Oscillation | [H.S]

Chapter 13

I learned that Willow was the brown-haired girl from the dining room who was talking to Louis the other day. She was a very small and dainty girl with golden eyes and a round face. She had entered the room about an hour after Harry had left. My tears had dried up and I was on the verge of falling asleep again, only my full bladder keeping me awake. 

"Hi Emma." She whispered softly, making my eyes go wide open. She was standing in the door opening with a steaming mug in her hand. I couldn't bring myself to smile as my face hurt too much. I also wasn't in the mood for formalities, especially not with people that lived with men such as Harry. 

"I was thinking that maybe you'd like a warm shower?" She spoke softly as she entered, settling the mug on the nightstand next to the large bed. The smell of cinnamon drafted into the air. 

A shower did sound nice. I was constantly cold despite the thick blanket and the shivering made my body hurt even more. On the other hand, my body was so weak and bruised that I wasn't sure I could move at all. 

"Oh, I totally forgot! My name is Willow by the way. It's not often that there is someone I don't know yet." She suddenly bursts out, totally regarding my lack of response to the last question. I still didn't open my mouth to speak, simply closing my eyes again and hoped that I would fall back asleep. 

"I made you some cinnamon tea with orange and star-anise. It has healing properties." She continues, but I could hear her voice falling slightly due to my lack of a response. 

I was actually getting a little bit annoyed. First, I get beaten within an inch of my death and then they try to apologize with a cup of tea. I didn't want tea. I wanted my body to stop hurting so I could move and try to escape. Also, I never wanted Harry to get near me again. The same for all the other men as well as their girlfriends. Or whatever they may be. 

I tried to turn around to show her I wasn't interested in her, but a sharp pain shooting through my arm and ribcage stopped me. A sound caused by the agony escaped my mouth. It was very close to a scream. Tears welled up again in my eyes. 

"Oh.." I heard Willow speak softly. Her voice was mostly casted out by the ringing sound in my ears. 

"I'm going to get Niall.." I wanted to scream no. I didn't want anyone near me. However, it already took a lot of effort to breathe, let alone make noise. The sound of Willow's footsteps faded, signalling she had indeed gone to get Niall. It took me a little while to start wondering why she would get him. To kill me? To knock me out with a pill? He was talking to Harry about them so he must know more about them. 

I felt my body longing for a pill instantly as the first thought of it crossed through my head. It had numbed the pain and would make me fall back into that dreamless sleep so easily. I seemed like an addict.

"Emma." Niall's voice opened my eyes again. He stood next to the bed, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. I made eye contact briefly before looking away, noticing the dark circles beneath his eyes. 

"On a scale from 1 to 10, how much pain are you in?" He spoke since he knew I was still awake. A thought crossed my head. If I overdid it slightly, maybe he'd give me a pill. My body was in pain, sure, but I wouldn't say so excruciating that I'd rather die. An 8 maybe. 

"Ten." I croaked out, short huffs coming out of my mouth. He nodded, walking up to the closet where Harry had gotten a new bag of fluid earlier. When he came back, a panicked noise left my mouth. A large syringe was in his hand. Without any words he walked up to me. I wasn't ready for him to stick the large needle somewhere in my skin so I closed my eyes. 

When nothing happened, I peeked through my lashes, seeing him enter the contents of the syringe into the wire that was connected to the fluids. 

"Anything else?" He murmured softly, his eyes meeting Willow's who shook her head. Niall exited. Willow sat down on the chair that Harry was seated in earlier. 

"I asked him to give you some morphine. It will ease a lot of your pain." She smiled a little with a closed mouth and her eyebrows frowned. So anxious to see my reaction. "They don't really like to use it since it's quite hard to get but you do kind of need a shower and you seemed in real deep pain. Which is totally understandable of course!" She blabbered nervously.

Why was it so hard to dislike Willow and Nova? I despised them for living near these men. The answer was simple. They both expressed niceness to me which was something I didn't experience often, especially here. 

"Thanks" I croaked out, my throat hurting. I could feel the morphine mixing into my system, the agony fading away slowly. 

"Do you want to sit a bit more upright? You can drink a bit of tea that way." She proposed. A small nod was all that was needed for her to fluff up some pillows against the headrest and lifting my body against them. She was surprisingly strong for being so small. The cup of tea was handed to me directly. I took a sip. 

"How long have I been unconscious for?" I asked her. She stared at me for a moment, doubting about giving me an answer. 

"About nine days. You woke up after three but Harry.." Her eyes glanced at me when saying his name and continued when there was no significant reaction. "He wanted to keep you unconscious." 

"I don't know much, sorry. I would tell you the whole story but I only heard some pieces of what had happened at mine and Louis' house." I nodded, taking another sip of my drink. She was really nice and did her best to comfort me a little. Now that my pain was reducing, I could focus a bit more on my senses. I truly did smell. Also, my full bladder became rather painful now.

"Willow..." I tried softly, her wandering eyes immediately focussing on me again. "Can you help me to the loo?" I could feel the shame burning on my cheeks. I wasn't sure if I was strong enough to walk there myself.

She nodded quickly as an answer, took the now half-empty cup of tea from my hands and stood up. Her body moved very quickly, almost flying through the room as she went to a door a few metres away which revealed an ensuite as well. 

"Okay, you can wrap you arm around my neck and lean on me." She said. "If anything becomes too much just say my name and we'll sit down, 'kay?" I nodded as an answer, apprehensive of actually carrying it out. I gritted my teeth before moving.

It took a lot of effort and some small cries to reach the ensuite. She had left me alone for a moment when I did my business on the toilet, a relieved sound escaping my mouth when I could finally empty my bladder. I was wondering how they managed this when I was knock-out, but pushed that thought away as quickly as I could. I'd rather not think about them touching me in any way. 

Willow had also turned on the faucet above the tub so that a steady stream was filling the bathtub. A soft and slightly sweet smell was now filling the room. I wanted to get in and I was relieved when Willow came back. I was starting to get cold already.

"Let's keep the bra and panties on, yeah?" She asked to which I nodded quickly, grateful for the chance to have a bit of privacy at least. The three metres to the bathtub was a painful journey again but totally worth it when the warm water engulfed my body. 

"Don't forget to keep your arm dry!" Willow squeaked just in time. I put the arm with the stitches on the edge and closed my eyes and relaxed for the smallest moment. I hadn't had a bath for at least three years.

I almost felt comfortable at that moment.