𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 ⚣ 𝙘𝙩𝙝+𝙖𝙛𝙞 ✔

30

yikes my bad

-

Calum woke up to bright lights bringing him an instant headache and the unfamiliar, overwhelming smell of antiseptic. He could barely open his eyes. His mouth was incredibly dry. His entire body ached desperately, then a second later he felt a faint wave of numbness run through him and he tried to say something, anything, but he couldn't find his voice.

He felt someone squeeze his hand. He slowly opened his eyes and saw his ex-lover sitting in silence, his beautiful face twisted with worry. He squeezed Ashton's hand weakly and the older man's head snapped up. Calum could barely make out his face, but he could tell he'd been crying.

"Angel." He breathed out shakily. "You're awake. Oh, I have to go get the doctor, I'll be right back, okay?"

Calum barely managed to croak out a "wait," before Ashton had frantically left the room in search of a doctor. He wished he'd stayed. Calum was scared. He could tell that he was in a hospital, that much was obvious, but he didn't understand why. And he felt like he was supposed to be angry at Ashton, but he needed him by his side.

Either a lifetime or a minute later, a woman who Calum assumed to be the doctor walked through the door, with Ashton close behind her. She had a serious looking face, and hair streaked with grey from years of hard work. She didn't look up from the clipboard in her hand. "Mr. Hood, I'm Doctor Banks."

He cleared his throat to try and respond and instead a wave of pain travelled through his head and neck. He groaned through clenched teeth, locked his and Ashton's eyes together and shook his head. He knew Ashton would know what he meant. 

The older man nodded and informed the doctor that Calum wasn't yet able to vocalize his thoughts, or anything at all. She nodded, exhaled softly and flipped through the pages of what Calum assumed to be a medical report. "Alright, hello gentlemen. Mr. Hood, do you remember what happened?" 

He wasn't sure. He vaguely remembered the pain he'd felt (and was still feeling), but not much more than that. He remembered seeing Ashton's panicked face as he ran towards him, and he recalled hearing a scream, though he wasn't sure whose it had been. He shook his head. 

"Okay, allow me to refresh your memory a little bit. Earlier tonight, you were involved in an auto-accident. To put it even simpler, you were hit by a car. When you first arrived, we ran our standard tests; a basic X-ray, which is best used to diagnose broken bones, and a CT scan which is often used to show internal bleeding, injuries to internal organs or broken bones." She paused briefly, looking up to make sure the both of them were listening. "You sustained quite a few injuries. Whiplash, a mild concussion, two fractured ribs and a break in your arm that we call a radius fracture." 

"O-okay..." Calum whispered hoarsely. 

"There is also something called retrograde amnesia which is the loss of memories prior to a traumatic head injury. It isn't permanent, so you will remember it all eventually. But, this young man tells me he was there with you at the time, so perhaps he could refresh your memory. We have to keep you here for at least seventy-two hours. A nurse will be back to check your vitals. I'll give you two some time to talk, though." She smiled, gestured between the two of them and left the room without another word. 

Ashton passed Calum a glass of water and he gladly accepted it. He finished the entire thing and his throat still felt dry. The older man took the glass from his hand, set it down then turned to face Calum and squeezed his hand. "How are you feeling?" 

The maori man felt tears well in his eyes. "I'm in a lot of pain. And I'm confused and scared. Can you...can you please tell me what happened?" 

Ashton brushed his thumb over a cut beneath Calum's eye. "I don't want to."