Chapter Seventeen|Tension Pneumothorax

2.5K 77 7
                                    

When I got to the hospital I saw Luke sitting on a bench outside. His hands were covering his face and he was wearing ripped black skinny jeans, just like Calum.

"Where is he?", I shouted as I ran over to him from the car park.

Luke looked up, big watery tears smothering his pink face.

"I'll take you to him.. h-he's in such a bad state.. we-we can't even s-s-s-see him..", the tall blonde boy quivered out.

I rubbed Luke's back sympathetically as he took me up a few flight of stairs. I ran down the shiny corridor to see Ashton and Michael sitting on blue chairs, staring at the ground.

"You just missed the doctor.. he said it was due to rib fracture..", Michael snuffled out, you could tell he was trying to be okay but failing miserablly.

We all nodded in unison, dull looks across our faces. I was still startled about it all, I'm sure the rest of the boys were too.

"Is he g-going to be okay?", I croaked, pullling off my leather jacket and placing it on a chair as I sat down next to Ashton.

"The doctors are putting a chest tube in him.. they said it will help drain the air and help the lung to re-expand.. something like that. He's already had oxygen treatment and the rest.. he could hardly breathe when they got him in.. he's lucky to be a-alive..", Michael whispered, tears filling his eyes as he said 'alive'.

"He's going to be okay", I spoke confidentally, taking a big gulp in slight fear.

"Are you okay though..?", questioned Ashton sweetly as he put his long arm around my waist.

I shook my head as let myself cry into his warm sweater, making it wet and salty. He cradled me and held me tighter, muffling my shrieks. I felt a comforting arm stroke my back.

"Its gonna be okay..", Michael whispered as he rested his body against my back, falling into a light sleep.

I was so worn out and tired yet I couldn't sleep or even close my eyes. I didn't want to miss a doctor with news from Calum or the chance to see him. I wanted to see him. I just wanted Cal.

                                                            *****************************

"You can come and see him now", spoke an English voice.

I looked up at the doctor, his white lab coat beaming in all whiteness, he looked like he had just done some awful experiment.

"Is he okay?", I asked, standing up and placing my coat over Ashton,Luke and Michael who lay on each other in a deep slumber.

"He's very worn out, he's got oxygen pumping into him so there's no need to worry about him feeling short of breath. What happened to Calum was a tension pneumothorax, the pressure built up in the lung cavity slows or stops the return of blood to the heart from the veins. Because the heart has less blood available to pump into the main arteries, blood pressure drops, and other vital organs are rapidly affected. Fortunately, none of his organs were affected. You're very lucky he's okay, I've never known a patient to still be so chirpy after everything thats happening to him.", the doctor told me.

I felt my face lit up when he told me that he was okay, and that he was still chirpy. Typical Calum.

"We're monitoring his blood pressure and of course the oxygen being pumped into him. He'll be staying here for a while until we think he's strong enough"

"Okay! Thanks so much! The boys will be so happy!", I nodded as I was gestured into a bright hospital room.

As soon as I walked through the white pristine door, I saw Calum. Lying on the steel hospital bed, his head on a pillow and his eyes bright and light. His hair was all scruffy and he had a few bruises on his body, probably from the fans. There were scratches on his neck too and some leading down to his chest. An oxygen mask covered his mouth with a big tube coming from it, leading to a plastic packet, filled with probably oxygen. Another tube went into his chest, I assumed it monitored his blood from the connection to another machine that sat next to him. I mouthed out a 'hello' as I couldn't speak due to being so stunned and scared. I tried to hold back tears but couldn't, I cupped my mouth and spun round so Calum couldn't see me. The doctor was gone so I felt okay to cry. All I could hear was weird puffy noises coming from Calum and steady beeps. I hated seeing him like this.

"Does it hurt..?", I croaked out, wandering over to the bed and sitting next to him on a chair.

He waved his hands about to show a 'kind of' action meaning it hurt and it didn't hurt. I nodded at him. His eyes looked so heavy yet he seemed okay, still bright and chirpy like the doctor had told me.

"I love you", a muffled voice spoke through the gas mask, making it all fog up.

"I love you too", I whispered back.

Save Me From Myself|Calum Hood FanFictionWhere stories live. Discover now