Belief

5.8

Luke grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly as we follow Michael and Grace, running hurridly through the empty venue, and up onto the rooftop. There are not as many people up here as earlier, but the people who are still here are either standing on the sides whispering, or huddled in the center of the room. Michael pushes us through, yelling at everyone to get away and call an ambulance.

As the crowd of people disperses, my stomach drops at what I am seeing. Ashton is crouched down beside Zach, watching helplessly. Zach is on his knees, bent over, clutching his stomach, and coughing violently. At first glance I thought he was just throwing up, but then I realized it was blood.

I run over, crouching down next to Ashton. He looks at me with distraught, I can see the internal pain within his eyes. The look I know all too well. I rest my hand on his arm, needing to steady myself. Zach starts coughing again, hunching over. He looks up at me with sorrowful eyes, as if he is ashamed of himself and what is happening.

"Somebody call an ambulance," Ashton cries, his face broken with panic and worry. "Zach, Zach look at me, it is going to be okay. We are all here."

Zach bows his head, shaking it in aggravation, and furling his hands into fists and punching his knees. He clutches his stomach, looking around at us. "Where i-is Charlotte?" He says in between coughs. "I n-need her."

"I'll get her," Calum jumps up from the group, running down the stairs.

Calum's POV

I run to the stairs, pushing people forcefully out of my way, not giving a damn. The pit of my stomach is twisted into a knot of anxiety. All I could picture is the way Zach went from carefree, and laughing to clutching his chest and screaming out in agony. It was as if someone grabbed his lungs and ripped them from him as he stumbled to the ground.

Half of the people at this party are selfish, heartless, scumbags who ran out before the ambulance comes, as if that is the big problem. Charlie had left over an hour ago, of course I noticed because I couldn't stop watching her all night. Well now I sound like a fucking pathetic creep.

I run out onto the street, circling the building, squinting into the alley ways. The sound of heavy breathing and stifled moans told me I was near her. She was up against the brick wall of the building with her tongue down some guy's throat. I waste no time, just grabbing her arm and pulling her from him.

"What the hell?" Charlie screams, trying to twist out of my grip. "Calum, is that you?" She says with a rapid hatred behind her voice.

"You need to come with me," I mutter forcefully. The guy against the wall didn't even put up a fight for her. Douche.

"You are not in control of me," Charlie seethes, still tugging against my grip. "I told you, the kiss meant nothing, you have no right to come here and pull me off of my date."

"I'm not here because of that," I try to get her to look at me, but she refuses. Not going to lie, ripping her away from another guy was just a bonus.

"Then what the hell do you want?" She screams at me.

"Zach- there is something wrong with Zach."

As the words fell from my mouth I felt her arm go limp, no longer fighting my hold but rather using it to stay standing.

"W-what?" Charlie stutters. "Take me to him!" She shouts at me, her voice quivering. This is the first time she has ever let her guard down in front of me, the first time she has forgotten to fake her hard mask.

Her hand has a tight grip on mine as I lead her through the venue and up the stairs. When she sees the crowd of people separate to show Zach on all fours, a sob escapes her lips. She covers her lips, letting go of my hand and running over to him.