Temptations [Niall Horan]

Chapter 51

"Veronica... Veronica, can you hear me?"

I opened my eyes, my vision blurry. As it cleared, I could make out the face of a man above me. I furrowed my brows in confusion. Who are you?

The man smiled softly when he saw that I was awake. "She's back!" he called out. 

I looked around, trying to sit up. "Woah, Woah sweetie, lay down, okay? We're going to run a few more tests," the man stated. I remained laying down, looking around as a few more people in white coats walked into the room.

A woman walked up to me, a small needle in her hand. She grasped my arm in her hand, testing the needle before she stuck it in. I flinched at the contact.

"W-Where am I?" I weakly asked. The woman noticed my nervousness and smiles softly, holding my hand.

"You're in the hospital dear," she calmly stated. My heart raced.

"Why?" I asked, my eyes widening. She took out the needle, quickly getting a band aid and placing it where the needle had been. 

"We needed to make sure you were alright. You inhaled a lot of smoke, sweetheart..." she sighed.

Smoke? What was she talking about?

As she saw the confusion on my face she frowned, gently brushing my hair back in an act of comfort. "There was a fire, in your dorm. You've been out for about a week, sweetheart."

A week?! Out?! In what, a coma?!

I began to panic, my eyes watering. She frowned, continuing to pet my hair. "You're alright, honey, no need to get all worked up. You're perfectly fine. Had some smoke in your lungs, but we've got most of it all cleared up. And the burns were pretty bad as well, but they've begun healing, and they aren't nearly as bad as they could've been. In fact, if it wasn't for that boy, you would certainly not be here with us right now..."

"What boy!?" I asked.

"There was a boy that ran in to save you..." she trailed off, getting up to throw away the wrapper from the bandaid. "I'm going to go get some paperwork for you, I'll be right back."

I sat there as she walked out, desperately trying to remember something, anything, that could help me piece together what had happened. But no matter how hard I tried, the last thing I remember was running out of Niall's room. The woman, who I presumed to be the nurse, walked back in moments later with a clipboard.

"Just fill these out for me. We're going to keep you for a few more hours and then you'll be free to go," she stated, smiling softly.

"What did the boy look like?" I asked, taking the clipboard from her. She stood in silence a moment, contemplating.

"Well... he was about 5'8, I'd say. Blonde hair, although I can't be sure... there was a lot of black soot in his hair from the fire. He had burns everywhere... no doubt he'll have a lot of scarring. There were a lot of tattoos on his arms and chest as well. Poor boy... there was a lot of damages done to his body."

My heart sank. Niall... it had to be Niall...

"W-what kind of damages?" I asked, trembling.

"A beam fell from the ceiling and collapsed on him, dear... I don't believe he's doing too well. There's a lot of internal damages to match the burns he's got on his body," she sighed, sorrow in her voice.

"Do you know where I can find him?! Please..." I asked, throwing the clipboard aside.

"I believe he's in room 135 in the ICU..." she trailed off. I stood in a panic, rushing out the door.