| T H E M |
He woke up feeling shitty from the inside out. His eyelids felt like there was anchors holding them down as he tried desperately to open them. Niall wasn't sure if it was morning, night, or just five minutes after he had passed out the first time, but he didn't really care.
He stayed in his spot as still as possible on the bed till he had finally gotten the one percent of strength in him to lift his head and scan the room he was in.
There was Liam, Louis, Zayn, and Harry, all four of the boys all squished into one double bed. Liam was curled up at the end with Louis' foot shoved into his face, and Niall would've laughed if the pain wasn't so ruthless.
He tried taking it a step further, moving his hands flat along the mattress to push himself up. But he let out a breathless gasp, falling roughly back down onto the bed making him flinch in pain.
He knew he needed to go to the hospital, he knew that there was something that needed to be fixed. But he was too scared, way too scared and all his choices were now to either stay here or go back to Nick and Ivy.
He should go back to Nick and Ivy, they are probably wondering where their money is that he had gotten them last night. Both like impatient little brats wanting nothing but money, money, money. But Niall felt too safe right now, even though he was withering away in pain it felt too good to lay here in bed and not have to lay on the hard wooden flooring feeling like a worthless dog.
But than there was those four boys right beside him, those traitors that called him every name in the book and never let him explain himself. Let him get abused by this random pig of a stranger. They don't deserve him, and neither does Nick.
He has to weigh out the pros and cons though, and right now, laying here in silence, that was the biggest and best pro.
It only lasted a few minutes though, before he could here shuffling of the covers on the bed beside him. Niall immediately closed his eyes, trying to look like he was sleeping as feet starting thumping along the floors.
Niall had shot his eyes wide opened though when he had felt his shirt get lifted up, and his hands flew out to grab whoever it was, fingers clasping around a tattooed wrist.
Louis was standing beside him by the bed, his hands were frozen with some gauze and medical tape in his hands. That had made Niall slowly release his defensive hold, letting Louis go to work on his wound.
"Your rib had pierced through your skin, causing you to almost get an infection. I am putting this gauze and stuff down to keep you from touching it." Louis explained quietly so he wouldn't wake up the others.
As he worked, Louis spoke again. "You need a hospital Ni. Its not a want or a maybe anymore, you need one. The next thing your ribs can puncture is your lung. Don't take that chance." Louis looked at Niall with pleading eyes, big and blue and so nice to look at. But Niall looked away before he could consume himself in them.
"You know I can't do that Louis." Niall whispered out, and Louis huffed in annoyance as soon as he said that.
"It wont hurt what you do for a living, you can't even do it anyways with how badly you are injured right now. You need to stop this anyways." He patched up the rest of the gauze with the tape and then looked right back up to him. "You need to leave that man, Niall. Please."
Niall felt anger boil in his gut. He bit at his lip to stop the words from spewing from his mouth and took in a big breath. "This is my life now, Louis. I have nothing but this job. You have no right to tell me what I can and can not do."
Louis scoffed, folding his arms over his chest, giving the blond a challenging look. "I can when its life or death!"
At his yell, the three boys were all one by one shifting awake till they were staring sleepily at the two.
"Lou? Hey whats wrong?" Zayn grumbled out, slowly getting himself out of bed and walking over to them. Niall hated this now, he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Why was he so stupid? Why did he have to stay here like a lazy ass? He should've seen this coming, all the arguing.
Louis seemed to calm down though, when he got the unneeded attention from the other boys, so he tightened his lips and let out a long breath through his nose. "I don't care what you say, we're taking you to the hospital, I will call the damn ambulance if we can't get you into the car."
Niall wanted to get up, and had tried, but the searing pain that burned throughout his chest and body made him slump back onto the bed and let out a frustrated scream. "I want to go back home, I want to go back to Nick." He growled out as Louis started explaining everything to the other lads.
"You think Nick will do anything? You're going to die, and none of us are letting you get to that point." Louis was still bickering with him, and none of the boys could really stop him, all of them just watching the two with wide eyes.
"At least he took me in after I had nothing, gave me a life, money, happiness. Unlike you boys!" Niall wanted to hit a nerve inside all of the boys, maybe they'll get so pissed at him they'd just throw him back onto the street to fend for himself. He can take it, he has been thrown around many times before.
He was surprised to see Louis pound his fists onto the mattress, right beside Niall's laying form, his teeth bared like a dog and blue eyes darkening into a threatening shade. "What is he going to do for you huh? Who do you think did all this shit to you in the first place? What would you rather have right now, that bastard beating you to a pulp or us taking care of you and keeping you alive?!"
Liam placed a hand on Louis' shoulder, slowly moving Louis back so he wasn't so close to Niall. The blond had to take in a large breath, trying to calm himself down. He hated all of them, no, he hated more people than them, he hated everyone on this god damn planet. He'd rather be alone and dying, than depressed and infested with his ex's and people trying to help him. He doesn't need help, he chose this life, so he can only help himself for now on.
"I want to go home." That's all Niall decided to say back, and Louis had chuckled sarcastically and stepped back even more.
