On The Edge

Chapter 31

Parker's POV

I sit in the the passenger seat, biting my lip. Niall went to go tell the boys I couldn't get out of the car. At first, I was able to get to my feet with Niall's help. My knee was shaky, and I yelped when I turned. I realized I had to walk straight, or my knee would give out. I had literally hopped on one foot into the car, and Niall kept glancing at me the whole way back.

But as we drove, my knee started to stiffen up. Now, I can barely move it without it hurting.

I sniffle and wipe my eyes, looking up to see the front door open. Louis and Liam barrel out of the house with Niall and they pound down the front steps, racing down the driveway. I look away from their worried eyes and down at my hands in my lap, my passenger door opening.

"Honey, what happened?" Louis asks, his blue eyes wide with worry.

"I-I--" I shake my head; if I speak, I'll cry.

"Can you walk?" Liam asks.

I shrug my shoulders, not trusting my voice.

"Alright. Let's try," Louis says, unbuckling my seatbelt. I slide my legs out of the truck slowly and grit my teeth. I drop down onto my left leg, and let out a shaky breath, holding onto the door. I ease my leg down, but before my toes even touch the concrete, my knee sparks with pain. I sniffle and lower it to the ground. I try set it down and try to walk, but end up changing to my good leg immediately. I try again and manage to limp forward, but it's taken me a minute to walk two steps.

"I got you," Louis says, scooping me carefully into his arms. My knee bends too far and I let out a small scream, putting my hand over my mouth.

"Liam, hold her leg up," Niall says, running ahead to open the front door.

Liam walks up next to Louis on his left side and holds up my leg, giving me a sympathetic half-smile. Louis's arms tighten around me as he walks up the three steps into the house.

The air conditioning hits my hot skin and I feel 1% better. Louis walks me over to the couch and sets me on it, wiping his forehead.

"I can definitely tell you gained 15 pounds," he jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," I mumble, looking down at my knee. It only looks a little swollen, but it's still bent. I try to straighten it, but snap it back up when it strains painfully. I grab the pillow behind my back and put it under my knee, sighing and relaxing back against the hard arm of the couch.

Harry comes in with a bag of ice, and Zayn follows with water and two pills. Harry sets the ice on my bent knee and I shudder slightly. Zayn hands me the water and pills and I pop them in my mouth, sipping the water afterwords.

"I thought I told you to tell me if it kept hurting," Harry says, frowning as he sits down on the floor next to me.

"I didn't think it would get worse," I mumble, fiddling with my thumbs.

"What happened exactly?" Liam asks, sitting down next to Harry with a concerned expression.

I don't look up, embarrassed. "I slipped off the curb."

Harry coughs to cover his laughs and I look up, glaring at him as I bend down and swat his foot.

"Is it worse than earlier?" Niall asks, sitting on the huge foot rest for the couch.

I nod and he frowns, patting my good knee.

Louis sits in the empty space next to my feet, and Zayn tromps down the stairs, my painting and paints in his hands. He sets it in my lap and I smile half-heartedly, gazing it over. The blended colors distract me for a moment, I the minuscule, black words cover 1/4 of the canvas. Looks like I have some words to add.