"Peace of mind is less than never"
Chapter 9 - Emergency;
"We need a gurney stat!"
The A&E department suddenly burst into life as Johnny was quickly hooked up to an IV drip, placed on a stretcher and rushed down a long corridor to the operating theatre. Zacky tried his best to run along side with the nurses in a bid to never loose sight of his friend again.
"Name's Jonathan Seward, 28 year old male, found by his friend after an attempted suicide"
The last word 'suicide' rang in Zacky's ears.
"We suspect he's been drifting in and out of consciousness for around 40 minutes, has lost a lot of blood and his liver functions are abnormal which indicates that he was severely intoxicated during the time of the incident".
More nurses joined the scene.
"By the looks of it he has deep lacerations to both arms, some appear to be at least 6 months old and others are quite severely infected due to the methods he was using to hide them, the newer ones being just above the wrist. He also appears to be somewhat malnourished and vital organs are shutting down as we speak".
The stretcher suddenly turned a corner and banged through a set of double doors. Zacky began to freak out when he saw one of the nurses apply breathing apparatus to Johnny's limp face. The crash team eventually reached the theatre as a larger nurse stepped in front of Zacky, stopping him from entering the room.
"Let me go with him!" He yelled into the nurse's face
"I'm sorry Sir but your friend is extremely sick and your presence won't help matters. All we can do is ask for you to be patient and go wait out in the corridor and I can promise that as soon as we know anything, I'll come and update you".
Zacky was about to protest until he realised that he needed to have Johnny's best interests at heart. He found a hard backed chair in the corridor and slumped down. Trying to pass to time he pulled out his phone and looked back over the last text he received from Johnny.
"Help".
A pang of guilt spread throughout Zacky's body. Could he have helped Johnny sooner? And was he just waiting for this to eventually happen. He closed his eyes and began to remember...
"Johnny you little shit come here!" Zacky half laughed, half screamed as he chased his friend around the snowy car park. He scooped up some snow and launched it in Johnny's direction, catching the bassist on the back of his neck, this caused him to stumble and fall to the ground. They were having a little break during the last winter tour, and being away from their families during this time had forced them to become closer.
"Ha! Shit I'm not even sorry" Zacky panted as he reached the man curled up on the floor in a ball. He extended his hand out to try and help him up, but it was no use Johnny was 'playing dead'.
"Fuck this" Zacky snorted as he grabbed for the bandannas that covered Johnny's arms, pulling it free. He inhaled sharply as he noticed the thick red lines that crossed over his forearms.
"W..what's that all about?" He mumbled as he crouched next to his friend.
Johnny quickly sat up and snatched the bandanna from Zacky's grip.
"It's nothing, remember when I drunkenly fell down the stairs the other day? I must have caught my arm on the wall or something"
The two men knelt there for what seemed like forever.
"Can we just forget it?" Johnny looked at Zacky with a pleading expression. "Now let's go inside, I'm fucking freezing".
Zacky was rocked awake by someone nudging him on his shoulder.
"Sir, sir, you can go see your friend now" .
Zacky opened his eyes to see the same large nurse standing over him, smiling warmly.
"Right this way". The large nurse kindly kept his hand on the bottom of Zacky's back as he led him passed the theatre towards Intensive Care Unit. The nurse helped Zacky push through the heavy doors and into the white, sterile room.
"I'll give you a moment, you can talk to him but please don't touch his arms or any of the machines".
Zacky nodded, slightly dazed as he turned towards his friend as the nurse backed out of the room. To his horror Johnny laid there, covered in various monitors and beeping machines, an oxygen and feeding tube covered his sunken features. Zacky crossed the room slowly, so not to wake him and took a seat in the chair next to the bed. He ignored the nurses instructions to not touch him as he stroked his hair, trying his best to comfort his friend. He looked down at the crisp, white bandages that engulfed Johnny's arms, some blood had seeped through but he appeared to be in a stable condition.
A voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Is he going to be okay?"
Zacky spun around in the chair to see the landlady stood in the doorway, her coat and handbag draped over her arms.
"I mean....were we in time? Could we have done anything sooner?" She seemed as if she already knew the answer to the question.
"Perhaps. Perhaps we should have paid attention to him, I sort of knew about the...the...harming. But I just ignored it, I thought it was just a phase I only noticed it as soon as he split up with his girlfriend".
She nodded slowly "I heard him crying sometimes. Through the walls in the apartment, I could have checked on him, instead I just banged on the walls and complained. I guess I could have also helped him out with the rent, when he came to pay it would usually all be in change or dirty notes, it was obvious that he had stolen it from laundry matts and change from honesty pots. I could kick myself for being such a bitch".
"Well it's too late now. The damage has been done, all we can do now is pray".
At this point the landlady walked over to Zacky and placed a manicured hand on his shoulder.
"I'm Julie by the way".
"Zacky..."
She inhaled deeply. "I know love. look it's late and you need sleep. Johnny won't be awake for a few hours yet, let me drive you back home, you'll have a clearer head after a few hours sleep".
Zacky didn't want to leave, but he knew Julie was right. He stood up and kissed Johnny on the forehead. He turned and walked out the room, trying his hardest not to turn back and look. He thanked the nurses and walked to her car.
Sleep was a good idea.
