It was 2 am when the telephone began to ring. Will and Emma had been having a movie night and had fallen asleep on the sofa, the television still flashing bright colours over the sleeping couple. Will yawned sleepily and rubbed his eyes, pulling himself up off of the sofa as carefully as he could without disturbing the redhead sleeping so peacefully next to him. He stumbled around in the eerie mixture of moonlight and the light blaring from the television screen surrounding the living room, searching for the telephone. Outside, the rain poured and a sudden loud rumble of thunder boomed out across the night sky, shaking the whole apartment, closely followed by a fine bolt of silver lightening which startled Emma. She looked around, as if she had forgotten where she was and her eyes widened when she realised she had been sleeping on the sofa in her clothes from the day before; two of her biggest pet-hates.
"Will, honey? Where are you? The weather woke me and…" she stopped when she saw her fiancé's face; his blue eyes full of guilt. He swallowed slowly, putting the phone back on the phone stand.
"Honey, what's wrong? Who was on the phone?" said Emma, her voice concerned.
"Um, Em. It was your dad. He, um, he said your mom collapsed. She's in hospital."
Emma's eyes widened and she covered her face quickly with her small, white hands. She swallowed and tried to say something, but her voice couldn't make the words come out. Instead, a horrible strangled sobbing noise came out and two big tears rolled down her pale cheek.
"The hospital says it's critical, but they don't quite know what triggered it off yet. Your dad said he'll phone in the morning to tell us anything more," Will said, cradling his sobbing fiance in his strong arms. Emma pushed her face into Will's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
Will helped walk Emma to the bedroom, her petite, shaking body being supported by Will. He took a pair of silky, yellow pyjamas out of the top drawer as Emma sat down on the edge of the bed, staring glazily out of the window at the early-morning sky. Will placed the pyjamas by Emma and pulled the curtains shut, blocking out the view. He leant down and kissed his fiance's forehead; her favourite place to be kissed by him.
"You want me to stay here with you?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"Um, do you mind if I sleep alone tonight? Please? I need time to just think about stuff. I'm sorry," Emma said, trying not to let another tear roll off of her cheek. She hated Will seeing her upset; it made her feel so pathetic and small. Will sat next to Emma, tucking a strand of red hair behind her pearly white ear.
He planted a short, soft kiss on her lips "Of course, Em. I love you."
"I love you, too. Good night," Emma said, as Will flicked of the main light and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Emma sat still, listening to the soft padding of Will's footsteps going down the stairs. Even though Emma was now alone, she felt embarrassed to be crying. She wrung her pale hands together; something she did when she felt the need to do it. She'd done it since she was 7, it always managed to comfort her.
Downstairs, Will sat on the sofa, still warm from his and Emma's bodies that had been sleeping there so happily just half an hour before. He thought of Emma, still sitting on the edge of the bed in the room above him. He remembered the last time she had been like that; her parents had been round for dinner. They were horrible to her, picking on her and treating her OCD as a joke. Will hated the way they treated their daughter, but Will knew that what had happened tonight was going to be hard on Emma. He settled his head down on the cushion and reached behind him for the pull on the lamp.
"I love you, Em." He whispered, closing his eyes.