The One in the Crowd

Four hours later, Niall is still in Alyssa’s hospital room. He’s stopped crying, but is holding her hand, stroking it with his thumb, and listening to her steady heartbeat. He just looks at her for a moment, and then starts talking to her, knowing she can’t answer him. Throughout, he takes many pauses and starts to choke up at parts. Until near the end, he breaks down and cries again.

“Hey Alyssa…how’s it going in there? …I know you can’t answer, but they say that people in comas can hear things. Look, I wanted to tell you I’m really sorry about breaking up with you. It’s just something I had to do. Long distance wasn’t something that worked for me." He gets choked up.

"…But hearing you say you were doing so well with it and…you cutting yourself and even loading your gun, thinking about pulling that trigger when I broke up with you...it made me realize that even though I broke up with you because of distance, it shouldn’t have mattered. What matters is that I love you…and I want you back as mine. Alyssa, I know you don’t want to get out of your coma and you just want to die. But please live. Please wake up. I need you in my life. You’re my world. You’re my everything. Please don’t die on me. …You’re my princess. My beautiful, beautiful princess.”

He tears up and looks down at her hand he’s holding, still stroking it with his thumb. Still looking down at her hand, he starts singing. “Your hand fits in mine like it’s made just for me…” … “but bear this in mind, it was meant to be…” he’s really choking back tears now.

“and I’m joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks…” he sings lightly poking her right cheek. “and it all makes sense to me.” He sings before he breaks.

However, while crying, he all of a sudden feels one of her fingers twitch. “Oh my gosh…lads! …Lads! Get in here!”

Hearing commotion, Mrs. Maggio goes to get the nurse. The boys come running in asking, “What, what is it?!”

“I felt one of her fingers twitch. She could be waking up. She seems to move when I sing. Can one of you get my spare guitar from the car?”

“Yeah, sure mate.” Zayn said running out. Alyssa’s mom comes in with the nurse.

“Hi, what’s going on?” she says.

“She’s moving, her finger twitched when I sang to her. Is that good?” Niall asked hopefully.

“That’s amazing.” She said in reply. “We didn’t think that she would make it out of this, but it sounds like she’s going to. As long as you sing to her until she wakes up. Can you do that?” the nurse asks.

“Yes I can, thank you Miss!” Just then, Zayn comes running back in with Niall’s guitar. Niall sits down on the chair putting it next to the bed and starts playing where he left off. “I know you’ve never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile”

“—you never loved your stomach or your thighs.” Liam chimes in. Niall gives him a look.
“What? It’s my solo…” he says looking around.

“How about we all sing our parts? Just like the track on the record.” Harry suggests.

“I like that. Let’s do it.” Niall agrees. They all sing their parts. Throughout the song, Alyssa starts moving more and more and it’s noticeable she’s really trying to wake herself up.

By the time it gets to the last chorus where all the guys sing at once, she’s definitely awake, but doesn’t open her eyes. She waits until after they finish and there’s a few seconds of silence before she opens her eyes to see Niall’s smiling face.

“Hey Ni.” She says with a slight smile. Everyone cheers and hollers except for Niall.

“Hi princess. …I thought I’d lost you.”

“I thought I lost me too, but when I heard you and the guys come in, I already started trying to wake my body up. It took a while, but your singing helped a lot.” She said grabbing his hand. Niall set his guitar down and grabbed her hand with both of his, looking into her eyes.

“I don’t know how I could’ve ever given you up. When you need me so much, and I love you so much. Just please do something for me.”

“Anything, sweetheart.” She says.

“Please never cut yourself, smoke, or try to end your life ever again. Promise?” he asks.

She pulls him closer so that their foreheads are touching. “Promise. I love you, Niall.”

He closes his eyes and smiles, then opens them again gazing into hers saying, “I love you too, Alyssa. For as long as I live.”

They share a passionate kiss, the first in a long time, and they all get Alyssa checked out of the hospital and out to enjoy her life with the man she knows she is destined to be with.

Notes