The House of Sorrows

Chapter 4: "Crimson"

Lockwood was smiling, feeling triumphant in his and his team's work. George was panting and Lucy was still kneeled on the floor, her head was down and Lockwood immediately noticed that she was struggling to stand. Lucy finally made it to her feet and saw Lockwood's face gleaming in the flare of George's flashlight. Lockwood looked at Lucy happily, loving the opportunity to just stare, to admire her without repercussion or suspicion. But his smile faded quickly as he saw the blood emanating from Lucy's torn shirt. Lucys brow furrowed and she looked down and saw streams of crimson blood draining from her body. Lockwood stood frozen as her hand reached up, and touched the exit wound from whatever had hurt her. Lucy flinched as her fingers graced the puncture, and it caused Lockwood to snap out of his daze. Lockwood darted towards Lucy just as she looked back up at them before her legs gave way and she fell to the floor.

"Lucy!" Lockwood raced over, he just barely caught her before she hit the ground.

"Hey! Hey! Stay with me! Keep your eyes open, Lucy!" Lockwood was begging, he knew that. He didn't care. "Stay awake!"

Lucy's body was partially folded on the floor while the other half was being cradled by Lockwood. Lockwood looked down at Lucy desperately and he distantly heard George's panicked voice and his knees hitting the ground beside him. Lockwood saw that Lucy's lips were chapped, and she was shivering. Whether from the cold or blood loss, Lockwood was unsure.

"George! Go downstairs! Call an ambulance! Lockwood yelled out.

Lockwood could vaguely hear George's feet scurrying down the hallway and stairs. Lockwood felt Lucy's whole body go limp, lax in his arms as Lockwood sheltered her head from the unforgiving ground. One side of Lucys face laid against Lockwood's chest, Lockwood could hear his heartbeat—frantic, and panic-stricken—echoing through his ears.. With one hand he removed his coat and used it to suppress the bleeding.

This can't be happening, he thought to himself.

"Lucy, you have to stay awake. George is getting an ambulance, and everything will be fine, okay? You just have to stay awake." Lockwood said, voice cracking in his desperate attempts to keep calm.

Lockwood wanted to reassure Lucy, and he thinks that she would've believed everything he had said, except that the timid and ever fleeting half smile on his face must've given away how just not okay everything was. Lucy's breathing was shallow, it looked like it took an incredible amount of strength just to take another breath. He tried to hide it but Lockwood's eyes filled with tears.

"It's ok. I'm fine." Lucy whispered softly. Lying to him.

It wasn't fine, Lockwood and Lucy both knew it. They also both knew Lucy didn't have a lot of time. George returned from downstairs with a blank look on his face, the look that screams, the ambulance is still far out.

"Well? George how far out is the ambulance?" Lockwood said, a large amount of desperation could be heard in his voice.

George just stood there for a moment, staring at all the blood that had seeped onto the floor.

"George!—"

"10 minutes. They're still ten minutes out." George said numbly.

Lockwood's face stood gravely still, just staring at George. Who despite—Lockwood guessed, trying everything in his power not to—had a terrified look on his face.

Lockwood honestly can't remember much of the next few minutes, all he can remember is holding Lucy, her body lax and cooling in his arms. His hand rested on the side of her face, coaxing her to hold on a little longer, and George right beside him holding her hand—which Lockwood bets he would deny vehemently. Lockwood remember the slight moments of silence where no one would speak, so Lockwood could hear Lucy's heartbeat, and her breathing—shallow, pained, wet wheezes. But Lockwood immediately noticed when Lucy's heartbeat began slowing...beating...slowing...beating and...nothing. Lockwood's breath caught in his throat as a strangled noise escaped his throat. No, no, no, no...

The next minutes felt like hours, months, years, an eternity until the ambulance got there. Like life times had passed since Lucy's heart had stopped and Lockwood had had to lay her on the ground and begin to perform CPR. Feel her ribs break beneath his hands. Until he heard the faint sound of sirens, heard footsteps stumbling up the stairs. Lockwood saw the paramedics begin to work on Lucy, giving a quick nod to Lockwood as one of them shouted, "She's got a pulse!". Lockwood very nearly passed out from relief. It was worth it. The sound of Lucy's ribs breaking beneath his hands may haunt him for the rest of his life, but it was worth it because she had a pulse. Lucy was placed on a stiff board while getting loaded in the ambulance, George and Lockwood forcing their way in beside the board. The ride was short, but uneven and rough. Lockwood Cullen tear his gaze away from Lucy's body. She was pale, cold, and coated in blood. Blood that now stained every inch of his clothes and his soul. He would never be able to wash the blood from his mind, it had stained and it was never leaving. Lockwood realized nimbly that they had arrived at the hospital when Lucy was wheeled into bright hallways, the lights shining brightly and highlighting Lucy's lack of color. Lockwood hadn't even noticed that his hand was still gripping Lucy's until she was torn from his grip.

Lockwood watched with wide, unseeing eyes as Lucy disappeared behind the doors. He stood there, vaguely hearing George's voice from behind him, but all he could do was stare. At least until he felt darkness creeping up around his vision and he swayed. He didn't realize he was falling until he hit the ground and it all went dark.