Unbroken | Ashton Irwin's Little Sister (COMPLETED)

Chapter 28

I'm bleeding out, if it's the last thing that I do, I'm bleeding out, I'll bleed out for you

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| Ashton |

"Mom?" I hear Bailey call. Luke sets his guitar down at the sound of my sister's voice as I jog up the stairs.

"Mom's not home yet Bai, what's —" I stop mid sentence at the sight before me and I swear my heart does too. Bailey is panting as she continues to throw up blood. She's throwing up blood. I'm no doctor, but I'm sure that's never a good sign.

She lifts her head to look at me with big, fearful eyes that resembles a doe's and my heart leaps out of my chest and shatters on the floor.

"It's going to be okay," I whisper, grabbing a washcloth, wetting it and wiping her mouth. Her chest is heaving as she pants and gags, more blood dripping into the toilet.

"It — hurts," she says between ragged breaths. She lets out a forced cough that combines with a whimper as she gasps for breath and clutches her stomach.

"Luke! Call 911!" I shout. I hear footsteps approaching as he stands in the doorway with wide eyes. I look up at him with a pleading expression and he quickly pulls out his cellphone and dials the emergency number. Everything that happens next is one big blur. It feels like time is stopped and we're suspended in space, yet at the same time it feels as if everything is going at warped speed.

Bailey is pulled out of arms by the paramedics and strapped onto a gurney where she's immediately surrounded by doctors and wires and tubes. Luke helps me off the floor as one of the men interrogates me about what happened. I explain her diagnosis and what just occurred to the man before Luke offers to drive us to the hospital.

"You okay?" Luke asks quietly. The drive has been eerily silent as I stare intensely out the window, trying to pull myself together and will the tears away. "Yeah," I respond, although my voice cracking clearly indicates I'm not. How could I be? I know Luke knows this, but he thankfully doesn't say anything and we drive the rest of the way in silence.

I practically sprint into the hospital and tap my foot impatiently in the elevator, awaiting the right floor. "Ash," Luke says calmly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's going to be okay. She's strong, she can do this." I simply nod in response and try to keep my fidgeting to a minimum.

Hours seem to pass by before we hear anything. We sit in the waiting room and time seems to stand still as we wait for any news on Bailey. Luke calls my mom and sister for me, since I'm a mess right now. I also didn't really think about it since I was holding my sister in my arms, who was throwing up blood.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts as Luke's phone vibrates and he pulls it out to check who it is. "It's Michael," he says as he answers, "I better let him and Cal know what's going on." I don't trust my voice so I just nod again, feeling somewhat relieved yet also anxious as my mother rushes into the waiting room. Luke hugs her tightly and tries to soothe her before leaving to talk to Michael.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Mom asks frantically. She embraces me tightly and that's when I snap. "I'm sorry," I say, my voice breaking once more. I'm a terrible brother, I should have done something!

"It's alright, there's nothing you can do," mom says as if she can read my mind. "These things happen sometimes, and there isn't anything you can do to stop it or fix it." I nod into her chest and try to calm myself down. Luke returns a few minutes later and places his hand over mine. I take a deep breath as we wait some more.