Hurt

Chapter 6

I walk quickly down the street, Claire cradled in my arms. I didn't even bother to hrab my coat. I just needed to get Claire out of there.

I'm going as fast as I can without jostling her too badly.

"Harry? Harry! Wait man!" Niall is yelling behind me, but I ignore him.

I turn the corner onto my street and quickly hustle up to my gate.

I stand there and wait for Niall, since my hands are full.

When her gets there, he looks agitated.

"Open the gate."

"Harry, listen to me-"

"Open the gate."

"Harry, just hold on-"

"Are you gonna open the gate, or am I gonna hafta MAKE you?!" I yell, exasperated.

Niall looks hurt and taken back, but at the moment, I don't exactly care.

He steps forward and unlatches the gate and runs ahead of me to open the door.

I run past, and go upstairs quickly. My mum isn't here, as she's at work so that's a whole lot less explaining to do.

I run into my bathroom and gently lay Claire down on the floor. Niall stands nervously behind me.

"Mate, we should call 911," he says urgently.

I don't say anything. I just take a cloth and wet it and start whiping blood gently off of Claire's battered face.

"Harry," Niall says loudly.

"Let her wake up first will ya?!" I snarl, spinning around.

Niall takes a step back and looks a bit frightened. I turn back the Claire and she's moving.

I put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her movements.

"Wha-"

"Listen Claire, I was at the fight, you got beat real bad ok? Do you want me to call the ambulance, your mum..?" I say slowly, brushing some hair off of her forehead.

She swallows and looks around.

"Neither," she says looking at me blankly.

"Is there anyone we could call?" Niall asks from behind me.

"No. I can take care of myself thanks," Claire says, trying to sit up.

I ease her back down.

"Hold on. You're hurt bad. Let me clean you up a bit," I say wringing the bloody cloth out in the sink.

"I'm fine. Nothing's broken. Trust me, I know how it feels when something's broken," she says in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Still," I say kneeling down and whiping off more blood.

When I'm done that, I give her one of my plain black t-shirts, and a pair of baggy gray sweats.

"You can shower or whatever it is you do. If the clothes don't fit, just tell me," I say, closing the bathroom door behind me.

Niall is sitting on my bed. When he looks up at me as I come towards him, he looks like an injured puppy. I instantly feel horrible.

"Hey Niall, listen. I acted like a real jerk earlier. I was just stressed and-"

"I get it mate. Really, I do. I just didn't realize how much she meant to you. I guess it makes me feel kind of...lonely," he says looking down at his hands which are knotted on his lap.

I sit down beside him, and put a hand on his back. It's so bony, I can feel each individual rib under my fingers.

"Niall I'm sorry..."

"There's nothing you can do mate. I'll just find her sometime soon hopefully," he says smiling at me weakly.

"I know you will," I reassure him.

The bathroom door creaks open slowly, and Claire peeks her head out cautiously.

"Are the clothes ok?" I ask, standing up.

"They're fine, thanks. Um. Can I ask you one more favour?" she says, walking out of the bathroom. The black t-shirt has been tucked in at the side into the baggy sweats. they bunch around her feet, and hang off her frame adorably. Her hair is damp, and she smells strongly of shampoo.

"Ya sure, what is it?" I say warmly.

"Can I just stay here today and sleep? I can't go home right now..." she says, looking uncomfortabley around the room, and fidgeting with her fingers.

"That's absolutely fine," I say, not pressing the subject. I can sense she doesn't want any questions to be asked.

She smiles and hops onto the bed. She crawls over beside Niall, and slides underneath the covers and grabs my giant black canle knit blanket.

Niall stands up to go.

"No!"

We turn around. We've just made it to the door.

"Could you- could you please stay with me?" she says with a little bit of difficulty.

I can tell she doesn't like asking for stuff like this. I can tell that she's used to being stronger than this. I can tell that she hates herself for asking, and that she's mentally scolding herself for being so needy. You can see it written all over her face.

I go back and sit on the side of the bed and pat her feet gently.

"Sure. We'll both stay with you," I say, reassuringly.

Niall pulls the chair up again, and draws his knees up to his chin.

I sit beside Claire, and rest my head on the headboard of my bed. I don't make a move the cuddle or anything, and neither does she. I can tell she's not the cuddly type usually. She'll do it when she's ready.

She get's comfortable, burrowing a little, piling blankets on top of her, so that all you can see is her hair. Then, she stills, and her breathing evens out.