Isla’s POV
I opened my eyes and looked around the room, waiting for my vision to clear. Once it did, I set my eyes on El scrolling through her phone.
I tried to sit up and my movement instantly caught her attention. She put her phone down on the bed and leaned towards me on her seat.
“Isla, is everything okay?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I just want to sit up.”
I was still struggling so El got up and leaned over to press a button on the side of the bed, which made the head of the bed rise. I was now sitting up and once I got comfortable, El sat back down.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around the room.
“They’re with Niall.”
My eyes instantly focused on her and I could see her trying to avoid my eyes.
“Is he--?” I was going to ask if he was okay. If they were allowed to see him, surely it meant he was okay.
Right?
She continued to look at me and I was quickly getting impatient.
“He’s awake, Isla.”
I didn’t know how to react. I wanted to jump up and down in joy but I knew that I was unable to right now in the state I was in.
“So, he’s okay?” I asked, suddenly feeling more energized.
She nodded. “Yeah, they were able to help him right on time.”
“I want to see him,” I said quickly.
Again, she was trying to avoid my eyes.
“What’s wrong, El?”
Her eyes shot up at me and she shook her head feverishly. “Nothing, nothing at all. Um, yeah, we can go see him.”
I slowly got out of bed and stood up. My muscles were a little tense but I slowly stretched to loose them up.
“Your clothes are over there on the table,” she said, pointing over to my bag placed on the table in the corner of the room. “The doctor said that once you wake up, you’re free to go. You just have to sign some papers at the clerk’s desk.”
“Okay,” I said nodding.
I walked over to my bag and brought it with me to the bathroom. I dressed as quickly as I could, eager to see Niall. I was scared to see how much damage his face took. I was still feeling guilty about what happened to him. I know that I did everything that I could but I just wish that it never happened.
I thought I was going to lose him.
Once I was dressed, I went back into the room and saw El waiting for me by the door. She gave me a small smile before she opened the door for me, allowing me to go out first. I went to the clerk’s desk and signed the papers that I needed to sign.
“They’re on the first floor in room 116,” El said as she began leading the way. The walk to Niall’s room was silent; it was starting to make me uneasy. El would never be this quiet, given any situation.
I just kept it in the back of my mind, I didn’t want to be worried as we got out of the elevator and headed towards room 116.
She reached the door first and she lightly knocked before she quietly opened it and peeked in.
“We’re here,” she said. She opened the door fully and she walked inside and went over to Louis’ side. They all looked at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. I just ignored it as I made my way over to the bed. Zayn’s body was in my line of vision of Niall but I walked around to get a glimpse of him. I was standing on his side as I finally made myself look at him. I could feel everyone’s gazes on me.
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.
“Oh. No, not at all. Please, continue,” he said, waving his hand between us. He continued to give us a goofy smile and I just shook my head while smiling up at him.
“Where’s Liam?” I heard Harry say from outside.
“Shh!” Liam said to me. He suddenly tried to look nonchalant as he looked around the room, pretending to be interested in it.
“Do we need to give you leash?” We saw Louis coming through the door before walking over to Liam. “Let them have some peace and quiet.”
Louis pulled on Liam’s arm and started hauling him out towards the door. Liam started laughing, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled.
“They didn’t mind!” he said.
“Uh-huh. Sure,” Louis said, rolling his eyes. “Sorry about that.” He gave a small wave before closing the door quietly behind him.
Slowly, I brought my eyes towards Niall again. He was still looking at me and even though he could only open one eye, I couldn’t help but feel nervous under his gaze.
I stood there awkwardly, my arms still crossed across my chest.
Suddenly, Niall held out his hand towards me. “Come here.”
I slowly uncrossed my arms before walking over to him. I placed my hand in his and he pulled me closer to him. I sat down on the side of the bed as Niall brought his other hand up and lightly grazed it over my neck.
He looked at it intently, his eyebrows furrowing.
“Does it hurt?”
I realized that he noticed the bruises on my neck as he continued to look at it, his fingertips brushing over them. I couldn’t help the goosebumps that appeared under his light touch.
I just shook my head. Surely, my injuries were nothing compared to his.
I brought my hand up slowly to his face. I could see his face soften as I brushed some of his hair to the side. And then I mimicked his actions and traced my fingers over his bruises and cuts. I could feel his gaze burning into my skin but I kept my eyes focused on the bruises.
I ran my fingers over the cut on his lip and he hissed and winced in pain. I snatched hand away before I placed it on his abdomen.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He shook his head. “It’s okay. It didn’t hurt that much.”
I looked at him for a moment and soon tears formed in my eyes.
“Not for that.” I paused as he looked at me confusedly. “I’m sorry for everything. It was my fault.” I looked down causing tears to fall on the blanket.
A second later, I felt him place his finger under my chin before pushing it up, forcing me to look at him.
“It’s not your fault, Isla. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I should’ve listened to what you had to say. If I did, none of this would’ve happened. You would think that I would’ve learned from last time.” He grinned at me. “But I’m an idiot.”
I couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“Let’s just not worry about that. I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said.
“I’m perfectly fine,” I said, shaking my head. “But you…”
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle it,” he said. He flexed his arms and I burst out in laughter, feeling the air around us get lighter.
Once I was able to calm down, I looked at him with a serious expression.
“What did the doctor say?” I asked.
“Well, apart from my face, the only other injury I have is a cracked rib but they said I should be able to move around in a couple of days and it should heal in a week or two. I have to stay here for one more night and then I’m free to go. The bruises will disappear as bruises normally do and my eye should go back to normal in a few days.” He paused, looking at me intently. “But honestly, I’m okay. Now that I know you’re okay.”
