Something Beautiful

↠e l e v e n ↠

Song of the chapter:
Hurt by Christina Aguilera

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"Hazel. Hazel, wake up." Someone shook me trying to wake me up.

I groaned and opened my eyes slightly. Lizzie hovered over me, staring down at my face. "Mmmwhat?" I mumbled.

"We have to go to the hospital ASAP." She said urgently.

"Why?" I whispered. My eyelids felt super heavy and I just wanted to go back to sleep.

She swallowed hard, clearly trying to hold tears back. "Ashley is having repeated seizures. We need to get to the hospital as soon as we can before anything terrible happens."

I was wide awake now. "What do you mean by 'before anything terrible happens'?" I sat up in bed and Lizzie moved back away from my bed so we wouldn't bump heads.

"She could have permanent injury to the brain or worse."

"Meaning--" I encouraged her to go on.

"Death." She whispered so quietly I almost didn't hear what she said.

I started getting anxious. "I'll-I'll get dressed." I stood up quickly, letting my blankets drop to the floor.

Lizzie turned to leave my room. "I have to go get Ashton up."

"Wait." I said.

She turned to me slightly. "Yes?"

"Where's your husband?" I thought that he would definetly be around at a time like this.

"He had to go away on a business trip. It's mandatory and crucial to his job." She walked out of the room and held the doorknob, prepared to close it. Clearly, she didn't want to talk about it.

"Oh." I watched her close the door and after she did, I went over to my closet and pulled out a black flowy tanktop and dark rinse jeans, both of which I put on. Then I grabbed my favorite red and black plaid shirt, and wrapped it around my waist.

I ran a brush through my hair and looked in the mirror. My hair was actually decent-looking for once. I smiled briefly at myself and then immediately frowned, as I thought about Ashley.

You shouldn't be smiling at a time like this, I scolded myself. And besides, you're not all that pretty.

I sighed and dropped my brush on my bed before leaving my room.

Ashton was already in the hallway, leaning against the wall beside his door, and staring down at his iPhone. He wore a black t-shirt with the words Weekend Warrior on it and black jeans.

I cleared my throat and he looked up. "Hey." He said, visibly surprised to see me standing there.

I nodded my head at him in greeting and jogged up the stairs. Lizzie was standing at the counter, fully dressed and holding car keys in her hand.

"Ready to go?" She asked me when I came into view.

I nodded.

"Don't forget about me." A deep voice said behind me.

I rolled my eyes. It's not like anybody can forget about you.

"Okay. Let's go." Lizzie said.

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Ashton were in the hallway right outside Ashley's hospital room, and I was sitting on a bench while Ashton walked back and forth across the floor, wringing his hands nervously.

Lizzie had just went in to Ashley's room, and we couldn't come because it was immediate family only. I was surprised Ashton wasn't allowed in since he lived with them and all.

Ashton's pacing back and forth made me dizzy so I told him to sit down.

"I can't! I really wish I could go in there." He stopped pacing momentarily to stare at the door.

"Yeah, well you're not allowed, and Lizzie will probably be in there for awhile. Just sit down and chill out!" I exclaimed.

"I'm surprised you're not freaking out." He said, turning his head to me.

I glared. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, her having repeated seizures is pretty serious, you'd think you would be curled up, screaming like a four year old!" Ashton mocked me.

This is not the anmoying but happy Ashton I've known these past few days! I thought. "Whats going on?" I asked.

He gave me a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you being such a jerk?" I didn't say it meanly, I just asked it like a normal question.

"Because." He turned his back to me and his head bowed down.

"Because isn't an answer Ashton. Tell me what's going on." I said firmly.

He didn't answer.

I rolled my eyes. "Me asking you about whats going on, is like a blue moon. It doesn't happen very often."

He reluctantly turned to look at me for a moment before speaking. "Ashley isn't the only person I know who is in the hospital, close to death."

I stared at him. What did he mean by that? "Who?" I asked.

"My mother. She has lung cancer." He whispered and his eyes became glossy.

I gasped. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

He sat down beside me and sighed. "She's very sick."

"Where is she?" I hoped she wasn't back in Australia.

"A hospital in Sidney, Australia."

"Well, why are you here rather than there?" I gripped my hands together tightly.

"She made me go. She told me that I need to pursue my dream rather than sit around a stuffy hospital with her, doing nothing. When she gets really sick, I'm going back home to stay with her until she goes." He spoke slowly.

"I can't imagine having that happen to my mother." I whispered.

"It hurts. It hurts a lot. Especially if your mother has helped you through everything that has happened in your life. I have no idea what I'm going to do without her. The boys have helped me through so much though." He said.

"The boys?" I asked.

His eyes widened. "Uhm--a couple of my friends." He said quickly.

"Oh." I knew he was lying and I didn't understand why.

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