Mollie and Aj• Their Strictly journey

17

Aj's POV
I must have fallen asleep. There's no one in the room now. Just me but not for long. As I'm about to close my eyes, the door opens and at the front is none other than my brother. Curtis. I smile. Behind him is Chloe, Kevin and Karen. Curtis comes and gently hugs me. He squeezes my hand and ruffles my hair like he always did when I was sick. My eyes fill up with tears and as Curtis sits down I can also see that his eyes are full of tears. Out of the corner of my eye, the other 3 are stood silently at the back, Chloe leaning into Karen. I go to call out for Chloe but I'm interrupted you Curtis.

"How you feeling?" I sigh. I don't know how I'm feeling so instead I give a simple 'ok' as an answer.
He squeezes my hand again as I ask,
"How did you get here?" The last I heard, he was j Ireland.
"I had a few days off so I thought I'd come and watch the show in Manchester. Mum and Dad are still on their way. You were great by the way. You and Mollie are great together." Mollie. My Mollie.
"Where is she?" I ask. Curtis looks at Chloe. Is she hurt? Dead?
"She's at another hospital Aj. She's completely fine. She's staying with Gemma, Dianne, And Joe as Gorka is in a coma. He collapsed. I've not heard any more about it." Chloe says whilst walking over. I nod.

"What's wrong with me? Why was I in a coma?" I ask. Chloe looks down at the bed, then at Kevin and Karen. Either she doesn't know or is too scared to tell me. Clearly it's the latter as she mumbles a 'I can't' and leaves the room, Curtis follows her as they've always been close, leading to Kevin stepping forward and telling me.
"You went unconscious. The doctors operated and found some glass in your head. There's still some in so they'll obviously have to operate again but they also need to see to what extent your brain damage is." Brain damage.
"Does that mean I can't walk again? Or dance?" I ask. I feel someone take me into a hug. I look up slightly to see Karen. Her blond short hair tickles the top of my head.
"You might need to see a physiotherapist to help but that doesn't mean you won't.' He replies. I nod.
"Have you two had the call yet to go back?"
"No that's Saturday. It's only Thursday." Karen replies. I nod again.
"Do you think I'll get a call back ?"
"We're not sure Aj. If it's gonna take you a while to recover, you might not be well enough by the time rehearsals come around. Hopefully though, you will be able to."  I nod again. Nodding is the only thing I'm able to do right now. Karen squeezes my hand as she tells me sleep and that her and Kevin are gonna stay for a bit longer until Chloe and Curtis come back. By the mention of sleep, my eyes start to close and I go asleep, hoping that I'll be ok.

Mollies POV
My phone beeps, the only noise that's been made in the silent waiting room since I found everyone out here. Right now, Gorka is in surgery. I can't remember what's wrong with him. I was on the phone to Karen when he got taken in. Joe told me but it went in one ear and out the other as I was to focused on the fact that the man I love is currently in coma. Something which people don't always come out of.

I look at my screen to see a text off Chloe.

Chloe ☀️❤️: Hey Mollie. Just thought you should know that Aj is awake and he's been asking after you. We're at Salford Royal when you're ready to come down but if you wanna stay and be with Gemma that's fine. I hope Gorka's ok. Xx

Without realising, I let out a sigh. A sigh of relief but also a sigh of frustration. I close my eyes as I try to think of what to do. Aj is my boyfriend, who I love and is awake in hospital asking for me but Gemma is my friend. A friend who's boyfriend is also in hospital, currently in surgery.

"Everything ok?" My thoughts are broken by a thick Scottish accent. I open my eyes to see Joe staring at me along with Dianne and even Gemma, who I thought was asleep. I give a simple nod, knowing that if I speak I'll end up crying.

"Any news on Aj?" This time Dianne speaks. I give a simple nod. I take a deep breath before telling them what Chloe told me.
"He's awake and is asking for me. I don't know if I want to go and see him though." I reply. I don't want to make it crowded. Chloe's there, Kevin and Karen and potentially his parents and brother.
"Why not?" Gemma asks. It's the first time she's spoken since Gorka collapsed. She either gave us a nod or a shake of the head.
"I don't want to make it crowded. Chloe's there, Kevin and Karen are there. His mum and Dad..."
"So? What difference is that gonna make? Your his girlfriend. You have a right to be there. Don't worry about staying here with me. I have these two. I'll text you myself if there's any news on Gorka." Gemma tells me.  I nod.
"Thank you." I say as I pull her into a hug. "He'll be fine Gem."

I walk out of the waiting room towards the entrance. I pull my phone out and phone for a taxi to Salford Royal. I then text Chloe back;

To Chloe ☀️❤️: I'm on my way now. Should be about ten minutes. Xx

She replies almost instantly.
Chloe☀️❤️: Ok. See you soon sweet. Xx
The taxi soon arrives. I get in and tell him to go to Salford Royal Hospital. I lean against the window, staring out at the beauty of Manchester. It's still the early hours so the roads are not as busy but are more peaceful and calm and the sky is still slightly dark. I like it.

We soon arrive at the hospital. I pay the driver before heading towards the entrance. I spot Chloe immediately and she spots me. She gives me a hug and buries her face into my coat. I can hear her tears. It's weird to see her like this. She's always been so happy and is very rarely upset.
"Are you ok?" I ask. She nods.
"Sorry. I've cried so much. Didn't think I had tears left. Come on I'll take you to his room. He doesn't look that bad if I'm honest." I let her take the lead. We walk past cubicles, waiting areas, more cubicles and more waiting areas. She suddenly stops at a room which I'm guessing is Aj's and I'm right.  Through the window, I can see his brother, Karen, Kevin and Aj himself. He looks asleep but his mouth is moving so it's clear he's awake.

"You ready to go in?" Chloe asks. Hands ready to push the door open.
I nod and follow her in.

Heyyyy👋 I'm quite surprised people are still reading this tbh but I'm glad. Thank you for being patient with me I'm gonna try and update more regularly now. Updates will probably happen on the weekends now instead of weekdays so please be patient. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please comment and vote as it means a lot. Thank you!
E x