Love is a Time Limit (Niall Horan)

Chapter 13: My Wish, Your Departure

Chapter 13: My Wish, Your Departure

(Niall Horan, age 20)

Verena's POV

Dad’s eyes landed on mine first, and then onto the rest of the boys. “You lot shouldn’t be here yet,” he seethed, clearly angered that we had realized the matter of the situation earlier than expected.

“Let me see him,” was all I found myself choking out in response.

Dad gave a heavyhearted sigh and pursed his lips for a few seconds as if contemplating on whether or not to let us in. After a few brief moments of thick silence, he offered a torn look to all of us before stepping aside for us to enter.

Though I knew that this was well enough the end of the line, some part of me was desperately trying to convince myself that it wasn’t. ‘Liam’s right, he’ll look at us with that goofy smile on his face and say that everything’s fine…’ I tried assuring myself repeatedly, praying that the sight of him I was about to see wasn’t going to be anything close to broken.

It hurt more to lie to myself than to get a grip on reality after seeing the scene in front of me.

Niall lay in the basic hospital bed beside a window looking out into most of Mullingar, displaying a painfully clear and beautiful blue sky in front of him. His body remained stiller than I had ever seen, legs looking too tired to even offer the smallest of twitches or shakes, arms locking themselves in one place hanging off of the sides of the bed. Those lively crystal blue eyes I had always loved were duller, sadder than I had ever seen them to be. The head of tousled bleach-blonde hair lay matted down against his scalp, looking as if it too was losing its life. Niall was hooked up to a series of wires, many of which I didn’t recognize what the uses were for. As for his face, it remained just as lifeless looking as the rest of his body until the boys and I arrived into the room. His colder expression morphed into one of embarrassment, the redness forming speaking for itself.

Our eyes met for a split second before he looked away out of the window, “Don’t look at me,” he mumbled without bothering to face the boys or me. Zayn grunted and leaned against the wall, not used to seeing his best mate in such a sour mood.

“Verena, dear-“ Niall’s father began to say, only to be cut off my his son’s now fuming voice.

“Leave, all of you leave me alone,” he spat, shocking us all with the change of tone and personality. None of us were used to seeing an angry Niall, out of everyone he was the most cheerful; the one that always had a smile on his face no matter what the circumstance. But there he was, seemingly angry with us all for no reason, telling us all to leave.

‘It’s getting to him, the time left,’ I thought while keeping my eyes locked onto his form now completely turned to face the inviting view the windows portrayed. I noticed him trembling faintly beneath the thin covers laid out on his body. My heart broke at the sight, but for the sake of him I kept myself composed for the time being. As much as I wanted to burst into tears and let myself be crushed by the massive weight on my shoulders, I couldn’t for his sake; not yet at least.

Zayn who had grown the most silent out of us all, decided to speak up, “We came to see you…that means nothing to you, Nialler?” he asked from his position against the wall, and I could almost feel the natural edge to his voice close at the brink of snapping.

Niall didn’t bother to answer for a minute, his trembling stopped but a small sob came from him before he turned away from the window and slowly lifted his upper half as he turned to us. “I told you not to look at me! Don’t pity me, get out!” he snapped after seeing Zayn looking his way.