𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐲𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 ~ 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬

Pope rushed me into the hospital, the others following behind.

"Hey, we need a doctor!" John B yelled. "Right now!"

Everyone in the waiting room immediately turned our way, watching the situation.

The woman that was behind the front desk immediately stepped up to Pope and I.

"Oh, my God," She said, looking down at my leg with wide eyes. "Come on, bring her here!"

The woman opened double doors that led to the back and ushered Pope through, leading us to an unoccupied room.

The others stayed outside in the waiting room.

The blood from my leg was dripping onto Pope's arms despite the towel Kie had wrapped around the base of the arrow.

He laid me down on the bed and grabbed my hand.

A nurse quickly came into the room and began situating a few things.

My eyelids felt heavy as I struggled to keep them open. I was so tired for some reason.

"You're gonna be alright, okay?" Pope assured. "They're gonna help you,"

"It hurts so bad," I mumbled.

"I know," He whispered, stroking my hair.

The next thing I knew, an oxygen mask was over my face.

"Listen, honey, I need you to take slow, deep breaths," The nurse told me. "I'm gonna put you to sleep, okay?"

I nodded, doing as she told me to.

"I love you, AJ," Was the last thing I heard before my eyelids fluttered shut.

-

I rubbed my eyes, awaking from the deep sleep I had been in.

The once excruciating pain in my leg was replaced by an intense aching.

"Hey, A," Pope said. "How are you doing?"

"I just got an arrow shot in my thigh, Pope. I'm fantastic," I chuckled.

"See, that's how I know you're doing okay," He smiled, kissing my forehead.

"Where's John B, JJ, and Kie?" I asked, looking around.

"They're still in the waiting room. You want me to go get them?"

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that'd be great,"

"Alright, I'll be right back,"

Pope stepped out, leaving me alone in the hospital room. A few minutes later, a nurse came in.

"Hi, Aspyn. I'm nurse Julie," She said softly. "Are you doing okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright,"

"Any pain in your leg?"

"Yeah. It feels a lot better than it did though," I replied.

"Well, I'm glad you're doing better," She said. "Thankfully, you got here when you did. Had you arrived even five minutes later, we might not have had time to help you,"

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Even though you did the right thing by not taking the arrow out, it hit you in such a way that there was still space for a significant amount of blood loss,"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "So, the arrow wasn't stopping the blood?"

"No, it was. However, it just wasn't stopping enough blood," She explained. "If you had removed the arrow, you wouldn't have even made it to the hospital. By not removing it you gave yourself an extra twenty to twenty-five minutes,"