Everyone say hello to Dev Patel as Rohan x
When Nia tosses and turns for about the fourth time in thirty minutes, she decides to check the time and confirms that it's just past midnight. The vibrant city of London is still very awake and the view from her window provides that information.
Harry has always been a lover of people or being surrounded by people, so it made sense for one of his favourite homes to be in a central location. It's a secluded environment for his own safety but it's enough to stimulate him.
This is Nia's first night back here and it explains why she's finding it so hard to sleep. She has tried every single thing from meditating to stretching out on her yoga mat. Right now, there's a pillow placed between her legs as she blinks at the window.
It drizzled just a little and that's usually enough to get her to sleep but it's not working right now.
Nia places a hand on her stomach and it makes a little embarrassing sound. Alright, there's no point pretending to sleep.
Giving up, she calmly stands up and checks herself in the mirror. The oversized old t-shirt falls just on her knees and her curls have been pulled into a simple plait for the night.
The anxiety of everything has made her unable to stick with one hairstyle and it's frustrating. She walks out of the bedroom and into the silence of the flat.
The lights from the city's bustling nightlife cascade into the flat and she smiles at how beautiful it is. The living space is empty and she makes her way into the kitchen. It's super quiet and she just wants a Ribena to satisfy her late night sweet craving.
Everything has been stocked and arranged for her in the kitchen. The house manager was clear on Harry insisting on Nia getting every single thing that she needs to make her stay smooth and peaceful.
It's thoughtful and makes her feel a little weird. However, she's refusing to dwell on those thoughts because she's more focused on having a stable friendship with her ex.
Nia gets out her box of Ribena and happily walks out of the kitchen. The whole flat is still super quiet and she decides to check out Harry's office slash study.
When they lived together, she did most of her work in the office. Harry hardly worked there. They also spent a lot of intimate time there, having sex and constantly fighting.
Now, the office will be used for his speech therapy sessions and she wonders how he feels about that. Gently, she twists the cold knob of the door and pushes it open. To her surprise, Harry is silently seated on the comfortable sofa and staring at his old guitar.
"Oh shit, I didn't know you were here," Nia nearly panics.
Harry smiles as he looks up and she notices that his eyes are heavy with emotions, and sleep.
"Hi...Hi Nia," he says, softly.
"Hey, what are you doing? You know your meds require you to sleep," she clears her throat, sounding a little formal.
"Uh...l-leg...pain?" Harry sighs and touches his leg. "H-hurting...me."
Nia rushes over to his side and sits down next to him. Concern pulsates through her as she studies his leg and he manages to smile at this.
"I'm so sorry. Should I call the nurse?" she asks.
"No...uh h-hurt is normal," he tries to explain.
"Okay, but have you used your painkillers tonight?" she sighs.
"Y-yes...all meds," Harry replies.
"Good," Nia sighs, relieved.
Harry is trying his hardest not to keep staring at her and she catches his wandering eyes before he swiftly looks away. Nia slurps some of her Ribena and looks at him with a small smile.
It is uncomfortable being here because the last time they were in here, they had a brutal fight that ended in sex. It was one of the many fights that led to them deciding to break up.
The fights were hardly necessary but both of them are stubborn human beings with Harry being a cocky bastard.
"Why....no sleeping?" he speaks up.
"I couldn't sleep." she simply shrugs.
"Uh...feeling okay?" he asks, concerned.
"Yeah, a little okay," she says.
"Room...room okay? All okay?" he asks again.
"Everything is okay, mate," she gives him a smile.
"M-Mate...," he giggles a little, randomly repeating the word after her.
Nia smiles and notices that he's touching his guitar. It's a special guitar. It was the gift she got him before his first major tour. The guitar is vintage and was signed by one of his rock idols. It means a lot to him.
The guitar has played some of his best songs. Right now, his shaky fingers softly touch the strings and Nia can see the struggle.
Somewhere in this process of recovery, the old Harry is trying hard to come through and be his old self. It is hard and she knows this.
"Were you trying to play music?" she asks, calmly.
"No...no," he withdraws a little, frowning in response.
"It's okay to tell me the truth," she replies.
"S-said...no, okay?" Harry softly snaps at her.
The insecurity is heavy and Nia is an understanding person. She puts her drink away and shifts closer to him. He keeps his annoyed gaze focused on the guitar and she gently touches the guitar.
It's still as beautiful as the day it was delivered to them in this same flat. Harry's old steady fingers were able to strum life and set the crowd on fire with the music from this thing.
Right now, those fingers are shaky. They're not as bad as they were in the hospital but it'll be hard to play music without a little frustration here and there.
It's been hard for the fans to deal with no music or useful updates about his health and wellbeing. Harry has even agreed to being a little more active on social media and he has posted one picture that kind of broke the internet since he left the hospital.
It was a post expressing gratitude for all the kind messages and love. The post clearly stresses on him focusing on rest and recovery. He thought it was the least he could do for his fans and Jeff agreed.
Interrupting his thoughts, Nia picks up the guitar and looks at Harry with a smile.
"You had just finished dinner when I told you that I had a surprise for you that night," she starts speaking, softly touching the guitar.
"Yeah...I know," he mumbles.
"Harry, you were so happy and I was so happy that you loved your special gift," she says, holding it in the same way he did whenever he played it.
"So...special to me," he says, staring at her like his words have two meanings.
"It's okay to miss playing your beautiful guitar," Nia reminds him.
Harry slowly snaps out of his staring and nods in agreement.
"H-Hand...not working," he says with a weak smile.
"C'mon, don't say that. You've been able to start eating by yourself, right?" she asks.
