Can you Remember the Church Bells Ringing

Chapter 6

 The hospital corridor felt like a distorted tunnel of shame; each step Lucy took echoed in her ears as though she were moving through water. The world around her was a blur—bright fluorescent lights overhead streaking in her vision, walls that seemed to waver like a mirage, and the smell of antiseptic so sharp it made her stomach churn. Her heart raced, pounding in her chest with a force that left her feeling lightheaded, and disoriented, as if she might drift away from reality altogether.

She wasn't even sure how she had arrived here, how her feet had carried her through the maze of sterile hallways or how she had managed to navigate the labyrinth of her chaotic thoughts. She could only remember the cold dread that gripped her when Tamara's frantic words poured through the phone, her mind barely able to process the horror of what she had heard. Now, standing in the hospital, it was as though all of that fear and guilt had coiled around her, tightening with every second that ticked by.

Lucy forced herself to keep moving, to push through the overwhelming haze that threatened to consume her. Her legs felt heavy, each step an effort of willpower as she approached the room where her boyfriend lay. The closer she got, the more the sounds of the hospital—murmured voices, the steady beeping of machines, the distant clatter of a cart—faded into a dull roar in the background. All she could focus on was the door ahead of her, the door that led to Chris, to the truth she had been avoiding.

The reality of it all hit her like a tidal wave. She had forgotten about him. How could she have let herself be so consumed by the mess with Tim, by the ghost of their past that had come back to haunt her in Las Vegas, that she had completely lost sight of the one person who had been there for her through everything? Guilt gnawed at her, a sharp, unrelenting pain in her chest as she realised the depth of her betrayal. She had been too wrapped up in her turmoil to remember the man who had been waiting for her, who had needed her.

And now, because of her, he lay behind that door, his life hanging by a thread.

She reached out to the wall for support, her fingers brushing against the cold, smooth surface as the room swayed slightly around her. Her vision blurred again, and she blinked rapidly, trying to clear her head, to focus. But it was no use. The image of him, of what he must look like now, flooded her mind, and she couldn't shake the feeling of suffocation that gripped her. Rosalind, the monster that taunted her on every given occasion, had found a way to strike at her again, to take someone else she cared about and seal the barrel in a way that left Lucy gasping for air.

Her breath hitched as she finally reached the door. She could feel the tears welling up, threatening to spill over, but she forced them back. Not yet. She couldn't fall apart, not here, not now. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she placed her hand on the handle and pushed the door open.

Inside, the scene was worse than she had imagined. The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the faint glow of the monitors that beeped rhythmically beside the bed. Her eyes were immediately drawn to Chris, lying motionless, pale as the sheets that covered him. The bandages wrapped around his wrists were stark against his skin, a glaring reminder of the violence that had been inflicted upon him—violence that was meant for her.

Lucy's heart shattered at the sight. She wanted to run to him, to take his hand, to tell him that she was sorry, that she had been a fool to forget about him, to let herself be consumed by everything else. But her feet felt like they were glued to the floor, her body unwilling to move, as if acknowledging the reality of the situation would make it all the more real.

In the corner of the room, a figure stirred. Lucy hadn't even noticed Tamara sitting there, her small form hunched over, her face buried in her hands. When Tamara finally looked up, her eyes were red and swollen, the tears still fresh on her cheeks. The sight of her, this young woman who had become like a daughter to her, broke something inside Lucy, and the tears she had fought so hard to hold back finally spilt over.

"Tamara..." Lucy's voice cracked, barely more than a whisper as she finally stepped into the room.

Tamara rose from her chair, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Luce..." she said softly, her voice thick with emotion.Lucy couldn't stop herself any longer. She rushed to Tamara, pulling her into a tight embrace, holding her as if she might disappear if she let go. "I'm so sorry," Lucy whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there... I should have been there."

Tamara shook her head against Lucy's shoulder. "It's not your fault," she murmured, though her voice wavered. "You couldn't have known..."

But Lucy couldn't accept that. Deep down, she knew that her distraction, her inability to focus on anything other than her turmoil, had left her blind to what was happening right in front of her. And now, the cost of that blindness lay broken in the hospital bed, fighting for his life.

They stood there for what felt like an eternity, clinging to each other in the dimly lit room, the weight of their shared grief pressing down on them both. Lucy could hear the steady beep of the monitors, the only sound that seemed to tether her to reality as she tried to keep herself from falling apart.

Finally, Tamara pulled back, her eyes searching Lucy's face. "What... happened," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Tamara froze at her forwardness. She gulped," I had got home at around 6:30 pm, from college and studying with friends, when I found Chris lying on the couch. I tried to start a conversation, essentially about his favourite topic: you but he was unresponsive so I moved towards the sofa to check on him and... his wrist we slashed... there was blood everywhere. I tried, believe me, I tried to stop the continuous bleeding but god knows how long he had been left like this. So... I grabbed the tissue box to try and restrain the bleeding with some bandage and pressure but it wouldn't stop. I called 9-1-1 and rode with him to the hospital. The nurses got me a change of clothes and I told them that I was his cousin so that when he woke up he would have someone familiar."

The guilt twisted inside her once more after hearing Tamara's graphic story, she was crying so Lucy moved to wipe her tears away. "I called Nyla a few hours ago, she said that she would come back by now." Lucy exhaled shakily and thought that if Nyla came she would call Tim and including Tim in this situation would make it all the worse.

After releasing from their final embrace, Tamara excused herself to freshen up and get some hospital vendor snacks. Lucy sank into the chair, letting out her wail of sobs, letting it echo throughout the room. Tamara heard her cries from within a few steps of the door. When Nyla had arrived the first time she had explained how Tim and Lucy had got drunkenly hitched on the U.C although Tamara tried to be angry with her whole situation it brought her happiness to know that she finally found comfort in a person she could trust with her life. Chris was a distraction from her feeling with Tim and their timing had sucked but they were horrible when it came to love.

Tamara looked back at Lucy through the glass window before finalising her decision. She wasn't sure how much more Lucy could take, how much more she could endure without completely falling apart. But she knew one thing—Lucy couldn't do this alone. She needed Tim. She needed him to ground her, to help her find some semblance of stability in this nightmare.She found the contact 'Dadford' and slightly hesitated before calling him.

"Tamara, hey, is everything ok? Lucy left in such a hurry. Just tell me she's fine."

"You need to come to L.A. County. Now..."