Bliss

9 - Sky

"And we've got company," Louis says. He disappears somewhere towards the back of the house. Niall and Harry--I can't really place a name to either of them, but I think the curly one might be Harry--push past us into the house. My heart is hammering inside my chest, so hard I feel like it my bruise my rib cage or escape out of my body all by itself. I don't know what the house smells like, but the smell of it makes me uneasy. It's kind of like perfume.

I'm not sure if agreeing to come here was a good idea or not.

One of the guys rises from the couch. His jaw is clenched tight, unshaved and rough. His eyes are dark, but sharp. They go back and forth between Ingrid and I, then abruptly focus on me. With the harshness engraved in his features, he smiles. A hand goes up to my chin, lifting my face up towards him. "What's this one's name?" he calls out. I step back, frowning at his hand, at the way it sits in midair as if he's waiting for me to step forward again.

No, this was a bad idea. But Ingrid's leg . . . it could be bad.

"I've got the bandages--Zayn, sit back down. They don't need your torment." Louis pushes past Zayn, who walks back to the couch, the same smile on his face. When he sits down, he whispers something in the other boy's ear (who was sitting next to him), and they both chuckle underneath their breaths. I don't think Louis notices. Maybe that was their intent.

"Come here, love," Louis says, in one hand holding several boxes of bandages and bandaid and a bottle of rubbing alcohol--but rubbing alcohol is so expensive!--and in the other, Ingrid's hand, guiding her slowly to the kitchen. She seems unsure, startled. Did he really just call her "love"?

Niall comes into the kitchen as well. Ingrid sits down and Louis is trying to take out the roll of bandages from one of the boxes. "Stuck in there," he mutters.

Zayn laughs, and he and the boy next to him continue to talk in low voices.

"Here, let me do it," Niall says, grabbing the box from Louis without waiting for his response. Ingrid is picking at her nails at the table. As Niall takes out the bandage and starts unwrapping it, Louis helps guide her leg over one of the other chairs. Niall then walks over and crouches down beside her, focusing intently on unraveling the entire thing of white bandage. He puts it on the table and reaches over for the rubbing alcohol and a few gauze pads. Gently, he pours some of the alcohol on the gauze and, very gingerly, starts cleaning the blood away. Louis offers to throw the gauze away, and he does as Niall takes the unraveled bandage from the table and starts wrapping it around Ingrid's knee, all while avoiding her gaze. She's staring at his hands, but she keeps glancing at his face as well, and I don't know what to feel. Really, it feels awkward standing in the middle between the kitchen and the living room.

"See, not so bad," Louis says. Ingrid is blushing furiously now. Niall stands up, but he stands up too quickly, and his hand brushes over Ingrid's thigh. Ingrid jumps in her seat, which starts rattles backwards. She and the chair start to teeter backward.

"I'm--No! Sorry!" Niall grabs the chair before it hits the ground, but Ingrid rolls off. I start to laugh, bringing my hands to my face.

Without thinking, I exit the room, feeling too embarrassed to do anything else. I start up the stairs, laughing. I stop myself from entering the room and instead sit at the top of the stairs, shaking my head, trying to calm myself down.

Gosh, that was so weird but it was so funny and Niall--Niall was touching her leg so gently and it was so awkward because it felt so private for them and just--Ugh! That was torture to watch. I felt like an intruder.

She knows them better than I do.

I lean back against the door, taking a deep breath. The other boy that was sitting on the couch has gotten up and is walking towards the stairs. He climbs up, and I scoot over for him to open the door. "Sorry, love," he says, but it's too low and I barely make it out. As the door opens and he walks in, I spot another figure, hunched over on of the beds. Thats all I see before the door shuts.