PRESENT DAY
Nia watches Harry slowly blink at her and she holds onto her smile, waiting for him to give a response.
Without thinking, she has just asked him to be her friend. It's not the craziest thing she's done but it's a tad scary. This is the former love of her life. This is a man that she swore was going to father her children.
This became the man that allegedly cheated on her with his co-star in a movie.
And right now, she's asking to be his friend. For reasons that she cannot verbally explain.
Harry looks down to see her hand stretched out to him and he remembers how much he loved to hold her hand.
Physical touch had always been their thing and holding Nia felt like the safest place in the world. It is currently the only place in the world, aside from this taunting hospital.
He doesn't know what's waiting for him outside there. This offer of friendship feels strange and familiar at the same time. He doesn't know what this means for them and he's not sure if he wants to question anything.
With nerves, he giggles and his upper lip quivers as he tries to give a response.
"Friend...yes," he clears his throat.
"Really? Thank you," she smiles at him.
Harry gently frowns and shakes his head in defiance.
"No....I....thank," he tries to explain.
"You're saying thanks?" she asks.
"Yes," he replies.
"Well, I guess we're both very grateful people," Nia chuckles.
"Why....ask...friends?" Harry blankly stares at her.
That's a solid question that holds no answer right now. Nia gulps as she struggles to think up a lie or something good enough to cover up her nerves. She notices the untouched lunch and gives a small smile.
"I think you should eat first," she breathes out.
"Oh...," he catches on."No...uh...answer?"
"Am I that obvious?" she asks.
"Yes," he slowly nods and keeps his smile.
The sight of that smile does something to Nia and she slowly averts her tender gaze from him. Something about his innocent smile and how it's able to do many things to her.
Even after a whole year of not seeing each other.
She picks up the extra spoon and stares at his shaky hand. The first attempt was a failure. His anxiety is making the process a little harder than usual. Harry stares at the spoon and realises he doesn't want to make a mess if he tries feeding himself.
This new reality is a painful one as he has never been one to depend on another soul. All his life he has had to show up for himself and be the adult he needed in his life. Of course with the addition of fame, this allowed a rightfully inflated ego and cocky attitude.
Till today, a good number of people still choose to believe that he's an arrogant bastard and he truly doesn't care. Asking for help has never been his thing. He doesn't think it's bad to ask for assistance, but he cannot help but feel weak at the thought of depending on another person.
Fair enough, they just became friends again but depending on your ex-girlfriend isn't exactly a great look. This just makes his lack of friends a little more alarming than usual.
No other friend feels like Nia and that's a fact. Nobody can get him out of his shell like her. It's a little concerning.
"I can feed you," she breaks the tense moment.
"Not...a....baby," he frowns a little.
"I know that," she replies.
"Okay....you...ask," he flares his nostrils.
"I asked because I want to help you," she slowly points at him, randomly remembering a note from the doctor.
"Help...," he says, feeling stuck in the sentence.
"What do you want to say?" Nia asks.
"Okay...not...uh...," Harry draws a blank as he thinks of the word.
"Do you need the journal?" she observes.
"No!" he softly snaps at her, rubbing a shaky palm down his knee.
Nia gives a supportive smile. "Harry, it's okay."
"Not...okay...for me," he replies. "Not...okay!"
Harry groans out in frustration and he brings his hands to fist on his hair. He lowers his head between his arms and continues letting out his groans of frustration. It's relieving but he might start hurting himself. His physical body is still recovering from the injuries and he has to remember that.
Nia slowly brings her hand to touch his and she tries not to flinch at the physical touch. Her fingers touch his and she slowly moves them away from his curls.
Harry doesn't bother fighting but he hangs his head low, avoiding any contact with her. Nia lowers herself to catch his eyes and notices that they are stung with tears.
It's a painfully vulnerable moment for both of them. She doesn't remember the last time she saw Harry cry. Even in their relationship, he avoided getting that vulnerable with her.
Right now, it hurts. He slowly looks away and sniffs. Nia brings her palm to wipe away the tears and he stays still, not fighting it.
"I'm sorry it's not okay," she breathes out, fighting her own tears.
"Not...not okay," he repeats.
"It's not, and I'm sorry I was dismissive. This must be so hard for you and I'm sorry I don't understand the pain," she sniffs, staring at him.
"Yeah...," he's unable to get out his remaining words.
"Take your time with the words, okay? You don't even have to speak. All you have to do is recover and rest," Nia forces a smile.
"Okay...Nia," Harry replies with a little nod.
Nia gets a tissue and gently offers it to him. He slowly takes it and wipes his face, feeling a little relieved. The food is still untouched and he notices it.
"You know you still have to eat though. I need you to start feeling like yourself very soon," she tries to be cherry.
"Why?" he simply asks.
Of course, this man is packed with questions. Nia sighs and smiles.
"As a friend, I need my friend to be healthy and fine," she replies.
"You...eat...too?" He raises an eyebrow with a smile.
"Only if you eat," she replies.
"Okay...no..." he points at the spoon and makes a feeding gesture.
"Right, no feeding you." Nia giggles and remembers. "You know you can sign, right?"
"Uh...Nia...not know...that," he says with a chuckle.
Nia pauses as she stares at him and feels the tears sting her eyes once more.
"I'm glad you remember that," she exhales, steadying her feelings.
"Yeah....remember everything," Harry replies, avoiding her stare.
