Keep You Safe. . .(a One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter 10: Do You Remember Me?

A faint sigh coming from the bed made me immediately glance up from my phone.

Niall stirred. His eyes barely opened before he squeezed them shut again and turned his head to the side.

I moved my chair closer to the side of the bed, careful to be as quiet as I possibly could. He groaned and brought his hand up to rub his face.

"Niall?" I said softly.

He turned his head in my direction. He brought his other palm up to rub his eyes.

"Hmm?" he hummed groggily as he removed his hand again. He squinted towards me.

"Niall?" I said again. "Niall, are you okay?"

He fully opened his eyes and looked at me for a moment. Then he turned his head to look around the room.

"Wha- What's going on?" he asked. "Where am I?"

"It's okay Niall." I immediately responded. "You're safe. You're in the basement of my house, no one is going to hurt you."

He sat up and continued to look around. I stood up and sat on the bed in front of him. I put my hands on his shoulders and rubbed them gently.

"Take it easy, alright. You've been asleep for the past six hours." I didn't know why I just kept talking, but the last thing I wanted was for him to freak out. "The doctor said you need to stay calm."

Niall continued to look around the room as he took a few deep breaths. I kept rubbing his shoulders.

"Everything's going to be alright." I reassured. "You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."

He took another deep breath before he looked down at his lap. His eyes traced their way to my hands on his shoulders, and then up my arms until his eyes met mine. He stared at me as he continued to breathe slowly. He glanced down at my hands and back at me.

I removed my hands. "Sorry." I placed my hands on my lap, and after a moment of just staring at them I glanced back up at him. He was still looking at me.

"I-um- I'm sorry love, but who are you?" He stammered quietly.

My lips parted slightly. I knew I shouldn't be surprised that he didn't know who I was, but I somewhat was anyway.

"You- you don't remember me?" I asked just as quietly.

He stayed quiet as he briefly glanced over me. When he finished he still said nothing.

"It's okay if you don't." I reassured, yet I was still rather disappointed. "The doctor said you have a minor case of amnesia. It's not permanent, but he said you wouldn't remember everything all at once."

"The doctor?" He asked.

"Yes." I answered. "I just got you back from there today. He said you should be completely fine, just to work back up to a regular routine."

He glanced back down at his lap again.

"Hey." I placed my hand back on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Don't feel pressured to remember anything right now. You're going home. I talked with Liam earlier this evening, and that's all being worked out right now. I just need you to stay calm and trust me, okay?"

He didn't answer as he continued to stare at his lap. I racked my brain for something to help him stay calm. I settled with my first decision.

"Hey Niall, do you want to call your mom?" I asked gently.