I could feel butterflies going crazy in my stomach and I could feel my cheeks burning up.
“Does anything hurt?” I asked.
He sighed. “Well, just about my entire face but it’s better than it was before they gave me painkillers.”
An idea suddenly came to me and I couldn’t help the smirk growing on my face. He looked at me questioningly, his eyebrows scrunching up. But before he could say anything, I slowly leaned towards him.
I watched as his face softened before I closed my eyes and brought my lips up to his forehead where there was a small bruise and I kissed it lightly. I pulled back slightly and opened my eyes to see him looking at me with an expression that I remember seeing from a past memory.
It was a look of tenderness and love, a look that I longed to see every day when we were together.
Before I could lose control, I moved down to his cheek and placed another light kiss on the purple mark. I could hear his breath deepening, as was mine.
I moved to the other side and placed another kiss on his other cheek.
And then his swollen eye.
And then, very carefully, I placed my lips on the corner of his mouth where the cut was. I let my lips linger there longer than the other kisses that I placed.
I felt his hand rest on my cheek before he pulled away slightly.
We just stared into each other’s eyes, getting lost in them. He started rubbing his thumb against my cheek and I found myself leaning into his hand.
“I love you, Isla.”
His words made my heart flutter. I felt like I was in the clouds. He’s said it many times before but when he said them, it gave me the same amount of happiness, if not, more, every time.
“I love you more. I always have and I always will,” I said.
I started to lean in again, my eyes darting to his lips for a second before I slowly closed my eyes. I stopped right as our lips brushed and let it linger there, causing shivers to runs throughout my entire body.
Right I was about to close the small distant between our lips, I felt him pull my face towards him, finally allowing our lips to touch.
I kept the kiss light as I was worried about the cut on his lip but even though it was just a small kiss, it was one of the best kisses I’ve ever shared with anyone. I’ve craved the taste of his lips for a long time now; since I made the decision that I wanted to be with him. And only him.
He gave me one last kiss before he pulled back.
He settled back on the pillows as he gave me a happy and satisfied look.
“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said. “And I can’t wait to kiss you again when it’s less painful.”
I giggled as Niall took both of my hands in his.
Suddenly, his face turned serious.
“I can’t wait to do a lot of things to you,” he said, giving me a mischievous grin.
“Niall!” My mouth opened in shock as I swatted his arm for the second time today.
“Hey! Don’t hurt the injured!” He grabbed his arm, pretending that he was hurt before he burst out laughing.
I couldn’t help but smile as I rolled my eyes at him.
Once his laughter died down, he held out his arms. “I want to hold you.”
My heart skipped a beat. I slowly walked up to the bed and I looked at it nervously, trying to find a safe place to lie. I carefully sat down beside him before resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and I instantly felt relaxed and…happy.
Being in his arms was an indescribable feeling. Even though he was the one badly injured, it felt like he was the one protecting me, the one that will keep me safe.
As he held me close, I could feel myself forgetting about all of the horrible things that happened to me in the past few months. All I could think about was finally being able to hold the love of my life.
There were still a million things that I wanted to say to him that I never got to yesterday but it would have to wait. Right now, I didn’t want to worry about anything. All I wanted to do was lay here in his arms and listen to his quiet breathing and his heart beat in his chest.
A few silent minutes passed before we heard a quiet knock on the door before we saw Harry poke his head in.
He gave us a huge smile as he looked at us. “Sorry to interrupt.”
I sat up on the bed. “It’s okay, Harry. What’s up?”
“Visiting hours are over so we have to leave but the nurse said that one of could stay for the night. You can go home, Isla. It’s my turn now.”
Me and Niall burst out laughing as Harry and everyone else walked into the room. They all gave Niall a hug.
“One good thing that came from this is that we don’t have to work tomorrow. Thanks Nialler!” Louis exclaimed.
“It was my pleasure, Lou,” Niall laughed.
“Anyways, we should go. We’ll come back tomorrow with food,” Zayn said.
“I will love you if you do,” Niall gushed.
“I thought you already loved me,” Zayn said, pretending to be hurt. Niall laughed again. When is he never laughing?
“Okay, okay, let’s go,” Louis said, pushing everyone towards the door. “Isla, he’s still a bit sore so be careful with him tonight.” He winked over his shoulder as everyone laughed. I felt a blush come to my cheeks as I found a stuffed bear on the table and threw it at Louis’ back.
They all shouted another goodbye before Louis closed the door behind him, silence filling the room.
I snuggled my face into his neck, his arms wrapping around me tighter.
“You’re gonna have to control yourself tonight, I’m a bit sore at the moment,” Niall said.
I shot up into a sitting position and glared at Niall causing him to laugh once again.
“If you weren’t hurt right now, I’d punch you for that.”
“You know I’m just teasing,” he said as he tried to pull me back into his arms but I stayed put, not letting him win. When I wouldn’t budge, he slowly sat up before placing his hands on either side of my face.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking at me with puppy-dog eyes.
I rolled my eyes at him. “You better be.”
He started to look worried. I couldn’t hold it do it anymore, so a smile broke from my face.
“I’m just teasing, Niall,” mimicking his words.
He immediately relaxed before he placed a kiss on my lips. No matter how many times he kisses me, it still gave me one of the best feelings in the world.
“Have I told you how much I love?” he breathed.
“Nope,” I teased, a giggle escaping my lips.
“Well, Isla Lorena Abbott, I'm in love with you. Nothing will ever change that.”
His words made my heart melt and my lips pulled up into a huge smile.
“And I’m in love with you, Niall James Horan,” I said before placing my lips on his again.
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