The A&E department suddenly burst into life as Johnny was quickly hooked up to an IV drip, placed on a stretcher and rushed down a long corridor to the operating theatre. Zacky tried his best to run along side with the nurses in a bid to never loose sight of his friend again.
"Name's Jonathan Seward, 28 year old male, found by his friend after an attempted suicide"
The last word 'suicide' rang in Zacky's ears.
"We suspect he's been drifting in and out of consciousness for around 40 minutes, has lost a lot of blood and his liver functions are abnormal which indicates that he was severely intoxicated during the time of the incident".
More nurses joined the scene.
"By the looks of it he has deep lacerations to both arms, some appear to be at least 6 months old and others are quite severely infected due to the methods he was using to hide them, the newer ones being just above the wrist. He also appears to be somewhat malnourished and vital organs are shutting down as we speak".
The stretcher suddenly turned a corner and banged through a set of double doors. Zacky began to freak out when he saw one of the nurses apply breathing apparatus to Johnny's limp face. The crash team eventually reached the theatre as a larger nurse stepped in front of Zacky, stopping him from entering the room.
"Let me go with him!" He yelled into the nurse's face
"I'm sorry Sir but your friend is extremely sick and your presence won't help matters. All we can do is ask for you to be patient and go wait out in the corridor and I can promise that as soon as we know anything, I'll come and update you".
Zacky was about to protest until he realised that he needed to have Johnny's best interests at heart. He found a hard backed chair in the corridor and slumped down. Trying to pass to time he pulled out his phone and looked back over the last text he received from Johnny.
"Help".
A pang of guilt spread throughout Zacky's body. Could he have helped Johnny sooner? And was he just waiting for this to eventually happen. He closed his eyes and began to remember...
"Johnny you little shit come here!" Zacky half laughed, half screamed as he chased his friend around the snowy car park. He scooped up some snow and launched it in Johnny's direction, catching the bassist on the back of his neck, this caused him to stumble and fall to the ground. They were having a little break during the last winter tour, and being away from their families during this time had forced them to become closer.
"Ha! Shit I'm not even sorry" Zacky panted as he reached the man curled up on the floor in a ball. He extended his hand out to try and help him up, but it was no use Johnny was 'playing dead'.
"Fuck this" Zacky snorted as he grabbed for the bandannas that covered Johnny's arms, pulling it free. He inhaled sharply as he noticed the thick red lines that crossed over his forearms.
"W..what's that all about?" He mumbled as he crouched next to his friend.
Johnny quickly sat up and snatched the bandanna from Zacky's grip.
"It's nothing, remember when I drunkenly fell down the stairs the other day? I must have caught my arm on the wall or something"
The two men knelt there for what seemed like forever.
"Can we just forget it?" Johnny looked at Zacky with a pleading expression. "Now let's go inside, I'm fucking freezing".
Zacky was rocked awake by someone nudging him on his shoulder.
"Sir, sir, you can go see your friend now" .
Zacky opened his eyes to see the same large nurse standing over him, smiling warmly.
"Right this way". The large nurse kindly kept his hand on the bottom of Zacky's back as he led him passed the theatre towards Intensive Care Unit. The nurse helped Zacky push through the heavy doors and into the white, sterile room.
"I'll give you a moment, you can talk to him but please don't touch his arms or any of the machines".
Zacky nodded, slightly dazed as he turned towards his friend as the nurse backed out of the room. To his horror Johnny laid there, covered in various monitors and beeping machines, an oxygen and feeding tube covered his sunken features. Zacky crossed the room slowly, so not to wake him and took a seat in the chair next to the bed. He ignored the nurses instructions to not touch him as he stroked his hair, trying his best to comfort his friend. He looked down at the crisp, white bandages that engulfed Johnny's arms, some blood had seeped through but he appeared to be in a stable condition.
A voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Is he going to be okay?"
Zacky spun around in the chair to see the landlady stood in the doorway, her coat and handbag draped over her arms.
"I mean....were we in time? Could we have done anything sooner?" She seemed as if she already knew the answer to the question.
"Perhaps. Perhaps we should have paid attention to him, I sort of knew about the...the...harming. But I just ignored it, I thought it was just a phase I only noticed it as soon as he split up with his girlfriend".
She nodded slowly "I heard him crying sometimes. Through the walls in the apartment, I could have checked on him, instead I just banged on the walls and complained. I guess I could have also helped him out with the rent, when he came to pay it would usually all be in change or dirty notes, it was obvious that he had stolen it from laundry matts and change from honesty pots. I could kick myself for being such a bitch".
"Well it's too late now. The damage has been done, all we can do now is pray".
At this point the landlady walked over to Zacky and placed a manicured hand on his shoulder.
"I'm Julie by the way".
"Zacky..."
She inhaled deeply. "I know love. look it's late and you need sleep. Johnny won't be awake for a few hours yet, let me drive you back home, you'll have a clearer head after a few hours sleep".
Zacky didn't want to leave, but he knew Julie was right. He stood up and kissed Johnny on the forehead. He turned and walked out the room, trying his hardest not to turn back and look. He thanked the nurses and walked to her car.
Sleep was a good idea.
Notes
Here's the next chapter! Already started another one, need to keep this story going!hope you all like it :)
xxx
11/17/13