no ma'am. Something...happened at w-w-work. We're at the hospital. Come quick." I instructed, and being unable to stomach the reaction that would surely follow me saying that, I hung up before she could say anything else.

I felt empty. A clock on the wall loudly ticking away the time, seemingly slowing down with every passing second.

It didn't take too much time at all for Hunter's parents to arrive, rushing into the same waiting room that I was in. They rushed over to me, his mother hugging me tightly, and without a word sitting down next to me.

My head rested in my hands, fearing the absolute worst, but also being lost in the forest of confusion. I had absolutely no idea what was happening. One minute Hunter was perfectly fine, joking around and smiling, just like normal. The next, he was having a freaking seizure on the ground and bleeding profusely. I was scared. I was afraid, terrified, anxious, every damned terrible word under the sun. I was that. And there was nothing I could do about it.

"He's awake." A doctor said, standing in the doorway. Both of Hunter's parents stood up, and his mother looked back at me.

"Evan, aren't you coming?" She asked me, her face shallow with fear.

"N-no, I don't want to be a bother." I replied solemnly.

"Nonsense, the way he talks about you, you are practically family. Come on." Hunter's dad told me. So therefore I got up and followed the doctor alongside his parents down the hall and into a room. Inside, there was a bed, and in that bed was Hunter, propped up against the headboard. He was connected to a bunch of different wires, all leading up to different assorted machines. It was like those medical shows on TV, and those almost never end well.

I hung back by the door as his parents took their time with him, talking quietly, I couldn't really hear them. There were different charts along the wall, on one of those wall lights they use to show X-ray results. Except these weren't of his bones. They were of his brain.

"The tumor is growing, at a rapid rate." The doctor said from behind me, surprising me a little bit. Wait what?! Tumor?! "I'm so terribly sorry, but there's nothing we can do." She said gloomily, lowering her head. "We've done everything we can."

My heart dropped.

"Wait, what tumor?!" I asked, my voice cracking with strain.

"Evan, do you remember that day I was absent. It was the same day you got beat up and we had an argument?" Hunter whispered. I could only muster a nod. "I was here, in the hospital that day. For a couple months now, I've had a cancerous tumor in a part of my brain that they can't remove. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry." He forced out, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Before I could say anything, the door to the room busted open, and the last person in the world I would want to see was standing there. My father.

"Evan. Why the hell did I have to go to YOUR FUCKING JOB TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU ARE?!" He screamed, drawing a wince from everyone in the room and causing me to retreat closer to Hunter.

"I-I..." I started, but saying anything wasn't going to help.

"Come. Now." He seethed through gritted teeth. I was stuck. If I didn't go, everything could get really violent. If I did go, then I would be separated from Hunter.

"Evan, come here." Hunter croaked. I leaned down and he reached a paw out from under the blankets, his arm shaking as he put all of his effort into his movements. He grabbed the side of my face and pulled it into his own, weakly but still powerfully kissing me on the muzzle. "I love you." He said, breaking our contact. Before I could say another word, my father grabbed me by the back of my neck and yanked me away angrily.

"I love you too." I mouthed silently, starting to cry.