Unsteady

The Aftermath

'Alright, Louis, you're good to go. I'll see you tomorrow.' Adrian, Louis' manager said, relieving Louis of his drive though duties. Louis grabbed his bag and keys before popping into the staff room.

'Erica, do you still need a lift home?' Louis asked his coworker. Erica smiled thankfully and nodded.

'If you don't mind, that would be great.'

'I parked my car about a block away from here, the staff car park was full.' Louis grumbled as he and Erica left the store and followed the footpath. They walked to the intersection where they needed to cross the road, and found it to be blocked by police cars and ambulances.

'Shit, what happened here?' Louis gasped, taking in the sight. A black car was on its side, the drivers side door crushed. A large hole in the top of the car suggested it had been cut open to get the people out. Dried blood painted the pavement a sickening crimson red colour, and Louis could just make out what the paramedics were saying to the police officers.

'24 year old female, died on impact. 20 year old male, had a pulse but we had to revive him twice, prognosis isn't great. He likely won't survive the ride to the hospital. 46 year old male, heavily intoxicated, he got out with just a broken arm, though he caused the crash.'

Louis felt tears prickling in his eyes. Life was so unfair, two innocent lives would be lost because of one drunken idiot's mistake. Louis eye caught something shiny. He bent down and picked up a necklace. Hanging from the broken chain was a tiny paper plane.
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'Hello? Harry? Where are you, man?' Niall answered his phone almost an hour after he'd called Harry.

'Is this Mr Niall Horan? Do you know a Mr Harry Styles?'

'Uh, yeah, I'm Niall, and Harry is my roommate. Who is this?'

'I'm calling from the Royal London Hospital, Mr Styles was brought in earlier this evening. We've only just found his identification and phone, and you were the last person he contacted.'

Niall felt his heart stop as he started to panic. 'W-why is he at the hospital? Is he okay?'

'Mr Styles and his sister have been involved in a car accident, and I think it would be best that someone comes to collect his things.'

'Is he d-dead?' Niall asked, not sure if he even wanted to know.

'Not yet, he is frighteningly unstable, however. His doctor doesn't think he'll make it through the night.'

'Fuck. Okay. I'll be right there.' Niall hung up and grabbed the keys to Harry's car, ignoring the tears running down his cheeks.

Fifteen minutes later, Niall burst into the main lobby of the hospital. 'Harry Styles?' He asked at the reception. The woman gave him a sympathetic smile.

'Intensive care unit, bed 28.'

Niall thanked her and stumbled to the elevators, making his way to the ICU. He had only been here once before, to say goodbye to his grandfather. He didn't know if he could handle saying goodbye to his best mate.

Niall found the door bearing the number 28 and gently pushed it open. He gasped at the sight, suddenly feeling nauseous. Harry was frighteningly pale, and was hooked up to dozens of machines. His hair and clothes were covered in blood, and his eyes were bruised and swollen shut.

'Sit down, sweetheart, I know it's a bit of a shock.' The elderly nurse said, gently nudging Niall towards a chair as she saw the blood drain from his face.

'What's wrong with him?' He asked shakily.

'He's broken his spine, he has a collapsed lung due to being punctured by a broken rib, and he's hit his head, though we're unsure of the extent of these injuries, and how well he'll recover from them.' The nurse said sadly.

'And Gemma? Where is she? Is she okay?' Niall asked, his heart sinking as the nurse gave him a sympathetic look.

'Gemma died on impact, honey. She hit her head.'

'Fuck, fuck fuck fuckiddy fuck.' Niall said, dropping his head into his hands. 'I need to call Harry's mum.' He mumbled, finding her number in his phone.

'Hello? Niall? It's two in the morning, honey, is everything okay?' Anne answered the phone, obviously still half asleep.

'No, no, um, you need to come to the hospital. Harry and Gemma were in a car accident.' Niall mumbled, his heart breaking as he bared the horrible news.
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'Niall?!'

Niall looked up from the stain on the floor he was staring at to see Anne frantically running towards him. He stood up and hugged her shaking frame.

'H-have they t-told you anything else?' Anne asked.

'No, nothings changed since I called you. Harry's still stable, so I guess no news is good news at the moment.' Niall said. 'Do you want to go and see him?'

Anne nodded wordlessly and followed Niall towards Harry's room.

'It might be a bit of a shock, he's in a bad state.' Niall warned, before opening the door for Anne, before catching her as she fell to the floor with her head in her hands. After a few minutes, she pulled herself together and moved to sit by Harry's bedside.

'Hey, baby, it's mummy. You're so strong, my precious boy. I need you to focus really hard on waking up, okay?' Anne felt herself losing hope as Harry remained unresponsive.
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Three weeks later, Harry was still in a coma, and while he hadn't improved, he hadn't gotten worse, and Niall counted that as a win. Shortly after the accident, Anne had succumbed to her cancer, leaving Harry with no family.

Niall visited every day, sometimes spending the night by Harry's bedside. It was eerily comforting to hear his heart monitor beeping steadily, a reminder that Harry hadn't given up yet.

It was nearing the fourth week of the coma when Harry started to show signs of life. Niall had been holding his hand and explaining to him what had happened on the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy. After the accident, Niall started watching the show in place of Desperate Housewives, knowing that Harry wouldn't want to miss anything important.

'And then someone proposed, can't remember his name though. How is it you remember all the names, there are so many characters.' Niall laughed. 'I wish you'd come back to us, mate, even just give us a sign that you're still there.' Niall sniffled and wiped away a tear before feeling something he never thought he would again.

Harry was squeezing his hand.