free || sam mctrusty || twin atlantic

chapter seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

The crowd begins leaking into the large building as I peak out through the curtain. In less than ten minutes, the show will begin. This is the point at which I get unbelievably nervous. My entire body is shaking, my insides turning themselves outside. I feel faint, too, and my stomach is filled with butterflies.

I mean that in the manliest way possible.

Like, butterflies with muscles.

My heart racing, I turn back to the others. Music is blasting around the room, keeping the audience happy until we play.

Ross, Barry and Craig smile at me, taking a sip out of their beers. Jamie frowns, one leg crossed over the other, obviously seeing how nervous I am. I smile at her to reassure her that I'm fine, taking a swig of my beer.

A large sheet with our logo descends in front of our equipment to keep us hidden, telling us that it's time to get ready.

Immediately, I walk over to Jamie and hold my hand out towards her. She excepts it, smiling nervously, and let's me pull her to her feet.

" Good luck," she says, taking a seat in her chair just behind Craig.

I nod at her, walking over to my guitar and slinging the strap over my shoulder. Quietly, I play a chord to make sure it's tuned properly. It is.

The sheet is pulled up abruptly and the crowd goes wild. I grin, holding my hand up in the air and feeling a rush of adrenaline course through me.

" How are we, Glasgow?" I scream, listening to them shout back. Laughing into the mic, I play the first chord of Why Won't We Change? and begin to sing it.

We get into the middle of our fifth song - I Am An Animal - when the drums stop playing. Even though I know something is wrong, I keep singing.

Until I hear Craig shout my name. Immediately, I whip my head round and see the guys standing around something.

Her.

" Jamie!" I bellow, rocketing towards her. There she is, on the floor, looking how she did the night that I found her. Her whole body is convulsing, tensing then un - tensing, and she is gasping her air, her face pale. She is still awake, but only just. I drop to my knees beside her. " What happened?" I yell over the roar of the crowd.

Craig shrugs and shouts, " I don't know. She said my name and then, well -"

I turn my head and see the crowd going mental, trying to get to us. The security guards and trying to get them out, but they won't leave. So I do the only thing that I can.

Jumping to my feet, I race over to the wall and press the fire alarm. Water pours out of the ceiling, drenching everyone in the process. The crowd flee the room, desperate to get out, shouting loudly and cursing.

With no time to turn off the sprinklers, I race back over to Jamie and drop to my knees beside her. I press my head against her chest, forcing the hilarity and noise of my band mates out of my head.

A heartbeat.

Thank God.

" Sam, do you know anything that could have triggered this?" Aimmi asks, suddenly looking like she has a heart.

Ross is the background with Barry and Craig, on his phone. He's presumably calling an ambulance.

" Uh, she, uh, she told me she gets panic attacks - she didn't tell me they got this bad, though," I say, realising how hoarse my voice has become.

Aimmi nods.

Ross walks over, a worried look on his face. " The paramedics will be here soon. They're bringing Gas&Air."

A few minutes later, two paramedics burst through the door. One of them is lugging a heavy tank with them, and the other is carrying a mask that is attached to it.

Ross, Craig, Barry and Aimmi clear the way while I stay, desperately grasping at Jamie's hand and staring at her lifeless face. One of the paramedics places the mask over her face, and Aimmi proceeds to tell them that Jamie revives panic attacks regularly.

Suddenly, Jamie intakes a huge gulp of air and her eyes flash open. I sigh, relieved. She thrashing around, looking panicked.

I reach out and stroke her hair. " Shhh, it's okay. I'm here. You're okay."

Her big hazel eyes make contact with mine and she immediately seems calm. The paramedic pulls the mask away from her face and asks, " Would you like to keep this on for a while?"

Jamie shakes her head. " No, no. I'm okay."

The paramedic nods, giving her a kind smile, and takes the mask away. Jamie sits up and I pull her into a tight hug, inhaling her heavenly scent.

" Are you okay?" I whisper into her shoulder.

" Yeah," she whispers in reply. " I'm used to it."

I pulled away and held her at arms length. " You had me so worried."

She chuckles weakly. " Oh, I'm sorry."

I laugh slightly and hug her again, tighter this time. She's safe. Thank goodness. A part of me can't help but think that this is all my fault. I was the one who forced her to come see us play tonight after all.

After our hug, the paramedics tell us that she should be fine, and to get her home quickly and visit her tomorrow to make sure that it definitely was nothing more than a panic attack. I agree to drop her off at home.

The paramedics leave, telling me to call them if anything else happens.

I jump to my feet and extend my hand out to Jamie. She smiles at me and takes my hand, letting me help her up.

Barry quickly hugs her, followed by Ross and Craig.

" We were all so worried!" Ross exclaims, patting her shoulder.

Jamie smiles weakly and waves to them, following me to the doors. When we get outside, a huge shiver passes through her. I immediately strip off my leather jacket and wrap it round her.

" Thank you, Sam," she says, leaning into me.

I wrap my arm round her and plant a soft kiss on her forehead. " Anything for you, Jamie."