Their Darkest Day

Chapter Summary

Lucy knows that she loves Evie but it is only at times like these that she realises just how much Evie means to her.

Lucy Thorne couldn't exactly pinpoint the moment when she felt her heart breaking. Nor could she recall the exact words that were spoken to her by her closest friend, Pearl Attaway, when she had arrived at the lecture room door that morning. All that the redhead's mind could take on board were the handful of words,

"There's been an accident." said Pearl.

"It's Evie."

The couple had awoken to their usual morning ritual, lying in each others' arms for as long as they dared without making themselves late.

If either of them had had the slightest idea of what would happen barely a few hours later, they wouldn't have set foot outside of the apartment that day.

"I will have to go into town during my free session this morning," said Evie, as she turned over in the bed to face Lucy. "I need some materials for my art project."

"I could drive you into town at lunchtime if you like," replied Lucy, her lips almost touching Evie's as she gazed at her.

"It's alright," said Evie. "I need to get started on this and the sooner the better."

"OK, I am meeting you for lunch though." replied Lucy, giving Evie a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"I'm not letting you drive to the hospital yourself," said Pearl. "I won't leave you on your own."

Every word that Pearl said was distorted to Lucy's ears. The redhead couldn't think. She could barely speak. She was numb.

Pearl helped her friend into the front passenger seat of her car and as Pearl took her place behind the wheel, Lucy finally managed a partially coherent sentence.

"W-what happened?" asked Lucy, her hands beginning to shake.

"I don't know the full details I'm afraid," said Pearl, as she put the car into gear and they headed off in the direction of the hospital. "A call came through to the office earlier saying that Evie had been involved in a serious accident in the town centre. They had tried your mobile but couldn't reach you."

"My mobile was switched off because I was in class," said Lucy, putting a hand to her face. "Oh Pearl, what if she..."

"Don't you dare start thinking like that," replied Pearl. "We have no idea what the situation is yet, you need to keep calm for Evie's sake."

"I should have given her a lift into town," cried Lucy. "This just isn't happening."

Lucy Thorne had always been able to pride herself on her ability to hold everything together even when those around her were falling apart.

Now, Lucy felt like a ruin. She sat silently in her seat. Pearl glanced over at her friend and noticed that she was holding her wedding ring to her lips.

Pearl felt hopeless. She wanted to be able to say something comforting but she couldn't. It was just too difficult.

The car came to a halt as Pearl parked up near the hospital. Pearl got out and went to help Lucy who was sat rigidly in her seat, the ringing in her ears growing louder with every passing minute. The redhead's teeth began to chatter as shock took hold of her.

Pearl put an arm around Lucy and helped her out of the car. She was finding it hard to even stand, it was as if her brain had forgotten how to make her body function.

"Come on, Lucy." said Pearl, softly. "I'll be with you."

Pearl slowly walked Lucy up towards the entrance to the Accident and Emergency department. Just as they were about to go through the doors, Lucy recognised a young man who was standing just a few metres from the hospital entrance. He seemed agitated. He walked up and down, muttering some incoherent words under his breath. Even in her disorientated state, Lucy could see that the young man had been crying. It was Jacob Frye.

Pearl quietly approached him.

"Mr Frye, how are you?" said Pearl, softly. Jacob looked at Pearl Attaway as if his whole world had been shattered.

"I've been better," Jacob croaked out.

It was then that Jacob noticed Lucy standing behind Pearl. He didn't so much notice Lucy herself as much as the emotional state that she was in.

She was shivering from head to toe. She seemed dumbstruck and her face was tearstained. It was the first time that Jacob had to concede that Lucy truly loved his sister. She was a broken woman.

"Please Jacob, where is Evie?" asked Pearl.

"She has been placed on a critical care unit," said Jacob, swallowing hard. "She is still unconscious. I don't know if you will be allowed in to see her."

"I- I need to," Lucy stammered out.

"We will try," said Pearl, trying to reassure her friend.

"Take care, Mr Frye." said Pearl, putting a hand on Jacob's shoulder.

"Ms Thorne," said Jacob, just as the two women were leaving. "I'm sorry." he said, almost in a whisper. "I know how much you love my sister."

"She is my world," said Lucy, giving Jacob a weak smile as Pearl led her into the reception area.

Pearl did the talking for Lucy as they reached the reception desk.

"Good afternoon," said Pearl. "Could you tell me if you have any news about Mrs Evie Thorne? Lucy here is her wife."

The kindly looking middle-aged woman behind the desk looked at Lucy with concern.

"There has been no change I'm afraid," said the woman, sympathetically. "Mrs Thorne is on the Critical Care unit. If you follow the arrows for 'C1' you'll find it. Take care, dear." said the receptionist.

Pearl helped Lucy to keep advancing forward through the hospital. Every step seemed to take forever in Lucy Thorne's mind. She willed herself to keep moving. All she could think about was getting to Evie.

Lucy placed an image of herself with Evie in her mind's eye. A time when the two of them had laughed so hard about something that Evie had said and when Evie had stopped laughing she had looked directly into Lucy's eyes with a beautiful smile painted on her face.

"Evie." Lucy whispered, as she and Pearl headed towards the last long corridor.

