Hi everyone, I'm extremely sorry for the pathetically long wait there has been between my updates. I've just finished my last year of high school ever, my exams are finished and a whole new world has opened up. I'm going to try and start writing again, and post them on here if any of my old readers are still around. Please review and enjoy, and hopefully it won't be such a long wait between the next update!


Chapter 12- Blood

I quickly woke up again, on the cold, wet pavement, a shirtless Dougie kneeling beside me with my head in his hands. He had his shirt tied around my hand and his face was terrified. 'Luce, we need to get you to Tom's house. I'm gonna carry you okay?' he said feverishly, gently picking me up in his arms. I closed my eyes and leant my head into his shoulder as he walked, the umbrella abandoned and forgotten in front of his house. I felt faint and sick and horrible. Another embarrassing moment. Surely, this one would just take a bandaid?


Finally reaching Tom's house, he realised the door was locked, so banged hard on it with one fist, struggling to hold my weight with one arm. 'Tom!' he screeched, knocking on the door harder and harder.

'Dougie I'm coming!' Tom shouted, his voice growing nearer. For some reason, I no longer felt any pain in my hand, rather a weird numb feeling. I could feel the blood drenched t-shirt on it, but nothing else. I felt sick and faint, but that was it. Tom threw the door open, quickly recoiling in shock.

'What happened?!' he exclaimed.

'She crushed her finger in the gate!' Dougie said feverishly, tightening his grip on me.

'Bring her inside, quick,' Tom hissed, running to the couch. I felt Dougie carrying me to the couch, before gently placing me beside Tom. He took my hand and began to unwrap the t-shirt, a queasy look on his face.

'Tom, I wouldn't. It's pretty mangled, I was almost sick just wrapping it,' Dougie gulped. Tom continued to unwrap the t-shirt as Danny, Harry, Sophie and Vanessa came to the door to look. Dougie quickly walked over to them, ushering them into the kitchen.

'I'm sorry if it hurts Luce,' Tom murmured, still fumbling with the blood-stained white fabric.

'Tom, it doesn't hurt at all,' I shrugged and Tom's face suddenly turned to a look of shock. Finally peeling off the last piece of fabric, his face turned pale and scared.

'Dougie, get me another towel! And my keys!' he shouted in terror, quickly covering it up again.

'Tom, what's the matter?' I asked, trying to see what he was so scared about. He quickly pulled my good arm back shaking his head.

'What can you feel?' he whispered.

'Everything but my finger and there's a tingly feeling in my palm,' I replied. He bit his lip, taking the towel from Dougie who had sprinted back into the room. Keys jangled in his pocket.

'Help me get her out to the car! We've got to take her to hospital!' Tom exclaimed.

'I can do it myself,' I shrugged, getting up and beginning to walk.

'Doug, take her out, I'll tell everyone where we're going,' Tom murmured, running into the kitchen. Dougie took my shoulder, leading me out to the car. The gate swung open as Zac and Nate ran through, both drenched from head to foot. Zac stopped short, noticing me.

'Zac, in the car, hurry up,' Dougie exclaimed as he opened the door for me, helping me in. Zac stood and stared at the car, watching me.

'Zac, hurry up if you're coming!' Dougie exclaimed as Tom ran out the door, saying a quick hello to Nate on the way before jumping in the driver's seat. Zac sat next to Tom, as Dougie had taken the other back seat.

'Lucie, what happened?' Zac exclaimed feverishly as we reversed down the drive.

'She caught her finger in the gate,' Dougie murmured, doing up my seatbelt for me.

'Luce, you okay?' Zac asked quickly, turning to face me.

'I can't feel it Zac,' I replied with a shrug. It was just like all the times when you hit yourself on a nerve wasn't it? You get tingles up your arm, then it's gone. Right? Well that's what I tried to convince myself.

'Lucie, that's not a good thing...' Zac replied slowly, turning to look at me.

'Good thing about this is we live closer to the hospital than before,' Tom said quietly, turning into a road. An ambulance zoomed past us as Tom kept driving. My head span faster and faster as a hot feeling came over me and I blacked out again.


The next thing I knew, I was on a white bed, with women in pale pink dresses around me, all eyeing me carefully. A man in pale blue scrubs walked up to me and leant down beside me.

'Hey Lucie, my name is Doctor Enrique and I'm here to take a look at your hand and finger okay?' he said in a kind and warming voice. He seemed young, mid-twenties perhaps and very good looking. He took a seat on the edge of my bed, beside my hand, which was still wrapped in Dougie's white t-shirt. Carefully, he took the t-shirt off, peering into the bloody mess. I looked over his arm, seeing my hand for the first time. It didn't look real. My pointer finger was a mangled, bloody mess, unrecognisable as a finger. A deep gash ran most of the way down, and it was angled in an odd direction.

'Now Lucie, tell me how it feels,' Dr Enrique said, examining it closely.

'Numb and tingly,' I replied. The quietness of my voice scared me.

'Well Lucie, I'm going to have to take you in to take a look a better look at this.' The doctor waved his hand and a nurse bought a wheelchair in, gently helping me into it.

As I was pushed down the white hallways, past rooms of patients and visitors and other doctors, I wondered where the other boys were. They should've been at home having fun! Not sitting in a waiting room, waiting for me to finish!

