Survivin' - [B.C.]

Chapter 25: Thunder

He bent his head and planted a kiss on my forehead, made sure I was tucked in, then he left my room, and the only source of extravagant material I had left after him was the nightshade of the great London sky.

========= SURVIVIN' =========

It is truly insane how quickly every good thing can turn to shit.

In the ungodly hours of December 27th, 2021, I had been fast asleep with no plaguing of my mind. It had only been a few short lengths of time after Ben had seen it fit to tuck me in. The night had been quiet and the morning even quieter. That was, until, Sophie was awoken by the ringing of a phone.

Sophie has always been more of a lighter sleeper than Ben, who can probably sleep through a tornado without even trying. This instance was no different.

(THIS IS FROM SOPHIE'S PERSPECTIVE)

Some cracked-out noise yoinked me out of my beauty rest. It's an understatement to say that I was pissed, but as glorious Sophie Hunter, I had to remain a calm facade. It wasn't even my phone that was ringing, but I was all-too-eager to get back to sleep, so I reached over Ben to grab his mobile off of his nightstand.

"Hello?" I whispered, quietly getting out of bed and tip-toeing into the hallway. I softly shut our bedroom door behind me.

"Oh, Sophie!" Wanda - Mrs. Cumberbatch - cried. Literally cried.

"Mrs. Cumberbatch, what's the matter?" I asked, very highly concerned.

"Is Ben awake?"

"No, but I can wake him."

"Oh, yes, please do! Sophie, it's Ben's sister, Tracy -- the doctors say she doesn't have long. We're at the hospital."

My heart dropped. My stomach clenched. I hadn't been prepared for something like this. I hadn't been prepared for anything like when Cal had that spell, and I was definitely not prepared for dealing with the real deal. Comforting is not my strongsuit. That's Ben's thing. But I don't think he'll be able to comfort himself on this one.

"Oh my goodness. Okay, yes, I'll wake him!" I said.

"Thank you, Sophie."

She ended the call and I took a few deep breaths before entering the bedroom again. I looked at Ben as he slept peacefully, the blanket pulled halfway down his bare torso. A malicious feeling inside me chewed me up when I realized that I would have to disturb his peace.

I slowly approached him, trying to brace myself for the look on his face when I told him the news.

"Ben?" I sort of said more than asked, shaking him by the shoulder. He didn't budge. I tried again, more forcefully and loud this time. There was a hesitant few seconds, but then a tired and cloudy 'hm?' came from his now closed mouth.

"Ben, sweetheart, wake up." I said.

It took him a few moments, but Ben was finally able to sit up, rub his eyes, and look at me. Well, I assume that's where he was looking. There wasn't much behind his temporarily stony grey eyes.

"Mm... what's going on?" He groggily asked.

"Ben, love..." I rubbed his arm, not really sure how to say it. "Your sister, she's in the hospital." I didn't add the last part. I couldn't. But the first bit was enough to have Ben springing out of bed, hurriedly going through the closet for a shirt.

"Sophie, you and Cal need to stay here. I'll go and-"

"What? No," I interrupted his rant. I stood up.