When Annabelle, a young eighteen year old is sent to her grandmothers attic to fetch something she discovers some old photographs and newspaper clippings from 1919. The dates go back to when her grandmother was a child and lived out her own teenag...
I managed to get Annabelle back home safely all the while panic was rising within me, how did this even happen? I was gone for just about 10 minutes! Aunt Poll and Ada were tending to Annabelle as she laid down in my bed still barely conscious. I paced the room feeling useless "Thomas you need to stop pacing" Ada looked over her shoulder "Ada you know I cant" I replied still shaken up at the damaged that had been caused. "Thomas, Adas right. You need to sit down" Aunt poll stood from the bedside and placed the blood soaked rags back in the bowl of warm water.
"How can you possibly tell me to sit down and relax when we don't even know if she's going to live at this point?" I began raising my voice towards the end. With a deep sigh Poll pulled me to the end of my bed where Annabelle's feet were and sat me down "Now listen to me-" she began in a stern tone "It wasn't your fault. There is no way you could have seen this coming, non of us could" I gripped my head in my hands fighting the voice in my head that was blaming myself for what went down today.
"Thomas if your going to stay in here you may as well help us" Ada commented which sprung me back up to my feet. "Tell me what to do" I said desperately wanting to do something, anything! to help. "sit down next to her and hold her hand so that if she wakes up you can comfort her" I nervously straightened myself up before walking around the other side of the bed and taking a seat in the chair that had been pulled up next to the bed before taking her hand in mine.
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Her hands so soft yet frozen left a chill in my hand, all I could do was sit here and look at the physical harm that Annabelle had been subjected to. Slowly I brought her cupped hand to my cheek and held it there hoping she would just wake up and tell me she was okay. Polly and Ada cleaned her up and took off her dress leaving her in her underwear so that if she started bleeding again it wouldn't stain anymore clothes. At lease 4 hours had passed by now and I hadn't let go of Annabelle's hand once.
"Thomas" John spoke softly as he entered the room, the girls had left after changing Annabelle's clothes. "Yeah, john?" I choked out holding her hand to my mouth and softly pressing my lips against her hand. "Tom you gotta get some rest, you cant stay here all night you know" I shook my head "You don't understand... I can't. Not after what I saw". John shook his head "Tom I know it was bad but-" I quickly shut him off as I felt my eyes begin to sting again "John. You didn't see what I saw when I found her".
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"well explain to me so I understand" I hesitantly nodded and motioned for him to sit on the other chair that Ada had pulled up to the other side of the bed whilst she was cleaning all the wounds. As John got comfortable I kept my eyes focused on Annabelle's sleeping face, so calm and pure even with a split lip and a deep purple bruise on her cheekbone. "When I walked in there... There was blood everywhere, all over the walls, the floor, the furniture, she'd definitely fought like a Blinder-" I shook my head "I found a glass shard stabbed in her leg, ropes tied around her arms, hanging her from the ceiling, her body looked like a crime scene... I honestly thought she was dead".
"Tommy she's going to be okay, you know Ada would have told you if she wasn't going to make it. She's a nurse". For the first time in hours I let her hand go gently and just spoke to John for a while longer "Annabelle... Annabelle is the first person since the war to make me actually feel something, like my soul wasn't completely gone". John looked down and played with his thumbs "well for your sake I hope she makes it. However you need rest as well".
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I watched as John got up from his seat and walked out of the room and most likely to his own room. I couldn't blame him it was now close to 5am in the morning, I looked at Annabelle one last time before placing a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered "please, for me" and walked into her room to sleep for the night. I know sleeping in her room was going to prove difficult to fall asleep without thinking about her. I laid myself down on top of her bed and slowly closed my eyes letting my exhaustion catch up with me.
Your P.o.v.
My eyes fluttered open and and my head began to pound, the pain from last night surged through my body and caused me to scream at the top of my lungs. The pain was surreal like nothing id ever experienced before, for it to be this painful I must have gone through something extremely traumatic. A large storm of footsteps came running up the staircase and into my room as I continued to cry out in pain. Ada and polly came rushing in with concerned faces and the boys soon followed behind.
"Make it stop" I shrieked unable to stop shaking due to the pain I was in, it was breathtakingly excruciating even just trying to do something as small as move my hand. I turned my head to look at the figure standing in the hallway, the panic on his face made tear spring to my eyes "Tommy" I whispered frantically trying to breathe properly. Thomas walked into the room and stood beside John who was now looking at me in the same panicked look. "whats happening to her!?" Michael yelled not knowing what to do "Bring me the morphine" Polly shouted.
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Moments later Finn came rushing into the room with needle and bottle of morphine. Thomas kneeled down next to the bed and looked me in the eyes, I could tell he'd been crying sometime over the last few hours. "I made it" I whispered to him reaching for his hand, he took my hand instantly and pure shock and relief was riddled all over his face. "Im so sorry" he whispered back cupping one side of my face, I chocked on my breath as the needle was injected and a minute later all the pain subsided. "Thank you Tommy" I breathed before holding his hand and closing my eyes finally in ease. I could tell everyone in the room was looking at him and assessing the way was acting around me. I felt a tear fall on my hand before Tommy asked everyone to leave. "Please everyone, she's fine now. You can go back to business".
