The Breaking Wheel

Chapter 16: Am I Lucky?

John looked over at Lawrence. He'd barely touched his food. Eddie came up to him.

"Hey, Lucky? You okay?"

"Stop calling me Lucky. And I'm fine," he growled.

Billy raised an eyebrow and glanced at John. He shrugged in response. Lawrence had never really minded Eddie calling him "Lucky Lawrence". Until now.

"You sure you're fine?" Eddie put a clawed hand on his shoulder. "You never really cared about me calling you Lucky before-"

Lawrence shot up from his chair. "How the f*ck am I lucky?! Molly's lying at death's door and I can't do anything about it! I promised myself that I wouldn't allow anything to hurt her, and look what happened!"

He stormed off. Billy looked much more worried than usual, and turned to John.

"What do we do about Lawrence?"

John sighed. He knew the answer, and he hated it. "As far as I know, nothing."

Eddie shook his head sadly. "God, he really cares about her, doesn't he?"

"If he loves her to the point where he'll make a promise he can't keep, then yes." Simon put his head down on the table.

"Didn't we all make the same promise?" Eddie pointed out.

Simon raised his head. "Yes, but it's more achievable for us than it is for him. Far more."

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The nurse looked down at Dr. Collingwood. She was clenching her left hand into a fist and her expression alternated between being on edge and in pain. Her heart rate would skyrocket at random intervals. She sighed and shook her head. It was useless. Nothing worked to calm her down. The only thing they could do was wait until she calmed down by herself. This wasn't normal, she knew it.