"Slowly," he shrugs.
"And, that's something. Slow recovery is still recovery, okay?" Nia puts the guitar next to him with a smile.
"But....finish when?" he asks, a little impatient.
Nia sits next to him and cups his shoulders. "Healing never finishes. It never stops and that's a good thing to focus on because it means you can always get better and better."
"Wow...so...so good with words, as always," Harry smiles at her.
"I think I was able to learn from you," she replies.
"Uh...no, I...not saying much," he struggles to explain.
"Okay fair, you were always a man of little words but whenever you said something, it was profound and enough," she says.
This makes him smile and he nods in understanding. They sit down in silence for a moment and Harry looks at her again. He says nothing as he stares at her for a needed moment.
Nia tries to avoid his piercing stare but she sees that there's no point and that just makes things unnecessarily awkward for them.
"Why...not sleeping?" he asks again.
"My body is adjusting to being away from home," she replies.
"Uh...body?" Harry doesn't understand that sentence and Nia quickly notices this reaction.
"I miss my bed," she quickly says.
"Oh, can...can bring it?" he suggests.
"God, no way. I'll be fine by tonight, no worries," she chuckles in amusement.
"Okay...no worries," he repeats with a smile.
"And, you? Why are you not sleeping?" She looks at him.
Harry pauses before deciding to be honest on why he's awake. Yes, his leg was getting annoying with the pain but that wasn't the only reason.
"Uh...therapy...scary," he blurts out.
Nia sighs and takes his hand in hers for support.
"I won't lie that it's going to be easy but I need you to know that you're not alone and you'll be fine," she assures him.
"You....be there too?" he asks.
"Do you want me in here for your sessions?" She confirms his thoughts.
"Okay...yes. Friend...be here...with me," Harry starts to feel better.
"I'm down with that," she smiles.
"Feeling...not scary," he says, relieved.
"Not to be that person, but I think it was Harry Styles who once sang that we'll be alright, right?" Nia wiggles her eyebrows, hoping he understands.
Harry smiles and stares at her for a brief moment before speaking.
"Oh...stop it, Nia," he playfully shrugs her off.
Nia laughs a little and relaxes on the sofa with him.
Not too long after they decide it's time for bed and go their separate ways.
Strangely enough, Nia is able to get some good sleep. Good enough sleep that she wakes up a little later than planned. Nia gasps awake and realises that her phone has been on airplane mode.
On her bedside table, there's a glass of water and she realises that Ethel was probably in here to check on her.
Nia groans in annoyance and heads straight into the bathroom. She brushes her mouth and replies to all messages before heading into the shower for a wash.
Once she's done, she dresses up for the day and leaves the bedroom with her laptop. The flat is nearly as silent as the night and she sees Ethel greeting her with a warm smile.
"I hope I didn't disturb your sleep? I came in to tell you that the speech therapist is here," Ethel explains.
"Oh shit. I'm late. You didn't disturb me, I promised Harry that I'll be in here with him," Nia replies.
"Well, you're still on time. He was getting a little worried about waking you up," the older woman looks like one to tease.
"Thank you so much," Nia sighs and heads for the office.
Bracing herself, she calmly steadies her breathing and walks into the office to join the ongoing session. To her luck, it's just Harry nervously tapping his knees with his palms.
On seeing her, he lights up and gives her a small smile. Nia rushes over to sit next to him and they share a quick hug like they don't live under the same roof.
"Sleep...okay?" he asks, concerned.
"Yes, way more than okay. I hope I'm not late," she says, yawning.
Harry giggles at how cute she looks. "No...not late,"
"You? Did you sleep okay? How is your leg now?" Nia asks, blinking herself awake.
"Okay...sleep okay and...and leg b-better," he replies.
"Well done on the sentence," she smiles in response.
Just then, the door opens and the pathologist steps in.
"Sorry, I had to get the hard drive from my car," his voice is what she hears first before looking at him.
Nia's head snaps up and she sees the tall man walk to sit down right before them. His dark curly hair lands just on his neck and he has the face of a beautiful piece of art.
She stares at him and is sincerely taken aback by his beauty. The same can be said for the man because he pauses to stare at her for a moment and they exchange a polite smile.
"No worries. Sorry I'm also late," she speaks up.
"You have to be Nia, he mentioned you joining us," the pathologist says.
"Yes, I'm Nia. You?" She clears her throat.
"Rohan. No titles please, just Rohan," he clarifies for the two of them.
"Great, it is nice to meet you," Nia replies.
Harry silently observes the two of them and stays quiet. He hasn't seen Nia come alive like this in a while. It's almost like he's staring at a different woman and he doesn't know what to make of that.
This pathologist on the other hand seems too pretty to be a professional one and he's also not sure what to make of this one just yet.
"So, you're okay with your friend being with you through your sessions, Harry?" Rohan breaks the silence.
"Yes...yes, okay," Harry says.
"That's great. I always champion the idea of a support system being present because these sessions tend to get heavy depending on the severity," Rohan explains to them.
"Heavy, how?" Nia asks, worried.
"It can sometimes be rough but it depends on the level of patience the patient is willing to possess. Aphasia is a hard disorder and he's very lucky that this is temporary," he replies.
"Well, Harry is ready to do his best and he's already doing so well with improving his speech," she says, looking at Harry with a smile.
"Yes...want to...want to...be good," he says, wondering where the nerves are coming from.
"I can already see why he wants you here with him," Rohan says with a smile.
"Thanks, I guess," Nia replies.
Once again, Harry is not impressed and he deeply hopes he has the patience needed to ride through these sessions.
Hi beautiful being, thank you for reading and commenting xx