echo // hemmings [completed]

one | where is she

—August 17th—

"Where is she?" Luke asked. "I miss her, can I see her?"

"Luke..." Calum said uncomfortably. "Don't worry for now. Focus on yourself. Try to listen to the doctors."

"But where's Riley, Calum? Why can't I see her?" Luke said pleadingly. He didn't want to listen to the doctors or wait a second longer. He just wanted to see his girlfriend. 

"Luke, you aren't even supposed to be awake. You're still easing out of sedation, so just lay back," Calum advised. He took a deep breath and nervously ran his fingers through his dark hair. If Luke didn't fall asleep soon, they would have to explain everything.

"Calum, let me try talking to him," the curly-haired boy standing next to Calum requested.

"You can try Ashton, but I doubt you'll do better than me," Calum said as he rolled his eyes.

"Why can't I see her? I just need to know where she is. She loves seeing me. I won't be a burden," Luke said with a laugh. He loved talking to his friends, but they weren't Riley. They could never replace her.

"We've told you before, and we'll tell you again. Luke, you can't see her," Ashton stated sternly. He tried to be firm about this so Luke would listen, but Ashton realized it was hard to hold your ground when you were trying not to cry.

"But she was really excited about the party at Michael's tomorrow, the one she was going to with me. She talked about it and asked me about her clothing decisions this morning. And I finally decided which pair of shoes she should wear. She told me she couldn't decide between the flats or those new wedges you got for her birthday. Do you remember Ashton, the red ones you gave her?" Calum faintly nodded as Luke went on.

"I think she should wear the wedges, she looks so happy when she's almost the same height as me. She hates being short, remember Calum when she climbed onto your back so she could reach the ceiling of our apartment?"

"Luke, we can talk later. Get some rest," Calum said with a dismissive tone. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about Riley and remember the days when she was there.

"I don't need more rest. I'm fine, I swear. I just want to see her, Ashton. I love her. Please I need to see her." Luke's voice began to grow desperate. Calum bit his bottom lip and looked at Ashton. They had to tell him.

"Do you know what day it is Luke?" Ashton asked with a sigh. If he had to tell Luke, he was going to have to ease into it.

"It's August 4th, the day before Michael's party," Luke answered confidently.

"And what is the last thing you remember Luke?"

"I remember going out with Riley, Calum, and Mali for breakfast," he said without hesitation.

Calum dug his fingernails into his palm as Luke spoke about that day. "We went to that little café near Calum's house and we had a good time. We talked about Riley's new job as an accountant that starts in two months and what Mali's going to do when she goes to London next w-"

"Mali never went to London," Calum interjected. Ashton gave his dark-haired friend a cautious look.

"How would you know? She still has seven days," Luke asked, a little surprised by the change in plans. "Did she choose to cancel? She's still leaving on the 11th right?"

"Luke, how many fingers am I holding up?" Ashton said sharply with his arms crossed.

The blonde let out a chuckle. "Ashton, stop messing around."

"Luke, please," Calum begged. "How many?"

"You guys are ridiculous. You know I can't answer that, the room is too bright, everything is all blurry and shit."

"No, it isn't Luke. The room is lit perfectly. Everything is as plain to the eye as can be," Ashton stated firmly.

"Then why can't I see anything?" Luke asked in confusion. He waved his hand in front of his face, but all he saw were spots of bright lights. He couldn't make out shapes or objects, but he knew somewhere in the room, there was light. The boy just told himself that it was just one of those moments when he would wake up and his eyes were trying to adjust to the things around him.

"Luke, today is August 17th, it's been almost two weeks since the accident," Ashton began.

"Ashton, where's Riley? And why can't you answer any of my questions? Is Riley here?" Luke's voice began to sound strained as he continued asking about his beloved's location.

"She's dead Luke," Calum said without a second thought. Ashton flashed him a look, as he had not been prepared for his friend's bluntness. Luke's eyes grew wide and for a second his face was full of fear. But it didn't last long as his face relaxed and he laughed.

"That's not true. You guys are just messing with me," Luke said with a smile. "This is just like the time you plastic wrapped my bedroom doorway. You guys laughed for days when I walked straight into it and fell on my ass. Well good job guys, I almost believed you. But really, dim down the lights. And where is Riley? I want to see her so badly. I miss her."

"Luke, this isn't a joke," Ashton told him. "You're in the hospital, you and Riley were in a car accident when you were driving back from Michael's party on the 5th, Calum was in the crash too. You were in a coma until this afternoon, but you were freaking out; panicking when you received the news from the doctors. So they sedated you and asked us to come in and inform you, thinking it might soften the news. Calum was luckier than you. He got out of the crash with only a scar on his face, but you... Luke the accident... The accident took your sight away."

An uncomfortable silence settled around the trio. Calum's eyes flickered from Luke to the ground. And Ashton had taken a seat beside Luke's bed as they waited for him to respond.

Luke's lips moved, but Ashton could not make out a sound.

"Can you repeat that Luke?" Ashton asked as soothingly as he could muster. "Please?"

"Where's Riley?"

-

a/n: luke D:

made some slight edits, tell me if you liked it better the old way :)