Hate

eight

The show was almost done, we only had a few songs left when things went south. We were in the middle of a song when I began to feel lightheaded. I stumble a little, my eyes rolling back as I drop my mic. I hit the ground with a thud, gasps falling over the crowd as Daniel stops singing.

"Zach! Zach buddy wake up!" Jack says, panting as I hear him fall to his knees. That being the last thing I hear.

————

"Is he gonna wake up? What happened? Is he okay?" Jacks worried voice reached my ears.

"My poor boy. Baby please wake up." I almost forgot my mom was at the show. I feel a poke in my arm, and air blowing on my face.

"Lift his feet a little, yea just like that."

I slowly open my eyes as I groan, seeing paramedics hovering over me. They let out a sigh of relief, shining the flashlight over my eyes. I didn't even flinch.

"He's awake but he's not very responsive. Let's get him on the rig." My head was pounding as I blinked slowly.

"Wait what? What's going on?"

"We're taking him to the hospital." I blink lazily, the paramedic placing a mask over my face.

"Try and stay awake for us buddy." I glance at the other paramedic, closing my eyes as I groan.

"Hey hey, eyes open buddy." I feel them lift the board I was on, onto the gurney. They begin to wheel me off the stage, the crowd silent before they begin to murmur.

"Hey uh shows cancelled." Jonah says awkwardly into the mic before following us backstage.

Jack was walking beside me the whole time, sniffling quietly. My mom was going to take my siblings home before meeting me at the hospital.

They load me into the back, one going up front as the other stays with me. They shut the doors and we start to drive off. The paramedic yells at me every time I start to fall asleep, making this ride over suck. Thankfully it wasn't long.

They stop at the hospital and take me out of the vehicle, wheeling me into the building.

"What do we got?" An red headed man asks, slipping on gloves as he walks up to us.

"17 year old male, fainted on stage during a performance. Took way too long to wake up and is out of it. Could barely keep him awake on the way over. Also he has a laceration on the back of his head." The paramedic said.

"How long did he take to wake up?" The doctor asks as they move me into a room.

"Almost 6 minutes." The doctor immediately looked at me in worry.

"Ok transfer in my count. 1, 2, 3." They moved me over and a groan left my lips.

"Okay buddy how are you feeling?" The doctor asks, both him and the nurses working around me quickly. I don't respond, gaining his attention. I just, couldn't find it in me to speak.

"April cut his shirt so we can do an ultrasound and x-ray." The nurse nods, grabbing some scissors. She quickly cut my shirt, pausing as she looked at my torso.

"Will.." She trails off. The doctor glances over, his face falling. He glances at me, and I weakly glance back.

"Are you anorexic?" He asks. I shake my head no.

"But you have an eating problem." I nod.

"Where is he? Where's Zach?" I glance over at the door, my eyes watering.

"J-Jack?" The doctor immediately puts two and two together, leaving the room.

"Is there a Jack out here?" He asks.

"Me I'm Jack. Where is he? Is he okay?" The doctor leads him into the room and almost immediately his eyes land on my stomach.

"Oh my god."

"Jacky." I whimper, his head snaps up and he quickly walks over, grabbing my hand.

"Jack what all can you tell us?" He glances at them, letting out a nervous breathe.

"He's been getting a lot of hate recently. People calling him horrible names regarding his weight so he stopped eating. We um, we were working in helping him. Giving him more food little by little. We thought it would work but before we could try he passed out. Leading us here." He says, sniffling as he squeezes my hand.

"Ok so we're gonna put a tube in his stomach that will give his body some nutrients. He most likely passed out from lack of nutrients. He will have to be put under and go into surgery so we'll come get you when it's all set up." I glance at Jack, scared.

"No stay." I whimper, my lip trembling. Jack looks at me sadly, glancing at the doctor.

"You can stay until he falls under." He says softly, glancing between us. I look at Jack, holding his hand tightly. The doctors remove my mask and place a different one over my mouth.

"I'm scared." I mumble, my eyes starting to feel heavy.

"It's okay. You're okay. You're amazing okay? You'll get through this. I'll be here the whole time, I promise." He says, smiling softly as tears roll down his cheeks.

"Promise.." I trail off, my eyes slowly closing as my grip on his hand loosens.

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Heyo! I think this is the longest chapter I have for this book so far 😂 anyways I love a good cliffhanger so y'all can find out what's going on soon hehe