brave//5SOS

39

Emily

Luke seemed really hurt yesterday, and it definitely came across on the way to my appointment. Calum and Michael had come with us, but something was hanging in the air.

Liam met us at the office, letting us into his room.

"So Louis' family is over huh?" I asked, holding Calum's hand tightly. It came out a lot less cheerfully than I'd intended.

"Yeah," Liam laughed, finding my files on the computer. Luke was putting gloves on- he'd been acting different. Almost like if he touched me, I could shatter at any moment.

"Do you want to sit down for me hun?" he asked, shooting me a smile. I shook my head and bit my lip.

My stomach was already flipping but I didn't want any more pain. My whole mouth had been throbbing for a day, and pain shot through my jaw whenever ate.

"It hurts too much," I said, tears quickly coming.

"We're going to stop that love. How about, you let us take an X-Ray, then Luke will give you and cleaning and not touch the tooth while I work out what we can do," Liam suggested, Luke nodding in agreement.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and sat on the chair, quickly wiping the tears. Liam took the X-rays as quickly as possible so that everything could be over and done with.

"Alright Emily, you've done a cleaning billions of times. Just relax for me," Luke said, leaning the chair back.

"Be careful," I said, holding his wrist as I always did.

"I will be,"

Despite him being gentle and explaining everything, we still had to stop a few times.

"Can I start the exam now? I don't want you here longer than you have to be," he said. I sent a thumbs up.

Liam rolled over and pulled a mask over his face- I gripped Calum's hand tighter.

"We're gonna sort out your tooth, ok?" Liam said, holding my other hand.

I moved my head away and shook my head, starting to cry again. It hurt more than anything else before, and I didn't want Luke to touch it, even though he had to.

"What's upsetting you so much?" Calum asked, rubbing small circles on my hand. I looked up at Luke, wishing he didn't look so upset. My stomach churned and I sat up, the room getting warmer.

"It hurts a lot, doesn't it," Liam said sympathetically.

"Luke ," I cried, covering my mouth with my hand.

"I know baby, I know," he said quietly, planting a small kiss on my forehead.

"If I sit with you, will you let them do your job?" Calum asked.

I nodded but my chest just seemed to get even tighter. Maybe I would shatter at any moment.

Everyone left the room apart from Luke, who sat next to me.

"Why are you so distraught? I know you can get anxious, but is this all because of the tooth?" he asked gently.

I shrugged.

There was something, but I didn't think it would affect this.

The boys aren't great at whispering.

"As Calum said... I don't know if I'll be ok," I whispered, my voice cracking as he wrapped his arms round me.

"I just don't feel right, and I'm sorry that this is such a fuss, but I hate the feeling of having tools in my mouth. I hate having to have more injections, and more work done, because I don't get a break,"

"You don't have to apologise for being scared but not letting me do my job, you've never done that before Emily. How many times have you sat on that chair?"

"Too many,"

"Then you should know that as long as we both work to let it run smoothly, it runs smoothly," he sighed, rubbing my back.

"It hurts a lot," I groaned, squeezing my eyes in discomfort.

"What if, before everyone come back in, you let me look. Then Calum can sit with you, and we will put in a mouth prop so you don't get tired,"

I nodded and slid back onto the chair, opening my mouth. Being careful of the ulcers, he pulled my cheek back and looked at the teeth around it. I squeezed my eyes shut as he lightly touched the tooth- that seemed to be enough for him.

"All done, okay? I'm going to try and save it,"

He started collecting other tools while everyone filed back in. Calum lifted me onto him and Michael took his chair; his hand rested in my knee.

"Let's get this over and done with,"

Calum held my hands to my chest, not letting me move at all. My breathing was rapid, my heart pounding.

"Breathe slower. Trust me, your chest will feel better," Cal whispered, rubbing small circles on top of my hands. I grabbed one and my whole body tensed.

It didn't hurt, but I couldn't say it was comfy. The more the treatment went on, the more painful everything was.

"Literally a minute left sweetheart," Liam soothed.

The light turned off and they sat the chair up. I turned round and leant into Calum, pressing my face into his chest.

Liam cleaned up since he couldn't avoid the house all day, and said goodbye.

"I think we all need to have a talk later, including Ashton," Luke said quietly.

**

"Ashton, stop pretending like I'm ok," I said quietly, laying across Luke's lap.

"I'm not pretending... this treatment was supposed to work. You've got to come home,"

He was just as hurt as Luke, but more confused by how he felt. The desperation in his voice was killing me to hear.

"I'm flying out,"

"No... Michael's going to see if it's possible to continue it at home," Calum said calmly.

"Just, stay calm," Luke said.

He was gently rubbing my shoulders, the two of us almost in tears. I appreciated the gesture, because my back ached so much, but the tears were the worst.

"Ok, I'll get everything ready here and see what I can do too. I love you guys," he mumbled sadly, blowing me a kiss.