'Um, where's the three boys who bought me in?' I asked quietly as we stopped at a doorway.

'They're currently in the emergency waiting room. It's alright, they'll be fine. Right now, all you need to worry about it relaxing and staying calm. You've lost a substantial amount of blood, and could go into shock quite easily if you're not careful,' the nurse said, helping me out of the chair and over to a machine.

'Now Lucie, this machine is able to see everything, from bones, to ligaments to nerves. We're going to scan your hand, assess it, then make a decision as to what we are going to do about it,' the nurse said. 'Now just relax honey, and hold very still...'

I sat waiting for ages, as strange noises filled the room. It all felt surreal. The tingling in my hand was growing unbearable and my headache and dizziness was feeling worse and worse. Finally, the nurse returned.

'All done sweetheart, now we've given that to Doctor Enrique to take a look at. We're going to put you in a room by yourself for the minute, just until we sort some things out.' And once again, I was wheeled down a hallway and taken to a dull, boring room with one bed and a TV in the corner of the room. After the nurse helped me into a white and pale blue gown and into the bed and wrapped some white bandages tightly around my hand, she left. I lay staring at the ceiling. This could not be happening. Stuck in a hospital room in London, with Tom, Dougie and Zac all waiting, wondering what was happening, while the others sat at home without them. It was typical. Typical of me to ruin everyone's holiday. And most probably, ruin Tom and Giovanna's perfect wedding. My dress, once again would look horrible with bandages, and knowing me, I'd manage to do something on the day to stuff up again. A tear rolled down my cheek noiselessly as I hurt silently inside. Why did bad things always have to happen to me? When was it going to be my turn to have good luck?

There was a knock, and a familiar face poked their head in the door. Zac. Following him were Tom and Dougie.

'Hey Luce, how you feeling?' Zac asked gently, kissing my forehead and sitting beside me. Tom and Dougie sat in the two chairs beside.

'Sick and dizzy,' I replied quietly. They nodded silently. An awkward stillness filled the room.

'Have they told you anything yet Luce?' Tom asked, nodding towards my hand.

I shook my head. 'They scanned it, that's all.'

They nodded again. But this time, the awkward silence was broken by Dr Enrique sauntering into the room and sitting beside me. He carried something in his hands.

'Okay Lucie, so what we've figured out from these scans, is that your finger is fractured in two different places, and dislocated from the joint that connects the bone to your hand. There's a small amount nerve, tissue and ligament damage and quite a big gash,' he said, looking around at the boys as well as he spoke.

'Is it fixable?' I asked quietly, Zac gently rubbing my arm.

'Yes, from what I can see here, most of it is able to be completely healed. But here comes the bad news...' The doctor trailed off, looking around at the boys and me.

'We will have to operate as soon as possible to place the bones back into their right places, and to also work on these nerves to get them responding as normal again.' I stared at him. I could not have an operation! 'The procedure is quite quick and should only probably take around half an hour.'

I began to freak out. I hated hospitals and had never, ever had an operation. What would happen about the money?

'No, no, no, I can't have an operation! I don't want one! No!' I exclaimed loudly, my breath quickening as a panic attack began setting in.

'Lucie, I need you to relax and breathe, okay? Just relax!' Doctor Enrique said, quickly summoning a nurse and whispering something to her. She quickly left the room and hurried back inside. Something was injected into my arm, and suddenly everything felt calm again and quite sleepy. I didn't dare to look at the boy's faces.

'Now Lucie, this operation needs to be done. As you are only fifteen, I need permission from your parent or legal guardian.' The doctor stopped and looked around at Dougie and Tom.

'No, we're not her guardians. She's on holiday with us at the moment from Australia,' Tom replied in a businesslike voice.

'Is it possible to have her phone number to inform and ask her mother and father?' the doctor asked. Tom nodded.

'Well come with me and we'll give her a call. I'll get one of the nurses in here to help you dress for the operation Lucie,' Dr Enrique said calmly, leaving the room with Tom. I rolled over to look at Dougie and Zac. Both looked worried and anxious.

'I'm sorry,' I whispered sadly, looking at the sheets.

'Don't be sorry Luce, please don't be sorry,' Dougie murmured, reaching out to give me a hug. I nodded and looked down at the sheets.

'You'll be fine during your operation, I promise. We'll be right here waiting for you when you come out,' Dougie said comfortingly, stroking my hand. I nodded again. There was silence for a few minutes until a nurse, Doctor Enrique and Tom walked back into the room.

'Your mother has given permission for this to go ahead, so Nurse Bryant will help you change and we'll prep you for the operation. You won't feel a thing Lucie, everything's going to be fine,' the doctor smiled as I was helped out of bed. 'I'll just get you guys to come with me for a bit. The operation should only take half an hour or so.'

Zac and Dougie both kissed my cheeks and left the room as the nurse helped me into a gown thing. I shook uncontrollably as I laid in the bed while I waited alone. An IV was put into my arm and it was hurting. Never, ever in my life had I felt so alone. I could hear people talking and moving around in the hospital. But none came to me. The white room was bland as the machine beeped. I didn't want an operation! What would the others be saying and thinking? Lucie's hurt herself AGAIN, must be doing it on purpose. A tear trickled down my cheek.