Affection | N.H

Chapter 48

("Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up." -Rocky Baloa)

"Babe." Niall's raspy voice calls.

My eyes shoot open and I sit up. My eyes rake around the room looking for Niall. Then the brutal realisation hits me; I have lost Niall. Without any warning, tears start rolling down my face once more. I look around to myself in a hospital.

Someone bursts into the room and I look up to find a nurse catching her breath. "Are you okay?" she asks in an accent I have never heard before.

"Yes," I push the covers off and attempt to put my legs on the ground but a strong pain shoots through my whole body, stopping me from making any movements. The nurse continues her own business in some distance. Unable to move anymore, I lie back down. "How many people died?" I whisper, loud enough for the nurse to hear me.

"One" the nurse sighs and my head snaps towards her direction.

"Are you sure?" I ask, getting off the bed and walking towards her. The pain that I just felt has disappeared. Or more like I am too numb to feel it right now.

"Yes, but one was very badly injured. He is fine now." She shrugs and leads me back to the hospital bed but I take my arm away from her grip.

"I need to see him, please." I Plead. She opens her mouth to deny my request but something stops her. "Just once, please. I need to convince myself that he is alright." My voice cracks at the last work. I really hope it is Niall she is talking about.

The nurse finally nods. She takes my hand in hers, so that I don't runaway or faint, and leads me out of the room. She walks through the hallway and turns a corner, revealing a set of other rooms. She opens a door for me and gently pushes me in. "Take care and don't freak out too much in front him. He mustn't stress out at all." The nurse warns me before closing the door.

I take a deep breath and turn around to face the hospital bed, which is occupied by someone. I walk towards the bed, counting each step and with my heart pounding against my chest. I almost cry out in happiness when I see Niall tucked under the blankets. Happy tears escape my eyes and I quickly put my hands on both sides of his face and gently kiss him on the lips.

"Tarisha.." He mumbles in his sleep.

I lift his hand upto my mouth and place a kiss on top of it. "I'm here, I'm here." My voice comes out soft and soothing.

The machines in the room are making hideous beeping noises that is annoying my ears. Niall's silence is worrying me too. Seeing him like this is absolutely killing me. His eyes are closed shut and his eyelashes are resting above his cheekbones.

Please wake up Niall.

Please.

..

~Niall's POV~
Unreal. This is absolutely unreal and hard to believe.

I am stuck in a room. There are no windows, no furniture, no sign of life around me. There is absolute silence around me. My arm is clean and there is no pain on it. How is that possible? My last memory tells me there were two bullets there. This is just like a dream or a world where I am staying until I can go back to reality.

When Chase shot me, I was absolutely caught off guard. When he shot me twice, I was left speechless. I collapsed on my seat and couldn't protect Tarisha...or Jack. I am still ashamed that I couldn't be the her saviour. I hope she is fine. I hope she is not with those bustards. I hope my Tarisha is safe.

Suddenly I smell something. That is Tarisha's smell. It feels like she's around me. I can't reach out to her because there is nothing around me. Suddenly I feel a soft touch on my lips. I brush my fingers over my lips and feel the familiar touch. Tarisha's touch. She is here somewhere. She is watching me but fuck's sake, I can't. "Tarisha..." I yell but my voice comes out very faint, in a mumble.