Hunter's Knife

Chapter Three

"You look like shit."

Josh Devine looked like he hadn't showered in days - and, as a matter of fact, he hadn't. He was dirty, he was sleepless, his stomach was grumbling, and his heart was heavy in his chest. He had not left Louis Tomlinson's bedside since the day of the incident (three days? Four? Who was keeping track at this point?), and was not planning to anytime soon. At points he had seriously considered keeping his piss in a plastic bottle. 

Jay, the mother of the broken boy in the hospital bed, was unreachable. Every single time Josh called her, or any other member of the Tomlinson family, he was only able to get a busy tone. They were probably away, seeing as they usually never went such a long time without calling Louis, but how were they so impossible to reach? It made no sense. 

Since Josh couldn't reach the family, he didn't feel that it was morally okay for him to just leave Louis alone in the hospital. The doctors assured him, time and time again, that it was fine if he left - that Louis wouldn't be waking up for a few more days, at least, and that they would call him if he did. Josh refused to buy a single line of it. It really wasn't about Louis waking up anytime soon - it was almost a sort of obligation. Who would Josh be to abandon his best friend in his time of need?

Niall Horan didn't especially look peachy, either. He was showered, and well hydrated due to the glow of his skin, yet he looked even more sleepless than Josh - which was really saying something. He had the most disgusting under eye bags that Josh had ever seen. He felt quite bad for the poor kid; the guilt was probably tearing him to absolute shreds at this rate. It wasn't his fault that Louis was laying in a hospital bed, clinging on for dear life, but lord knew that the blonde surely triggered Harry in some way or another.

Josh doubted that it was as simple as infatuation. He doubted that Harry even loved Niall the way he seemingly claimed to. Surely it couldn't be that simple. It was the answer that everyone was forced to settle with, however, because it was the easiest to accept. No one could understand the way Harry's mind worked, so they were forced to settled with the explanation that made the most sense.

"Well, thanks," Josh mumbled flatly, as Niall leaned against the far wall, glancing at Louis's limp body. He looked like he was shivering. "You don't look especially rosy either." He paused for a moment, craning his neck so he could see out the window, into the hallway. "Is Zayn coming?"

Niall almost seemed to roll his eyes, which was unusual for him. "I think. He said he was going to park the car and meet me inside. He's definitely not happy, though. He's only here because I wouldn't stop nagging him about visiting."

Josh did roll his eyes. He never had a problem with Zayn prior to the incident, but as of recent, his attitude was becoming aggravating, to say the least. He found the raven-haired boy to be a hypocrite, judging Louis for standing up for Harry, when he did the same for Niall. It seemed like everyone was in the wrong except for his boyfriend. Now, Josh couldn't place a lot of blame on Niall, if any at all - the blonde was harmless, really, and would never wish any kind of misfortune on anyone. However, Zayn was so uppity about everything - insistent that everyone was wrong, and he was the only one who was right. 

Bullshit. Josh felt the need to call him on it. Now was not the time.

"Okay, well," Josh cracked his neck, needing a stretch. His body was growing stiff, having sat and slept in that god forsaken chair. "How have you been? I know it's shit."

"Worried, obviously. Zayn keeps saying that Louis isn't our concern, but I just feel bad, you know? He didn't deserve this."

Josh was beginning to feel that Niall was being the most sensible of all of them in this situation. He was reasonably calm, for whatever that was worth, and he was still concerned about Louis in spite of all the drama that had occurred. It was almost admirable. It was unfortunate that he had to be sucked into this mess. He was really just a normal, innocent kid. He never asked for Harry to become obsessed with him, and he certainly never asked for all the mayhem that they had all been through.

Josh didn't feel the need to be blunt about Zayn. He had a lot he could say about him, but chose to keep his mouth shut - if more for Niall's sake than anything else. Besides that, badmouthing anyone was a bad idea at this point. No one needed the extra tension, and especially not Niall. The blonde was evidently stressed out enough.

"I get that," Josh commented, rather weakly. "I don't really feel comfortable leaving him. He's my best mate, you know?" Feeling weaker than what he was comfortable with, Josh stopped himself. He usually wasn't the type to open up to people, and especially not about personal matters. "Sorry, mate..."

Niall blinked heavily. "For what? Josh, it's fine if you need someone to talk to. It's been rough on you, I get that."

This threw Josh off guard. For Niall to be so comfortable talking to him about something of this nature, even after all of the stress and tension, was almost overwhelming. No one had stopped to ask Josh about how he had felt during this whole ordeal, and while it felt strange, he felt lighter knowing that Niall was listening to him. 

He was beginning to realize how much he had taken Niall's friendship for granted. The Irish lad was about as vanilla as you could get, compared to what Josh was used to - the only thing he knew was smoking pot and partying with his buddies, sleeping until late hours of the day. Aside from Louis (and sometimes Liam, depending on whether he was with Harry or not) he didn't feel that he had any seriously genuine friendships anymore. It had him wondering who would be in his position if that were him laying in the hospital bed. 

"Harry takes Louis for granted," Josh blurted, his mind racing. "I mean, he's got this wonderful boy that he just uses for sex and manipulation and it's just not right, you know? He doesn't know how to appreciate this incredible boy who stuck by him even when he did such shitty things and he literally fucking stabs him in the back. Louis gave up everything for him. He could have been so successful and Harry probably just fucking killed him. And then he has the nerve to just disappear like that, not caring whether or not Louis could die. He doesn't care about this kid who he fucked and called his best friend - it doesn't make any sense."

For awhile, Niall just stared at Josh - almost unable to comprehend what he had just been told. From the night at the campground he had made some assumptions, but never really realized that Louis and Harry having sex was a regular thing. Niall had learnt by this point to not be surprised by what people told him about Harry, and yet, he was terribly concerned. After hearing that their bond extended deeper than what he had initially assumed Niall found himself worried about Liam, and how the elder lad had told him that Harry had a history of cheating. He wondered if Liam knew that Harry was fooling around with Louis all along - possibly right under his nose.

Before Niall could add in his opinion, however, Zayn entered the room, his key ring hanging loosely from two fingers. He didn't so much as look at Louis as he pressed into Niall, making a big show of kissing his lips. 

"Easy there, big boy," Josh murmured, causing Niall to pull away from the kiss - a bright pink tint to his porcelain cheeks. "Don't want to swallow the poor thing."

Zayn smirked as he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend. "Did that a lot last night."

As Niall blushed, Josh scowled, eyeing up Louis as he spoke. "A comedian until the end."