Chapter 7: Make It Out
Liam's POV: (Oho! Something new(; )
"We have an eighteen year old male, white, body temperature quickly dropping, and blood pressure rising! Needed in Intensive Care immediately. Heart rate is erratic, and he doesn't seem to be responding to any -" the rest of the nurses words were faded out, as they pushed the stretcher through the hospital doors, and a nurse blocked our path.
"I'm going to have to ask you all to wait in the waiting rooms."
I nodded slowly, holding back broken sobs. I had to stay strong. I had to; for the other lads. Because they're absolute messes.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and it soon slid down my back, gripping my shirt tightly. I quickly turned and looked down, heart shattering at the scene.
Louis was broken beyond imaginable, clutching my shirt helplessly. His knees held him upright on the ground, but his head was slowly falling onto my back. Tear stained face, red eyes. It was awful.
"Oh Louis," I whispered, immediately dropping to wrap him in my arms. I tried, and failed, to keep the tears from falling, but that just made them come even faster. How was he going to cope and restore himself after this? All the emotional stress from the fight, and now, we have Harry, in a critical condition. And we don't even know why.
"He's going to be fine Louis," I whispered. "You'll see." My voice was think and heavy with tears.
"L-Liam," Zayn whispered, pulling my attention to him. He was wiping his eyes rapidly, trying to regain himself. His hair was a mess. And that's saying something for Zayn, because we all were. Still fresh from bed and in our pajamas. Niall was trembling, whimpering and letting out silent sobs. I slowly helped Louis to his feet, letting him cry into my shoulder. Steadily, we all walked to the waiting rooms, sitting solemnly in our chairs. Paul was up front, speaking to nurses and the front desk. Harry's mum should have been contacted by now, and I'm sure she's on her way.
"Liam," Niall sniffed on my other shoulder, looking up at me brokenly. His eyes shimmered with tears, and it made it even harder to keep myself from bawling.
"Yeah?" I whispered, wiping tears from his eyes.
"What happened to him?"
I cursed beneath my breath. "I really wish I knew the answer to that Niall."
Niall nodded sadly, sniffing. Zayn just sat silently, still trying to wipe the tears. And Louis....well, Louis? I stroked his feathery hair. He was absolutely gutted. His shoulder quaked with sobs, and he clung onto my chest desperately.
"My fault," he'd cried out occasionally. And I'd shake my head and rub comforting circles along his back.
"No Lou, it's not. We're just going to pray he's in the best hands. He's going to be just fine."
Then, Paul came through the doors, eyes wet.
Niall and Zayn stood, but I remained seated, because Louis was sprawled along my lap.
"Any news?" Zayn whispered hoarsely.
Paul nodded solemnly. Wiping his eyes, he responded,
"He's having a liver failure."
~
Louis POV:
I froze, ceasing my sobs. Liver. Failure. God please tell me I heard wrong.
"Wha-what?" Liam gasped, eyes going wide. "No, no, that can't be right. It's been..it's only.."
Zayn interjected, "He doesn't have a lot of time. If his livers shutting down, he won't survive. He needs a liver transplant. Now."
Liam looked blown away. "That's impossible. He isn't a drinker. He's had no medical issues whatsoever. The only explanation is.."
"It's an acute liver failure. That means, it happens over a short period of time, probably less than 48 hours."
Zayn lowered his head. Me and Niall looked lost. And Liam was still shell shocked.
"Oh my god.."
My heart began to quicken.
"Liam?" I whispered, grabbing his shoulder. "That doesn't mean anything right? He's still going to pull through, right?" I shook him.
Liam didn't answer. His lip wavered.
"Liam?!"
He sent a broken glance at me, and then, slowly shook his head.
I went into hysterics.
"HARRY!" I screeched, pushing past everyone to run to the medical doors. Nurses and people shot me worried looks. I heard the boys follow shortly behind.
"Louis! Louis come back, we can't go in the ICU!"
"Harry!" I cried, running as hard as I could. Nurses were now shouting at me to stop. Suddenly, I felt a large pair of hands grip my shoulders, and I was hauled over onto Paul's back.
"NO!" I hollered, thrashing pathetically. "God damn, PAUL!! Let me go!! HARRY!" I cried, trying to pry off his fingers. Useless. This man has an iron grip.
"Please," I sobbed. "I need to see him. One more time, what if he leaves me? He promised he wouldn't! He promised!"
People all around shot me sympathetic looks. That only made me thrash harder. I was getting out of control, and Paul was having a hard time keeping me still. Soon, he had to lower me to keep me from falling, and I slipped from his grip, running again.
I made it further this time, as I spotted the large red letters 'ICU' in bold red light. Just a little more. Just a little -
I felt my feet fall from under me, and something dragged me to the ground. I groaned on impact, feeling pain shoot up my frail body. I was in no condition to be running like this.
