Nightingale

thirty-one

Red lights are optional for this chapter...

3 days have passed since Harry got shot.

He got cleared this afternoon to go home so I ran to the house to grab him some clothes. He still has to be careful because of his stitches but other than that his at the peak of health.

It's about 9 o'clock at night and Niall, Louis, Liam and I are waiting for Callie and Gemma to get here. They said something about needing to get blackout drunk after the past week and I seconded that. Callie is bringing 3 bottles of vodka and I ordered a pizza for everyone because it was simple and easy.

Harry has been cooped up in his office since we got back, making phone calls, yelling at people over the phone, doing research or whatever. He hasn't really talked much today, he's been awfully quiet. I understand he probably needs space and I even offered to sleep in the guest room with Gemma and Callie to give him some more space since I have been kinda hovering over him since he got shot. He's just been distant since I brought up the whole let's get married thing. I really hope that isn't pushing him away from me.

I have gone into his office a couple times just checking on him and seeing if he needs anything, each time all I get is an "I'm fine" as a response. So I stopped going in after about the fourth time. Now I've just been sitting on the couch with Louis, who is also not much of a talker, sitting in silence as I paint my nails dark red to pass the time.

"Is bitch boy still in the office?" Liam asks as both him and Niall come back inside from the backyard, they were smoking a joint.

"Maybe don't call him that today. He's in a weird mood and I would like him to lighten up a bit for when Gemma and Callie get here." I say as I paint my last two fingernails.

"What time are they coming?" Louis asks.

"9:30. Frank is picking them up." I say then twist the cap of the nail polish back on and set it down on the coffee table.

"Well I'm high and I wanna get drunk so I'm starting now, you are all welcome to join me." Niall announces then heads into the kitchen getting a bunch of shot glasses then a bottle of tequila, pouring the clear liquid into one of them.

"Pour me one." I say as I stand up and join him in the kitchen. Niall smiles then does as I asked, sliding the shot to me across the countertop.

"Bottoms up." I say with a smile before resting the rim of the shot glass against my bottom lip, throwing my head back along with the shot, feeling the burning sensation along my tongue and down my throat as I swallow the tequila. I shake my head and scrunch my nose to try and get rid of the burn.

There's a knock on the door which must be either the pizza or Callie and Gemma. I set the shot glass back down on the counter and head towards the front door and see Gemma holding the pizza and Callie with her hands full of liquor. Frank waves at me from the car and I wave back before stepping out of the way so they can enter the house.

"You can go set those in the kitchen. I'm gonna get Harry." I say as I close the front door behind them and lock it then head down towards the office.

I knock on the office door and wait for a signal that I can come in. When it's still silent I open the door anyways. Harry is standing in front of an open window smoking a cigarette, his dress shirt almost fully unbuttoned.

"Gemma and Callie are here. Why don't you come out and say hi, maybe hang out for a bit." I say as I stand in the doorway. Harry still ignores me, taking a drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke out of his nose.

"Did I piss you off or something?" I ask him and again he ignores me. I bite my tongue to keep myself for saying some stupid shit but a hey Parker I really don't want to talk right now or a I just want to be alone would be nice. We've had silence between us before but it wasn't like this. This kind of silence eats away at you, making you overthink everything. This is the worst kind of silence. It's pissing me off but I'm trying to stay cool, calm and collected.