Recovery / / h.s

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

Just as I was about to usher then both in to talk about this, his hand jutted out and I was knocked backwards. I didn't have time to react as he began punching me, harder and harder until we were on the ground and he was on top of me.

I heard distant screams , but after a few seconds all I saw was black and all I felt was fist on skin as I began to fight back.

When my vision began to focus, I had the upper hand. I was now pummeling this asshole. Punching him for hurting my Lily. Punching him to keep him from punching me. Punching him because he was an ass and deserved to be punched. I could hear the screams all too clearly now.

"HARRY STOP. GET OFF OF HIM! BOYS!" And I was almost positive she was crying. I just couldn't stop.

A pair of strong arms grabbed me around the arms and pulled. I was still swinging my fists. Louis stood up as well. I was still in the grips of Ashton when he swung his fist at me again. I didn't feel anything. I thought maybe he had missed until I felt Ashton lurch out from behind me.

"Ash! No!" Lillian shouted and even though she was tiny she was able to grab him and yank him back.

"Get the fuck out!" Ashton roared. I could see everything clearly now. Louis had a bloody nose and a busted lip and what was beginning to turn into a black eye.

Louis, still panting, looked at Lillian as if to say "come on".

"I'm staying," she squeaked and then I felt her grip onto my arm. Was she hiding behind me? Was she actually afraid of this asshole?

Louis scoffed. "If you stay then we're done."

Lily didn't say anything. No one said anything. That was all he needed to storm out of my flat, door slamming behind him.

Lily still held on to my arm and when I turned around to face her, her eyes were screwed shut and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," she choked out when I wrapped my arms around her. "I didn't know he was gonna- he forced me to get into the-I'm so sorry."

And I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say. As the adrenaline began to die down, my wrist began to throb.

"Dude," Ashton sighed. He was holding onto his bicep tightly, wincing as he did so. "I think I pulled a muscle getting you off of him."

I pulled away from Lily, grasping my wrist in my hand in hopes of making it feel better.

"I think I broke my wrist punching him in the face." Ashton and I laughed but Lily's frown grew.

She grabbed my wrist in her hand, bending it and twisting it around gently. She wiggled my fingers around too and I winced. She sighed.

"It's not broken. Definitely not broken. But we need to put some ice on it," she said simply. "Come in the kitchen with me."

"I'm just gonna head home and ice my arm," Ashton said and Lily called something over her shoulder about how he needed to put heat on his arm instead of ice.

I sat on the counter as she maneuvered through my kitchen. I should have told her where the plastic bags were, but watching her scurry around everywhere was rather amusing and she just looked so cute when she got flustered because the bags weren't in the cabinet she looked in.

When she finally found them, she let out a grateful sigh. She went to the freezer and dropped exactly six ice cubes into the bag. She didn't even bother to put a napkin over it before she stood between my legs and placed the bag on my wrists. It was so cold it made me curl my toes.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked after she had been quiet for far too long.

She sighed and turned around to face me, using one hand to hold the ice and the other placed on my thigh.

"No, I'm just angry at the situation. I told him about us kissing and at first he was completely calm. I didn't know he would come over and fight you."

Having her this close to me was driving me insane. I needed her to be closer. I wrapped my arm around her back and held the icepack in that hand, pushing her forward lightly. She didn't try to pull back. She only looked up at me for a moment before rolling her eyes.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" She asked, running her hands over my face and checking for any bumps or cuts. "Did you hit your head when he pushed you? I don't want you to have a concussion, we'd have to stay awake all night."

I shook my head and tied to ignore the way my heart jumped when she used we instead of you. "How did you get so good at this?"

"Good at what?" She wondered, pressing down on my forehead. I winced. "You have a bruise, sorry."

I tried my best to flash her a forgiving smile. "It's alright. How did you get so good at this whole playing doctor thing?"

She shrugged her shoulders. We were so close that I could barely think straight. "My sister is pre-med. I study with her all the time."

She pulled back a little to remove the ice, pressing down lightly on my wrist with her middle and index fingers. It still hurt, but not enough to make me wince.

"Does it still hurt?" She wondered. She began backing away from me and I was pretty sure I whimpered.

She didn't seem to notice. I just nodded, pretending I was okay with her being so far away. Except, she really wasn't that far away at all.

"Do you have anything to wrap that in?" She wondered.

"Medicine cabinet in the bathroom," I said. I had hurt myself plenty of times in fights, of course I had something to wrap my injuries in.

I counted the seconds it took her to get the wrap, 65, and then I counted the seconds it took her to wrap it and pin it onto me, 87.

"How does that feel?" She wondered, staring up at me.

I wiggled my fingers around. Painful but definitely manageable.

"I think after i take a few aspirin or something I'll be fine," I said hopping down from the counter.

I swallowed the four capsules down dry and Lillian looked at me quizzically. God, she was so perfect.

"You need to try and get some sleep," she said, staring at the floor. "I'm gonna get home." She stood on her tiptoes and planted a tiny kiss on my forehead. She was probably just doing it to be sweet because that's what Lily was, sweet. But I needed something more that that.

As she tried to pull away, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to me. I stared into her confused eyes,that so closely resembled the ocean, for a fraction of a second before I fiercely pushed my lips against hers.

Maybe this wasn't the greatest of times and I knew that she was probably overwhelmed as hell already, but I had to do it.

"Stay with me," I whispered when she pulled away. She open her mouth to say something, probably to protest but I cut her off. "Please."

She lay on the right side of my bed, looking as beautiful as ever with tiredness glazing her eyes. She didn't protest when I slid in next to her and "lazily" threw my arm over her small frame, pulling her close to me. Everything just felt right for the first time in a long time.