Thorn (n.h)

XVI

It's about 4 AM when I'm awoken by elbows in my back. I bolt awake and turn to look at Niall.

"What do..." he's shaking and has a death grip on the blankets, "oh shit," I get off the bed and rush to his side. What the fuck is this, is this a stroke? Heart attack?

"Hey, Niall you're going to be okay," I feel my voice shake as I try to figure what to do. "Im going to call 911," I tell him and take his phone.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"Hi yeah my friend is shaking and he can't talk he's stiff," I explain.

"Is he seizure prone?" the woman asks.

"He had an accident yesterday and got a concussion, I don't know anything," I lose myself and start crying. Niall is sweating and his eyes are frozen open, staring helplessly at the ceiling.

I give her the address and before long I hear sirens. I run outside and guide them into the house. They hover over him and ask me questions I can't really answer before they bring in a stretcher.

"You're taking him to the hospital?" I ask and feel more tears waterfall down my cheeks.

"He had a pretty bad seizure mam, we just need to have a doctor check him out," says one fireman.

"Will you ride with him?" Another asks me and I nod violently before shoving my feet into some shoes and following right beside Nialls gurney.

Inside the ambulance he's calmed down but now he's just breathing heavily and shaking. I dab the sweat on his forehead with my shirt and watch the pained expression in his eyes as he closes them.

~

Niall has been in the emergency room for 6 hours now and he's been asleep since the ambulance ride. I lean onto my knees with my elbows propped up for my hands to hold my chin.

I'm so sleepy but the worry is overbearing. I can't get over how pained he looked.

Niall rustles in bed and I sit on the edge of my seat and grab hold of his arm. He wakes slowly and takes in his surroundings.

"What's going on?" he asks sitting up and jerking his arm away from my grasp.

"You had a seizure last night," I explain as calmly as I can. He starts pulling at the wires attactched to him. "Stop it Niall," I command.

"I'm not staying here," he says still fighting the machines.

"Yes you are, the doctor is writing you a prescription and I'm going to call Liam," I tell him and hold his hands at either side of him, "now you stop doing this and then we'll leave."

"Fuck," he says and crosses his arms angrily over his chest.

~

Liam picked us up and took us to the drugstore to get Niall his new medicine then dropped us back off at Niall's house, telling us he'll get someone to bring me my car.

"I can't believe you called 911," Niall scoffs after we get into his apartment.

"Would you rather have terrible seizures every night or a few minor ones every now and again with these new pills?" I ask reading the instructions, "you need to take one with dinner every night," I say under my breath. I sit on the couch and look the white paper over trying to find the side effects.

"I'm not sick Rose," he yells at me.

"I never said you were," I continue reading, he's not going to listen to me if I give in and fight him, "you need to stop doing pot too," I add and close the papers and open the package.