The game | Calum Hood

Big sisters, pandemonium and helplessness.

I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. My brother lay cold on the floor whilst Ashton walked Calum away, smiling wryly at me. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to kill Calum for doing this to my baby brother, but then Luke did bring this upon himself, he knew what Calum was like.

"Luke?" I cried, not really taking any time to think. Lay in a pool of his own blood, Luke was still, cold out. Terrified to injure him more, I shook off my jacket and lay it across him, desperate to warm him up slightly. All whilst Michael called the ambulance.

It felt like a lifetime that I sat there, just clinging onto my brother's lifeless hand. It was like a horror story and the minutes were dragging. He didn't flinch as we just sat there, and fear consequently flooded through my shaking body. There he lay, my baby brother, on the ledge between life and death. And all I could think is how much I wanted to hurt the person that made him this way.

It all turned into pandemonium as the ambulance arrived. I got pushed aside and my brother was lifted onto a stretcher and taken into the back of a lit up green van. Once Michael assured me that he would let my parents know what had happened, I jumped inside the van with him.

But I couldn't hold him. I couldn't touch him. I couldn't hold his hand and tell him that this was all going to be ok. I couldn't brush his blood soaked blonde hair from his face. I couldn't help him like a big sister should.

The beeps and clinking of the machines haunted me as I was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for any news. The entrance of Michael and my parents didn't soothe me, and all I could hear was the ghastly echo of the ambulance and the ticking of the clock on the dingy grey wall in front of me.

But then.

We all stood up at the presence of a tall male doctor with a welcoming but sorry look on his face. Then he started to speak.
"Luke is not good. That's the bottom line. I don't like to try to sugar coat it, as it's not looking good for him right now. The knock to his temple caused a blood vessel to clot in his brain, and then another bleed to the brains cured, but we aren't really sure why. He took a bit of a fall too, which means a fractured ankle for the poor lad, but the bleeding is what we are more worried about for now."
He looked at me.
"Sorry."

"And what does this mean?" My dad asked, all of his confidence now lost. "I mean, how's he holding up?"

"Right now." The doctor sighed. "Right now, Luke is on a ventilator to aid his breathing, and he is undergoing many tests. This is to see if he needs any more aid or even surgery. But he is in a good place for his situation right now."

Then my mum broke down beside me.

"At least he's conscious." I whispered, trying to find a silver lining.

"Yes." The doctor smiled. "He is conscious, but he is on a very high dose of morphine as the pain will be excruciating. He doesn't really know where he is at the minute."

"Has he asked for anything?" Dad questioned, obviously waiting for the doctor to beg him to go and see his son.

The doctor nodded, "he has, and it's against hospital policy, but he won't cooperate with us unless we grant his request."

"And that is?" Mum quizzed.

"He wants to see Riley."

A wave of nausea flooded through my body.

I was guided like a young child through the maze of corridors that led up to the room that contained my brother. I felt so vulnerable, so weak, so helpless, but I knew it wasn't a patch on what Luke was feeling. So I put a meek smile on my face and pushed open the door, but the smile soon disappeared.

"Riles..."

I couldn't speak, I was tying, but the words wouldn't come out. Nothing was happening, I was frozen in my spot, unable to do anything. Luke.

"Is it that bad?" He chucked, but winched as his cheeks lifted. "He really got me good huh."

I nodded.

"The nurse said something about how I was a good looking lad. I asked her why she used was, she didn't answer."

"You...you're really mangled."

"Thanks Riley, just the word I wanted to hear! Mangled!" He laughed. "Nah, I'll be fine, tis but just a scratch! He didn't touch you did he?"

I shook my head and looked at the floor. "He wouldn't."

"No, I know." Luke sighed, holding out his hand, which was more difficult that he had thought, due to the presence of an IV line. "He loves you Riles."

"He won't get away with this Luke." I whispered, taking Luke's hand and walking towards him, our blue eyes not leaving each other. "He won't get away with hospitalising a Hemmings! The only problem being, that I might throw up if I see his face anywhere near me ever again."

Luke began to speak and then stopped. His eyes flickered shut and his fell limply to one side. His grip tightened around mine and a rush of cold flooded right through to his fingertips. His chest began to rise and fall more quickly and his legs began to shake. The colour drained from his face and then he went still. He didn't move.

"NURSE? ANYONE? SOMEBODY HELP! ANYBODY? anybody..." I cried, dropping Luke's hand and backing up from him as if he was a danger. I backed up in pure terror and barged past the hoards of doctors that were now piling through the door.

Not taking any notice of where I was or who was trying to talk to me, I sprinted towards the exit of the hospital, until the fresh air hit me, followed closely by the harsh hit of rain. "Fuck!" I yelled. "Fuck fuck fuck."