After a very long and painful walk back to Dane and Amanda's house I was on the verge of collapsing. On top of that I have broken the only rule set forth for me by my foster parents, to be home by dark. I drug myself up the driveway and to the front door and then I saw my reflection in the glass. I had cuts on my arms and left cheek where my body landed when I fell. My hair had dirt and leaves in it and looked like a weeks worth of bed head. My eyes were swollen and bloodshot. And my face was deathly pale from the amount of pain my ankle was giving me. I turned the door knob and walked in only to be met by two worried and panicked foster parents.
"Oh Niall! Honey what happened?" Amanda exclaimed as she ran forward to support me. At this point I was too exhausted to protest.
"I...I uh fell on the way home."
"Why didn't you call us? We would have come and gotten you. You walked all the way home on an injured ankle which now is probably way worse than it would have been had you just called." Dane said as he got me under my other arm.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't want to worry you and I'm sorry I broke curfew and I'm ready to accept any punishment you find appropriate."
"Punishment? Niall were not mad son. We're certainly not going to punish you. However, that ankle is going to need time to heal, so I'm afraid you will have to stay home from school for the rest of the week. I will call Bernice and have her drop your homework off." Dane said.
They then helped me up to my room where Amanda helped me wash my hair over the tub and then she cleaned my cuts and bandaged them. After they tucked me into bed and made sure I was okay, they left. It wasn't until I was alone that I realized that I had let someone not only touch me but wash my hair and bandage me. It felt amazing to finally have parents again. I know they will never replace the broken pieces of my heart my parents took to the grave with them, but they at least will help me forget the pieces are missing.
Laying in bed my thoughts drifted to Harry. I don't know what his intentions are, but in my experience when someone is nice to you, it means they want something from you. Now there are some exceptions to that rule, for example Amanda and Dane. However, it's too early in the game to tell if Harry is actually sincere in his actions. I'm honestly kind of glad Dane and Amanda are keeping me home for the rest of the week. It will give me some time to think about whether I should give Harry a chance or not.
Finally after about an hour of thinking of different scenarios where befriending Harry could go wrong, I drifted off into the peaceful oblivion of sleep.
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"Niall, love, wake up honey. You've been asleep for nearly two days, you need to eat, and you have a visitor downstairs. I will give you a minute to get your bearings before I send him up." Amanda said as she gently shook me awake. She then got up and exited the room
"Two days? I guess my body must have went into a dormant state in order to accelerate the healing of my ankle" I mumbled to myself. Geez Niall, listen to yourself. You sound like a geek.
I slowly dragged myself out of bed and hobbled over to my bathroom. I was almost afraid to apply pressure to my ankle even though I know It's most likely healed enough. I walked up to my mirror and stared at the horrid looking boy before me, until it dawned on me that Amanda said I had a visitor. I immediately jumped in the shower. After a quick shower I wrapped a towel around my waist and went to search for some sweats. I walked out of my bathroom into my room only to see Harry sitting on my bed staring at my ceiling. He jumped up when he noticed my presence and then turned a very bright shade of pink when he realized that I was covered in nothing but a towel.
"Close your eyes!" I yelled as my face turned bright red. Harry's face took on a look of shock.
"I'm so sorry! Your mum told me to come on up. I had no idea you would be naked." He said as he turned around to face the wall.