"Help him up, we can get him in the car and to the emergency clinic." The boys didn't even hesitate at his orders, Harry and Liam walking over and taking a still thrashing and whining Niall into their arms to walk off towards the car. Zayn went ahead of all of them, car keys in hand.
-
Now here Niall was, sitting in a stupid hospital bed with a stupid IV stuck in his arm. It's about seven hours after they had come to the emergency room, and now he was stitched up, his ribs back in place, and patched up with some gauze. The boys had refused to leave his side, and now they were all sitting awkwardly around the room, not saying a thing.
But Niall had to admit, even though he didn't want to, that he felt amazing, renewed. He could move a little better now, it didn't feel like he swallowed a bag of knives in his chest anymore. He would never say that to the boys though, because he still hated them with so much passion, he wanted them to feel no pride in their good deeds towards him.
The curtain opened, and now a doctor was standing in front of them, a little name tag that hung from his front shirt pocket read the last name "Barns."
"Good evening, how are you feeling Mister Horan?" Barns asked, smiling down at Niall.
Niall shifted up against the pillow, arms feeling shaky from putting so much weight on them, since they were the only things helping him to sit up. "Uh, good yeah." He gave the doctor a shaky smile back, faking it.
"That's very good, you were quite bruised and beaten up when you came in here. Three broken ribs, bruising on your chest, arms, legs, and we even found some along your neck and posterior." The doctor raised a questioning brow at him, and Niall had frowned deeply, not realizing just how bad Nick's beatings had gotten. But he wasn't going to speak of that, of course not.
'Make something up, make something up.' He said to himself, his brain searching for something to say, and once he found his excuse, he said it loud and clear. The boys weren't happy of course, their expressions falling.
"I fell down the stairs, they were wooden so it hurt ten times worse. I thought I was fine for a couple days till I felt the pain in my ribs." Niall shrugged it off, forcing himself not to look at the boys' faces.
The doctor didn't look so sure of course, he stared down at Niall, pausing for a few seconds before he shifted on his feet and cleared his throat.
"Can you four gentlemen wait outside for a minute or so? I need to speak to the patient alone." And for the first time ever, Niall wanted nothing more than to call the boys back, to keep them beside him so he didn't have to deal with this stranger. He wanted to go home, he wanted to get away from this god awful hospital.
The boys were gone in seconds though, and soon it was just him and the doctor in the small space. He had leaned on the little rack at the end of the hospital bed, eyes staring down at him with a look that showed he didn't believe a word Niall had said to him.
"Mister Horan, are one of those four boys your boyfriend? Do you have a significant other that has done this to you?" His voice was serious, tone low and his expression made Niall turn into stone.
"No, why do you ask? I fell down the stairs."
"Every victim of an abusive family member or lover has said that excuse. I am a doctor, Mister Horan, I hear this almost every single day." Niall's hand came down to hold tightly onto the sheets, his whole body shaking in worry that they would find out. He couldn't do this, not now, Nick will have his head.
"I am perfectly fine." Niall really did suck at defending himself, and he shifted uncomfortably on the bed, not meeting the doctors intense gaze.
"The bruises that cover your body are inflicted by someone, shaped as fingerprints. I am not going to contact the police, but I need to offer you help if you need it. Are one of those boys hurting you?"
"No, now I want to go home. When can I go home?" Niall asked, he was done with this conversation. The tears were threatening to spill, and all he could think about was how unfair the world has been to him at this very moment.
"You need to be here for about two more days. You need to be watched in case anything goes wrong." The doctor looked like he wasn't budging with his decision, but Niall wasn't going to settle with that answer.
He shifted against the plush white pillow keeping his back straight, glaring at Doctor Barns for a good second before speaking. "I want to go home, I want to be released at this very moment. You can't keep me here." He growled out, and the doctor didn't even flinch at his threatening words, just simply blinked at him and straightened himself up from where he was leaning.
"You're right, I can't keep you here. But if you want to be fully healthy while leaving here and not have to come back every day for constant checkups. I would advise you to stay right where you are." He folded his arms over his chest, tapping his shoes along the tile ground. "Plus, there might not be any available beds when you come back, you will be waiting here for a longer time since it isn't much an emergency."
Niall knew what doctor Barns was trying to do, could see it in his poster, eyes, and expression that he has also persuaded a lot of patients in staying. But he wasn't any of those patients, he was a god damn prostitute who needed to make a living off selling his body, he had no other choice but to leave.
"I know you are trying to get me to stay, but I have made up my mind and I want to leave right now. I will come back for a checkup every day till I am better, I don't care." Niall was already trying to shuffle himself out of bed, and the doctor wasn't stopping him.
"Alright, but understand the consequences of your decision." The doctor sighed out.
"My life is filled with consequences, doctor Barns. I have grown to accept them with open arms." Niall smiled at the doctor, a sarcastic one that made the mans brow furrow, but he had quickly looked away and focused on grabbing a pair of clothes that he assumed was his from one of the chairs.
