Hostage (a One Direction story)

Chapter Seven

 

P.S. Please vote don't be a ghost reader! I love you guys!

Jae's P.O.V.

My finger twitched.

My finger twitched! I concentrated on my right hand, using all of my strength to move my finger again.

Yes! Come on, come on! I managed to clench my hand into a fist.

"Nurse! Nurse! She's - she's waking up! NURSE!! SHE'S WAKING UP! LIAM! ZAYN! NIALL! HARRY! SHE'S WAKING UP!" If I could have covered my ears, I would've. Jesus, but Louis was loud.

"Stand back," snapped a curt voice, the nurse I was assuming.

I made a fist of my left hand, and then rotated my ankles. Finally, finally, after four days of infinite darkness, I opened my eyes.

A nurse hovered anxiously above me, her dark brown hair held in a tight bun. "Good morning, honey," she said in a kind British accent.

I smiled at the nurse. "Same to you, ma'am."

She smiled. "Well, I suppose it ought to be." After helping prop me up on my pillows, she stepped towards the door. "I'll be back in five minutes, I just have to check something with your doctor, alright, dear?" I nodded and she left, leaving me alone with One Direction.

Well.

This was awkward.

Louis P.O.V.

She looks nervous. She runs a hand through her hair, and blushes, looking at the ground, at her toes, at the wall, anything but our faces. Zayn shuffles his feet awkwardly and I sigh. I guess it's up to me to break the ice...again.

"Nice to see your eyes, love," I say, grinning at her.

She returns the grin, her bright smile lighting up the room.

"How do you feel, Jae?" asks Liam, ever the worrier.

She considers the question for a moment. "Refreshed...and, err," she blushes. "Maybe a little nervous?"

"Nervous?" persists Liam.

Her cheeks only flush more and she stutters for a second, twisting her hands, "I'm in England and, I mean, a world famous boy band that I happen to be a huge fan of is, well, sitting in my hospital room, and I'm not half-crazy and starved like I was last time," she blurts, and then covers her mouth.

Harry laughs good-naturedly, bringing a smile back to Jae's much-too-thin face.

"Hey," says Niall, stepping forward, "would you like to go out to lunch with me and the boys? You look hungry."

Her stomach rumbles and she blushes again. "I think her stomach answered for her, Nialler," I chuckle, and Jae joins in, her laugh light and happy. It makes all of us smile.

The nurse bustles in, holding a clipboard tightly. "Miss Rivers, we're going to have to ask you a few questions, alright?"

Jae flinches. "...A-about w-what they did to m-me?" she whispered, shrinking back against her pillows.

The nurse nods gravely, and I wish I could reach out and hug Jae. She looks so tiny, so terrified. I can only imagine what she's reliving in her head. "...could...could I go out to eat, first?" she pleads quietly, turning her wide blue orbs up to the nurse.

She sighs. "I suppose so." She turns on us. "You boys, take care of her." She sends us one last glare before returning to Jae's bedside.

"She does a lot of supposing," I whisper in Niall's ear, and he snorts, trying to pass his laughter off as a cough, earning another dirty look from the nurse.

"Your old clothes were destroyed," the nurse is telling Jae. "But we have a stock here at the hospital. Come with me, we'll get you cleaned up, alright?"

Jae nods and smiles again. "Sure." She pushes herself off the bed, wincing in pain, struggling to stand. I'm about to step forward and help when Niall beats me to it, letting her lean on his arm and gently pulling her to her feet.

Jae's P.O.V.

Embarrassed, I stand hastily, trying not to rely on Niall.

Mistake.

I wobble and pitch forward, bracing myself for the pain of a faceplant that never comes. I open my eyes and find myself in Niall's arms, pressed against his chest. He looks down at me and grins cheekily. "Bit clumsy, are we, love?"

I blush a bright shade of red and step back, muttering apologies. The nurse curtly brushes Niall aside and takes my arm, leading me out of the room and into the hospital.

***

I emerge from the women's bathroom feeling clean for the first time in weeks. My hair hangs down my back, damp and smelling like vanilla, and my skin is scrubbed free of dirt. I'm wearing a pair of tight, dark wash skinny jeans, well worn in since they were donated to the hospitals Goodwill branch. A coral button up shirt with lace shoulders, only a little too big, is tucked into my jeans and my feet are slipped into a pair of worn combat boots, the only shoes they had in my size. The hot water of the shower eased my sore muscles, and I walk easily, grinning happily as the nurse takes me to the private room where the boys are waiting.

The boys. Since when did I start thinking of One Direction as 'the boys'? Like I knew them personally? Don't get attached, Jae, I tell myself, they're just doing you a favor. My smile fades and I take a deep breath before pushing open the door.

The mutter of conversation dies down as soon as I step into the room, and five stunned faces turn up to stare at me. I raise an eyebrow and cock my hip. "Never seen a girl, have you, boys?" I ask sarcastically.

Louis laughs outright, quickly followed by Zayn, Niall, Liam and Harry.

"Lookin' good, love," says Harry with a wink, and I can feel my cheeks heating up.

"You too, love," I say, mimicking his accent and drawing another guffaw out of the boys.

Damn, girl. I think, where did all that spunk come from? Something about the boys makes me feel at home, like I belong. I brush the feeling away as the boys stand up.

"Let's get out of here," says Niall in his Irish accent. I swear my insides melt and I smile at him, trailing behind the boys with a last wave at the nurse.

"Paul," I hear Liam say into a phone, "We're coming out the front, can you get the van out there now? I don't really want the paps all over Jae,"

Aww, how sweet! He cares!

"Lads, Jae, Paul's going to meet us out front with the van." He turns to Niall. "I'm assuming you've got your fingers crossed for-"

"Nandos!" chorus the lads, and I laugh outright.