Illusion

Chapter 21

Avery's POV

Beeping emits around me.

My eyes stay heavily shut, my mind blank, the only intrusion to my slumber being the incessant noise.

Slowly regaining consciousness, my mind begins to clear, causing the beeping to sound too close to my ears.

My body shifts slightly, causing a burst of pain to shoot through my right shoulder. My eyes snap open from the pain, stars clouding my vision for a moment.

My head still feels fuzzy, but as my eyes focus, I'm met with bright lights, causing me to squint, my head pounding from the sudden brightness. My head feels like it's wrapped in something tight, the back of my head throbbing mildly.

My eyes slowly adjust, widening as they take in my surroundings. I'm met with clean white walls encircling me, a couple of chairs pushed against the back wall. A door sits just off to the left, while a large machine is sitting to my right, monitoring my heart rate.

I'm in a hospital.

I don't know how. But I'm definitely in a hospital.

I shift my body lightly, feeling my arm alight with pain again.

Shit. I got shot.

My back aches on the thin mattress, desperate for me to move. I grab the little button that controls the bed and press something that looks right, making the top half of the bed slowly lift until it was in a seating position.

I take a deep breath, not knowing what to do now that I was awake. Should I call a nurse? Do I leave? Do I have to stay until someone comes and gets me?

Wait. I got shot. But only because I was helping Harry. Harry. Who got shot in his side. My mind fears the worst, adrenaline pumping through my body while my brain goes into overdrive.

Right as I'm about to swing my legs over the side of the hospital bed, a woman strolls through the door, dressed in a white doctor's coat and flicking through a clipboard.

'Ah Avery, you're awake. I'm Dr Wallestein. How are you feeling?' Her gentle voice sounds through her smiling lips.

'Um fine, do you know if Harry is okay?' My voice sounds more desperate than I expected, tears stinging my eyes as I fight to keep them back, my terrible thoughts standing at the forefront of my mind.

'Harry? As in one of the men who came in with you?' Dr Wallestein's sympathetic voice asks calmly, sensing my anxiety.

My brows crease slightly from her wording, one of the men. What did she mean by one of the men? My eyes almost pop out of my head as a man's voice streams through my memories.

The other man who was fighting pulls himself up, rushing over to me. 'Avery? Are you okay?'

'Louis?' My voice sounds utterly shocked, but it's too quiet, the word barely leaving my lips. My body is failing me, my mind is shutting down.

I shake my head slightly, I can deal with that later, right now I need to focus on Harry. 'Yes, him.' I say a tad sternly, needing to know if he's okay. I start shoving my covers off me, trying to get my legs out of the tight confines of the bed. I don't even know what I'm doing at this point. I just need to make sure he's okay.

The Doctor rushes to my side quickly, lightly grabbing my good shoulder and easing me back into the bed, fixing my covers. 'Woah, you need to take it slow. You lost a lot of blood.'

'Bu-'

The doctor's eyes crinkle slightly as she gives me a kind smile, politely cutting me off. 'Don't worry, he's okay. He's asleep right now so maybe wait a bit before you go and see him. He's in room 304.'