"Sorry Louis," Paul's gruff voice whispered, and then I felt something sharp jab into my side.
"P-Paul?" I whispered.
"Shh. It's gonna be ok Louis."
The world around me began to haze, and I slowly began to fall into pitch darkness.
~
I let out a groan, peeling my eyelids open. I was in the waiting room. Again. Groggily, I began to sit up, looking around. Why was I here again? My mind went blank. God, I'm confused.
"Louis?" A voice behind me made my back stiffen. I turned around, praying the voice of the person was -
"Louis," Niall smiled gently, walking his way over to bury me in his arms.
"Niall..." I whispered, breath hitching. "What..what happened?"
Niall pulled away slowly, taking my hand to settle us both in waiting chairs. He took a deep breath.
"Harry's been drinking Lou. He intoxicated himself, and eventually, it was too much for his body. He was having a liver failure."
Fear crashed down on me in tidal waves. I clenched onto Niall's hand tightly. "A-and?"
"As we speak, he's having a transplant. Hopefully, it should be over soon. And, we're praying it's successful Lou."
I nodded weakly, squeezing Niall's fingers. "It's all my fault," I whispered.
Niall shook his head. "You didn't know Louis."
"But I could have prevented this!" I shout, hands trembling. "I could have stopped him."
Niall's baby blues locked on hard. "Lou, you need to stop. Stop with the blaming yourself, stop with the 'I could have' and 'I should have' shit, because it's already happened Louis. You need to except that!" his eyes never left mine.
I but my trembling lip, nodding pathetically. "I know Nialler, but it's so hard. I love Harry more than anything in this world. And I failed him. Right when he needed me most."
Suddenly, the emergency room doors burst open, and in rush Liam and Zayn, eyes streaming fresh tears.
"Niall! Lou!" Zayn shouts, voice clogged.
"Guys?!" Niall gasps, when the two sprint over and engulf us in a bone crushing embrace.
I let out a shocked gasp. Liam clutched my head close, his whole body trembling.
"L-Liam...?" I choke.
Suddenly, Liam pulled away, clutching the back of my head. I looked into his big brown eyes that were brimmed with tears and then, I finally saw the smile spread across his face, and the hope in his big eyes.
It suddenly hit me. These were tears of joy. Hope. Relief.
My breath hitched and my heart speed up rapidly.
"Is...is he..?"
"He made it Lou. The operation was successful."
~
(I was gonna stop the chapter here, but I felt like being generous today;)
*Still Louis' POV*
I sat next to Anne, clutching her hand firmly. She buried her head in my shoulder, sniffling softly.
"I'm going to kill him when he wakes up." she mumbles to herself.
I chuckle lightly. "Not before I do love, not before I do."
We sat outside the operating room. The room that held our Hazza. I wiped my extract tears aside with my free hand. He was safe. He was going to be okay now. Harry's alive.
The rest of the boys sat beside us, twiddling their thumbs nervously. We've been waiting for almost an hour out here now.
"Whats the time Li?" Zayn asked.
Liam yawned. "Ten minutes to four."
"Tha-"
"Boys?" A nurse popped her head put of Harry's room. We all stood to attention. The nurses smile widened.
"Come on in."
I gripped Anne's hand tighter, helping her stand. We lead second behind the nurse, shuffling silently. The bright lights were a pain on my tired eyes, but I kept pushing forward.
"Now, we're not sure how long its going to take for him to arise. It may take serveral days for him to -"
Suddenly, I heard Anne gasp at my side, and then her hand slipped away from my own.
"Oh Harry!" she cried, pushing past the nurse to hover over Harry's quite form. Her head fell onto his chest, and she quaked with quite sobs. "Thank god, thank god!" she kept mumbling.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and came to face a warm smile and blue eyes.
"Go on Lou," Niall whispered, giving my shoulder reassuring squeeze. I nodded.
Taking a deep breath, I turned, slowly striding to Anne's side. And the sight that caught my eyes broke my heart.
Harry was white; pale as a ghost. He lay unconscious, with millions of tubes and machines hooked up all over his frail body.
"Oh Harry," I whispered, falling to my knees beside the bed. "This is all my fault."
Anne lifted her head, shooting me a look. "Hush now. This is both of your faults." her voice was thick with tears.
I nodded mutely, reaching out a trembling finger to trace along his cracked, brittle lips. Hmm. I frowned as the skin of my finger rubbed over a hardness that shouldn't be Harry's lips. This isn't right. Harry's lips are always full, soft. Plush and pink. These lips are pale and battered.
"Oh," Zayn's voice, along with the others, came from behind me. The other lads were now surrounding Harry's bed.
