Moment in the Sun

5. Emergency

Nick POV (TW: Medical procedure)

It's 1am when my phone rings, jerking me awake. My eyes are stinging with remnants of tears and my throat feels dry and scratchy. This is the result of crying myself to sleep. It takes a second for me to wake up enough to process that I need to answer the phone. Just as I reach for it. it falls silent. I grab it anyway and see a missed call from Tori. Shit. There's only one reason she would be calling me at this time of night. Something is wrong with Charlie. I press redial and jump off my bed, searching for clothes.

"Hello?" She answers on the third ring.

"It's me." I reply, trying to juggle pulling on pants and talking to her, "What's happened?"

"It's bad, Nick."

"How bad?" I almost don't want to know. I can tell from the tone of her voice and the fact that she isn't swearing at me that this isn't like before.

"I had to call an ambulance. We're at the hospital." My heart drops.

"Which one?" She tells me as I grab my keys, "I'll be there soon."

I scribble a note to my mum, leaving it on the counter and rush out the door.

I break every speed limit on the way to the hospital but I don't care. The only think I care about is getting to Charlie. I hate the fact that it's my fault he's in this position tonight. We should have learned after our stupid fight last year that we need to listen to each other but he was just so not himself and I was so angry. I should never have left him alone tonight. Not when I know how in his head he gets.

There are a lot of people in the A&E waiting room when I get there but I locate a nurse standing by a door and go over to her.

"Hi, excuse me, I'm looking for Charles Spring. I was told he was here." Every part of me wanted to forego the formalities and just run down the hallways until I found him but I knew that wouldn't help, and would probably end up in me being kicked out of the hospital. The nurse must have sensed my desperation and turned to a computer nearby, searching his name.

"Follow me." SHe says, pushing open the door into the department. I follow her closely, looking out for either Charlie or Tori. I see neither of them until the nurse leads me through another door into a smaller, less chaotic area and I spot Tori sitting on a chair in the hallway, her head in her hands.

"Tori!" I call out and she looks up. Her face is streaked with tears. She jumps up and runs towards me, throwing her arms around me and bursting into tears. "Tori, tell me he's okay, please."

"He will be." The nurse who'd brought me here spoke up.

"I was so scared, Nick. He looked..." He trailed off and I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"I want to see him." I told the nurse and she nodded. I got Tori situated on the chair again and followed the nurse to a curtained off cubicle. Pulling the curtain aside, my eyes go straight to Charlie laying motionless on the bed. I have no idea what I'd been expecting but what I saw sent shivers through my entire body. His skin was deathly pale except his fingers and elbows which were caked in dry blood. Bandages covered his forearms, I'm assuming over deep gashes. Colorful wires led from a beeping machine to somewhere on his chest and there was a tube down his throat. Tori was right. It was scary how still he was.

"Is he awake? I asked quietly.

"He's sedated. He was quite agitated when he arrived. It's for his safety. You can sit with him if you like." The nurse told me.

Numbly, I moved closer to the bed, tears building in my eyes. I leaned over him, brushing his curls out of his face and kissing his forehead.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of what I said. I love you so much, I'll always be here for you, no matter what." I whispered, tears falling. He didn't respond, obviously. I needed him to hear me, though, so I kept repeating it over and over, stroking his face and kissing his forehead. At some point Tori came into the room too. She sat on the other side of him, holding his hand. We sat in silence, just waiting. Doctors and nurses came and went, doing tests and checking on Charlie's progress.