All Chapters of Thorn: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

I froze for a split second before running at her. I skidded down onto the floor next to her into the pool of blood. My hand found her face trying to wake her. She was unresponsive. I tried to figure out where the blood was coming from and pulled my jacket off placing it onto the wound. “ELIO!!” I screamed. Fear filled my veins. The thought of losing her was messing with my mind. The fog descended as I saw the colour draining from her face. He ran across, “Nick,” he gasped at the sight of the blood. “We need help!” I screamed at him. My voice was unrecognisable. In the distance I could hear sirens. They could not get here quick enough. Elio knelt next to me unsure how to help. “Hold pressure on there.” I instructed. My hands were covered in her blood. I put them on her face, shaking her. There was still no response. “Leila, please open your eyes.” I checked for her pulse, and I could feel something, but it was shallow. The sirens sounded like they were outside now.

A while later he returned with a bag. I pulled out a change of clothes and threw mine into a carrier bag. We went back to the waiting room where my parents wrapped me in their arms. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. They watched me carefully. Concern filled their faces, having never seen me like that before. They tried to comfort me, so did Elio. The hours ticked by quickly. I went from sitting to pacing up and down to sitting again. I couldn't stop blaming myself for not being able to protect her. after a while, my anger started to rise and was directed at Dan. It didn't take long before my emotions spilled out. “This is taking too long, there must be something wrong.” I said, jumping out of my seat anxious and angry. “You need them to take their time and to make sure she’s ok.” Mother said, calmingly. I paced for another 20 minutes or so when the door swung open, and Dr Aleka walked in. My stomach clenched in anticipation for what he was going to say. “How is she?”

“Claire has asked if she can see her.” Elio visibly gritted his teeth while mentioning it to me. “I’m not leaving her side.” My voice came out harsher than intended. “I’ll see what the doctors say about having two in here.” My eyes were still on Leila. I couldn’t think about anything other than her. The fear of losing her was more than I could handle. Everything felt cold in the world without her. I found myself falling asleep in the chair. The next morning, I woke to find a bag next to my chair with a change of clothes and some food inside. On the opposite side of the bed my eyes settled on Claire. My brow furrowed seeing her there. A wave of anger bubbled inside knowing the connection to her was the reason Leila was here. “She’s been ok through the night. Your brother bought you some clothes and your mum sent the food in the bag.” I smiled politely not sure what to say. “I can’t believe that this has happened.” Claire sighed. Anger built inside of me quickly, and I h

Claire came running after me and caught up with me in the corridor. “Nick, I'm sorry I honestly thought they wanted to see Leila.” “Claire, if they wanted to see Leila do you honestly believe they would have asked for a meeting first. No, they would have just asked you to bring them to the room. This is the second time I have been in this same situation with your parents. All they care about is Dan and I can’t blame them because he is their family and yours. But how many times have you been in this situation where you have had to choose between Leila and Dan and every time you have chosen Dan, just like they have. I can’t blame you, but Leila was adopted by your parents and spent her teen years growing up feeling like part of the family and it would break her heart if she thought that Dan was being chosen again. Now I am going to go back, let them reduce the sedation and if she wakes up, I will play nice with you and pretend none of this has happened, because I choose Leila, and

I don’t remember much but darkness and I could hear voices in the distance. I walked towards them through the darkness. It felt like I was wading through mud, I could hear Nick’s voice but not what he was saying, everything was mumbled. I dragged myself towards the light until it encapsulated me. My eyes flashed open, and I felt like I was drowning. My throat felt like it was blocked, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. There were machines, noises, voices I didn’t recognise. The lights in front of me were so bright and blinding. I felt like it was a vivid dream. I saw Nick but was my vision deceiving me? I clawed at my throat and mouth trying to pull out whatever was blocking me. Everything felt so wrong. My throat was hot with pain, ny body tense from the panic. I couldn't focus. Moments later the darkness crept back into my vision. This time the darkness felt like a tunnel with a light at the end. I felt myself being guided and pulled towards the light. Fear filled me but something