"Should I send your friends back in?" The doctor asked, and Niall shook his head, wanting to be alone for a few minutes. That's all he wanted really, just some time to consume himself in his thoughts, think about how the hell he was going to explain everything to Nick. He didn't want to get beat up, that was the thing that came first in his mind.
But he barely got one pant-leg in before the curtain was being swung back opened and Harry was walking through, the other boys following. Niall had silently praised himself for keeping on the hospital gown, cause he was completely naked under there.
It wasn't like the boys haven't seen him in all his glory before though, right?
"I told him to keep you boys out." He said, which was kind of a lie. But he was almost a hundred precent sure he had shaken his head when Barns had asked him.
"Why are you leaving?" Louis spoke up first, he looked the most mad out of all of them, standing by the corner of the room with his fists clenched at his sides and his eyes narrowed down to glare at him.
"Why am I leaving? Because I need to get back home, Nick is waiting for me." Niall said simply, shrugging off Louis' tone of voice and focusing back on trying to bend down without crying out in pain.
"Let me." Harry sighed out, taking the waistband of the sweatpants that Niall had now just realized were definitely not his and started helping him into them slowly. It was a kind gesture, and Niall had felt warmth flood his body when he felt Harry's knuckles brush the pale skin of his legs.
"You aren't healthy enough, you can't just leave here after something as major as getting stitches from your ribs. You need proper care Niall." Liam was begging, his hands were even shaking at his sides as he stared at Niall. "And Nick is definitely not going to give you proper care." Louis grumbled out right after, and Niall rolled his eyes with an angered huff.
"You dragged me here against my own will, and I did what you wanted me to do. Now it's my turn to make my own decision, so, I am going home." Harry had moved his hands up Niall's hospital gown, the cool iron of his rings caressing the meat of his bum as he moved the rest of the sweatpants up to his hips. They didn't fit, at all really, and they sagged down too low. But the comfort of them being so loose was soothing to him at least.
"You're just gonna be back here again Niall." Zayn said barely above a whisper, they were all watching him as he took off the rest of the gown and then grabbed at the long sleeved baggy shirt, it more baggy than it should be when he slipped it on, the neckline hanging off one of his shoulders.
"I am, tomorrow actually. I have appointments every day to check on how I am doing." Niall said that with a smile, trying to assure the boys that he wasn't that stupid. But they still didn't look so convinced.
"I-" Louis was about to say something, but Liam had interrupted before he could finish.
"That's good, Ni. Very good, you need to take care of yourself." Liam gave him a welcoming smile and then moved forward to tug Niall into a hug that felt far too good for Niall's liking. Harry had even joined in, from where he was still kneeling on the ground, and instead of pushing the two away, he lingered in the touch that he kind of missed.
But again, he'd never say that to the boys.
"We can give you a drive home, yeah?" Zayn spoke up once they had pulled away, and he had now moved beside Louis, an arm wrapped around the short brunets waist like it was calming him. Louis was being a bitter man at the moment, and Niall was enjoying every minute of it.
"No, because Nick might see and I don't want him fighting you boys again. Please just...go to your hotel and do me a favour and go back home." Niall was speaking to them in a voice he hasn't used towards them in a long time. It was calm, collected, and soft.
Louis had said no, but Liam had spoke overtop of him before Niall could get mad again. "Can we at least call you a cab?"
"Yeah, uh, thanks I guess." Niall a few minutes ago refused to say anything resembling a thank you to those four boys, but now here he is actually saying it to their faces. Weirdly enough, he didn't mentally beat himself up over it, just stared down at his feet and listened to Liam on the phone to the cab company.
-
He was at the front doors to the hospital, standing outside with his toes hung over the curb. The boys were still there, standing behind him and chatting silently amongst themselves, and Niall didn't strain to eavesdrop, just focused on his own thoughts and the plan to convince Nick and Ivy that he had a client who wanted him for a longer amount of time.
The cab came a few minutes later, stopping when he had waved his hand to bring it over. Liam had walked up, leaning over the passenger window and giving the man twenty pounds with a smile and telling him the blonds address. Niall had just opened the door and was about to slump inside when Louis had rushed forward and grabbed at the door before he could close it.
Niall was waiting for some kind of angry jumble of words, but instead he saw Louis move something out from behind him.
It was his clothes, from last night, and a stack of money from his client Don, and from themselves. God, was he a lifesaver at this moment.
"Oh fuck, uh, god I totally forgot." He had never whipped his hand out to grab for something so fast, taking the clothes and money into his chest and hugging it like his life depended on it. If he would've actually forgotten about those, he'd be a goner in Nick's presence.
"No problem, the last thing me and the boys and probably you want, is for you to get hit again. Yeah?" Niall smiled up at him, it stiff but more real than forced this time. He really truly did appreciate this.
"Yeah." That was the last thing Niall said to Louis before the brunet had closed his door and stepped back towards the boys, them all watching as the cab driver pulled away from the curb and drove off towards his address.
~~~~~~
A.N:
Questions:
Do you think Niall is finally warming up to the boys?
How do you think Nick and Ivy will react when he gets back home?
~ Direction_Minx ~