Perfectly Dysfunctional

I looked down to my right shoulder and gasped. There was a huge tear there and I immediately tried to look for an exit wound, and was horrified to find that one; there wasn't one, but that two; if there was one, it would've hit Nathan right in the heart. Blood was spilling from my shoulder at an alarming pace and I felt my breath being knocked from me and my legs give way beneath me. I vaguely felt either Nathan or Siva grabbing me as I fell and suddenly there was lots of shouting. I fell to my knees and both Nathan and Siva came with me, Jay also kneeling down in front of me and trying to keep eye contact with me.

“I’ve been shot...” I gasped. I didn’t really feel much pain anymore, just fear. “There’s... a fucking bullet... inside of me...” I was finding it more difficult to breathe, and Jay was noticing. He tried to get me to breathe normally but I couldn’t physically bring myself to.

“Let’s get her inside first; prioritise.”

“I don’t mean... to sound... rude... but please prioritise... calling an ambulance,” I gasped out.

“Tom’s on it, love,” Nathan said, “And don’t try to talk.”

“I... can’t... breathe..”" And it was true. I wasn’t getting oxygen to any part of me. I’d bet anything that my lips and mouth were blue.

I managed to get inside their tour bus without too much bother, but sunk to the sofa when they lowered me onto it. The whole time, I kept noticing glances and silent communication between everyone, and occasional murmurs of ‘arsehole’. “Someone try and help her breathe, please.” Jay said sounding strained as he punched buttons on his phone.

“Look, Jenny, watch me; breathe in through your nose,” Siva demonstrated, “Then out through your mouth.” Again, he demonstrated, and I found myself thinking how cute he looked despite being serious. Despite this, his demonstrations weren’t helping – it’s what I’d been telling myself the whole time. I shook my head, clinging desperately to the table with my good arm. I didn’t like not being able to breathe.

“I’ve got an idea,” Nathan said and jumped up, pushing me into the table slightly so he could sit behind me, swinging his legs around either side of me, “I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he pulled me gently back into him, fitting my head to the right side of his neck, then put one hand over my stomach and one hand over my chest without being too inappropriate. “Now just concentrate on my breathing, okay?” he whispered in my left ear and I closed my eyes, trying to focus on his breathing. It actually sort of worked but then I focused on something else.

“Your heart...” It was beating about ten times as fast as what my own was, and it scared me that he was that scared. It made me think that I was about to be shot again, or someone else was.

“Ignore my heart,” he said and I felt another hand on my forehead, pulling my fringe from my face. “Just focus on breathing,” he controlled his breathing to a normal pace despite his erratic heart rate and then removed his hands from my stomach and chest.

“I’m gonna get a cold flannel,” Max muttered and the hand left my forehead only to be replaced almost immediately by another hand. I was actually breathing now, so much so that I could talk a little.

“Just wait... until Emma... hears about this...” I tried to laugh but coughed. Nathan laughed beneath me.

“So is this a regular occurrence for you?” he asked as Max returned and put a cold flannel on my head.

“That... feels good... Fuck... this is starting... to hurt now...” I moaned as I heard sirens in the background. Tom had phoned their manager as well to tell her about what had happened and she was hailing the ambulance in towards the tour bus. Just as I said that Jay walked in with what looked like some towels and old rags.

“I’m sorry,” he winced, “But it’s probably going to hurt even more now.”

I groaned and Nathan whispered in my ear, “Just focus on the breathing.” I nodded fiercely then watched as Jay balled up some of the rags and prepared some other stuff but couldn't watch anymore so looked away just before he pressed the rags to the wound - hard. I gasped in pain.

“I can’t do much... Jenny, I have to rip your shirt...”

“I have... another top on... under... It’s okay...”

“Jay, rip it.” Siva said, “Quickly. Oh, hey! We’ll give you a new t-shirt,” he grinned at me.

“I should... hope so. I paid... almost... as much as... the ticket cost... for that…” I was trying to be humorous through my pain.

“Well then, we’ll give you two new t-shirts,” Siva grinned and I couldn’t react, so I just breathed heavily. There was no way I was staying conscious.

“Just... get that bullet... out of me...” I said, and then everything went black.