Let Me Keep You Safe - 5SOS boyxboy

Chapter Eleven

 Michael is starting to worry. Calum said he'd be right over after school, and seeing how he knew Calum would walk instead of taking a taxi (like he'd asked him to), he should've been over about half an hour or forty five minutes after school ended.

It's been almost two hours.

Michael has tried calling and texting Cal to ask where he is, but he hasn't gotten any replies. He's hoping that maybe Cal just went home and took a nap and forgot that he was supposed to come over, but somehow he knows that it's not that simple. Something's wrong.

Michael wants to go over to Calum's house and check on him, but he can barely stand in his sick state, much less drive.

It's just hitting the two hour mark when his phone suddenly starts to ring. It's Calum. Michael immediately answers it.

"Cal? Hey, where are you? I was worried about you," he says.

There's silence on the other end of the line, and Michael thinks that maybe Calum's hung up, but he can hear his faint breathing on the other end.

"Calum?" He asks, sitting up as he starts to get worried all over again.

"M-Michael," Calum stutters, his voice soft. "You know how much I love you, right?"

Michael nods, knowing that Calum can't see him through the phone. "Of course I do, baby. What's wrong?"

"I don't think I can do this anymore," he whispers.

Michael's heart drops as he hears the emptiness in Calum's voice. "D-do what?" Michael asks, slowly getting to his feet.

"Life," he answers, his voice devoid of any emotion. "I'm just done."

"No, no, no, no," Michael says, grabbing the keys to his motorcycle and hobbling out the door. He doesn't give a shit about his sickness right now. He needs to get to Calum. "You don't mean that, Calum. I'm on my way over right now, okay? Please just don't do anything until I get there."

Calum is silent for a few minutes as Michael makes his way down to the parking lot behind his apartment building.

"By the time you get here," Calum finally says. "It'll be too late. I just couldn't leave you with nothing but a note after everything you've done for me. I wanted you to know how much I love you."

"Calum," Michael says seriously, his voice shaking as he starts the motorcycle's engine. "I love you so much, okay? And you mean the world to me and to your parents and your sister. Please please just take a moment, breathe, relax. Just lay in your bed and watch some t.v. or something, okay? I'll be there in just a few minutes."

Michael can hardly hear anything anymore as he races through the streets to get to Calum as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry," Calum says quietly before hanging up.

There is a constant stream of tears flowing down Michael's cheeks now, but the wind is whipping them away. He shoves his phone into his jacket pocket and puts both hands on the handlebars, trying to focus on the road.

He can't bring himself to think of anything but Calum as he runs stop signs and weaves through traffic. He won't be too late. He can't be too late.

It seems like hours later when Michael finally arrives at Cal's house. The driveway is empty, indicating that none of his family is home yet.

Michael hops off of his motorcycle, not even bothering to put out the kick stand as it falls to the ground with a loud crash.

He runs to the front door and tries to open it, but it's locked. He starts to freak out for a second before remembering that they keep a spare key in a plant on the porch. He's heard Calum talk about it before. The only problem is that there are at least ten plants scattered along the porch.

Michael frantically begins digging his hands into each plant, knocking some over and scattering the dirt all over the place. He'll clean up the mess later, right now he just needs to get to Calum.

He finally finds the small key hidden amongst the leaves of one of the plants and he shoves it into the lock, throwing the door open and running up the stairs.

He checks Calum's room first, but finds it empty. He goes across the hall to the bathroom and tries to open the door, but it's locked as well.

He pounds his fists against the wooden door. "Calum!" He yells. "Baby please open the door!"

He doesn't get a response, so without a second thought, he backs up a few steps and begins kicking the door with all of the force he can muster. On the fourth kick, the door busts open and Michael nearly screams at the sight that greets him.

Calum, his precious Calum, is hanging by a rope around his neck. Michael can barely keep himself together as he quickly works to cut the rope down and untie it from Calum's neck.

Calum's lips are blue and lifeless, and Michael frantically searches the small boy's neck for any sort of pulse. He thinks that he can feel a very weak one, but he can't be sure of anything right now with the way his mind is racing.

He quickly dials 911 and puts them on speaker as he begins performing CPR, his hands pressing against Calum's chest as tears cloud his vision.

"911 what's your emergency?" The operator asks.

Michael's voice is low and determined as he works to try and explain the situation to the operator without panicking. The operator tells him to continue doing CPR until an ambulance arrives.

It takes all of Michael's will power not to break down and start sobbing against Calum's chest, but he knows that he has to stay strong and keep pushing if Calum is going to make it through this.

"Come on, Cal," Michael breathes as he continues doing chest compressions. "Come back to me, baby," he whispers. "Please."

Michael continues talking to the lifeless boy until he feels a pair of arms lift him off of his boyfriend. He starts to panic before he realizes that it's the paramedics. Two men quickly lift Calum onto a stretcher and carry him down the stairs and to an ambulance that's waiting in the driveway.

Michael follows, hopping into the ambulance with them without a second thought. Neither of the paramedics object as they shut the doors and get on their way to the hospital.

The men don't say much to Michael other than to ask Calum's name, date of birth, and other important information. One of the medics starts hooking Calum up to a million different machines the Michael doesn't recognize while the other continues to do CPR.

They attach a heart monitor to Calum's finger, and Michael's chest tightens when he sees the flat line on the screen. He has no pulse.

It only takes them a few minutes to arrive at the hospital, and the men immediately rush Calum out of the vehicle and into some back doors. A person, who Michael assumes to be the driver, grabs Michael's arm and leads him into the waiting room. Michael tries to protest, saying that he needs to be with Calum, but the man won't allow it.

He promises that doctors will be out as soon as they can to give him an update, and then suddenly Michael is alone.

For the first time, he allows himself to lose it. He begins sobbing violently as his breaths become shorter. He clutches his chest as he reaches a hand out to place on the wall and steady himself. He slowly lowers himself until he's sitting on the cold, tile floor of the hospital. Calum can't be gone. He just can't.