The Bagman's Direction

Chapter 17

I got a good sleep that night, well that morning. Liam certainly helped. It was as if his sweet and calming words were a lullaby.

I had slept in. Nobody had tried to wake me which was unusual. When I was assigned to Liam he always came and got me early in the morning but I had slept until lunchtime and I woke up alone.

The blankets were suffocating me so I quickly got up. Maybe I hadn't been assigned to anyone? Maybe I was free for a little while?

I slowly walked over to my drawers. I wanted to get changed but I didn't know what to wear. What was going to be suitable for the day ahead? I decided to play it safe and put on a pair of jeans and a casual tee, sticking to the runners for my feet.

My paper-mâché heart was uncomfortable with the not knowing. The glue was drying out and the paper was falling off and into my blood stream. It was still beating though, I had that on my side.

I approached my door to find a note had been sticky-taped to the wood. My eyes gazed over it, hoping to find an answer to this odd situation.

When you're awake, come see me in my office - Nicholas.

It appeared my life was now in the palm of the doctor's hands. I was satisfied with that but it didn't mean I wasn't going to miss Liam. I missed him already.

I walked out of my room and down the corridor to the second last door on the right. It was such a long corridor but such a small house. Everybody appeared to live in their offices.

I knocked on it and my action was replied with a soft 'come in' from the other side. I entered but the surgeon didn't look up, fiddling with his laptop as I took a seat in the chair in front of his desk. I waited for him to acknowledge me, knowing that speaking out of turn in this movement was bad for me.

It started to get ridiculous. He still paid no attention to me as I sat quietly before him even after a half hour had passed. I tried clearing my throat, fidgeting in my chair and even staring at him but I received nothing.

One hour. I started to question if I had done anything to upset him. I had been spending so much time with Liam but I thought that'd upset Fetch if anyone were to get mopey over it. Maybe it was because I started sitting with Liam during dinners, abandoning Nicholas. It wasn't like he was completely abandoned, he sat next to Niall now. Maybe Nicholas was hurt about the change... He only ever talked to me about Rose though and sometimes that hurt because I thought of Sparrow. Maybe I should've ignored that aspect because this man's love had died and my partner had just disappeared. Sparrow didn't want me but Rose wanted Nicholas and then it all fell apart. Now I felt bad.

One and a half hours. I licked my lips. What was he doing on his laptop anyway? He seemed so engulfed by the screen like it held the secrets of the universe. I had come too far to disturb him now.

Two hours. Two fucking hours I had sat in this chair with my mouth shut. How had I made it this long without speaking up? And why? Why was he punishing me? Maybe this was payback for sleeping in... Maybe I was supposed to get up myself and seek out my new teacher... Maybe he was that type of person.

"Louis..."

I jumped. I wasn't expecting him to start communicating but there he was with his eyes on me, his body turned away from his computer and his mouth open.

I gulped, leaning in and giving him my undivided attention.

"As a surgeon you undergo hours upon hours of surgery. I once spent nineteen hours with no water, food or sleep repairing a guy's brain after he had been hit in the temple with a sharp and large rock. If I hadn't of given it my all he could be brain dead or lost his vision or even dead" Nicholas said in a manner which made me nervous.