I threw down the sponge after we finished cleaning him off, but I could see that he was slipping away slowly.
"Where is Tara with the blood! " my breathing got unleveled and my vision was just blurry; nothing seemed to be going right.
"Caleb! Caleb stay with me please" I cried as I dabbed a stream of sweat from his forehead. His eyes bobbed once and offered me a weak smile. He coughed again but this time blood followed with it.
"Doctor Deslandes " Someone called, but I ignored the voice and cleaned the newly spilled blood from Caleb's face.
"Doctor Deslandes"
"Caleb you're gonna be just fine just please hold on"
"Luna! " I was spun around and faced by Doctor Monroe as he gazed at me sadly.
"This is too personal for you. I suggest you go be with your family. We'll do everything we can in here". He suggested, seeing my condition too. I was just as panicked as Ashley.
I processed his words then glanced at the nurses hooking up the blood. They looked slightly uncomfortable because of my constant shouting, so I decided to take his advice.
"Please stay with us Caleb. We need you. Ashley needs you" I wiped the tear that fell from my eyes and onto his forehead as a nurse placed a ventilator mask on him. Placing one last kiss on his cheek, I exited to the hall where everyone was.
Ashley was still sobbing, and so was Emma who was dressed and sitting in a chair. Lincoln paced back and forth looking even more scared and torn than me.
He just lost a brother, I can't imagine how he'll feel if he loses another one.
I sat beside Ashley in the corner and hugged her tightly. Her crying only grew worse in my shoulder.
"He'll be okay Ash, it'll be okay" I cooed even though I wasn't entirely sure if I believed that too.
My heart ached at the whole scene. All of this could've been avoided, but it wasn't the time for throwing blame.
An hour passed and still nothing from the doctor. Caleb’s parents and Chris arrived, and he had no clue where Stella was.
Two hours passed and still nothing.
Three. Four.
Then Luka came.
"Luka" I whispered in relief as I jumped on him, my crying resuming in an instant.
"Sshh it's okay Angel" He rubbed my back soothingly as I broke down for the fourth time today. "I got you. He'll be okay"
I really wanted to believe him, but every minute that passed made me believe the worse.
Emma was obviously beating herself up, Lincoln looked tormented, Chris seemed lost and confused, Caleb's parents looked broken, and Ashley...Gosh Ashley.
She was wrapped up in Caleb's mom's arms. She looked tired but wouldn't dare close her eyes. She would sniffle now and then, but her eyes never left the door that Caleb was behind.
It was all just sad.
"I shouldn't have left" Luka muttered.
"But you couldn't have known Luka, it's not your fault " I told him truthfully. If I knew Luka, which I do, I know he'd try and blame himself.
Deep down, everyone was blaming themselves.
Emma thought that IF she'd had just told us everything this wouldn't have happened.
Lincoln thought that IF he'd had fought better, this wouldn't have happened.
Chris thought that IF he'd had known his mate better, this wouldn't have happened.
Ashley thought that IF she hadn't gone with Stella to see Sam, Caleb wouldn't have followed her down there and this wouldn't have happened.
And me? Well this was all about me. It had my name written all over it, even if I didn't know anything until this morning. But it didn't matter whose fault it was. What mattered was that Caleb was behind that door battling for his life.
Once I was out of Luka's arms, he pulled Lincoln into a hug, and for the first time since I knew him, I saw Lincoln cry. He was scared, heart broken and he felt like he failed us all, though it wasn't true.
But being the oldest, he always had that burden. He always felt like protecting us was his responsibility. He must've felt hopeless knowing that he couldn’t save his own brother, that alone Caleb. He didn't even bother trying to hide it. He just cried. If you were to search the saddest place on earth, you would find that hospital hallway.
And the worst part was, it was just getting started.
Doctor Monroe finally met us in the hallway, but his expression alone gave us the answer we didn't want to hear. He looked to each one of our expectant faces and sighed.
"We did all we could to save him. " He muttered, hanging his head in grief. But that was all we needed to hear.
With that, Emma had started weeping again, not even before he finished talking. I threw my hand over my mouth to muffle a sob, no longer wishing to be here.
"He lost too many blood and his body rejected the first few bags we tried to give him"
"So what are you saying? " Luka asked, though we all knew what he meant ,we just needed to hear it.
"He's gone "
And that was it..
I fell into Luka's chest as the sobs racked my body once again. The cries from Emma and his mom sounded loudly from where they sat. My heart ached as it felt like something had been pulled from it with an acid dipped needle.
How could he be gone? He wasn't supposed to be gone! He was supposed to be fine. He was supposed to fight.
He was supposed to be alive.
I could hear the cries of all his loved ones in the dimly lit hallway, I even felt a few tears on my forehead from Luka. But despite all the cries, I didn't hear one person.
I slowly pulled my head off his chest to look at Ashley. Her state scared me more than if she'd been in a tantrum. She just sat there, with her knees against her swollen belly as she rocked back and forth on the chair. I wiped my eyes and slowly stepped to her.
"Ashley? " I whispered as calmly as possible while I sat beside her.
"He's not gone," She croaked.
"Ash."
"He's not gone," she repeated, shaking her head slowly.
"Ashley I know this is hard but-"
"No! He's not gone! " She screamed as she started to cry again. "I said he's not -aaaaah! "
I panicked as she screamed in pain and held her chest as she doubled over with wide eyes.
"What's happening?! " I asked in fear, not knowing why she was feeling pain.
Luka rushed over to us and held her up, examining her with familiarity. “The mate bond is being broken"
And with that, another agonizing scream sounded from her lips as she shook violently.
"No! " she shouted through the pain. "He's not gone! "
My blurry vision scanned the area for help when she screamed again, but everyone looked as helpless as me.
"I said he's not gone! " She repeated. "He can't be! It's not real. It's not real"
My heart broke for her as I watched her hurt. Luka had a look of understanding on his face through his pain, since he knew what she must've been feeling.
"Caleb!" She shouted. "Caleb don't you dare leave me! You hear me! "
I held her tighter since I had no other clue of how to comfort her.
"Please don't go" She sobbed. It came out as a whisper as she finally slouched into me. I held her for what felt like ages as she emptied her eyes on my shoulder.
All I could think about was how we'll never see Caleb again. We'll never hear his jokes or be met with his radiant smiles. I'll never hear his manly scream again whenever he bumped into Twinkle. I'll never see his forced frown again when I steal out his bacon.
Caleb was gone, and there's nothing we could do about it.
Another hour passed and we all migrated to the waiting room. No one said anything, all you could hear was the whispers of staff, or the sniffles of one of us.
The nurse said they were cleaning him up and getting him dressed to be taken away, but they were taking awfully long.
Ashley was now in Lincoln's arms, since I got tired and cuddled into Luka, but Lincoln looked as if he needed to be held too.
"I love you so much Angel" Luka whispered in my ear as he held me extremely tight against his chest.
I knew this whole moment was torture for him, even if he was being the strong Alpha. But me being there offered him a comfort beyond understanding. I know, since I had the same feeling.
"I love you too Luka. So so much" His grip on me tightened impossibly closer, and I heard his steady heartbeat as it soothingly calmed me.
For the first time since I got there, I felt an ounce of peace because of him.
A crashing sound had all our heads snapping to its source, and we saw an excited looking Doctor Monroe as he turned the corner and stopped in front of us.
He caught his breath before gazing at each of us with relief and utter joy.
"You wouldn't believe it. He's back."