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Niall Horan
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"Do I really need to be wheeled out of here?" Avery whined. I was currently pushing her out of the hospital in a wheelchair at four in the morning while she was all drugged by while she was feeling funny from all the medication.
"We'll getcha out of that soon, 'kay babe?" I said. She murmured something under her breath and I followed behind our group to the back parking garage.
We had decided to leave at four in the morning so we didn't cause too much commotion. There was a rental tour bus in the back parking lot for us and we would just quietly slip in and head to Motel 6. Sam wanted us to stay here because he knew that it was just outside a sleepy town and we wouldn't be mobbed there.
Marcus was still in bad condition. By the time we figured out that he was at the same hospital as us, he was being flown over to one around a half an hour away from the Motel 6 that Avery and I stayed at where he could get more advanced treatment. Sam told us that in the morning we would go in and visit him, and we were all on edge with the knowledge that he could die.
Avery seemed to take this the hardest. I think she thought it was all her fault, but in reality it wasn't. I had assured her that everything would be okay with him and didn't tell her how bad it was. She cried a lot and demanded for some more pain medicine, so now she was currently really drowsy and not stable.
"Hally!" Aimee shouted through the quiet hospital hall we were in. Harry quickly shushed her and covered his hand over her mouth.
"You've got to be quiet, there are other patients sleeping." He whispered. "Once we leave the hospital we can talk, okay? But right now we need to use our inside voices."
I chuckled. Harry really did have his way with kids. It seemed like everyone liked Harry, actually.
"Alright, guys, in the parking garage just outside of these doors is the bus." Sam began, glancing around to make sure that we had everyone. It was dark inside the lobby of the hospital, but you could barely make out people's figures. "The other members of security and I will load your bags while you all get on."
Wordlessly, I walked in front of Avery and helped her stand on her feet. The medicine had made her so drowsy to the point where she just talked nonsense, so I had to balance her against me so she'd actually stand up. It was hilarious.
"Can I talk now?" Aimee asked once we were outside in the warm air.
"Yeah, you're good." Harry said. "You're getting heavy, Aims. What've you been eating?"
"Cinnamon rolls." Aimee answered. I threw my head back and laughed at the two while keeping my arm around Avery as we walked through the parking garage toward the new rental bus. The outside was plain black and it looked like a pretty decent size.
"C'mere, Ave." I said, helping her up the steps. Her eyelids were droopy and she didn't say a word as we climbed up into the new bus that we'd be staying in.
The front had some nice leather couches, a kitchenette, and a small table. I could see a door in the hallway that led to what I assumed to be a bathroom, and then rows of bunks in the back. There was probably a small bedroom in the back and I hoped that Avery, Aimee, and I could stay back there.
"Sweet," I heard Zayn say from behind me. "I call a bottom bunk."
"Good, because I want a top bunk." Louis laughed.
It took around five minutes for the luggage to be put in the trunk, and then we were off. Avery's mum, Sandy, had come up to me with a concerned look on her face and the only thing running through my mind was 'Aw crap, what've I done?' but her words surprised me.
"I know Avery will need someone to take care of her, so if you want to lay her down in the back bedroom that's alright." She smiled faintly, looking to her daughter. "I trust you with her. Just call me if you need anything."
"Sure thing, Mrs. Holmes." I said, blushing a bit.
"Call me Sandy, Niall. Mrs. Holmes makes me feel old."
"Sorry, Sandy." I blushed even redder now. I guess I was just really surprised that she was being this sweet to me. I had assumed that when we found Avery again she wouldn't want me seeing her daughter because I didn't look after her, but it was the exact opposite.
"I'm so tired." Avery groaned, rubbing her eye. "Can I just hibernate or something?"
I laughed at my girlfriend and helped her get to the bigger bed that was in the back of the bus. I pulled the sheets so that she could lay down, but instead of just simply laying down she flopped on the bed with a loud sigh, earning a chuckle from me.
"Alright, babe, try and go to sleep." I said, pulling the sheets up to her chin and kissing her forehead.
"What time is it?" She asked.
"Nearly five." I said, yawning. "We'll be at Motel 6 when you wake up. Sound good?"
Instead of getting a reply from her she frowned and tugged at the sheets irritably. I knew that all the pain medication she was taking made her really out of it, like she had just gotten her wisdom teeth out or something. Would it be bad if I videotaped her? This was priceless.
"Will I feel like this forever?" Avery asked me.
"No, it should wear off by the time you wake up. So that means you've gotta try and go to sleep so that you'll feel all better in the mornin'." I stroked her cheek, where a yellowish bruise was finally starting to fade. It made me terribly sad knowing where she got them from.
"Good." Avery smiled. "Aw, man." She suddenly started to get up out of the bed even though she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep and there were bags under her eyes. I frowned, not exactly sure what she was doing.
"Ave, get some rest." I ordered. "What are you doin'?"
"I have to put Aimee to bed." She said, her eyes still closed.
"Don't worry about that, okay?" I sighed. "I'll put her to bed. You don't worry about a thing. Do you need anything? Water? Another blanket?" I wanted to make sure that she was comfortable, because the nurse specifically told me she needed rest.
"No, I'm fine." Avery smiled, lying back down. I hoped that her medicine wore off quickly because it was seriously effecting Avery. Although I found it to be extremely funny the way she acted, I'm sure it was quite the annoyance for her.
"Okay, I'm gonna go and turn the lights out now. Night." I kissed her forehead and started to leave. Before I could stand up I felt a hand grab my wrist and pull me back down. "What is it, Ave?"
"Can we watch Friends when I wake up?" She asked. I chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, we can watch Friends." I agreed. "But only if you go to sleep now."
