Deaf [A One Direction Fanfic] -Amy's Adventures Book 1- #Wattys2014

Chapter 16

~Liam's POV~

I sit in the hospital room, my head in my hands as I listen to Niall's heart monitor beep at the same rate it has for a week. Emma and Mia have come nearly every day to check on me and the rest of the lads, and Andy actually donated some of his blood for Niall. Niall looks a bit better, but he hasn't woken up, and that worries me. Andy told me how they found him, tied up and stuffed in a bag in an alleyway, bleeding heavily. Andy said he was shocked when he found out it had been three months, which means he either lost track of time or was in a coma or something, like he is now. It's terrible, seeing Niall lying on a hospital bed, covered in cuts, barely alive, and knowing that the only reason he's like that is because of me.

"Liam, would you like something to eat?" Andy asks, and I shake my head, not even looking up. A small hand touches mine, and I look up to see Amy looking at Niall.

"Why did you bring her up here?" I ask tiredly, looking at Andy and avoiding his question. I've been adamant from the beginning that I didn't want Amy seeing Niall like this, call me overprotective. Andy cracks a smile, but I know he's really worried.

"She wanted to see Niall, but she also wanted to see you. I'm going to leave you three alone." He says, pressing an apple into the palm of my hand then leaving the room. The door shuts and I turn to see Amy looking at me expectantly.

'Well, are you going to just hold that apple or are you going to eat it?' She signs, raising an eyebrow. I sigh, moving the apple to my mouth and taking a bite. She smiles, her eyes flitting to Niall for a moment before returning to me. 'Harry's been teaching me how to read lips, and I can understand people if they talk slowly enough.' She signs proudly. I look at her in surprise.

"How long have you been practicing?" I ask slowly, and to my surprise she understands and answers.

'Ever since Niall got kidnapped. We had nothing better to do, so I taught Harry sign language and he taught me to read lips.' Amy explains, and I look down. I practically ignored her for three months, my thoughts filled with guilt and worry about Niall. I look back up and make sure Amy can see my mouth when I respond.

"Makes sense. Now you just need to learn to talk." I say, and Amy smiles sheepishly.

'I've been trying, but I haven't managed to say anything. Talking is hard, how do you do it so easily?' She asks, looking at my mouth. I shrug, frowning as I think about her question.

"I honestly have no idea, it's just something I do automatically, I don't even think about it. It's just vibrating my throat, and I've done it so long it comes naturally." I say, thinking in depth about how we speak.

'Sounds complicated.' Amy decides, looking back at Niall but still signing. 'I hope he wakes up soon, because I want to see his eyes again.' I nod, even though she's not looking at me, and focus on Niall.

"Niall, we miss you. Please come back. Just please fight for us." I say, grabbing his hand in mine like I have every day. I'm still holding the apple in the other hand, and I'm pretty sure I'm bruising it considering how tightly I'm clutching it, as if it's my lifeline. Amy looks at me for a second then looks back down at Niall, putting her hand on his, the one that isn't being crushed by my death grip. I swear I see him twitch a little, but I shake it off, putting it down to the fact that I've slept once in a week. Then I hear something that makes me gasp.

"Please come back..." Amy whispers, looking at Niall, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

~Niall's POV~

I'm not sure when I started hearing voices, but it was very recent. I'm also not sure where I am or how long I've been here, or why I'm here in the first place. Did I die? Am I dead? What about the band? I feel like I'm forgetting something important, but the last thing I remember is the X-Factor. Wait, don't we have the Semi-Finals tomorrow? Crap!

"Liam, would you like something to eat?" A voice asks, interrupting my internal freak out. I keep hearing people talking to Liam, but he hasn't said anything at all in the time I've been able to hear anything. This particular voice is familiar, he comes and talks to Liam about me a lot. I've heard Louis, Harry, and Zayn, too, along with a couple of girls, but never Liam, which is why I'm surprised when he answers.

"Why did you bring her up here?" Liam asks, and his voice sounds tired. Has he been with me the entire time I've been here, wherever I am? Has he slept at all?!

"She wanted to see Niall, but she also wanted to see you. I'm going to leave you three alone." The other man replies, and I hear a door close. There's some silence, then the faint sound of someone taking a bite of something

"How long have you been practicing?" Liam asks, and I get confused. Why is he talking to no one? Is he going crazy? "Makes sense. Now you just need to learn how to talk." He says after more silence. Is he talking to someone who's mute or something? After a while, he speaks up again. "I honestly have no idea, it's just something I do automatically, I don't even think about it. It's just vibrating my throat, and I've done it so long it comes naturally."  Is he talking about how to talk? I guess if he's talking to someone who can't talk it makes sense. He grabs my hand again, like he always does, but this time he says something, too. "Niall, we miss you. Please come back. Just please fight for us." Liam sounds close to tears, and I try to move, to do something, but I can't, so I give up again, settling back into the darkness I've grown accustomed to.

"Please come back..." A new voice whispers, and Liam gasps. Is this who he was talking to about talking? Well that made more sense in my head. Wait...

"Amy, did you just talk?" Liam asks in disbelief, squeezing my hand more tightly. So her name is Amy. She sounds young, that's interesting. Does Liam have a sister he never told us about? Eh, that ridiculous, Liam's an orphan. He told us that a couple weeks ago. I remember crying when he told us, poor Liam.

"Niall, Liam needs you..." Amy says, a little stronger, and a little sadder, and I find myself wanting to listen to her. She sounds so sweet, so innocent, that I want to make her happy, and Liam happy, and everyone happy. So I fight the darkness, and I try to open my eyes, and I finally succeed. I open my eyes slowly, painfully, but I do it, looking at Liam, looking at the girl, and just looking around the hospital room I'm apparently in, because all I can do is look. I can't move anything else at the moment because I spent all of my energy fighting, but that doesn't matter, because I look at Liam and he smiles, and I find the energy to smile back. And in that little moment, everything is perfect, until Liam lifts my arm and I see the bandages running up it and gasp.

"What happened to me?!"