What We've Found

Death Becomes Him

Chapter 5

Louis P.O.V.

               I looked down, horrified, into Niall's dead face. His eyes were shut and he looked so peaceful. He could totally pass for sleeping. Except for the fact that he wasn't breathing. I dropped to my knees and put my ear an inch from his mouth. The absence of his warm breath on the side of my face confirmed my fears. He was dead. Immediately I started performing what I remembered of my CPR training. I plugged his nose and started giving him mouth to mouth. Lottie walked out and started freaking out. I don't know if she thought I was snogging him or attacking him, but she ran over and pushed me off.

               "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" I yelled at her "HE'S DEAD AND I'M TRYING TO HELP! GO CALL AN AMBULANCE LOTTIE!" As soon as I finished I was back to work on Niall. I checked his pulse and was relieved to feel a slight pulse, though the pulses were growing further and further apart. I returned to mouth to mouth and was amazed that he was responding so well. After just a few minutes (though they felt like hours) Niall was breathing on his own again. He was still unconscious, but improving still as time ticked on.

               It felt like days by the time the ambulance got there, but at least Niall was breathing. I helped the paramedics get him onto the stretcher and wheel him out of the house. As I got into the back of the ambulance with Niall I was surprised to see that Liam was already there. Why hadn't he been upstairs with me helping revive Niall. What could be more important than our little Irish lad. All anger I had had towards Niall evaporated as I looked down at his soft expression. "Please be alright." I thought desperately "Please." I placed my hand on Niall's chest and felt it move up and down rythymiclly. Liam placed his hand gently on top of mine. I looked up into his eyes and saw a tear stream down his face. 

               "You saved him Louis. You did good in there. I saw you from downstairs, but didn't have the courage to come up. Thank you for being a better friend to him  than I am." Liam finished with another tear. His words were truly heartfelt and I don't usually get to see this side of Liam.

                  "Liam, what happened in there, that didn't make me a better friend to Niall than you. The situation was thrust upon me, not you. I had no choice, but to intervine, where you had a choice to remove yourself. It doesn't make you any worse of a friend or person." Even as I said the words I knew Liam wouldn't buy it. I was clearly lying. I don't know how Liam could have simply walked away when he saw me struggling to revive Niall.

                 "No Louis. There's no forgiving what I did. Because of my stupid actions Niall could have died and there would have been no body to blame but me. I don't even know why I walked away. At first I was just standing there, terrified, and then I panicked and ran away. Louis how could I turn my back on Niall like that?" The tears streaming down Liam's face were steady now. It was obvious that he was ridden with guilt. I didn't know what to say so I walked over to hug him.

                  As I wrapped my arms around his back he wrapped his around my neck. It happened in a split second. I went to wrest my head on his shoulder, but instead of doing the same he blocked my path to his shoulder with his face and started to close the distance between both of our faces. I don't know why, but I leaned in too. This was it, our lips were less than seconds away from meeting. Suddenly Niall's heart moniter started beeping loudly. I sprang away from Liam and ripped back the curtain seperating the back of the ambulance with the front. 

                  "His heart!" That was all I could manage. I couldn't get enough air. It felt like my lungs were empty and I tried to fill them, but nothing happened. My head was starting to spin and my vision was going black. I had one more glance of Niall and Liam before I blacked out.