Wildflower

Eighteen

"This is her." Zac motions to a door as he stops walking, only just around the corner from where they had been waiting for so long. "I'll give you some space, I'm sure this is all new and scary and emotional for you too Calum." he smiles sympathetically before stepping back around Calum and heading back to the others.

Taking a deep breath Calum gently twists the handle on the door, pushing it open and stepping into the small room. Greeted by the continual beeping sounds of multiple machines as he takes his time to shut the door before turning to face the bed.

Swallowing hard as his eyes land on Zeppelynn, dressed in an ugly pink hospital gown, a blue blanket laid over her body. Her tattooed arms rest over the blanket with multiple IV lines and monitors covering them, a blood pressure cup wrapped around her small bicep and pulse monitor over one finger. Wires disappearing into the neckline of her gown that he doesn't know what do, but he is assuming they are for monitoring her heart or lungs.

Her face is puffy, slightly swollen and there are hints of bruising despite her dad saying she hit her back. An oxygen canal under her nose and feeding tube in the side of her mouth. Small disks attached to wires placed around her hairline and in her hair as well, no doubt monitoring her brain activity for any changes.

"Damn Wildflower." Calum chuckles breathlessly as he takes it all in, moving carefully to sit against the edge of her bed, lifting her left hand into his lap.

"You know, if you changed your mind about dating me you could have just told me, you didn't have to go to extreme measures." He tries to joke, swallowing the thickness burning against the back of his throat.

"But in all seriousness Z, please please fight your way back to me. Five days is not nearly enough time to call you mine. I need you to fight like hell to get back to me okay?" His lip quivers slightly, "I know you wouldn't mind leaving the world this way Wildflower, but I would mind it. I would mind if you were taken from me like this already, it would be a cruel joke and I would not be a fan of it. You are someone this world needs Zeppelynn. You know who you are, you know what you love, and you should keep showing the world how amazing it is to be exactly who you are, unapologetically. The world needs you, those boys sitting out in the waiting room need you, and I need you Wildflower. Come back okay? Heal and come back to us." His voice cracks sharply, tears he'd been trying to hold back again falling easily from his eyes, closing them as the burn settles heavily. Letting the tears roll gently down his cheeks as he tries to swallow the pain in his throat and heart.

Seeing her like this, it's just as Zac had said, she looks dead... Her usual smirk and sarcastic comments gone from her face, the slight swelling distorting her features, and her eyes looking somehow smaller while closed and mascara free. She's missing the Zeppelynn spark, the things that make her her, and it makes her look like less than a shell of herself, a dead version of the spunky vibrant woman who so easily captivated his heart and mind over the last few months.

For a few minutes, body shaking with sobs, he lets himself feel all the pain and fear of the unknown in this situation. Letting himself admit that despite only just making things official his heart is invested deeply with the ink covered woman and it hurts clear through his body to see her laying so helpless and injured in the bed in front of him.

Eventually he manages to slow his breathing and regain control, wiping his face clean of the tears. "I'm here to support you Z, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you know we want you to come back, and make sure you know I am not going anywhere while you're in this hospital and coma. You've got me Wildflower, don't ever doubt this would scare me off, no matter how much it sucks to see you like this." he mumbles, leaning forward carefully to press a kiss to the side of her lips away from the feeding tube.

"I'm here for you baby, through every step. Okay?" he whispers, pressing another gentle kiss to her unresponsive lips.

"You mind if I join you?" Calum looks up, meeting Ruby's eyes.

"Come on in." He smiles softly, "I don't need the room to myself."

"But maybe you did for a minute. I just need to see her too, I haven't yet either."

"I am glad you all gave me a minute, but I don't want to monopolize the time in here for myself, you guys are her family, she needs you guys too. I mean, I've been her boyfriend for five days, you guys have been around for years."

"You finally made it official? I thought you told Frank you were her boyfriend just to make it less complicated." Ruby smiles, taking a seat on the opposite side of Zeppelynn's bed from Calum.

"Ya, she was in New York to help with a music video my band was part of, and while hanging out with her after being on set one of the days I finally just asked. She means so much to me, getting to know her has been the best part of my year." Calum smiles softly, letting his thumb rub against the back of Z's hand.

"She feels the same about you Calum. I've known Z for about four years now, she introduced me to Levi actually, and she's always been married to her work. She's had flings and things with people, but really she hasn't ever had anyone interest her enough or be committed to her enough to deal with her lifestyle, and she's always been fine with it. But from the night you walked into the shop with Mitchy, I could just tell, you got her heart ticking a little different. It's a good thing, she's the most amazing friend I've ever had, and she deserves someone to see her for everything she's worth and to accept her in full exactly as she is."

"I do." Calum smiles, "I admire everything she is, and how confident she is in who she is and what she wants in life. I need that in my life. I'm kind of the same way about my career as she is, it's everything to me, and it keeps me crazy busy, and away from home a lot, so I like that she gets that. I wish I had her confidence in myself as a human too though, I wish I was more secure and less worried about what I look like or what people think of me, but I can always work on that, and I think being around her will help a lot with that. Her confidence and security in herself is infectious and it affects everyone around her, myself included. I've only known her three and a half months or so, and I already feel like knowing her has made me a much better person."

"She has that effect on people, it's one of my favorite traits about her." Ruby nods, "I believe she isn't done sharing her energy with the world, I believe she is going to make it through this. It might take time and it might be really hard, but I believe with every part of me that the world has not seen its last episode of Zeppelynn McCabes life."

"I hope you're right Ruby, because my life would be infinitely better with many many more episodes of Zeppelynn in it."

"Most peoples would." Ruby agrees before the two of them fall silent, Calum's eyes falling to Zeppelynn's face before lifting to watch the colorful lines moving across her monitors.

His eyebrows pull together slightly as there is a random weird movement on one of the monitors. His eyes going wide suddenly as the same line shoots up and down from the straight line it had been thus far, his eyes moving to Zeppelynn who has begun to shake and jerk in the bed.

"What's happening?" Ruby sounds afraid suddenly, both her and Calum jumping from the bed as medical staff run in.

A nurse gently but forcefully shoving them both from the room before the door is shut in their faces.

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What happened?

What complications have arisen for Z?

I want predictions!

Also, highkey revamped this story last night (thank you SavSOS_ for the genius idea) so hold on tight, It's gonna get crazy.

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~M =)