Hey Bartender, Love me (book 2)

Chapter 25

"Do you want to go in alone, or should I come with you?" Calum asked as they stood outside Ashton's hospital room.

    Luke hesitated, stopping with his hand on the door handle.

    He didn't know why he was so nervous. Everything that had happened in the last 48 hours came crashing down on him, and he choked back a sob. Calum immediately was at his side, holding him in his arms. He slid down the wall, bringing Luke with him so they could rest on the floor.

    "It'll be okay, Lu, I promise." he whispered as he ran his fingers through Luke's hair. "What do you need?"

    Luke was silent for a bit, trying to process through things.

    He wanted Ashton, but what if he never woke up? He knew that the problem was only in his shoulder, so likely he would, but Luke had struggled so much these couple days without his boyfriend, what would he do if the man didn't wake up?

    "Ashton,"

    "Then let's go see him,"

    "But what if it's bad?"

    Calum bit his lip.

    "Well, if it is, then we come back out here and we work it out. You've got three people in this hospital alone who are going to be here for you no matter what, and there's plenty more people in your life who love you. No matter what happens, we'll get through this."

    Taking a deep breath, Luke nodded.

    "Okay. You're right." He needed to get out of his head and stop overthinking everything. "Okay, I'm going in now."

"I'll be here if you need anything," Calum told him, pointing to a small waiting area outside of the room. Luke had Deja vu from when Ashton had told him the same thing when he was going to see his father. He smiled at the memory and walked inside.

The room was dim, the lights only half lit so the doctors and nurses could see well enough, but also keep the room dark so Ashton wouldn't be upset by the harsh lights when he woke up. 

      The room looked the same as his fathers did, except the painting in this room was of the desert, a sunset scene with dark green cactuses sprouting up, and Ashton's bed was on the right side of the room, opposite where the small table and chair had been set up.

    He looked bad. Luke hated to admit it, but there was bruising all over his face, arms, and chest. Ashton looked like Luke had last year after Michael had had his way with him. He choked back a sob at the thought of Ashton going through something like that.

It should have been Luke. It was he whom Michael wanted, Ashton was just an innocent pawn who'd been hurt instead.

    Luke dragged the chair over to the side of the bed and sat down.

    "Ashton, I'm so sorry this happened to you, my love. It was never supposed to be this way, we were supposed to be safe..." he trailed off. "Uhm, I really miss you and I can't wait for you to wake up so I c-can give you a hug,"

    Luke tried not to think about what would happen if he didn't wake up.

    What if, a couple days ago when I brushed him off because I was busy with a distorted shipment, was the last time I'd get to see him?

    What if that morning was the last time he got to kiss me?

    What if I never get to see his eyes light up when I walk into the room again?

    He took a deep breath. What if's weren't helpful. Focus on the facts, Luke.

Fact, the doctor said his recovery would be done on his own time.

Fact, he was being taken care of, and Michael would never be able to reach them ever again.

    Fact, no matter what, he would know that Ashton loved him, and he loved Ashton.

    Luke opened his eyes and looked at his boyfriend. They would make it, they had to.

    After a couple moments of silence, Luke decided to get up and look around the room. There wasn't much, but there was a little cabinet with a chest of drawers. He opened them up and found the clothes Ashton was wearing the day he disappeared. The pants and shirt were stained and ripped, but the jacket he always wore looked okay. Luke picked it up, bringing it to his face. It still smells like him.

    He wrapped it around his shoulders and sat down, bringing his knees up to his chest and just watching his boyfriend. He shifted in the hard, plastic seat and felt something press into his shoulder. He moved the jacket, but it was still digging into his skin.

    "What the," he took the jacket off and dug through the pockets, wondering why he would have something in it.

    Luke gasped when he stumbled upon a black velvet box. His eyes shifted to the comatose form of his boyfriend.

    "Ashton," he gasped, even though he knew he couldn't hear him. "Oh my god, oh my god," He bit his lip, looking back and forth between the box and the boyfriend. "Calum!" he called out, barely able to contain his emotions. He felt like screaming, crying, and shouting all at once.

    Immediately the door opened and Calum rushed in.

    "What is it, what's wrong?" He looked at Luke's face but couldn't figure out what the  cause was by what he saw. Luke presented the box to him with a grin.

    "Oh my god, is that an engagement ring?"

    Luke nodded.

    "I think so."

    "Lu, you should know I'm flattered, but I'm still holding out hope for Niall..." Calum made an uncomfortable face. "This is a bit awkward, wasn't expecting to have to turn you down so soon." He scratched the back of his neck. "Thought you needed a bit of time to get the balls to propose to me,"

    "Shut up, you wanker," Luke rolled his eyes fondly. "It isn't for you," He sighed happily, looking at Ashton. "I found it in Ashy's jacket,"

    "Oh my god, Lu, I'm so happy for you,"

    "Thanks," he whispered, scooting closer to the bed. "You need to wake up so you can give me this," he told Ashton. "Please,"

    A couple moments later, Calum cleared his throat.

    "Did you look at it?" he asked, motioning to the closed box.

    Luke shook his head.

    "Should I?"

    Calum nodded, then shook his head, then shrugged.

    "I mean, yes, maybe? I don't know, you found it, but it's not fair-and-square,"

    Luke chuckled at the childish sentence.

    "I think I'll wait. I want him to give it to me when he's ready."

    "Sounds good buddy,"

    Calum ruffled his hair, causing Luke to laugh and swat him away.

    It was at that moment the steady beeping of the monitor gave way to a horribly loud screech.

    Ashton was flat-lining.

***

More cliff-hanger? I'm a monster

I'm probably gonna end up posting the epilogue pretty soon, but we'll see how my day goes lol. Hope you're enjoying !! 🥰

~ashtonfortherwin