Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

102: The Deafening

The loud, shrill noise of a baby crying was enough to disturb the entire suburb of Reservoir.

Of course, it wasn't just one baby - it was two. Twins, who definitely did not belong in the tiny apartment block.

'Lotte' Nathan Murphy whined, completely disheveled as he banged against the door.

'Tell her to make them quiet! I'm tired' a hungover Beau McCreery whined, from the neighbouring couch, pillow tightly over his head.

'LOTTE!' Nathan yelled, knocking even louder.

'Is that her making all this noise?' The elderly neighbour from across the landing asked, stepping out and making an appearance, walker, dressing gown and all.

'She's usually pretty good at keeping their noise down. LOTTE! ALL OF RESERVOIR, PRESTON AND THOMASTOWN ARE AWAKE!' Nathan yelled, banging on the door. Still, no answer came.

'I will call the police if she doesn't quiet down' the elderly neighbour threatened. Nathan shook his head.

'No, it's okay. It's fine. I have a spare key' he said, rushing in and grabbing it from its hook. 'I hate doing this. Feel like I'm breaking in' he whispered, as he unlocked the door.

The noise only seemed to erupt when he entered the apartment, one of the twins crying from where he laid in a bassinet, in the living room next to the couch. Nathan awkwardly danced around him, heading into the bedroom.

Lotte looked a sight.

Her hair was all over the place, face a mess. How was the noise not waking her?

'Lotte' Nathan said, getting in her face.

Her eyes snapped open at the sudden male intruder, and she screamed, accidentally decking him in the face.

She quickly hurried out of bed, getting tangled up in the blankets and sheets as she covered her mouth, terrified.

'What the - NATHAN?' She yelled, finally recognising him. Crouched down on the floor and covering his nose, he nodded. 'Yep' he confirmed.

'What the hell are you doing in here?' She asked, voice completely gone. She coughed, severe pain in her ribcage. It's then she noticed how sore her throat was, and that she had other cold symptoms.

'The twins have been crying for hours, and I was kind of worried something had happened to you' he said, standing up and wiping the blood from his nose. Lotte immediately ran over to Layla and began changing her, the shrill cry never dying down.

'That's odd' she quietly noted, as she finished changing Layla and put her hand against her face. 'She's hot. She's burning up' she said, heart racing.

'Is she okay?' Nathan asked.

'Oh, I don't know. Laura noticed she was breathing differently last night...' Lotte said, rocking her daughter and trying to cease the crying. However the crying didn't cease, and Lotte noticed Layla's chest kind of caving in, and felt that she had a stiff, tense neck. The terrified mother looked up at Nathan in panic.

'Nathan, something's wrong. Something's wrong with Layla!' She exclaimed, frantically running into the lounge and checking on Oscar, who was fine - just crying for food.

'Can you stay here and look after Oscar?' Lotte asked, as she grabbed her phone and quickly scrolled through her contacts. 'I have to take Layla to the hospital or something. I'm terrified' she admitted, in a shaky voice.

'You can't take him with you?' Nathan asked, scared. Lotte shook her head and placed her phone to her ear. It rang a few times, before a male voice answered.