The Accident

Chapter eight

Two weeks went by and he had finally mastered the skill to get in and out of his wheelchair by himself which meant that he could get himself to the bathroom. He had one accident when he was too late and he felt absolutely humiliated. Zayn took care of him and he just joked about it, making him feel better. He made sure to get to the toilet on time after that.

Niall continued to sing and read with him and it had gotten easier to talk. He could usually do three words sentences now.

Trauma processing with Liam was the hardest part of rehabilitation. Liam made him go through his memories of his accident over and over again. He was an emotional roller coaster. Some days he just screamed and threw stuffed animals and other days he cried. Harry somehow always showed up miraculously and comforted him whenever he had one of his sad days. His hugs always made him feel better.

They were in the middle of a workout when Zayn interrupted them.
"Louis. Your family is here to see you."

Louis' anxiety levels sky rocked.
"What? No visits!"

"They are all here, demanding to see you. They won't leave." Zayn informed him.

Louis' heart beated like crazy and he had trouble breathing, panting heavily. Harry got down on his knees in front of him and took both his hands in his.
"Louis, breathe. Calm down." He said softly and showed him how to breathe.

Louis did the breathing exercise, holding on to Harry's hands desperately, and managed to calm down some.
"Your family loves you and they worry about you. Why won't you let them see you?" Harry asked.

"Because! You know!" Louis answered upset.

"You're not protecting them, Louis. You're hurting them. They're all here demanding to see you. Are you really gonna send them away?" Harry asked.

Louis bit his lower lip. His mind was on overdrive. He knew that Harry was right.
"I'm ashamed." He finally admitted.

"Ashamed of what? The accident wasn't your fault. Please tell me that you don't believe that?" Harry said, eyeing him concerned.

Louis shrugged his shoulders.
"Should have seen. Hit breaks sooner. Done something."

"There was nothing you could have done. That woman got drunk and got behind the wheel. She crashed into you! She did this to you, not the other way around. Oh, Louis. You're such a great guy, you know that right? But this isn't on you." Harry argued upset.

Louis' eyes teared up.
"Thanks, Harry. Okay. I'll see them."

"Yeah? That makes me so happy. Come on, let's make you representable. You stink!" Harry joked.

"Hey! Y...you stink!" Louis gasped, pretending to be offended.

Harry laughed and wheeled him into the bathroom after telling a nurse to send Louis' family into his room in five minutes. He helped Louis to get cleaned up and changed his t-shirt and handed him his deodorant. He leaned down in front of him.
"Ready?"

"Yeah." Louis answered and inhaled deeply, trying to prepare himself.

Harry caressed his hair briefly before he unlocked the door and rolled him outside. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw how many siblings Louis had. They all came running up to them screaming "Louis!" and threw themselves on their brother, hugging him.
"Hi, guys." Louis said emotionally.

"I'm gonna leave you to it." Harry said but Louis grabbed his hand.
"Please stay. Help."

Harry nodded his head but took a step back. Louis hugged the oldest sisters first before he let the younger two sit in his lap.
"What the hell, Louis! No visits?" The oldest sister said upset.

"Didn't...wanted to....paprica...no....p-protect you." Louis tried to explain.

The twin girls gasped and put a hand over their mouths, mirroring each other.
"What's wrong with your speech?" One of them screeched.

Louis looked at Harry helplessly and he immediately stepped in to explain.
"Louis has something called aphasia. He has to learn how to talk again and sometimes his brain chooses the wrong word but he's doing great. A couple of weeks ago he couldn't talk at all. I bet you guys remember that from the hospital."

"The doctors said he was in shock. That it was temporarily." The oldest one said.

"He will learn how to talk again. Our speech therapist is working with him and he's doing well, making progress daily." Harry tried to reassure them.

"That's a relief. Louis never shuts up but that's him, you know?" One of the twins said.

"Louis, why are you in a chair with wheels?" Louis' brother asked shyly.

"Helps me. I'm learning t...to w...walk, Ernie." Louis answered.

"And he's doing great." Harry chipped in.

"You're gonna be okay right? The only thing that matters to us is that you're alive and that you're happy." Louis' oldest sister said.

"Getting there." Louis answered.

"And you're putting us on the visiting list from now on!" One of the twins said.

"Okay." Louis promised.

"I missed you, Louis." His youngest sister said and hugged him.

"I missed you t... to Doris. A..all of you." Louis replied.

"Phoebe has a boyfriend!" Her twin sister said.

"Shut up Daisy!" Phoebe huffed.

"Who?" Louis asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Chad, you know our neighbor Chad?" Daisy said with a grin.

"N...not that punk." Louis chuckled.

"Heeey! He's great!" Phoebe protested.

Harry was leaning against the wall watching their interaction with a fond smile. He noticed that Louis was getting tired though.
"I'm sorry to break up the family reunion but Louis needs to rest now."

Louis gave him a thankful smile.
"Of course. Can we come back on Saturday? Please, Louis." The oldest sister pleaded.

"Yes, Lottie." Louis agreed.

They all hugged him goodbye, shouting "I love you Louis!" at the same time.
"Love you too." Louis responded.

Harry wheeled him to the bed and helped him get in. Louis looked exhausted but was smiling happily.
"Thanks, Harry, f...for..."

"My pleasure, Louis. Your family is lovely and they all adore you." Harry said while he tucked him in.

"Yeah." Louis agreed and yawned.

"Get some rest. I'll check up on you before I'll end my shift." Harry said and Louis smiled with his eyes closed and nodded his head.