You're The Only Hope For Me

Time stood still.
Hazel couldn’t have said how long they ran for, and she was pretty sure Gerard couldn’t have either. She couldn’t tell her way in the dark but Gerard seemed to know where he was going so she just held tight to his hand and followed his lead. The rain lashed at her face and felt like she was being pelted with tiny bullets, the wind made her hair blow all around her and tore her breath away as she ran with her head faced downwards to offer some sort of protection from the elements.
Hazel was soaked through to the skin and her lungs seemed to have lost the ability to function, soon enough she had gotten so used to the stitch in her side that she couldn’t feel it anymore. She pushed herself into the rhythm of breathing in and out, in and out, and the minutes melted into each other as she felt herself grow tired.
Every time she felt herself getting weaker she thought of Frank; of how he’d saved her, his laugh, how he never seemed to be in a bad mood, his smile, his generosity, how he’d kissed her, that night she’d come to him completely terrified and he’d comforted and fixed her, and finally how happy he’d been seconds before his body had lain limp at the side of the road. Of course, she didn’t blame Gerard, how could she? He hadn’t meant it at all, he hadn’t been in his right mind and he hadn’t intended to hurt him – it had been an accident. The shock of the incident had seemed to shock Gerard out of his drunken mind, how she did not know, but he was now doing everything he could to try to fix and make up for his mistake. The rain mingled with the tears which continued to stream down her face, and she was sure, Gerard’s too. Hazel had stopped sobbing and felt empty, like there was nothing else left inside her to cry out but the tears still slowly spilt down her face, hot against her skin, like her feelings were cutting tracks into her cheeks.
She was terrified for Frank, and that gave her motivation, she couldn’t stand not knowing.
Still Gerard kept running.
‘Thank God for adrenaline.’ She thought to herself, without it she would have already given up.
After an unmeasurable amount of time Gerard shouted something inaudible and Hazel looked up from her feet, which she couldn’t see due to the darkness, and saw the lights of a town ahead of them. Gerard didn’t slow his pace, but something in the way he ran changed. They were almost there and he knew that, he knew if they could just keep going that little bit longer they would make it. Hazel thought of Frank somewhere in a building in the town, fighting for his life, and the thought seemed to fill her with new strength, making her run faster.
Entering the town wasn’t any different, other than the darkness was punctured by the occasional orange streetlamp, offering little light in the rain. Gerard sped up practically dragging Hazel with him, they ran along several straight streets until rounding a sharp corner and turning to face a large building. They kept running up the steps and through the swinging doors, the white light blinding them after their long exposure to the darkness outside. Once her eyes adjusted after a moment, Hazel saw that they were in a reception area with white walls, white floor and a pristine clean atmosphere. A lady at an immaculate reception desk looked up at them as they came to an abrupt halt; panting and dripping, with what was left of their make-up streaking their faces and a tight grip on each other’s hand.
“Can I help you?” She asked in a kind yet slightly cool voice as they made their way to her.
“We’re – Here – To – See – Some – Someone” Gerard gasped, almost doubled over on the desk.
“Yes?” Was the reply.
“A man was admitted here earlier this evening.” Hazel said, her voice steadier and more even than Gerard’s although her heart was about leaping out her chest.
“Can I get his details please?” The receptionist asked in the same voice, tapping at her computer keyboard.
Hazel squeezed Gerard’s hand as he gave Frank’s details and the receptionist typed it in, they both held their breath as she hit enter.
“He’s in a very serious condition.” The lady reported, “I’m afraid you can’t see him.”
“What?” Gerard’s voice had changed and his eyes were narrowing, Hazel could tell he was angry, “You mean I’ve almost killed my best friend, maybe he’s already dead, then ran here through the night in hope of righting my wrong just to be told that I ‘can’t see him’? I might never see him again! I’ll never have a chance to tell him how sorry I am! To make up for how stupid I was! To let him know what he means to me and how much I love him!” His voice wavered and threatened to crack.
At this Hazel burst into fresh tears, knowing that Gerard was right and thinking about everything Frank had ever done for her in the time she’d knew him. Everything that had meant the world to her; starting with little things like believing in her when she was sad and finally to saving her from the men.
Everything she'd never ever be able to repay him for now.
The lady seemed to notice her for the first time and directed her attention towards Hazel.
“And what relation are you to this man, miss?” The reception lady asked, her voice smooth.
Hazel was so choked up she couldn’t speak and happily let Gerard answer for her.
“This is Frank’s fiancée.” He almost spat, Hazel was slightly taken aback but was too miserable to react.
“In that case, that’s a different story.” The woman stood up and walked into a cupboard behind her, returning moments later with two white robes, “You may see this man, but we cannot allow you to enter the ward in your current, uh, wet state. Could you please change into these?”
Gerard took them and handed one to Hazel, leading her away to an enclosed corner. The two of them stripped off their clothes, not even bothering about the others company, things were far too serious for them to be worrying about small things like that, and put on the soft, thin gowns.
The lady then led them through to a smaller room with chairs, and gestured for them to sit down, “Please wait here, I’ll be back momentarily.” And walked off, her heels clicking against the white floor.
“Sorry,” Gerard muttered to her, “It’s just we really need to see him.”
Hazel just nodded silently as she couldn’t bring herself to speak with the tears running down her cheeks.
The two of them sat silently in the empty room, lost in their own thoughts. Everything seemed to shine blurrily through her tears, there was nothing to say. Hazel felt so empty inside, she was dreading hearing some terrible news of Frank, and she was dreading seeing what condition he was in. Gerard sat with his hands clasped tightly together, staring into the distance at nothing in particular whilst rocking back and forth. His lips were moving, forming soundless words that Hazel assumed were either prayers or curses.
Hazel herself considered praying, she had no faith in anything so pushed the idea out of her mind. Though she returned to it a second later and muttered a desperate plea up to heaven, not wanting to feel guilty for not trying if the worst came to the worst.
It was like a dream, none of this seemed real and Hazel childishly hoped she would wake up in Frank’s bed with his arm around her any minute now, but no such luck.
Instead a trolley was wheeled in with a man laid upon it, he looked strangely familiar. Hazel racked her brains to see where she remembered him from and then it clicked. She felt a familiar panic rise up in her and her hands began shaking, the space behind her eyes seemed to get smaller and more enclosed and she could feel the tension build up in her chest.
“Gerard?” She breathed, tugging gently at the sleeve of his hospital robe as the nurse who’d wheeled the trolley in left the room.
“What?” Gerard answered in the same hushed tones and turned to her whilst she continued staring at the man; who turned over slightly upon his bed.
“We need to get out of here.” Hazel whispered, trying her hardest not to freak. The man hadn’t noticed her yet, maybe she could still get out without anything happening.
Too late. He met her eyes and she felt something inside of her, hatred and anger.
“Why? What’s going on?” Hazel’s eyes widened as she saw a glint of recognition in the man’s eyes, Gerard noticed and looked wildly around the room, his eyes resting upon the man on the trolley.
Hazel swallowed, the fear welling up inside of her and threatening to make her break, “Because that’s one of the men who kidnapped me.”

Notes

Ooooohhhh... Isn't this exciting?;) Nah, I'll make it more exciting in the next few chapters :3
Thanks for all your nice votes and comments guys, really appreciated c: