Code Black (N.S)

51.

Niall's POV

I sat up quickly, trying to slow my breathing down. I had obviously had another nightmare but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. In comparison to what I had dreamed about in the past, this was relatively bearable.

Once I had calmed down, I looked at the time to see it was a little past four in the afternoon. I knew that Liam was going to be here soon, so I wasn't surprised that a few minutes later, Liam texted me to let me know that he was outside.

I opened the door, immediately locking eyes with Liam. I managed to catch sight of the sympathy clouding his brown eyes, before I was pulled into a tight hug. I closed my eyes, managing to wrap my own arms around him and trying to take advantage of any affection I was given. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he pulled away.

"I'm fine," I replied, the shakiness of my voice seemingly giving away that I was not telling Liam the whole truth.

I was tempted to tell him about the nightmares, as I knew that keeping secrets didn't do any good but I didn't. He would worry too much and I still felt rather uncomfortable talking to my best friend, or anyone else, about the horrifying dreams I had been having.

"Are you really okay?" he asked. Liam knew me well, so it was obvious he wouldn't believe me. Though I was coping and that was all that mattered at that moment.

"Y-yeah. A little shaken up about it but I'll get over it," I said softly, avoiding his eyes. It was blindingly clear to everyone that I was suffering. I didn't want to seem weak about it, especially not if Liam was going to act so sympathetic.

"No one's expecting you to get over what happened. You have every right to feel how you're feeling right now. You don't have to feel ashamed," he told me. 

"I-I know. I just--"

"I get it. Don't worry," he smiled reassuringly. 

I stepped aside to let him walk past me, and we sat down on my couch. Liam began to tell me about what had happened at school that day. He said that people were still asking about me but he hadn't told them too much detail on where I was. They were also talking about Tyler's absence. No one had known he had gone to jail just yet and perhaps that was a good thing.

"C-can we go see Harry?" I questioned once we had fallen silent. I figured he would say no because he had been reluctant to tell me how he was ever since I woke up in the hospital but I needed to see him as soon as I could.

"I don't know, Niall. You aren't doing very well as it is. I'm not sure that you could handle it right now," he replied, biting his bottom lip.

"N-not seeing him is making it harder for me. I've seen worse. I've e-experienced worse," I insisted.

"Fine. Everyone's going to kill me, but I can't exactly control you," he sighed, standing up.

~

After what felt like an hour long car drive, when it would have actually been ten minutes, Liam and I arrived at the familiar hospital. I had been there way more times than I would have liked. In a twisted way, it almost felt like a second home. 

We walked to the front desk and waited until the blonde lady looked up from her computer.

"We're here to see Harry Styles." Liam said.

"Sorry but he's in a critical condition right now. Only relatives can visit him," she said, her tone surprisingly harsh and uncaring for someone who was working in a hospital.

"I-I'm his boyfriend," I spoke up.

She looked at me, the way her eyes narrowed made me realise straight away that she had an issue with what I had just said. A lot of people did, though, so I didn't need to dwell on it.