Fall ➳ lrh

Chapter Nineteen

Rose

It was really loud when I arrived at school. My head pounded from all the alcohol I drank the previous night. The only thing I remember was that my douche of a father decided to reenter my life.

I rubbed my temples, a groan escaping my lips. I was hoping to find Luke, maybe he would brighten my mood. I grabbed my books then went to my first class which had Luke in it, thank god.

When I walked in I saw him and Calum talking to some girl. She kept smiling and laughing. Her hair was almost bleach blonde, going to the small of her back but it is was in a braid. Her eyes were bright blue, much prettier than my boring green ones.

I walked over and wrapped my arms around Luke, kissing his cheek and glaring at the girl the whole time.

"Hey babe." I smiled at him, my eyes flickering to the girl once more. I notice her smile turn into a frown and I smirked. Luke's my boyfriend. Calum rose an eyebrow and gave me a look.

"Hey Rosie." Luke smiled back, pecking my lips. The girl cleared her throat causing Luke to look away from me.

"Oh, Rose this is Kate. Kate, this is Rose my girlfriend." Kate gave me a tight-lipped smile and I gave her one back.

*****

Today, I didn't want to go home. Normally I love going home to my mum and spending time with her but now going home means seeing my father. Luke gave me a hug.

"Have fun." He whispered. I pushed him away and stuck my tongue out at him. I swallowed the lump in my throat then opened the door. It was quiet. No amazing smell coming from the kitchen.

I set my backpack down, shutting the door. Her car is here so I was assuming she was home.

"Hello?" I called, peeking my head into her room. My frown deepened when I saw all my father's things lying on top of the bed.

I walked into the kitchen, getting myself a bag of Doritos and noticed a bright yellow sticky note lying on the counter. I furrowed my eyebrows, waking over to it.

Rosie, dad and I had to go to the doctor, might not be back till later. Have Luke over, have some fun! ;)
-Mum

I crumbled up the note and threw it in the trash, angrily popping a Dorito into my mouth. Probably on a date, not at the doctor.

I stomped up the stairs, pulling my phone out of my pocket and deciding to text Luke. Before I could text him the screen lit up with a text from an unknown number. I raised my eyebrows and decided to look at the text.

From: Unknown

Rose, it's your dad. I need you to come to the hospital asap!! It's your mum.

I dropped my phone in shock, feeling like if I blinked once that the tears would just flow. A sob escaped my lips as I ran down the stairs.

I needed Luke to come with me, I couldn't do this alone. I mean, I don't even know what's going on. I slipped a jacket on and grabbed my car keys.

I wiped away a tear with the back of my hand and started to make my way over to Luke's. I knocked on the door, another sob came out of my mouth. The door opened revealing a tired looking Luke, when he noticed that I was crying he hugged me.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his hands combing my hair softly. I lifted my head up and sniffled.

"It's my mum. My dad just texted me and said that I needed to go to the h-hospital, Luke, I need you to come with me." He nodded, kissing my forehead.

"I will, let's go, love." I smiled at him, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand again. He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers, kissing the back of my hand.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." He said reassuringly once we got into my car. I buckled the seat belt, my head lying in my hands. Another sob escaped my lips and I felt Luke rub my back. He knows how much my mum means to me.

All that was running through my mind was, why is my mum in the hospital? What happened to her? This is my dad's fault. Right when he shows up something goes wrong.

My hand found Luke's again, his thumb running circles reassuringly onto the back of my hand. I sighed loudly when we pulled up to the hospital. I noticed my father's car parked five spots away from ours.

I took a deep breath before making my way into the hospital, Luke following behind. I cringed every time I heard someone cough or sneeze.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked after looking the two of us up and down. I nodded, sniffling in the process.

"Can you tell me what floor and room Gwen Brooks is in please, she's my mum." The receptionist nodded and told us the information. I thanked her, grabbed Luke's hand and dragged him towards the nearest elevator.

The elevator doors opened, many people spilling out leaving only us two inside. Once the doors closed I wrapped my arms around Luke's torso and buried my head into his chest.

He stroked my hair and rested his chin on top of my head. The elevator dinged, us pulling apart. We both walked to mum's room, Luke pulling me to his body when we got closer to the room.

I took a deep breath, looking into Luke's eyes and opening the door which revealed my father sitting on a chair next to mum's bed where she was attached to all different kinds of machines.

"Oh my god." I whispered, hugging Luke. We both walked over to the bed slowly and mum smiled at me. I ran my fingers through my hair as I continued to stare at my mum.

"M-Mum?" I whispered. Mum gave my father a look which caused him to walk over to me. I rose an eyebrow as he took my arm and softly lead me outside the room.

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked shakily. He looked at me sympathetically, caressing my cheek with his thumb.

"You're mum has cancer. That's why I'm here."

I felt like my whole world just got squished between somebody's fingers when I heard those words. My knees gave out beneath me and I fell to the floor, everything blurring around me. The last thing I heard was my dad yelling for a nurse before everything went dark.