Between The Lines

Chapter 18

HARRY'S POV

The TV screen is still lit up to the title screen. We must've fallen asleep watching the movie. I look down to Carly in my arms and I hear her phone ringing from somewhere under me.

"Carly, your phone." I nudge her.

"Hmm?" She shakes her head and wipes the sleep away from her eyes.

I retrieve it and slide my finger across the screen.

"Hello?" I mumble.

"Harry?" I check the screen again to see it says 'Mom'.

"Who is it?" Carly asks, her voice groggy.

"Julie? Is everything alright?" I ask her. Confusion and concern covers Carly's face.

"Harry, I need you ... to come over ...right away." She breaths into the phone. It sounds like she's struggling.

"Get my phone." I point to the kitchen table. Carly stands from the couch and rushes over to the table.

"Call an ambulance!" I instruct.

"I'm on my way." I assure Carly's mom.

I'm standing in front of Julie's door in a matter of seconds. The door is unlocked and I let myself in.

"Julie?!" I shout.

"Back...here." She heaves.

I run back to her room and see her lying on the floor, clutching her chest.

"What's wrong?" I ask, kneeling down beside her.

"Chest pains." She breathes.

Carly appears in the doorway, my phone in hand. "The ambulance is on it's way." She tells me.

I give her a small nod.

In what seems like a few seconds, the ambulance is here and I'm watching the paramedics carry Julie downstairs.

Carly is holding her face in her hands and I wrap an arm around her neck and pull her close in an attempt to comfort her.

"Would you like to ride to the hospital with her?" A paramedic asks me. I glance over to Carly who lets out a few sobs.

"Can we just meet her there?" I whisper. He gives me a small nod and walks back down the stairs.

"Carly?" I ask. She looks up at me, tears soaking her face. "It's going to be okay, I promise you."

"What was wrong?" She softly asks.

"She was having chest pains... They'll probably runs some scans to see if anything is severely wrong." I swipe my finger across her cheek to dry her tears.

"Let's go get some stuff and head to the hospital, alright?"

She nods and we make our way down the stairs and back to my apartment building.

When we enter my apartment, Carly runs into my bedroom to grab her bag and I retrieve my keys from a hook in the kitchen. I glance at the stove clock that reads '4:10'.

Carly comes back into the living room, bag in hand. "I took some things out and left them on your bed, if that's alright." She says quietly.

"Yeah, that's okay." I nod and place my arm around her waist to guide her down the hall.

We get in the car and drive to the hospital. While I find somewhere to park, Carly quietly asks, "why didn't she ask for me?"

I pull into a parking space and sit back in my seat, turning to face her.

"I was the one who answered your phone... She probably didn't think anything of it." Carly looks down at her hands and fumbles with her fingernails.

"Carly, maybe she just didn't want you to see her like that." I try to comfort her. She gives me a small nod and gathers her things from the backseat.

I get out of the car and walk next to Carly, taking her small hand in mine.

When we enter the building, we walk up to the reception desk.

"Julie Mathews?"

The lady nods at points down the emergency hall. "You'll have to wait out here for a few minutes... You're family?"

I nod and glance over at Carly. "Daughter and...um son-in-law." I tell the lady.

"Alright, sit over there, I'll let you know," she points to a few seats lined against the wall and we start over to them.

After about a half hour of waiting, the lady behind the desk says we can go back.

I take Carly's hand and follow a nurse back to Julie's room. She's half asleep already, but the nurse whispers to us about her condition.

"We did some scans, but we aren't too sure yet. We'll continue when she wakes up... she should be okay for a while. You two can sleep on the couch while we wait." She points to a small couch next to Julie's bed.

I nod. "Thank you."

I sit down with Carly on the couch and not before long, we're drifting off.

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