Saorsa

Vitals

"Her illness?" I repeat, skepticism coating my voice.

"Yes," She states matter of factly.

"What illness?" I question, stepping closer to get a look at her clipboard.

She holds it to her chest, hiding the information from me.

"You're her husband no?" She says, her eyebrow raised as she looks me up and down. "Wouldn't you know?"

"Erm," I trail off, trying and failing to think of a convincing lie.

"If Mrs Verlice decided to withhold that information from you then I legally can't tell you," She says.

"I have to check her vitals now," She announces after a few moments of silence, placing her clipboard on the bedside table.

I watch intently as she checks Serena's heartbeat and adjusts the numerous wires protruding out of her arms.

Serena looks tranquil, completely unaffected by all the needles currently poking through her.

"She should recover nicely," The doctor nods.

"When will she wake up?" I ask immediately, the worry evident in my voice.

"I cant say, maybe an hour maybe a day it depends on-"  She begins explaining but her sentence is interrupted midway by the door swinging open.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," A woman in nurses attire apologises, her hand resting against the door.

"Dr Oreilly we need you in the ER it's an emergency," She gets out in between pants, looking as if she just ran here.

The doctor immediately flies out the room, following the nurse down the hall and leaving me in silence with Serena.

I spend god knows how long just staring at her, letting the comforting sight of her chest moving up and down calm me.

Unintentionally I find my eyes drifting from her sleeping frame to the bedside table, the clip board catching my attention.

I tried to not let it tempt me, I really did.

Serena will be mad you invaded her privacy Emilio, I repeat to myself over and over again as I try and convince myself to remain seated.

Almost as if my feet were moving on autopilot, they carry me to her bedside table.

I lean down, delivering a kiss to her forehead before mumbling a sorry as I pick up the clip board, my hands clutching the hard material.

I return to my chair, sitting down and letting my eyes shift over her chart.

I skim past the basic information: name, age, weight etc until her doctor's notes catch my attention and suck all the air out of my lungs in the process.

Anger starts to surface, making it harder to read.

She'd been a pretty healthy kid, rarely ever coming into the hospital. That is until she turned fifteen.

She started coming in every few months with numerous different injuries, cracked ribs, broken wrist, bruises everywhere.

I curl my fists as I read about how the police were called numerous times but nothing ever came of it.

Her ex is a dead man walking.

I keep reading, thinking there's no possible way it could get worse than this.

I was wrong.

I groan, my body sore as I stretch out my achey limbs.

It takes me a few seconds to adjust to my surroundings and to realise that I'm currently being cuddled.

My eyes fly open, my head immediately tilting in the direction of the person hugging me. 

Harper lays next to me, her face illuminated by the soft glow of a lamp on the bedside table. She looks stressed even while asleep, her face puffy and tear stricken.

Confused, I look around and soon find that I'm in a hospital room. I look down at my wrists, my eyebrows furrowing together in confusion as I stare at the wires and iv attached to my skin.

Fuck.

I don't know what happened but it can't have been good. The last thing I remember is leaving Emilio and heading to the bedroom.

I look around the hospital room, baffled as to why it's so massive and luxurious. I've been to this exact hospital numerous times so I know this room is like ten times the size of the regular ones. It's even got a balcony and a private bathroom.

Thankfully this room is big because it would be extremely crowed if not. 

Emilio is asleep on the armchair next to my bed, Lucian's lying on the floor and using a hoodie as a pillow while Miles and Tyler are cramped onto a singular sofa in the corner of the room.

I feel a wave of anxiety hit me when I realise that I'll have to think of an excuse to explain this little episode. 

I'm overwhelmed by stress just thinking about it, I don't want to lie to them anymore. 

I start to feel panicked, the thought of them hating me for keeping this from them for so long causing my breathing to become shallow.

Deciding I need some air, I slowly climb out of bed, ignoring the achey feeling radiating through every part of my body.

I shuffle towards the door of the balcony, dragging my IV chart along with me. While I'm passing Lucian something catches my eye, a pack of cigarettes poking out his pocket.

I'll apologise for stealing later.

I quietly slide open the balcony door, slipping out into the cold night air. I don't know what time it is but it must be late, the street outside quiet and desolate.

I pull my legs into my chest as I sit perched on a flimsy plastic chair, my shakey hands fiddling with the lighter.

I inhale the smoke, letting it travel down into my lungs and calm my racing mind ever so slightly.

"Serena?" A croaky voice calls out.

I turn my head away from the skyline, coming face to face with a very pissed looking Emilio.