I'm fine, We're fine [boyxboy]

Twelve p.2

TRIGGER WARNING. Mentions of serious abuse below. Read at your own discretion.

Louis POV

Screaming. Breaking glass. Something far off in the distance. A maniacal voice, laughing, cackling with the insanity of a madman. Something was coming. A second blow.

People say you get used to the pain. I would call them liars. The first slap sends all of my self control back to the depths of my mind, leaving me helpless. My hand flies to my cheek as the trickle of blood runs down from his nails. A well aimed kick to my lower abdomen has me crumpling to the floor. Adrenaline makes me acutely aware of my own body. Each kick and punch, I can feel it. Feel the bursting blood vessels, the electric jolt exploding from every single nerve in my body.

I awake to a steady beeping. A constant beep-click above my head. My vision is hazy, but I can see the monitor. A new, white thing with neon colored lines zig-zagging and curling across the black screen. The scent of disinfectant fills my nostrils. Clean and so strong, it burns. Cream colored walls surround me, their surface bland. An old television set hangs in one corner. Something is playing. It's fuzzy, low, like someone has covered it with a sherpa blanket.

There is something in my mouth, down my throat. I feel as if I'm suffocating. I try to move, but everything hurts. My muscles have seized, laying dormant under my skin. A hoarse whimper sounds and I realize someone is in the room. They're calling my name, over and over again. Something shakes me as I fade back out. A moment later, my eyes are opening again. The room is darker and a golden glow is streaming through the striped curtains spread apart over the window.

Whatever was in my mouth is gone, but it left behind a soreness I had never felt. Someone is squeezing my hand and I look over as a pair of frames are being pushed onto my face. Everything becomes clearer and I realize I'm in a hospital room. The intensive care unit, to be exact. The monitors, the windows looking right into the nurses station tell me exactly where I am, yet I still don't comprehend it. The beeping is still there and it quickens as I look around. But something is wrong. I can see, but barely. Everything looks like I'm squinting. Somewhere near, someone says "They took the tube out, but is he breathing?"

"Louis..."

To my left, sits my sister.

Lottie was holding tight to my hand. Her eyes, red-rimmed from crying, are wide. Black mascara trails stain her cheeks and her hair is a mess, like a brush hasn't touched it in days. "Louis, can you hear me? Can you talk?"

The words are faint and I can only hear from my left ear. Nothing came through to the right, but I nodded. "Ye-yeah..." I managed weakly. The sound of my voice was one I didn't recognize. It was me, but it was a version of me I didn't think I had ever heard before.

"Louis, you're in the ICU. Look, your friends are here. Mom and Dad, too." I stared at her, only half comprehending as I looked around. How hadn't I noticed them before? My father and mother were opposite Lottie on the other side of the bed. Mom was a mess. Dad was unreadable. To the left of them by the wall, was a cot. Liam held a sleeping Zayn to his chest and Niall was beside them, leant against the end of the bed that held me. He studied me, his blue eyes indecipherable.

"The ICU?" A mound of blankets was on top of me and I drug my arms out from under. An explosion of bruises scattered every inch of skin. Purple, black, all of them fresh and painful. An IV was strung into the vein that ran from my wrist to my thumb. I stared, not really understanding what was going on. They fell to the blankets and I looked around. My mother was now sobbing and my father was putting an arm around her. A man, who was usually so composed and strong, was looking at me, salty tears brimming in the corners of his eyes.