Too Much To Ask |NH|

Chapter Three

He shuffled into the kitchen to get something to eat.  In the days and weeks after she had left him, he found himself barely eating.  He'd lost quite a bit of weight, which he wasn't going to totally argue with, he just wished it was because he was being healthier, not because he was so depressed that he could barely function, let alone eat.

Opening the refrigerator, he peeked inside to find almost nothing.  His fridge used to be so organized and full.  Then again, she did all the grocery shopping.  Now, it was up to him to figure it out.

Shutting the door, he opened up his pantry to find a little more than what his fridge contained.  He grabbed a box of crackers, went back to the fridge to grab some cheese and a beer.  He placed everything down on the counter, while he hunted for a knife to slice the cheese.

As he cut up the cheese into slices, he started to think back on the day they decided to move in together. They were sitting on the couch watching a movie when she had randomly suggested they move in together.  They had been together for just over two years but had probably only seen each other in person for maybe a year and a half, at most, due to their schedules being so left of center.  But he immediately said yes, because he had been thinking about asking her to move in with him.

They were both so excited that he started helping her move her things into his place.  But they quickly realized that they would need a bigger space.  Within a week, they had found this place and within a month, they had moved in.  He was so excited.  He had never lived with a girl before.  He had never built a home with someone....

"Fuck!" Niall yelled out as he sliced into his finger.  He saw a pool of red start forming on the counter so he turned on the faucet and ran water over his finger.  Streams of red went flowing down the drain.  He then remembered that bandages and antiseptic were all in the bathroom so he grabbed a towel, wrapped up his thumb, and made a dash down the hallway.

Turning on the lights to the bathroom, he removed the towel and ran his finger under the water while he opened the mirror cabinet.  He pulled out the bandages and the bottle of peroxide....

When I closed the mirror, I looked back down at her bleeding hand.  The water was running a bright scarlet  red.  I placed everything down onto the countertop before reaching for her hand.

"Let me see how it looks," I said.

"It looks like my hand is bleeding," she said, sarcastically.  She didn't have much of a tolerance when it came to physical pain.  Her other hand flew up to her eyes and wiped away the tears that had begun to pour out.

"No shit, Sherlock.  I want to see how deep the glass is embedded.  I want to know if we need to take you to the hospital or if I can get it with tweezers."

"I am NOT going to the hospital, Niall."

"Well, if you let me see the damage maybe I can decipher how bad it is."

She let me take her hand in mine.  The blood was still pouring out of the palm of her hand but it looked like I could maybe get the glass out.

"Alright, I'm going to try with tweezers but I still think we may have to go to the hospital."

"No!" She shouted into my ear.  She hated the hospital.  She had spent a good amount of time in hospitals as a child and hated them.  She always said that death finds you there.

I reached for the tweezers and ran her hand, which I had to pry open, under the water again to clear out some of the blood before bringing my face a little closer to her hand and the tweezers to grasp the shards of glass.  One piece was pretty big and I was afraid to remove it so I started with what I believed were the smaller pieces.

"Owww," she whined in my ear above me.

"Sorry, babe."

"I know, I know."

I got a few pieces out before I realized that I would have to remove the larger shard.  "This piece is kinda big, babe.  I'm a little nervous to take it out."

"Please, Niall, just get it."

I sighed and bent down closer to her hand.  I took my fingers knowing I'd get a better grip of the glass with that versus a pair of tweezers.  I took a deep breath but I couldn't do it.  It felt like that shard was really in there and I wasn't about to cause further, irrevocable damage to her hand.  She needed her hand to play.

"Shit." I ran her hand under the water again and took another look.  "You really did a number on yourself, babe. How did that glass even break to begin with?"

"I don't fucking know! Don't ask me impossible questions right now, Niall."

Sighing, I stood back up to a straightened position, I placed her hand back under the water and stood there.  After several minutes, I spoke up.  "Babe?"

"Don't say it, Niall."

"I think we need to go to the hospital."

"No."

"Babe, I know you hate the place but I think you're going to need a professional to do this and I think you know that, too.  I will not be responsible for ruining your hand, especially if an actual doctor will cause less damage."

"Niall..."  I looked at her as tears began pouring down her face. 

"Babe, I know you hate it, but we both know the safest option is to take you.  I'm sorry."

Sighing, she grabbed a towel and wrapped her hand in it before walking towards the door...

Niall looked at his thumb as the bleeding ceased and the water became clear.  It was just a superficial cut but damn it hurt like a bitch.  He poured a little more peroxide on it, hissed at the sting, and placed a bandage around his finger.

Shutting off the lights, he went back to the kitchen for his meal of crackers and cheese and beer.

After cleaning up the mess he had made, he picked up his plate and his beer, and walked back to the stacks of albums.  He sat back down on the floor, placing his food and drink next to him before closing the album he had been looking at and reaching for another.