The Bodyguard » Niall Horan

35 » Nothing makes sense

While Niall was sleeping off the sedation, a male nurse had come in to remove the glass shards in my hands and shoulders with tweezers. I looked at him while he did his job.

" May I ask how you're doing?" The man lifted his eyes to me as he put a glass shard in a kidney dish. The water in it coloured red when the shard landed in it. 

I sighed. " Good question. I've no clue," I told him. My gaze went to Niall on the other bed. The man softly nodded. " Understandable." 

" Understandable? That's the worst word you could've picked," I said. " Is it?" He asked as he continued getting the shards out. 

" Yes. This whole situation makes no sense. Nothing makes sense," I said, frustrated with myself for not being able to understand any of it.

The male nurse looked up. " You remind me of a nurse," he said. " They also punish themselves for everything. Walking into an ambush. Also his fault." 

" No offense, but I don't think you can compare that with the explosion that killed six trained men and blew up half the city centre of Dover."

" Perhaps the situations a little different, but the outcome will always be the same. I can tell you took the blame of their deaths upon you, which will haunt you for the rest of your life." 

He was done getting the shards out of my body. He cleaned my wounds and disinfected them. I did not flinch at the intense stinging of the alcohol on my open wounds.

" What does it matter?" I asked, " It's not like it'll keep you up at night." 

" It shouldn't have to keep you up at night, either," he replied. He stitched the bigger slices on my body and bandaged both my hands.

There were first and second degree burns on my arms and upper body, which had been cleaned and bandaged by a much kinder nurse. I much preferred her, and her goggling eyes on Niall.

The male nurse continued disinfecting the shallow wounds on my face. Again, I did not react to the stinging pain on my face. It came as a relief, actually. Too bad it didn't last too long.

" You don't allow  yourself to feel any pain, do you?" The male nurse sighed and shook his head slightly.

" I've no time to feel pain." Worry rippled over his face. " Perhaps you should schedule some time to feel pain. It's healthy." 

I must have fallen asleep when the meddlesome male nurse had cleaned all the wounds on me because I woke up by a visitor. It was Mark, and he had brought a bouquet of flowers with him.

" You look battered," he said when I woke up. I smiled at him and held up my arms. " Mummy Mercer, at your service."  Mark snickered and went to sit on a chair next to my bed. He put the flowers on the table next to me. When he saw Niall under the blanket someone put over him, he shot up.

" He's fine, he's fine. Don't worry. They had to sedate him slightly because he lost it," I looked at Niall, whose features were finally soft and without worry. I swallowed and turned my head back to Mark.

" How bad is it?" I asked him when Mark sat down again.  He let out a deep sigh. " It's havoc. It's on every news outlet. It might have reached international news if you take his fans into consideration." Mark looked at me. " Do you want to see it?" he asked. I nodded. " Please." 

Mark took out his phone from his shorts. After a few clicks, he handed it to me. It was a clip from BBC News. The first thing I saw was an immense blaze. The origin of the fire was clearly visible - a helicopter flying over the scene. They switched and showed a clip shot with a mobile phone. They showed Niall, who was getting dragged out of the Italian restaurant, still shouting my name. His face was etched with worry and fright as two CRE's dragged him away from the scene to a safe distance. The shot then continued with Waterlane holding me, running. I couldn't hear Waterlane shouting - it was probably too far off and with the mask... 

We were both flying through the air seconds later, followed by an immense fireball. The clip showed how my burning body fell hard, and rolled until it came to a stop in front of a shop.

Niall was with me only a second later, followed by the two paramedics. The rest I could remember. I handed Mark his phone. He locked his phone and pushed it back into his pocket.

" Is it still burning?" I asked after a few seconds. Mark nodded. " I heard it would take at least all night until they're done. Perhaps even tomorrow morning." It did not surprise me at all.

"I'm going to grab a bite downstairs, alright? I will be back in a jiffy." I nodded, " Of course, go eat." I smiled at him.

Mark got up and got a phone out of his other pocket. " Here. Call me if you need me. I suppose yours is burnt to ashes now." I smirked and nodded. " I think so, too. Thank you." Mark nodded and walked away.

I didn't really want to leave it laying around, and since I wore the upper half of a hospital gown, I put the phone on the inside of my bra, just like old times sake. I smirked as it was actually invisible. Great.

A stature was lingering behind the curtain. " Forgot something, Mark?" I asked with a soft laugh.

The stature opened the curtain and my eyes nearly boggled out of their sockets with fright. This was not possible. This was not possible.

" If you scream, I will fucking hit you unconscious." My heart shrunk when I heard his voice.

" Please, please," I quietly begged, as I dragged myself back to the bed as far as I could. I was scared of nothing and no one. Except for him.

I ignored the pain in my arms and legs as I tried to put as much room between us as I could. My head was spinning slightly.

I heard Niall mutter something. I shot my head at him, as I saw how he opened up his eyes. No. No. 

Pain surged through my leg. I looked at it as I noticed how he had taken advantage of my moment of inattention, and pushed the last little bit of fluid into my leg. He threw the needle on the floor when he was done.

Niall had seen the look in my eyes, now as conscious as one could be as he attempted to get up. The man strode to him and hit his nose with a nauseating force. My heart was beating loudly in my chest as I noticed how Niall fell back on the bed, blood gushing out of his nose. A small noise left my mouth as he hit Niall again, his body now limp on the bed.

I could feel how the fluid took advantage of me - already wearing me down. A tear escaped the corner of my eye and rolled down my cheek. " Please," I begged, my eyes blurring. I felt how he scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder. I whimpered quietly. I blacked out completely, the green hospital floor still etched on my retina as I did.