trepidation | h.s

part twenty

My stomach was in knots by the time we got to the hospital. Harry burst through the doors with Eliza in his arms while Louis' arm was slung over my shoulder as I held Eli in my arms.

They were both in serious pain, and they needed help right away. The staff got them both into emergency rooms immediately.

Right now, Harry and I were simply waiting. I sat next to him with Elijah on my lap. Harry was anxiously tapping his foot with his head in his hands.

"They're gonna be okay." I say quietly, making him nod into his hands and take a deep breath as he sits up straight again, looking at me and then putting his arm around my shoulder in comfort.

I knew Louis and Eliza would be fine for the most part, aside from their injuries.

But it didn't take away from the harsh reality of this situation.

The Phantoms are back.

It's been months. Almost a year. I couldn't help but think that what they did to Louis and El was simply just a warning...and things were going to get much worse.

I wasn't feeling any sense of optimism. There was no way that it was just a break in committed by random burglars. They went into Eliza's apartment and beat them both up and then left.

And to add on top of this, we're being stalked by men in masks. At this point I think there's more than one of them, and I don't know if they're a part of the Phantoms or if they're a separate group we had to worry about.

Either way, I don't feel safe.

"Harry, what are we gonna do?" I finally ask the daunting question.

He shuts his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I don't know. I need to make a bunch of calls and organize some shit." he mumbles.

"But you're not the leader anymore. Isn't it Louis' job to do all of that stuff?"

Harry pauses and brings his hand from his face, his expression fallen.

"Oh yeah." he remembers, as if he'd forgotten that this isn't really his responsibility anymore and he had no real control over the situation.

It made me slightly relieved that Harry not being the leader anymore might mean that he's not as big of a target, but that means Louis has taken his spot.

The whole situation just sucked.

We hear the doors to the hospital open, and we both look forward.

Niall walks in with Daisy on his hip and a duffel bag strapped over his opposite shoulder.

We both immediately get to our feet. I hear Harry sigh in relief as he walks right up to Niall, grabbing Daisy from his arms and kissing her head and cheeks like he hadn't seen her in weeks. She innocently smiled and laughed, not knowing what was going on at all.

"I brought anything I could think of. Clothes, diapers, bottles, toys, baby food." Niall says as we walk back over to the seats in the waiting room.

"Thank you, Niall." I say with Elijah still held in my arms.

Niall sits down in a chair across from Harry and I. "Have you guys heard anything yet?"

Harry shakes his head. "Nothing."  he says, bouncing his knee to keep Daisy calm and somewhat occupied.

Both Harry and Niall look defeated and worried. It made me feel worse.

Niall runs a hand through his hair. "This isn't good." he grumbles.