Let Me Keep You Safe - 5SOS boyxboy

Chapter Twelve

 Calum's mother, Joy, bursts into the hospital, tears staining her cheeks as she frantically searches the waiting room for Michael. He'd called her and Calum's father as soon as he'd calmed himself down enough to be able to speak clearly.

"Where is he?" She asks, her arm reaching out to grip Michael's shoulder tightly.

Michael shakes his head. "I don't know, they won't let me see him. I've been here for almost half an hour. They said they'd let me know when they have news, but so far there's nothing."

Joy doesn't attempt to contain her sobs as she crumbles into Michael's arms. Calum is her baby. She'd do anything to protect him, but she knows now that she has failed.

Michael rubs his hand slowly up and down her back as he cradles her frail figure. He isn't sure what to say to comfort her, seeing how he's not in much of a better state himself.

A few more minutes go by before Calum's dad comes rushing in, much in the same way that Joy had. He walks quickly over to where Michael is standing cradling his sobbing wife. David is somehow managing to keep himself together, although Michael can see the grief written on his face.

When Joy notices his presence, she quickly turns away from Michael and instead falls into the arms of her husband. He holds her close and strokes her hair, kissing her head occasionally as he mumbles words of comfort that are too low for Michael to hear. David glances up at Michael and notices how sickly he looks.

"Michael, are you okay?" He asks, his voice weak. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Michael shakes his head, tears still streaming down his cheeks at a much slower rate. "I was running a fever this morning. That's why I didn't go to school with Calum. That's why I couldn't protect him from whatever or whoever made him want to do this. I wasn't there for him. I couldn't keep him safe."

Michael's voice breaks on the last word and a whole new wave of sadness falls over him. He puts his hands over his face and begins sobbing into them, his entire body shaking with each one.

"Don't blame yourself," Joy says, her voice just as broken as Michael's.

Michael can feel her hand coming to rest on his back, but he doesn't remove his hands from his face to look at her.

"We all let Calum down," she says sadly. "But you were there for him more than any of us were. You made him smile more than anyone."

Michael wants to believe her words, but right now he has a hard time focusing on anything other than the raw ache that's spreading through his body. He doesn't want to let himself imagine a world without Calum. That's not a world that he wants to live in. And yet, as his mind flashes through memories of Cal lying on the bathroom floor, lips blue and lifeless, that's all Michael is able to think about.

"Calum Hood?" A voice suddenly says, catching their attention.

Michael, Joy, and David immediately rush over to the doctor that's just called out Calum's name. He sticks his hand out for each of them to shake.

"I'm Dr. Lee," he says, his face straight and emotionless. "And you are?"

"Joy, his mother," Joy says, pointing to herself. "And this is his father, David, and his," she pauses for a moment, glancing up at Michael. "This is his fiancé, Michael."

Michael gives her a questioning look, but she raises an eyebrow, telling him to just go with it.

Dr. Lee nods and glances down at his hands that are folded in front of him. "Calum is stable," he says, earning a sigh of relief from the three people in front of him. "It was a battle. We couldn't find a pulse for nearly ten minutes which is almost unheard of. Most people don't come back after being gone for that long, but your son is very lucky. He's on some heavy sedatives right now to help him relax, but when he wakes up you are all going to have to be very gentle with him. We aren't sure how he's going to react when he wakes up, so go easy on him, please. Now, since he's not a minor, he can choose whether or not he wants to be admitted to the psychiatric ward for treatment. I would advise that unless you can have someone at home 24/7 for at least a month or two that you try and convince him to seek treatment here. In his state, he should not be left alone for more than an hour while he's awake. He might try to harm himself again."