Harry's POV
Waking up with empty arms was one of the worst feelings there was. I flashed back to the night before, remember the feeling of his body pressed up against me as we fell asleep. But the bed was empty, wrinkles in the sheets where I knew he was laying.
"Dr. Styles?" I whipped my head around to see Nurse Ella looking at me sympathetically.
"Where is he?" I growled, sitting up in the hospital bed.
"We took him for testing, I didn't want to wake you-"
"Why-" I paused, taking a deep breath through my nose and closing me eyes, "Why would you think that I didn't want to wake up when he did?"
She shrugged pathetically and I felt guilt tug at my chest.
"I'm sorry, I'm just in a bad mood. Can you just show me where he is?" She sighed and nodded, waiting for me to stand up before leading me out the open door.
We finally arrived in a small room, dimly lit by lights in the celiing. It was just enough light for me to see the sleeping boy on the bed, hooked up to so many machines it made my heart hurt. I could see his long eyelashes from here, and his prominent cheekbones I've grown to love so much.
"Louis," I whispered, willing my feet to move towards him. But they stuck to the floor like cement as I stared at his face that was pale. Way too pale.
I cringed as a nurse stuck a needle in his arm, withdrawing blood, and he didn't even move or flinch.
There was a warmth on my shoulder and I looked down to see a hand.
Oh. Ella.
"It'll be okay, Harry." It was weird to hear her say my name, she usually called me Dr. Styles. I politely removed her hand from my shoulder and gave her a small smile before finally walking towards the boy I love.
"Have you got some results back yet?" I asked quietly, glancing at the short nurse in front of me. She pursed her lips and shook her head, closing up the tubes of Louis' blood in her hand. I bit my lip and looked away, trying my hardest not to let the tears take over.
"I"m sure his body won't reject it. The heart matched everything," she assured me, patting me on the arm before scurrying out of the room.
It was weird not having that usual chair that was always by his bedside. I glanced around until my gaze landed on a metal chair next to all the machines. I dragged it towards his temporary bed, ignoring the loud squeaky noise.
"Hey Lou," I said softly, settling on the cold metal chair as I placed my hands in his.
His eyelids didn't flutter like I expected. Furrowing my brow, I snatched up his chart from the table next to him. Flipping it open quickly, I read that they gave him a lot of pain medicine which made him really sleep and really hard to wake up.
This was going to be difficult.
"Louis," I cooed, gently patting my hand against his pale cheeks. He looked sick, so so sick.
He didn't move until I placed a gentle kiss on his lips, and it felt so cliche that I almost laughed.
"Harry?" Louis' voice cracked and he gazed up at me with sleepy eyes. I stared at him in adoration before responding, "Hey baby."
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly before going back into a frown. His eyes were barely open, so I could only see a glimpse of blue underneath his eyelids. I could feel his hand shaking in mine, and he looked like he could fall asleep at any moment.
One of the symptoms of rejection was fatigue.
Shut up Harry.
But then I looked closer, athe little beads of sweat on his forehead. I placed my hand on the the hot skin and felt it burn beneath my fingertips.
Another was high temperature.
Rejection after heart transplants was quite common and most of the times was easy to treat, depending on the severity. But the fact that it was Louis, the person I cared for the most in the whole world, made it so much harder.
"The test results are back," I heard a voice from the doorway, making both me and Lou jump.
"Am I going to be okay?" Louis croaked hopefully, breaking my heart.
"Louis, you have a mild rejection in your heart." While Louis' eyes widened in fear, I let out a breath of relief.
"Oh thank God," I sighed, letting a grin come across my face.
"What? Harry isn't this bad?" Louis protested, suddenly more alert.
"No love, it can be treated quite easily." I assured him, gently squeezing his hand.
"Oh," Louis squeaked, a nervous smile playing on his lips.
The nurse standing in the doorway cleared her throat awkwardly, and I tore my gaze away from his lovely face.
"Oh. Sorry. Thanks, I'll take care of it," I told her, sending her a quick smile as she nodded and closed the door.
"So what are we going to do?" Louis asked, looking up at me through his thick lashes.
"You're going to take steroids," I smirked, standing up in my chair.
"Uhm, okay?"
"I'm going to go get them," I ignored the confusion in his tone and instead placed a gentle kiss to his chapped lips.
I walked over to the medicine table in the other corner of the room, grabbing the steroid shots from the cabinet. The needles were quite long, and I tried my best to hide it from Louis.
"This is going to hurt a bit. But not that much!" I said pathetically, afraid to scare him.
"Okay," he whispered, and I could tell he was tired. Heart transplants, especially when you have rejection, makes you so weak even though your heart is so much stronger.
By the time I inserted the needle, Louis was half asleep and barely flinched.
"It's okay baby, almost done." Even though he was okay, I felt a tear slide down my cheek as I stared at my perfect, perfect angel, so weak and so vulnerable. His hands were shaking and clammy, and his lips were faded into his pale skin. I hated to see him like this. I missed the semi healthy Louis I had back at my cabin.
"You'll be okay," I gulped, mostly trying to comfort myself now. Soon his breathing turned steady, matching the rhythmic beats of the heart monitor attached to him.
I heard the door open behind us, and little footsteps walking towards us. I didn't want to turn around, because the person would see my red eyes and stained cheeks.
"Harry?" I felt my lips tremble at the scratchy, high voice. Ally.
"Hi Ally," I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt her place her small hand on my back.
"Is Louis going to be okay?" I nodded, watching as she walked in front of me. She was dressed in a small nightgown with little roses on it, and she still had her teddy bear in her hands.
I felt my stomach churn as she ran her fingertips across his sleeping face, his lips parted slightly as he breathed.
She probably wouldn't see him for much longer. Her skinny legs and bald head, and her weak body gave away the fact that she didn't have much time left. I was surprised she could still get around. I wrapped my arms around the little girl, lifting her up onto my lap as she nuzzled her face into my chest.
"I love you so much. So does Louis," I mumbled in her ear as she clutched to me tightly, and I could feel her tears against my scrubs.
"I love you too," She said, her voice so quiet I could barely hear it.
"Is Ally in here!?" A alert voice called from the ever-so-popular doorway.
"Yes, she is," I muttered, blinking quickly to hide my tears from Ella. She sighed in relief and moved towards us. I tightened my arms around the little girl that I loved so much protectively, even though I trusted Ella. I didn't want to let her go.
I would be lying if I said I didn't think about me and Louis living together and adopting Ally.
"We have to take her for her next round." I took a few deep breaths through my nose before helping Ally off my lap, trying my hardest not to look at her scared face. I turned my attention back to Louis as Ella led her out of the room, trying to steady my breathing.
Why is life so messed up?
With one more choked sob, I crawled under the sheets next to Louis and wrapped my arms around his tiny body, pulling him closer to my chest like a child. He was so small in my arms, and I clutched him tightly to me, never wanting to let go. The warmth against my arms gave me reassurance as I held onto him, crying into his shoulder while breathing in his perfect smell and feeling his hair tickle my face.
"I love you so much," I whispered, letting out a shuddery breath.
My only response was Louis squirming closer to me, as if he knew I was there the whole time.
***
I said I would update last night, and I was going to, but my brother was hogging the computer. So I updated tonight instead.
I hope you liked this chapter, I feel like it wasn't that good because I just do.
Ily guys so much, you don't even realize. Thank you for voting and everything, you readers mean the world to us.
-Kayla♥