Learning to Fall (One Direction Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-Two:

The steady, quiet beeping was the first thing I registered. It was like a metronome, keeping time and making sense of everything, even though there was nothing to make sense of.

I didn't see anything, and I wasn't sure if that was because it was dark or my eyes were just closed.

My body felt heavy, and there were points along my arms where I felt stiff, almost as if something was holding me down.

After an immeasurable passing of time, my eyelids opened. There was white light around me, and for a moment that's all I saw. Then things started to come into focus and I noticed a blurry figure sitting next to my bed, and I realized it was their hand that was one of the weights on my arm.

As vision came into focus, I made out the distinctive blonde hair, which was now messy and all over the place, and the piercing blue eyes, which were downcast, not looking at my face.

I tried to move my hand, which sent Niall's head shooting up. His eyes widened when they met mine and I saw so many different emotions flit across his face. In a single moment, his hand squeezed my arm lightly, which I realized was sore; Niall got up and ran out of the room.

"No!" I tried to call loudly, but it came out as a hoarse whisper.

I tried standing up, but my legs felt like bricks and the simplest movements sent shallow breaths panting through my lungs. I struggled to get up, but I saw needles poking into my arm that led to IV's and started looking around frantically. I didn't know where I was; I didn't know why I was here. All I knew was that Niall was here, but then he left.

I saw a red button and pushed it repeatedly, hoping it would get someone to tell me what was going on. Almost immediately, a nurse in scrubs came in with my dad trailing behind her.

"Dad! Dad, what's going on?" I asked breathlessly. "Where's Niall? What happened?"

"I need you to sit still for a moment, please. The IV's are coming loose," the nurse said, fiddling around with the needles prodded into me.

"What's going on?" I asked again. "Dad!"

"Jax, we're waiting for a doctor to come in," he said definitely, and my frenzied state simmered down to me glaring at my father.

"She'll be here in a minute," the nurse said, deciding that my IV's were satisfactory and leaving the room.

"Dad, tell me what's going on! Why am I in a hospital?" I nearly yelled.

"I said that we are waiting for the doctor to explain," he said firmly. I shook my head and slammed my body back down on the pillow. I stared at the tiled ceiling until I heard footsteps. My head shot up in the off chance it was Niall, and needless to say I was disappointed.

Instead, it was a doctor, probably around forty with long black hair.

"Hi there, Jax. How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting down next to me.

"Confused," I said. "He won't tell me what's going on," I nodded my chin towards my dad and I heard him groan in irritation.

"Well, that's what I'm here for. I'm Dr. Larkin." She reached a hand out to mine, and I shook it weakly. "So, from the looks of it you'd had quite a lot going on." I shrugged to indicate I still didn't know what was happening. "Okay then, let's try to jog your memory. You hit your head, so some initial confusion makes sense. Can you tell me how old you are?"

"I...it was my birthday, so eighteen," I said.

"Great. Can you remember what you did on your birthday? It's okay if it takes a moment," she egged me on. I nodded and strained to remember.