When Worlds Combine - A WWC Sequel

67; Hospitals, Snakes and Ladders, and Speed

Violet

Speed.

It's defined by the Oxford dictionary as 'the rate at which someone or something moves or operates or is able to move or operate.' 

Everything was moving too fast.

I felt as though I was in this spinning whirlwind of movement that couldn't be stopped. I had never known speed like this before. Everything that should be in focus was not, everything that should be felt was not, and everything that should be fine was most definitely not.

I didn't let Niall finish speaking. I hung up on him as soon as he said the words.

"Avery's been in a car accident."

The words kept rotating around my mind like gears constantly churning, and I chewed and chewed on them until they became merely specs just like dust. But they were there, and I was not getting rid of them. So long as the speed did not stop those words would forever stay.

I slam my foot on the brake and throw open my door, jumping out into the heavily pouring rain. My vision is completely blurred and clouded as I try and find my way to the hospital entrance. I'm struggling to breathe, running so fast I'm scared I'm going to fall. But I don't keep moving. I have to just keep moving. Because if I stop I won't be able to keep up with the speed. I need to keep up with the speed.

I burst into the hospital dripping wet from head to toe and absolutely out of breath, looking around frantically for someone I can talk to. I run down the hall and towards the front desk but someone collides with me just as I reach it, the both of us smacking into each other. 

I look up and see an equally soaked and panting Zayn standing beside me, his hair flat due to the rain and his hands shaking. I'm filled with so many emotions right now that I just kind of stand there staring at him, unsure what to do. He stares right back at me and then he nods, and I nod back. And then he turns to the woman behind the counter and says Avery's name.

"Floor A," the woman replies. "She's currently in ICU but if you-"

We don't let her finish, the both of us tearing down the hall towards the elevator. I swear the both of our hearts are beating irrationally in sync. 

Zayn jabs the elevator button about ten times in five seconds, repetitively pushing it until the doors close. "Come on, come on!" He cries, smashing it with his fist.

I'm standing in the elevator trying to slow down my breathing. I manage to do so, but my hands are shaking so much they're trembling. And I feel a pain within me that I thought I had long gotten rid of. And I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.

"Are you okay?" Zayn asks me once the doors shut and we start moving up. He looks at me with an amount of concern I know is authentic.

I can't answer. I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. All I can think about is those words, and how on the other side of these doors will be Avery. Will she be okay? What happened? What's going to happen? I try and stay optimistic, but I'm struggling.

And then all of a sudden Zayn's hand grabs hold of mine and the touch makes my heart skip a tiny beat. I look down at our clasped hands and then back at him and his scared eyes. And I didn't realise just how much I needed him to hold onto to steady myself. My hands slowly stop shaking and I take a deep breath as I squeeze his hand. And we have about ten more seconds before the doors open, and before chaos starts. Before it all hits us. Reality. But for now, I have ten seconds where I'm safe from all of it. And I close my eyes.

And then the doors open.

Zayn doesn't let go of my hand as he pulls me out onto the floor. There's people everywhere, nurses rushing and doctors in clumps. The lights are bright and the walls and bland. I start to feel sick.