Retaliation (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter 19

Black. That's all Harry saw for the next four days. If that's how long it had been. He kept fading in and out of consciousness, too many times to keep count.

Pain. Pain was all he felt, nothing else. Every time he would fade back to the world, at least that's what he thought he was going to, all he could feel was pain. It was in his shoulder and hip, where he had been shot.

When he did fade back to wherever, his vision was blurry. He couldn't focus on anything. Seconds after, he'd just pass out again.

As the days went on, he began to stay awake longer and began to focus on more stuff. He began to hear noises and focus on the blurry person who was always seated next to him. He began to feel the hand in his. The pain finally began to subdue, getting less and less.

Harry opened his eyes again, flinching at first at the light. He forced his eyes to stay open this time, adjusting them to the light. Focusing on the objects around him, he recognized the hospital equipment.

He felt the hand is his shaking and holding onto his tightly. He turned his head to the side and saw Louis sitting in a chair close to his bed side.

His head was hanging low, his hair was everywhere, and he was shaking.

Harry frowned a bit as he examined Louis. He noticed there was blood still on his clothes. He recognized his dad's shop logo on his shirt. Louis had never changed his clothes, which probably meant he never left.

Tears gathered in Harry's eyes as he choked out his name as best as he could. His throat was dry.

Louis' head snapped up, and that's when Harry saw the bags under his red eyes. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were refilling with them.

He scooted closer, grabbing his hand with both. He whispered, "Harry? Are you finally awake?"

He nodded and that sent Louis into a heart wrenching sob. He buried his face into their hands and choked out, "I-I've been here for four days, Harry. I've been waiting for four days."

Harry frowned, not able to talk because of his dry throat. He opted to just listen for right now.

Louis sighed shakily and said, "The first day was the worst. It was the night of the shooting. There was so much blood by the time they finally came. You were out cold and you were so pale. So, so pale..."

His voice died off on the end as the scene flashed in his mind. He winced but pushed on. "I was in an ambulance with your brother. They were trying so hard to stop the bleeding but the blood just kept coming."

He looked up to meet his Harry's eyes and said, "When we finally got here, I was sure you had died. They didn't seem to rush you into surgery. I overheard a doctor about saying you lost too much blood and your pulse was weak; barely noticeable."

Louis chuckled a little as he sniffed up the tears. He said, "They took you in anyway after I not-so-nicely told them how great of a student and person you were."

Harry cracked a small smile at that, making his heart flutter. Louis rubbed his hands with his thumb looking back to their hands. "It was probably the longest four hours of my life," he said. "I was smelly, pissed off, and scared. You scared the shit out of me, Harry."

Harry offered any apology through his eyes. He looked back to Harry's eyes and said, "When the surgeon came out, I pestered him for answers. He told me you lived, but barely."

Harry felt Louis' grip tightened on his hands, shaking again. He choked back another sob and told him, "I broke down in tears and thanked him about a hundred times. I was so grateful he saved your life."