Chapter 21

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Louis' Pov

"FOR FUCKS SAKE LIAM DRIVE FASTER!" I yell.

My cheeks are wet from tears
and blood.

Nialls blood.

He's lying on the backseats, his head resting in my lap.

I'm putting pressure on the the gaping wound on his stomach, desperately trying to ease the bleeding.

The street is empty from all cars. Every now and then the streetlights shine through the window and lightens up the inside of the car.

I look down at him. Pearls of sweat are forming on his forehead. I grab a tissue and wipe them away carefully.

Liam takes a sharp turn, which makes Nialls and my body shift to the left.
Niall whines in pain.

Liam looks over his shoulder, his bottom lip shaking rapidly.

It takes another 6 minutes before we finally pull up in front of the headquarters, a big white house a few minutes away from town.

I lift Niall out of the car and carry him to the house.

Gerdi, our nurse, was already awaiting us at the door. She's dressed in blue scrubs and tells me to follow her as soon as I step on the porch.

She hustles into the hospital wing of the house immediately. Me directly following after her.

My arms are starting to burn under Nialls weight. But I can't give up now.
I'm only a few metres away from the big door that leads to the operating room.

Everything is happening so hasty.
They take Niall out of my hands and lay him on a hospital bed. Dozens of nurses are surrounding him, cutting up his shirt, giving him IVs. Then rolling him into the operating room.

I'm left alone standing there.
The hallway that was filled with yelling voices just minutes before, is now painfully quiet.

And that's when I break down outside of the OR. My emotions overcoming me like a huge inexorable wave.

I lean my back against the wall, searching for support.

He can't die
He can't die
Niall can't die

Gerdi is kneeling beside me.
I open my eyes to look at her but my tears make everything blurry.

"I-", I gulp. "I tried  to stop the bleeding with- with a piece of cloth I- I found in Liam's car. I- I tried."

"You tried Lou. You tried." She tenderly strokes my cheek. "And you did a good thing."

I gasp for air.

"Niall is in good care, you know?" She tried to smile. "He's with Dr.Meck. Remember how often he has stitched you up as a kid?"

I wipe my cheeks dry from the tears and nod.

Zayns Pov

I stare at the dead body in front of me.
His cold eyes staring into the sky.

I roll up my sleeves and grab Chernikov by his trench-coat. The part that isn't fully soaked in blood.

Of course it has to be me who does the dirty work. Well the fact that Liam owns the car and Louis- well, is Louis justifies it a little bit but I still hate it.

I hate the sour smell of death. And how much strength it requires to hide a fucking corpse.

I drag Chernikov to the very back of the alley and hide his body behind a big trash container.

It does the job for now...

I've rung someone to come collect his body and properly get rid of it. Mabye burn it.

I wipe my hands on my pants and turn around to leave.

Then it hit me.
Harry.
Fucking Harry.
He was surely still waiting over at the bench.

I slap my hand to my forehead and dial Liam's number. Hoping he could tell me what explanation I should give Harry.

Three rings before he picks up.

"How are things?" I start.

"I don't know..." He sounds so fragile.

Silence

"I'm still siting in the car Zayn. I- Louis brought Niall inside but I-I'm too scared to go inside."

I listen to his breathing.

"What if, Zayn-" He sobs "What if Niall- "

I cut him off. "Don't even say that."

Silence again.

"It's gonna be ok. He's gonna be just fine." I tell him.

But whats the point in saying something, if you don't believe it?

No one talks.

We stay like this for a while before I hang up without saying goodbye.

I slowly lower my phone from my ear.
A thousand what-ifs swirling in my head.

I start walking back to Harry, still uncertain of what I should tell him.

Just how I thought he would, he is sitting on the bench Liam and I were sitting on before.

He's cleaning his hands with a napkin, three cups with molten ice cream beside him.

He hears my shoes hitting the ground as I walk up to him and looks up at me.

"Uhm." I clear my throat.

This has to be good

"Nialls uhh mother called him. She needed help." I nod proudly.

Harry raises his eyebrows questioningly.

I need more.

"With the pipes!" It shoots out of me. "Her wedding ring fell down the drain. She needs Niall to get it out. Urgently. Liam ehh- drove him"

I rock from my heels to my toes.
Basically praying for him to not ask any questions.

Harry nods. "Ok."

Well that was easy.

"How are we getting home?"

"Oh uhm. I'll call an uber."

Harry's Pov

Of course I heard the gun shots.
It was a few minutes after I had paid for the ice cream and returned to the bench.

The man selling it had packed his things up and went home. I was his last costumer for the day.

Most of the other people had already left the beach. I was the only one left on the now dark pathway.

Waiting and praying the gunshots hadn't had anything to do with the boys.

But deep down I knew. I knew when Niall left me to alert Liam and Zayn.
I knew when he yelled at them to move. I knew when they all started running towards the dark alley Louis and the guy in the trench-coat went in. But I knew for certain that something had happened when only Zayn returned. None of the other boys in sight.

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