Gotta Be You [Complete]

Chapter 51

Once I saw him, my breath hitched in my throat. His left eye was bruised and so swollen that it remained shut. He had a cut on his lip and there was a bandage over his nose. His entire face had bruises. I could actually feel his pain. 

He looked up at me and he looked at me with a blank expression.

It took me a while to compose myself before I took a deep breath. 

“Hi, Niall,” I spoke softly.

“Hi.”

I looked away, suddenly finding interest on the wrinkles of the blanket on the bed.

What was I supposed to say now? I couldn’t really ask him how he was feeling. It seemed like a morbid question to ask him seeing him in the condition that was currently in. 

So I stayed silent. 

Seconds passed by in silence until I finally made myself look back up at him. He was still looking at me but still with a blank expression.

“So what’s your name?”

My heart dropped into my stomach. I couldn’t breath and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

I stood there frozen as I looked around at everyone. They were giving me sympathetic looks before they looked away.

“Are you a friend of El’s?” he asked making me focus my attention back to him.

I tried to fight the tears that were threatening to spill over my eyes.

Just as I was about to turn around and run away, I felt someone grab my hand. I looked up and saw Niall looking at me with the widest grin I have ever seen.

“I’m just kidding, Isla.” He continued to smirk at me as I registered what was happening.

I looked back at everyone else and saw them trying to hold back their laughs. My mouth opened in astonishment as I looked between them and then Niall. 

“I hate you guys!” I exclaimed, lightly swatting Niall on his arm before crossing my arms and pouting.

“Aww, Isla. We’re sorry but we couldn’t help it. It was actually Niall’s idea so you should be blaming him,” Liam said, putting his arm over my shoulders. 

I looked over at El. “That’s why you were acting all weird back in my room.”

She laughed. “I’m sorry. But I had to make it as believable as possible. I didn’t want to be the one that ruined it.”

I looked around at the rest of them. “And the rest of you guys. When I walked in. You guys scared me to death.” 

They were now laughing at me as I tried as hard as I could to restrain my smile. But I couldn’t help it as I looked around at all of them smiling back at me.

I was worried about how the atmosphere would be once I got here and I was glad that the air around us was light, not one ounce of tension or awkwardness.

As the laughs died down, I locked gazes with Niall. We just looked at each other with small smiles, trying to figure out what the other was thinking.

We heard Louis clear his throat but still, me and Niall never broke our gaze.

“We’ll let you two have some privacy,” he said. “We’ll just wait outside.”

Everyone left the room without a word but it took me a while to realize that someone still had their arm around my shoulders.

I looked up and saw Liam looking between me and Niall with an innocent smile, not saying a word. 

“Liam, do you mind?” Niall asked, amusement written on his face.