One Meaningless Promise

One Meaningless Promise~20

Louis didn't feel it at first. His eyes were shut, his body was tired, he was asleep. That was when he felt the shaking. He opened his eyes and looked beside him, where Harry was curled up into the fetal position in the bed next to Louis, shaking uncontrollably in his sleep. Tears were streaming down Harry's face and onto the bedsheets, his hands clenched into fists and held close to his chest. Panic spread through Louis' body as he watched Harry struggle to breathe, desperately gasping for air.

"Harry?" Louis shook his broad shoulders gently, trying to wake him. His eyes stayed closed.

"Harry?" He repeated louder, shaking Harry's body roughly.

Tears began to sting the backs of Louis' eyes as he watched Harry writhe and struggle beneath him. He didn't know what to do, Harry never had anxiety attacks in his sleep. And he wasn't waking up.

"God dammit, Harry wake up!" Louis shouted, climbing on top of Harry and straddling his waist, shaking his shoulders even harder.

"Harry! Harry, stop it! Wake up!" Louis was screaming now, beating his fists on Harry's chest, sobbing as he frantically tried to wake him up.

Harry was wheezing and gasping for air, thrashing beneath Louis, but he wouldn't wake up. His cheeks were stained with tears and his face was contorted into an expression that was crossed between pain and desperation. Louis was sobbing and panicking as he watched Harry's breathing become drastically uneven and slow. His tears fell onto Harry's face and roll down his neck as he cradled Harry's head uselessly in his hands. He felt helpless.

The door burst open, and Liam, Niall, and Zayn all stormed into the room, each of their expressions concerned and alert. They observed the situation; Louis, sobbing uncontrollably and blubbering incoherent words as he sat on top of Harry, who was shaking and gasping for air, his eyes closed.

"What in the bloody hell..." Liam muttered, rushing over to the bed.

The other two lads stayed frozen like statues by the door, their eyes wide and their jaws dropped in shock and confusion. Liam shoved Louis away from Harry and leaned down to inspect the boy's face and check for a pulse.

"My god, Louis, what the fuck happened?" Liam demanded, turning towards the sobbing boy and glaring at him accusingly. "What did you do?"

"I didn't fucking do anything, Liam!" Louis shrieked. "I woke up and he just...h-he just wasn't b-breathing right and--"

Louis couldn't even finish his sentence, he just broke down in hysterical sobs and slapped at Liam's arm.

"Do something!" He screamed rampantly.

Liam was panicked now; he'd never been put into a situation like this, and Harry wasn't waking up, so he honestly did not have a clue of what to do.

"Louis, I don't--"

"Fuck, Liam, call 911 or something," Louis shouted, pushing Liam away harshly and leaning over Harry.

Harry was barely breathing, just desperately gasping air that just would not come. Louis sobbed and held Harry's heavy, limp body in his arms, feeling absolutely of no use. He could hear Liam shouting to the operator on the phone, but it sounded distant and he couldn't understand any of what he was saying. All he could hear was the helpless noises of Harry gasping for air. Then, all of the sudden, Harry stopped breathing. That was when Louis broke.

"Liam, do something!" He screamed, his voice raw and sore. "He's not breathing, oh my god..."

Louis was crying so hard, the thought he might pass out. He frantically shook Harry's limp body and shouted at him to wake up, like if he did it enough times then he would magically open his beautiful eyes and everything would be okay. But it wasn't working.

"Harry, wake up!" He sobbed. "Fucking wake up, it...it isn't funny! W-why aren't you breathing...? H-Harry!"

Louis's palms smacked desperately against Harry's unmoving chest as a swarm of stiff looking people wearing all white burst into the room, walking briskly over to Louis, ignoring his screams of protest and prying him away from Harry. He watched in horror as they hauled Harry's body onto a stretcher, which was far to small for Harry's height, causing his legs to hang over the edge a little. Louis almost felt like laughing at Harry's abnormal tallness, but the sound was stuck in his throat and came out like a strangled cry.

"W-where are you taking him?" Louis shrieked, stunning after the paramedics as they wheeled Harry out of the house. "Where are you taking my Harry?"

The paramedics ignored Louis' desperate pleads and loaded the stretcher into the back of an ambulance, each of them jumping in after the stretcher was inside. Two men began shutting the doors, and Louis frantically sprinted towards the van, trying to stop them. One of the men who were closing the doors held out a hand and stiff-armed Louis so he couldn't go any further, glaring at him condescendingly like he was insane.

"I'm sorry, you can't come in here," he ordered, his eyes narrowed.

Without a second thought, Louis slammed his fist to the side of the mans jaw. He stumbled backwards, and other paramedics began pulling Louis away from him.

"Let me fucking see him!" Louis shouted, struggling against their grip.

"Just let him in!" A voice called out from inside the ambulance.

With a few wary looks, the paramedics released their hold on him and allowed him inside the van. Louis quickly rushed over to Harry, sitting beside his stretcher and reaching out to grab his hand tightly. He choked on a sob as he looked over Harry's red lips that contrasted beautifully against his pale face, and his long, thick eyelashes and his dark, messy curls that fell in his face. This was his Harry, his Harry that was lying lifelessly on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance rushing to the hospital.

"Is he going to be okay?" Louis questions. "What's happening to him?"

Louis is surprised when a doctor actually answers him. So far, all of the others had just ignored his questions and pleads as if he wasn't even there.

"It seems as though the patient has had an asthma attack," the young nurse says. "Although this is not one of your everyday asthma attacks. He was unconscious at the time of its occurrence, and that is most likely why he was not waking up. Also, this particular attack is very severe and has caused the patient to stop breathing. At this moment, his heart his still beating."

Louis nods and tries his best to stop crying. It doesn't really work. Then, after minutes of poking an prodding and hooking Harry up to weird machines, they arrived at the hospital. Everyone hurried about and rushed his stretcher out of the ambulance, and Louis followed everyone through the hospital door. They barn out orders to each other that Louis can't understand and, now they're rolling Harry into a room and shutting the door in Louis's face. Louis almost screamed. He collapsed onto the hard tile floor and pressed his face to the glass, letting out a frustrated cry that turns into another sob. He watched them stick needles into Harry's arms and put a mask on his face, but he couldn't tell how any of it that was going to help Harry.

Louis stood up and frantically wiped away his tears, pacing back and forth in front of the room, unable to keep his gaze from flickering through the window to look at Harry. He wondered when Liam, Zayn and Niall were going to arrive. Maybe they would arrive when it was too late. Maybe Harry would be dead by then.

"Fuck," Louis cursed, trying not to think negatively.

Harry would be alright, wouldn't he? Louis could only hope. Suddenly, the door to the room flung open and a nurse emerged, a serious look on her face.

"Mr. Tomlinson, something has went wrong."