Skinny Hips // Ashton Irwin

four // feeding tube

//Ashton//

"They did something terrible to me."

Annie was crying and with Tina's grip on my shoulder, I couldn't even try go over to help her. We had rules in this place, and not making someone talk after they begin to cry is one of those rules.

I kept my eyes on the group leader as she grinned and nodded at Annie to continue. I began grinding my teeth, looking for some sort of way to help Annie without getting myself fired.

"What did they do, sweetheart?" Tina pushed, now gripping my shoulder tighter.

I watched the color completely drain out of Annie's face as she finally looked away from the group and down at her wrist. I could suddenly feel the tension and fear throughout the group as we all noticed the blood dripping down Annie's arm. 

Tina stood, and I followed suit. I could feel the panic throughout the room, and then the panic throughout myself when I saw Matty stand too, just quickly enough to grab Annie before she hit the floor. She was out cold.

Tina ran over and helped Matty lie her down in his lap. He began to push her hair out of her face, and I could see the sweat running down her cheeks.

"Why the fucking hell did you make her do that?!" I yelled at Tina, suddenly pulling her away from the situation. "Call the bloody ambulance, and get everyone into the other room!"

I began to pull my t-shirt off over my head, ready to wrap it around Annie's bleeding arm when I was stopped by the sight of Tina stood completely still, shocked.

"Now, Tina!" I yelled, causing some of the now hysterical teens to panic even more. 

Tina finally started to move. She rushed everyone into the other room, shutting the door after everyone had left, leaving me alone with Annie and Matty. Quickly and as careful as I could, I wrapped my white--but now stained--t-shirt around Annie's wound, putting pressure on it.

"What do we do?" Matty asked, his voice low. He held his hands over the sides of her head, keeping her as still as possible. I watched her chest rise and fall, searching for an answer to give him.

"We wait."

We did exactly that. For the next seven minutes, Matty and I sat with Annie in complete silence, keeping the pressure on her bleeding arm and hoping she'd wake up. She didn't.

When three men came barging into the room with a gurney, Matty was made leave, but not without leaving a single kiss on Annie's head. I tried my best to push away the feeling of jealousy and focus on the real problem, which was getting Annie onto the gurney and downstairs to the ambulance.

The doctors asked me question after question on the ride there. How do I know Annie. What is my official relationship with her. How much do I know about her past. How much do I know about her present. What's her mother's name. What's her mother's number. What's my number. What's Annie's official illness. How much has she ever eaten around me. How did she get away with putting such a deep wound into her wrist in a room filled with more than fifteen people and not get caught. 

My heart beat faster with every passing moment, and soon we finally reached the hospital. I was told to wait outside the room Annie was brought into until her mother arrived, only being left with a bottle of water and the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears. I had never been so nervous.

The wait was excruciatingly long. After maybe two hours of waiting, her mother arrived with a man older than me, but too young to be the step-father. The woman--I found out her name was Eliza--asked very few questions. What happened. How long will we be waiting. Who am I.

The boy by her side sat silently. 

Annie's mother seemed more angry than anything else. Her grumbling and loud sighs soon began to piss me off, and I already began to realize where Annie's illness could have stemmed from.

It wasn't long again after that before a doctor finally came out of Annie's room, asking for her mother. Eliza stood, the boy following along with her. I sat up right, trying to listen in to the conversation being had. 

"Annie passed out from lack of food; we have her on a feeding tube now. We're thinking of keeping her in for a few nights to see what we can do with her illness, but it's completely up to you, miss. Either way we have to keep her in over night to keep an eye on her."

"I want to take her home tomorrow, thanks," Eliza scoffed, seeming personally offended by the fact that the doctor actually wanted to help her child.

The doctor pursed his lips, crossing his arms over his chest with a nod. "Fine by me." He turned to the boy stood next to Eliza, nodding his head at him. "Are you Ashton?"

At the sound of my name, I stood from the seat, almost falling on my way over to the doctor and Annie's family. "No," I said, louder than needed, trying to get the attention of the doctor. "I'm Ashton. What's wrong?"

"Annie has been asking to see you since she woke up," the doctor told me, "you can go right in."

I looked at Annie's mother and the boy stood by her side, feeling proud that Annie would ask for me before them, but also feeling bad for them. Eliza shot me a look of pure anger, but I did my best to block it out, making my way into the hospital room instead.

Annie looked sick; almost dead, even. She was pale, and she looked as if her entire body was falling in on itself, each and everyone of her bones stuck out prominently. She had a tube taped to her face and going into her nose, and a drip sticking into her arm. Her wrist was bandaged up, the white fabric slightly tinted red. 

"Annie," I whispered as I shut the door, getting her attention. She looked away from the TV on the wall that was playing the news and looked at me, a weak smile taking over her features.

"Ashton," she said, her voice cracking, "you stayed.

"Of course I did, stupid," I laughed. Annie laughed too, looking down at her lap. I began to make my way across the room and over to her, taking a seat at the end of the bed. "You scared me, Annie."

The laughter that was heard throughout the room died down, and I could feel Annie shift to move. I watched her try and sit up properly, but she wasn't able to lift herself up. So I stood and moved closer to her, leaning over the hospital bed to grab her hips and help her sit up right. At a single touch I could feel her bones sticking out from over her clothes and my heart broke at the feeling. 

I began to pull away, but Annie grabbed my shoulder before I could, holding me in place. My face was inches away from hers, and I looked her in the eye, waiting for her to say something.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Ash," she told me, licking her chapped lips afterwards before speaking again. "I really didn't mean for any of this to happen. Tina kept pushing me, and I was stressing, and she was making me speak and I just, just-"

"Annie," I spoke over the sound of her rambling, "you don't need to apologize to me. You're sick, this isn't your fault."

I could feel her breath on my cheek, and I smiled at the feeling, looking away from her and taking my seat back at the end of her bed.

I believed even with tubes all over her, a bandaged wrist, hospital gown, bloodshot eyes and messy hair; I still want to take her out for dinner.