Lucy followed Pearl up to the nurse's desk, she felt as if she was going to pass out. The light was hurting her eyes and she could hear her heartbeat resonating in her head. She rested her hands on the desk in a bid to steady herself as she willed the words to leave her lips.

"Good afternoon," Lucy said quietly. The nurse could clearly see that the redhead was shattered. "My name is Ms Lucy Thorne. I believe that my wife, Evie, was brought in earlier today," Lucy rasped.

"Yes, Ms Thorne." the nurse replied, in as kindly a tone as she could manage. She could see Lucy's eyes were pleading with her, she was simply too mentally exhausted to speak.

"Please, let me see Evie. Please tell me that she will be alright."

"Mrs Thorne still hasn't regained consciousness but she is stable. If you want to go and sit with her, I don't see a problem. She's just through that door" said the nurse.

"Thank you," replied Lucy.

"Oh and please don't be alarmed by the breathing apparatus," said the nurse. "It's just there to give her a helping hand."

Pearl put a reassuring hand to Lucy's left shoulder.

"I need to do this on my own," said Lucy. "But thank you for everything, Pearl."

"It's nothing," replied Pearl. "I only wish that I could do more. I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

Lucy was suddenly all alone. Her support was gone and her legs were shaking as she walked through the doors.

"Come on, Lucy." she whispered to herself. "Evie needs you."

She took tentative steps ever closer, until Evie came into view. Lucy didn't know at that moment whether she wanted to run out of the room or run to Evie's side but as soon as she saw her young wife, Lucy rushed to her.

The room was eerily silent. The only sound came from the various pieces of high-tech equipment that were monitoring the young brunette's condition.

Lucy found it strange just how peaceful Evie looked. There wasn't a single mark on her face. If it hadn't been for the breathing mask over her mouth, it would have appeared that she was simply asleep.

Lucy knelt down at Evie's side and gently kissed her wife's left hand whilst stroking a thumb across the young woman's wedding ring.

"My darling, please come back to me." whispered Lucy. "I love you so much."

The door opened and in walked the nurse, she was carrying a chair.

"I thought that you might want this, dear." said the nurse, setting the chair down by Evie's bedside.

"That's very kind of you." Lucy replied, as she pulled herself up and took her seat.

"Not at all," said the nurse, as she turned to leave.

Lucy turned back to Evie, putting her right hand to Evie's left and softly caressing her fingers.

"I just want us to be able to go back home, lie on the sofa together and hold you." said Lucy. I want to see your smile again."

Lucy leaned over and gently pressed a kiss to Evie's left cheek and as she leaned back, Lucy noticed something.

Evie's eyes flickered under her eyelids. Lucy put a hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Evie?" said Lucy.

The brunette's eyes flickered again.

Lucy leapt up from her seat and ran to fetch the nurse.

"You need to come and see this!" said Lucy, as she popped her head around the door.

The nurse arrived at Evie's bedside just as Lucy sat down again and put her right hand back on Evie's left.

"Watch this," said Lucy, looking at the nurse.

"Evie, my darling." Lucy whispered.

Again there was movement from beneath Evie's eyelids.

"She can hear your voice." said the nurse. "She didn't respond at all earlier. Not even when her brother tried talking to her."

"Evie, you can do this." said Lucy, softly, as she held her cheek against her wife's left hand. "I love you."

"Lucy," came the faint sound of Evie's voice.

Lucy suddenly jolted in her seat and looked up.

"Keep talking to her," encouraged the nurse.

Lucy gently put her right hand to Evie's forehead and tenderly ran her fingers across her wife's face,

"I love you, my darling." said Lucy.

Evie suddenly took a deep breath and her eyes flickered once more before they slowly began to open.

"Evie!" said Lucy, as she jumped from her chair.

The nurse came to examine Evie and slowly removed the oxygen mask from the young woman's face.

"Lucy?" asked a disorientated Evie, as she tried to make sense of her surroundings and brought her vision into focus.

"I'm here, my darling!" said a half laughing, half crying Lucy.

"I will go and fetch the doctor," said the nurse, leaving the Thornes alone together.

Lucy sat back down beside Evie and cradled the brunette's left hand in her own.

"Don't speak, Evie. Just rest," said Lucy, the smile returning to her face. "I thought that I had lost you."

"Nothing can stop me," said Evie, quietly, resting her right hand on top of Lucy's.

They were suddenly interrupted by the timely return of the nurse, accompanied by the doctor who had originally examined Evie when she had been admitted earlier that day.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Thorne." said the doctor. "I'm very pleased to see that you are with us again."

The doctor continued his chatter as he checked Evie over.

"I take it that this charming lady here is your other half." said the doctor, glancing over at Lucy.

"Lucy Thorne," said the redhead, extending her right arm to shake the doctor's hand. "Thank you for everything, I would be simply lost without my Evie."

Evie glanced at Lucy through the corner of her left eye. She could see how sincere Lucy was. She meant every word. She would be truly lost, an empty shell. She hadn't had the time to think about it but what would have happened if Evie had...? Lucy couldn't bring herself to comtemplate it. It would be like staring into an endless abyss, a nothingness. The simple truth was, her life would have been over. Because Evie was her life.

Lucy sat silently looking at the woman she loved. Evie's greenish blue eyes seemed brighter than Lucy had ever seen them and in those few seconds, Lucy could only think about the moment when she would be holding Evie in her arms once more.