How to Say Goodbye

Chapter 6

I smiled big at him and leaned up to kiss him. He laughed and groaned. I forgot he was still hurt elsewhere. I gave him an apologetic smile and leaned up so that I could see him better.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked, playing with his hair.

He struggled to reach his arm across his chest and take my other hand.

"A while,” he said quietly.

I kissed his hand and replied, "Why didn't you wake me up?!"

He gave a miniscule shrug. "I didn’t want to bother you. Were you having a good dream? You were smiling while you slept."

I nodded my head. "We were watching the sunset on a beautiful tropical island! It was absolutely gorgeous."

Niall squeezed my hand, and his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. “So you’re dreaming about us now?”

I blushed. “I really like you, Niall.”

He smiled. “I like you, Sage.”

"You were knocked out five days, and-"

He cut me off. "It looks like you went through hell and back during that time!"

I bit my lip, suddenly self-conscious. "I look that bad?"

He laughed gently and squeezed his eyes shut. "You look beautiful." He winced in pain, so I hurriedly jumped out of his bed, paranoid that my presence was causing him discomfort.

He looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

I pulled the covers over him and kissed his forehead. "You need to sleep."

He grabbed my hand and held me to him. "Sage?"

I smiled at him softly. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

I nodded my head and leaned down to kiss him gently. "Please sleep. I'll be out in the waiting room."

He closed his eyes and smiled in reply. I closed the blinds and made my way to the door. I turned around to give him one last look, and I heard his slight snore.

I started walking out the door, my eyes still on Niall, and I crashed into Harry.

"Sage! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!" He grabbed my arms.

Instinct took over me, and I felt the bump on the back of my head in nervousness. It had gotten bigger. I guess stress did that! I shook my head and laughed at my paranoia. "He's sleeping. Don't wake him."

Harry looked over my shoulder and saw Niall snoring on the bed. He turned his attention back to me and smiled.

"What?" I asked, making my way past him.

Harry followed me back into the waiting room. I didn't recognize anyone there.

"Where is everybody?" I asked, turning around to face him, and just as the day before, our faces were so close together. Again, our faces were just inches apart. I found myself caught up in his eyes. They were a beautiful green then, but I remembered that they were almost blue at one point. Those were the prettiest types of eyes, the kind that changed from one color to another. Owen had eyes similar to Harry. His eyes were green sometimes, blue at others, and even a gray some days.

Harry shrugged and took a step back from me. "Visiting hours just started."

I scanned the crowd again just in case I missed someone. "Why didn't they kick me out last night?"

Harry replied, "I convinced them that it was for the good of your sanity that you stayed all night."

I didn't reply for a moment, but just looked at him. He seemed like he had something on his mind.