Once again the road to recovery won't be an easy one.
-
When Nia returns to her flat, it's late and dark. It's gently raining and the flat is warm enough for her. There's the beautiful aroma of food hanging in the air and she watches Zayn dish out her plate as she pulls her braids into a bun.
After picking her up from the hospital, they rode in silence and she avoided talking too much about her visit. It's been tense for her and Zayn since Harry woke up.
Zayn hasn't met the somewhat new Harry and she doesn't know how to honestly explain the situation to him. Nia quietly sits on the table and inhales the meal before her.
"Honestly fish curry is the best thing ever," she says, shoving a spoonful into her mouth.
"How was your day? I saw Ekta by the way," he sits next to her.
"Shit, I was supposed to call her," Nia says with a mouthful.
"You're being sued for forgetting her and her wife," Zayn smiles.
"I deserve it. I swear I'm going to spend the whole morning with them tomorrow," she takes a gulp from her bottle of water.
"And spend the rest of the day with him?" He raises an eyebrow.
Nia pauses as she drags her spoon through the delicious bowl.
"Why are you saying it like that?" she asks.
"Nia, you have a life, a job - "
"I work from home and I plan on taking some time off," she replies.
"For what? For Harry? The same Harry?" Zayn is concerned.
"Zayn, we almost lost him," she states.
"And we thankfully didn't. You cannot pause your life to care for a bloody millionaire, a shitty one by the way," he frowns.
"You weren't saying this when he was in a coma," Nia points out.
"I know. But he is awake and well, we all know what he's like when he's awake," he shrugs.
"You actually don't know because things have changed," she breathes out.
There is no easy way to explain this to Zayn. Nia knows it will be hard for him to digest because beneath the anger he feels towards Harry, there's still love and concern.
"What changed?" he asks.
"A lot. Zayn, I think it's fair for me to be there for Harry. He has been there for me in the past and he needs us right now," she avoids stating the obvious.
"But he has his manager and famous friends," Zayn frowns.
"You know that's not true. Yes, he has Jeff, but you know Harry really has nobody else in his life," Nia says with tears in her eyes.
Noticing the change in her tone, he calmly cups her shoulders and stares at her.
"What are you not telling me?" he asks.
"Harry is not okay," she avoids breaking down.
Zayn calmly hugs her and she silently sobs in his arms. He has no idea what she means but he already believes her words.
Nia feels a little relieved as she cries everything out and she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. They tear away from the hug and she gets out her phone to check who's calling her.
Nia frowns as she wipes away her tears.
"What's wrong?" Zayn asks.
"It's the hospital," Nia replies, worried.
FLASHBACK TIME.
Harry repeatedly adjusts himself on the couch as he intensely listens to the sample that has been emailed to him. He nods his head to the music and calmly makes his note in the brown journal that was recently gifted to him.
It was a thoughtful gift from Nia as they celebrated preparation for his new album. The music sounds delicious and he cannot wait for her to hear his new sound. He also cannot wait for his fans to have a taste of his new music and he cannot wait to perform it.
The flat is silent. Nia is supposed to be sleeping in their bedroom and he's supposed to be working. As Harry listens to the sample, there's an overlapping sound. He pauses the music and picks it up from his headphones. He snatches the headphones off and realises what he's hearing.
"No! No!" Nia screams from within.
"Nia!" Harry nearly screams as he keeps the laptop and headphones aside.
Without a pause, he races out of the living area and joins her in the bedroom. Waiting for him in there is Nia standing still as she listens to a phone call.
It doesn't look like a good call and her eyes are cloudy. He gently walks over to her and realises that she's nearly frozen in the spot.
"Nia?" he hears the voice over the phone, it is Zayn.
Harry calmly reaches to take the phone from her and Nia just stares into nothing as she calmly breathes.
"It's Harry. What happened?" He manages to say.
"Hey man, I don't know if you've ever met our friend, Patty," Zayn sounds sober and low.
"Yeah, I've met Pats a couple of times. Is she okay?" he asks.
"We lost her this morning. A car crash in Bristol," Zayn replies and breaks down in tears.
"Oh shit, not Patty," Harry manages to say. "I'm so sorry, mate."
Suddenly, Nia feels melted and falls towards Harry. Harry quickly tosses the phone on the bed and holds her. Nia breaks down and shatters like a glass in his hands. She lets out a heart hurting scream of cries as she mourns her friend and Harry manages to safely wrap her in his hold.
He has never lost such a close friend before and he cannot begin to imagine the pain that she must be in. Nia is open with her feelings and emotions, but this is another level.
"My Patty is gone," she sobs like a wounded child.
Nia crumbles to the floor and lands on her knees. Harry follows, lowering himself and making sure that he's able to hold her. His arms firmly come around her and Harry slowly rocks her, repeatedly kissing her head.
"I'm so sorry baby," he manages to say.
"It cannot be true, Harry, no," she cries into his neck, holding onto him like he's the last thing on earth.
"I'm sorry," he continues to soothe her, rubbing her back.
"It feels like a bad dream," Nia whispers, sobbing in his hold.
Harry exhales and nods in understanding. Right now, every single thing will have to be paused. Nia is his priority and he will drop everything to be there for her. He's not sure what to do but he's willing to surrender himself to her.
Seeing her this broken is a painful sight and he never wants to see her like this ever again.
So we have seen Nia and Harry be there for each other, why do you think the hospital called Nia?