I think I heard her mutter an 'okay' and then I turned the lights off and closed the curtains that connected the back part of the bus. When I reached the middle section, I saw that some people had already gotten in their bunks. Sandy was in bed reading a book and Zayn was already asleep with his mouth hanging open.
"I think they're having a Harry Potter marathon on ABC." Liam said when I reached the front, snatching the t.v remote away from a sad looking Harry. Darcy was in the kitchen dishing out some ice cream and Tom, Avery's father, was making his way to his bunk.
"Anyone up for some cards?" Louis asked, pulling a deck out from one of the cabinets. When nobody gave him an answer he pulled a face and left the deck on the counter top. I searched around for Aimee and found her crawling around on the floor in her pj's.
"Aimee, we've got to get you to bed." I said.
"But I'm not sleepy!" Aimee protested.
"I know, but if we don't go to bed now we'll be tired in the mornin'. We need to go to bed." I ordered, a bit more stern now. Suddenly I saw her chin wobble and she burst into tears, something she didn't do too often for a little girl.
"Good going, Irish." I heard Harry chuckle. I scowled and picked Aimee up in my arms, rubbing her back and rocking her. She continued to cry harder (I assumed it was because of how tired she was) and I could feel my shirt getting wet.
"Hey, hey." I cooed. "What if you fall asleep out here?" I knew that I shouldn't give in to her so quickly, but I couldn't help it. Aimee knew how to be cute and get her way, that was for sure.
"O-okay." She sniffed. I kissed her forehead and set her on the recliner.
"Now you stay here and I'll get some blankets."
"And Timmy." Aimee added.
I ran to where some of our carry-on luggage was put in the front and grabbed Timmy the Turtle. I loved knowing that her most prized possession was something that I had won for her because for some reason it made me feel more like a dad to her.
After that, I grabbed some pillows and blankets and came back to the recliner, where Aimee was sitting. I could tell that she would fall asleep within five minutes by the way her shoulders slouched and her eyes drooped lazily. Quickly, I scooped her up and put the blanket over us as she laid on my lap.
"Which Harry Potter is this?" I asked Liam, glancing up at the t.v. "We shouldn't watch any of them past the fifth or it'll be too scary for her."
"Relax mate, it's number two." He chuckled. I knew that the boys liked to make fun of how cautious I was around Aimee, but that was only because I wanted to protect her. In her past life she hadn't been treated so well and I wanted to make up for those three years by being the greatest dad in the world.
And if I wasn't, at least I tried my hardest.
"Harry, I'm off to bed." Darcy said. "Goodnight boys! And make sure Aimee gets to bed, the poor thing will be dog tired in the morning if she doesn't." We all said goodnight to her as she left.
"Where's Zayn?" Asked Harry.
"He's asleep already." Liam said. "I don't understand how he falls asleep so quickly. He must've been out the first ten minutes on the road."
It was a funny feeling being back on a bus. It reminded me of touring and made me miss it so much. These past few months we've worked a bit of our album out in November, but it seemed weird having nothing going on and not being busy. It made me miss all the fans that would come to our shows.
For a while, it was quiet among us all. We watched the movie and every few minutes I would look down to see if Aimee had fallen asleep. It took her around fifteen minutes before her head drooped onto my chest and she was out. Holding her in my arms like this really made me appreciate her and her mum and how they completely changed my life.
"Guys, wanna hear a knock knock joke?" Harry's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Alright, yeah, let's hear it." Louis nodded. I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, because we all got really tired of Harry's knock knock jokes. They weren't even funny, really, but I pretended they were for his sake.
"Knock knock." Harry said with a smirk.
"Who's there?" Louis asked.
"A cow goes." Harry's smirk widened.
"A cow goes who?"
"No, a cow goes moo!" Harry said, laughing so hard that he had to hold his stomach. The rest of us just faked it because we didn't want the now teary-eyed Harry to be offended. Someone seriously needed to tell this guy how awful he was and that he should never be a stand-up comedian.
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When I woke up, my body was stiff and there was something heavy on my chest. I squinted at the light that was coming in the blinds and looked around to see Liam asleep on the couch and the rest of the room completely empty.
When we hit a pothole, I remembered everything and suddenly became very happy.
Today we were going to Motel 6.
Looking down, I saw Aimee asleep on me. Under one arm was Timmy the turtle and her hand was in a fist. I wondered what she was dreaming about, if she was dreaming at all. It was funny how I felt so much like her dad and we weren't even related by blood.
I shifted a bit in the chair but made sure that I didn't wake Aimee up. I stood and then placed her back on the recliner and then placed the blanket over her, waiting a few seconds to make sure that she didn't wake. When I knew that she hadn't stirred, I tiptoed over to the bunks to find everyone in bed.
After seeing if anyone was up, I decided to go to the front of the bus and talk to Ollie. He was driving us to Motel 6 and should know how long it would take for us to get there. The floorboards creaked as I walked and I saw Liam move a bit in his sleep, but after waiting a few seconds I could see he wasn't getting up.
"Hey, Ollie." I whispered once I approached the front of the bus. I sat in the passenger seat next to him, feeling rather calm and peaceful for once. "Do you know how long it'll be until we're at Motel 6?"
Ollie looked over at me and grinned, then pointed at something out the window.
"You tell me, kid." He said.
When I looked out the window, I could vaguely see the sign for Motel 6 above us. A warm feeling grew in the pit of my stomach and the only thought that I could manage to form was 'Wow, I can't believe I'm back.'
And this time I was glad to be here.
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a/n:
aw yay happy chapter!
AND WOW WE HIT CHAPTER FIFTY. Do you think this story is too long/drug out?
vote/comment/fan/tell wattpad that the ratings are messed up
- x Delilah