"He's....so pale." Niall whispered, hands in his pockets.
While the other lads began to talk, I suddenly dug in my pockets. I know I have some. I should. Ah! I pulled out the small container, holding it in front of me in triumph.
Chapstick.
"Err, Lou? There any reason you need Chapstick right about now?" Liam sent me a confused glance.
I shook my head, popping open the top. Mmm. Piña Colada. Harry's favorite. I stood, leaning over him, and slowly, began to lower the stick to his brittle lips.
"What the?" Zayn whispered.
I ignored everyone. My shaky fingers gripped the container tighter, smoothy rubbing the stick back and forth across his lips. I smiled slightly; this was better. Harry's lips, now moistened, looked more like him. This was right.
"Uhm. Louis?" Liam tapped my shoulder, breaking the still silence that had formed. I whipped around, narrowing my eyes.
"What?" I snapped.
All eyes were on me, confused.
"Why did you just....put Chapstick on Harry?"
I froze, clutching the tube tighter. "Erhm, s'cuz, you know....his lips...they didn't look.....well.." I mumbled, eyes on the ground.
Suddenly, Anne gasped, and we all whittled around to see what for. And then, gasps fell off our lips too.
Harry's eyes stirred, and his nostrils flared a bit.
"Mmm," a mumble made its way through his lips, soon followed by his tongue slowly swiping his bottom lip. "Piña Colada."
"HARRY!" I hollered, proceeding to climb into the bed, but Liam and Zayn caught my arms, hauling me backwards.
"Woah! Slow it down Lou!"
"Yeah, Lou, calm. Calm."
Anne's lip trembled as she clutched his hand. "Harry? Babe? Speak to mum!"
Harry's eyes fluttered open slightly, pupils dilating and adjusting. He let out a tired moan.
"Boo?" he whispered hoarsely, trying to move an arm, but stopped when the tubes and IV's hooked up tugged. "What the..?"
"Harry!" we all screamed, crowding closer.
"Excuse me! Move, move please!" the nurse hollered, shoving us all side. "The patients....awake?!"
I shrugged her off as she grasped my shoulder. "Yeah," I tossed to her, not leaving.
"That's...incredible."
I nod mutely, smiling down at Harry's baffled form.
"The hell is going on?" he coughed, looking up lazily at me.
"Your in the hospital babe." I whisper, gently ruffling his curls.
Harry frowned, looking around. He set a glance at his mum, throwing her a cheeky smile. "Hey mum!"
Anne scowled. "Don't you 'hey mum' me bub. Your in for some shit." she smiled trough her tears.
Harry's frown returned again. "I'm really lost."
I chuckled. "Your in here because we're both idiots. You know that Haz?"
The lads chuckled softly behind us, nodding in agreement.
Harry smirked, eyelids drooping. "Yeah."
"Mr. Styles needs to rest," the nurse informed us, pushing us back from the bed. Harry yawned, eyes closed.
"I'm not leaving," I burst out suddenly, sitting down in a metal chair. The nurse shot me an exasperated look.
"Mr. Tomlinson, I can't have you keeping the patient awake!"
I met her gaze cooly. "I won't. I'm just going to be here, waiting till he wakes up."
The blonde nurse shook her head furiously. "I'm sorry! You'll need to come back in at least 24 hours!"
Anger boiled within me. "Absolutely NOT!" I hollered, standing. The nurse flinched.
"Lou, this is best for Harry. You need to do as she says." Paul whispered at my ear, hands tugging my own. "I promise we'll be back tomorrow."
"No!" I cry, feeling tears well again. "I need to make sure he stays here."
The nurse, now looking at her name tag, Isabel, smiled. "I assure you, Mr. Styles won't be going anywhere on two feet for a while."
I met her eyes hard on, frost palpable in my eyes.
"I don't mean just that. He needs to be here, alive, breathing and awake. How can I trust you to keep him here, huh?"
The nurse flinched again, shock obvious in her features.
"Mr. Tomlinson, I-I...you,"
I hold up to silence her, walking over to glimpse at Harry once more. His lips are twitched in a soft smile, and his breathing is steady. I smile, leaning down to kiss his temple. And before I pull away, I whisper in his ear,
"Remember this Haz, you made a promise Don't you dare break it."
I pulled away swiftly, ignoring everyone's still shocked faces as I strode out the door, slamming it harshly behind me.
He will be here when I get back tomorrow.
He promised.
~
SO. Yeah ;) Hope you liked! Please, please, please vote and comment! It helps me think that people actually enjoy reading this....
Anywho, I'm working on quite a lot of new Larry fics at the moment, so I apoligise for any late inconvenience with updating.
^_~ As always,
Much love! muah -xx