Cupid De Locke | Frerard

[4]

Gerard's POV

-

We stand in silence outside of room 322.

My entire body is tense. I can feel myself shaking. I'm a wreck of fearful anticipation.

"Okay, before we go in, we need to discuss Frank's condition." The doctor looks down at his clipboard, before giving me a false-looking smile.
He motions towards the chairs by the door.
"Do you want to sit down for this, sir?" he asks. His voice falters slightly.
I nod, reluctantly, sitting down in one of the chairs beside us. The guilt that sits upon me grows heavier as the seconds pass by.

He takes another look at his clipboard and sighs. I desperately try to brace myself for the news in fear of the worst.
"Okay, so, obviously the accident meant that Frank was severely injured. He was in and out of consciousness for a while." He sits down beside me and sets his clipboard down on his lap. I bounce my leg anxiously. I want to be anywhere but here. "And the severity of the trauma that was inflicted meant that he was left in a critical condition."

I draw in a small, shaky gasp. I feel as though my heartstrings have been snapped, leaving my heart to plummet from my chest.

"Well- after around thirty minutes or so, he just... stopped waking up. He's fallen into a comatose state." he says, "His family were contacted. They said they'd handle it and let you know what's happening with-"

"What- no... he can't have, can he?" I cut him off.

"We ran all the tests we could. We're absolutely positive."

I suddenly begin to feel weak. The room spins around me. The words I'm trying to say are entangled in the back of my throat; trapped inside of me.
A certain numbness takes form in my body, as though a part of me has been ripped out.
All I can do is sit here, letting the salty sting of tears burn my eyes. This is all my fucking fault.

The nurse continues to talk about his state and what's going to happen.
"This is gonna help him to heal a lot faster, and potentially give him somewhat of a second chance, if you will. I understand that-" My breathing suddenly becomes fast and shaky.

He pauses and shoots me a concerned glance. "Look, I'm so sorry. It's alright to be shocked at this sort of news." He tries to comfort me, "It can be a really awful thing to process. Do you still want to see him?" His words linger in the air for a moment as I try to comprehend everything he's just said.
Nothing's going through.

"I- I think I'll try," I mutter, looking down at the floor, trying to hide the tears in my eyes.

He gives me a sympathetic smile and rests his hand against the door handle, "Alright, well, you're allowed to leave at any time. I'll stay in the room for as long as I can; I need to document some stuff whilst I'm in here anyway."

I tilt my head in acknowledgment and signal for him to open the door. I stand up and try to keep my eyes locked to the ground.
I don't want to face anyone.

As the door opens, I catch a slight glimpse of Frank, lying on the bed in front of me.

I drop to my knees in the doorway, feeling pain of them hitting the floor ripple across my body. I sob into my hands.
What the fuck have I done to him?
"Oh my god, Frank..."