Limitless

Chapter 26

I stood and watched the ambulance drive away when suddenly Niall grabbed my hand. “C’mon,” he said, pulling me to Harry’s car.  He had both his bag and Harry’s. 

"Hold on!" Louis called from behind us.  He was running in his socks across the parking lot to us.  Niall dug around in Harry’s bag for his keys and cranked the car as Louis and I jumped in.  Niall sped out of the parking lot.  Now, it was clear to me why I had never seen Niall driving before.  He was fast…. a little too fast for my liking.  I gripped the "Oh Shit" handle above my head as he threw the steering wheel in different directions, swerving around slower cars and through red lights.  Before long, we had caught up to the ambulance. As it pulled under the overhang of the Emergency Room area, Niall let Louis and I bail out of the car so he could park.  We stood back as Harry was unloaded from the vehicle and rolled inside. 

As we turned the corner of a hallway to follow Harry, a nurse stopped us. “Have you checked in?” Louis and I were caught off-guard. “Are you injured?” She asked calmly. 

"No but that-" Louis pointed after Harry.

"We’ll take care of him." She said, cutting Louis off.

"Can’t we go back there with him?"

The nurse shook her head and pushed Louis back into the waiting area. “You can see him when the doctor says you can.” 

Louis frowned. “But I need to know if he is okay. He’s my best friend.” 

The nurse looked sternly at Louis and myself but kept her calm composure. “The doctor will call you back shortly.”

Niall sat across from Louis and myself as we waited in the lobby. I looked around at the multiple people sitting there and wondered why in the world they were here.  I noticed one girl had pink-eye.  A mother cradled her 10-year-old son who was coughing just slightly. A man just a few seats away raised his wrist and observed it as he spoke on the phone. “Yeah, I think it’s broken. I mean, there’s no discoloration, it’s not swollen. What? Oh yeah, I can move it. But I still think it’s broken.” 

Louis patted my knee. “You look like you’re about to be sick.”

I closed my eyes and raised my eyebrows. “I might be.” 

"The hospital gives me the willies," Niall said, jumping slightly as someone coughed behind him.  I hummed in agreement.

"Well I’m sure we won’t be in here long," Louis mumbled. "Harry will be okay."

I couldn’t tell if he was saying it for our sake or his own.  He had said it multiple times, and I felt like he was just saying it to comfort himself at this point. My knee started to bounce up and down as we sat and waited.  The more we waited to hear back from someone about Harry, the more time I had to sit and think about telling him my secret.  I couldn’t back out… but I could feel myself beginning to. 

"It’ll be okay Lou," Niall said, leaning forward and putting a calming hand on my knee. "Don’t be anxious." 

"I’m not anxious about Harry anymore." 

Louis looked at me. “Well what’s up?”

I covered my face with my hands. “I was going to tell him today.” 

"Tell who what?" Niall asked. 

"It’s nothing," Louis said quickly. 

I laughed a little and grinned at Louis.  ”It’s time, Louis.” He pursed his lips but nodded approvingly at me.  I turned and looked at a confused Niall. “I’m Party Girl,” I whispered.