Finally Wanted

Chapter Nine

Liam stepped out of the room that was holding Corbin and was met with 160 pounds of panicking Harry Styles. 

"Liam, what happened?" Harry gasped out, his eyes wide. "Is he okay?"

Liam held up his hands and gave him a reassuring smile. "Harry, take a deep breath, he's fine." 

Harry obediently took a breath then repeated, "What happened Liam?" 

Liam shrugged, "I'm  not sure, Zayn said he saw Corbin in the ER and then he collapsed." 

Harry scrubbed at his face with his hands asked, "What's his injuries?"

"Well, he has broken a few ribs, bruises everywhere and I suspect a concussion." Liam shared, glancing at the IPad in his hands. "I'm going to keep him in overnight to monitor him, and if he's okay tomorrow, he can go home." 

Harry nodded as Zayn stepped out of the room. "He's settled down." Zayn told Liam then he turned to Harry, eyebrows raised as he anticipated his questions.

"Zayn, what the hell happened?" Harry breathed out, his body tense. "Why is Corbin in that hospital room?" 

"He collapsed in the ER," Zayn answered, "I don't know why exactly, he wasn't conscious when I got to him. He woke up about ten minutes ago, but he wasn't aware of what happened." 

Harry nodded, "So we wait until he wakes up properly?" 

Zayn nodded, "Yeah, that would be best." He glanced over at Liam and continued, "I think you should stay with him until he wakes up Harry, it would be good to have a familiar face to wake up to." 

Harry nodded and went into the room. His eyes were drawn immediately drawn to the still, small figure lying on the bed. Corbin was wearing a pair of hospital issued pajamas. There was a bruise decorating his jaw and a bandage around the back of his head. He was lying in a fetal position, occasionally whimpering from the pain in his ribs, where Harry could see a bandage wrapped tightly around. One hand was tucked up under the pillow and the other, which had the IV line in, was dangling off the edge of the bed. He looked relaxed and peaceful, something Harry hadn't seen since he brought the brothers home. 

He sat in one of the chairs by the bed and got out his phone. He sat for about an hour before Corbin stirred. He stretched out and rolled over, careful of the IV line stuck in his hand. Harry watched him for a moment, taking note of the way he groaned when he rolled too hard onto his ribs. He turned the phone off and placed it into his pocket. 

London High had never had a serious problem with bullying. Sure, there were bullies, every school had them, but there had never been a case of hospitalization. Heck, London High had the best record of no bullies out of all the schools in London. 

A groan pulled him from his musings and he pressed the call button as Corbin blinked open his bottle green eyes. His eyes widened with premature fear, and he quickly looked around before settling onto Harry, relaxing a tiny bit. "What happened?" 

Harry shrugged and smiled gently, "I don't buddy, you collapsed in the ER." 

Corbin's brow furrowed as he tried to remember, then his eyes widened. "Oh." He breathed. 

Harry opened his mouth to ask Corbin who had beaten him up to hospitalization point, but was interrupted when Zayn walked in. He let a smile break out onto his face. 

"Hello there Corbin, how are you feeling?" 

Harry would be lying if he said his heart didn't melt a bit when he saw Corbin completely relax into the bed. He knew that he felt safe and secure in Zayn's company. 

"I feel like crap." Corbin muttered. 

Zayn chuckled and went over to check over the machines connected to the teenager before glancing over. "Hows your pain?" 

Corbin shifted onto his back and winced, "Um...a six I think, it's only gotten worse now." 

Zayn nodded and fiddled with the IV machine, smiling when Corbin nodded gratefully at him. He then leant against the end of the bed and said, "Okay, now we need to talk Corbin." 

Corbin pushed himself upright, wincing as the movement aggravated his ribs. "Talk about what?" He inquired, his eyes trained firmly on one of the designs on the blanket. 

"I think you know what." Zayn replied softly. 

Corbin glanced up at Zayn then quickly to Harry. "A guy grabbed me on the way to school." He looked back down at the blanket. "It happened too quick for me to do anything." 

Zayn looked over to Harry, obvious disbelief shining in his eyes. He nodded nonetheless. "Okay, we'll call the police, so that you can give a statement." He watched Corbin closely and then reached for his pager, paging Liam. 

Corbin nodded, keeping his eyes down. "When can I get out of here?" He asked, slumping back onto the bed. 

Zayn opened his mouth to answer just as Liam walked in with a bright smile on his face. "Hey there Corbin, it's nice to see you awake and lucid." 

Corbin gave him a half-smile and repeated his question. Liam leant against the wall and thought for a moment. "Well, I want to keep you in overnight just in case of a concussion, if you're okay tomorrow, you can go home." 

Corbin nodded and asked, "So, what's actually wrong with me?" He curled into himself and watched Liam with wary eyes. 

"You broke a few ribs and I suspect a concussion." Liam answered, watching Corbin equally warily. 

The teenager nodded and fiddled with his IV, flinching back as Harry reached out a hand to stop him. He sighed and sat back. He noticed that Corbin was fighting a battle to stay awake, forcing his eyes open when they start to droop down. Apparently Zayn noticed too, because he murmured, "Go back to sleep love, it's okay." 

Corbin nodded sleepily as he drew his pillow into his chest and nuzzled his face into it. Soon enough, his breaths evened out and he relaxed into the bed. Harry sighed and stood up. "I need to go, Lou asked me to be back in the office at midday." He looked back to Corbin, "I'll have to tell Lou about this" 

Liam nodded. "Okay," He glanced down at his pager and nodded. "I'd better go, Karl is paging me." With a wave, he left the room, Harry close behind him. 

Zayn watched Corbin for a moment before muttering, "Why are you lying?"