This is How it Starts || Ashton Irwin

Chapter 23

I reach for the door knob, my fingers trembling. I try to act strong, especially in front of Luke and Alice. My vision blurs again, that seems to be happening more and more lately.

I open the door and walk in. A cleaner smell than the hall (but still not a comfortable one) fills my lungs as I take a step into the dimly lit room. A wall blocks Ashton, but I can just see his feet, and the stars peeking out of the sky from the window on the other side of the room. It was a night similar to the one at the carnival, which felt like years ago.

I gently close the door behind me, giving us privacy. I hear short breaths and the beeping of those machines echoing across the beige walls.

I take slow steps, pacing myself, preparing myself.

I round the corner and there lies my beautiful boyfriend. The left side of his face is different shades of blue and purple and his eye is swollen. A few burns mark his arms, but enough to make you cringe. The lower half of his body is covered with a blanket so I can't see what other terrible marks might stain his skin. His finger is clipped with another type of machine and wires are sticking out of him in all different places.

"Well hey, cutie." he says in a raspy voice when he finally realized its me out of his one good eye. He does his best smile which seems to hurt so he relaxes into a smirk.

"I....I...." I stutter. I can't form words.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything," he pushes himself up and groans.

"No.... no.." I look him over.

"I love you Ashton." I say, and the tears start rolling down my cheeks.

He sighs and leans back, "I love you Amelia."

I laugh and cry at the same time and kneel next to his good side and place a gentle kiss on his cheek. He reached his hand towards me and lightly tucked my hair.

"I couldn't find you," he nearly whispers.

"I know I know. Its okay."

"I'm sorry Amelia."

"You have no reason to be." I tell him, and truly mean it.

He removes his hand from my hair and uses it to push himself to one side of the small hospital bed. He pats the now empty area and gestures for me to sit.

"I don't think I'm allowed." I tell him, but I really am just afraid to hurt him.

"Hey, we don't play by the rules," he manages to crack a joke, still.

I give in and curl up next to him. I sit a bit awkwardly, unsure what may hurt him.

"So, do you wanna hear the story." he says.

I really don't but I tell him I do. Better to hear it from him I guess.

"Well, after Carla... y'know," he begins.

"I know," I look to him.

He assuringly nods and continues,

"Well, I began looking for you, like everywhere. Until I realized there was a second floor and that's where you may be. When I got to the second floor, you weren't there either. I even opened the bathroom door on some dude. Where were you?" He asks. I think about whether or not to tell him.

"I was in the bath tub," I confess.

"Bathtub?" He says in a confused tone.

"Yeah... In the bathroom..... with the boy." I feel him tense up, "Nothing happened... we just talked, his girlfriend had dumped him earlier."

"Oh okay," he slumps. "Well, after I couldn't find you upstairs, I ran back down. Which is when I got a text from Luke. He was really upset about Carla, and uh, said some things," he pauses which gives me a chance to remember what Luke said in the lobby.

"So, I left to go to his house. I knew you'd be mad but I thought I'd make it back in time." He stops again, as if he is reliving the tragic moments. "I was going pretty fast. So was he.... I guess I just didn't see it coming."

"So.... How bad are your... You know."

"injuries?" he asks and I nod.

"Well... I just came out of some surgery. I didn't really listen to the doctor. They, uh, they thought I was going to go into a coma. "

"Oh." I gasp. I could tell there was something he wasnt telling me.

But for now, I'm okay, and so is Ashton, and that's all that matters.

a/n

long chapter lol

I'm still deciding how this is going to end but I hope you all are enjoying it so far :) all the love xx