Wild

Still Harry’s POV
“-she’ll never speak again”
His words kept ringing through my head over and over again. This couldn’t be happening. Not to Emily. She’s the most loving, sweet, kind person in the world and doesn’t deserve this. She hasn’t even been singing for a year, and now it’ll be destroyed. Her dream of singing will be shattered. Just like her heart. How were we supposed to tell her?
“What?! Isn’t there anything you can do? Singing is her whole life!” Niall cried.
“I’m sorry, but the damage has been done. We’ll just have to wait and hope for the best.” The doctor replied.
“Can I see her?” Matt asked.
“Are you family?” The doctor asked.
“Yes. I’m her brother, and he is coming with.” Matt pointed at me and the doctor nodded.
“Follow me” He said to us before starting to walk.
Matt started after him and turned to me.
“You coming?” he asked.
I nodded and quickly ran after them. We followed the doctor to her room where he left us alone. Matt walked in first, going straight to her side, while I stayed in the doorway. She looked so peaceful lying there. So beautiful despite the flecks of soot and dirt that remained on her face. As I walked closer I noticed she had a scar from the cut above her eye and a couple burn marks on her arms, painful reminders of how close to death she was.
“How do you think she’ll take it?” I asked Matt, my eyes never leaving Emily as I took her hand in mine.
“Not good...but the doctor said that she still had a chance. Even if it’s small, just a little bit is enough to keep hope alive” he replied.
I nodded and sat down in the chair next to her bed, determined to stay in that very spot until she woke up again. I didn’t care that we had an interview the next morning or a concert later that night. There was no way that I was leaving until I saw her blue eyes again.
Louis’ POV
“Harry, you need to eat something” I said for the fifth time.
“I’m not hungry” he mumbled.
I let out a frustrated sigh. He wouldn’t listen to anyone. He would just sit there in the chair, staring off into space. He wouldn’t sleep. He wouldn’t eat. The only thing he actually got up for was to go to the bathroom. We had Paul cancel the concert and interview, but we wouldn’t be able to hold it off forever.
“Dammit, Harry! It’s been fifteen hours! You can’t just sit there! You have to eat. Go back to the hotel for a bit. Change your clothes and take a shower” I said finally.
“I’m not leaving! What if she wakes up and I’m not here! She’s scared of hospitals, Lou! I need to be here” he argued.
“She has her brother here if she does! Look at you, Harry. You’re a mess! Do you really want her to see you like this? That would make her even more stressed out and you know it. Come on. I’ll drive you back to the hotel. We’ll get you something to eat and if anything happens Liam or Niall or Zayn will call us. Just for a bit”
Harry reluctantly gave in. I watched as he gave Emily a kiss on the forehead before walking out. We walked past the boys who were sitting by a window and they sighed in relief at the sight of Harry.
“We’re going back to the hotel so Harry can freshen up. Call us if anything happens” I said.
“We will” Liam said.
“I’m going with you. There are fans and paps outside. You’ll need security” Paul said standing up.
“Alright. Come on, Harry” I said to my younger friend.
He followed us like a zombie, not speaking a single word and it worried me. Harry was never this quiet unless something really upset him. It killed me that he wouldn’t talk to any of us about it. He’s always been secretive and kept to himself when it came to how he was feeling, which is why I was surprised to see how easily Emily could get it out of him. She was the only one who could besides his mum, which was saying something. We made it to the front doors and were bombarded with flashes and questions. Paul kept us close as he and a few other bodyguards pushed their way through the crowd and to the car. Once we made it to the car Paul drove us to our hotel. After going through another smaller crowd we got up to the hotel room. I waited in the living area while Harry went into the bathroom to shower and change clothes.
Meanwhile, Paul drove to a nearby fast food place to get him some food even though both of us knew that he probably wouldn’t eat it. I sighed and sat down on the couch. The past few days have been hard on all of us. Not one of us had gotten more than a few hours of sleep since the fire. Not even Zayn, the laziest out of all of us. I felt for Harry. I really did. If it had been Eleanor in the fire I would have done the exact same thing and would be acting the same way he is. Right after we found out that Emily was okay I called her and told her how much I loved her. The problem was that management wasn’t too happy about his actions. They made it clear that after all of this was over we would be having a long discussion with them. One that none of us were looking forward to. The whole situation was crazy, and it added stress to us since we were right in the middle of our first tour. At least we knew that Emily would be alright.
I heard the shower turned off and a few minutes later Paul arrived with the food. Harry walked out with new clothes and damp hair, his face blank.
“Can we go?” he asked.
“Can you eat something on the way?” I asked.
Harry nodded and grabbed the food from Paul, surprising us both. That long shower must have helped him.
We made our way back to the hospital and were pulling up when my cell phone started ringing, blaring Liam’s ringtone.
“Hey, Liam” I answered.
“Louis! You need to get Harry back here! Emily is freaking out and won’t calm down!” The back door opened and Harry sprinted through the crowd and into the building.
Paul and I looked at each other before racing after him.
Emily’s POV
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The annoying sound became louder and louder as I came to. I became aware of the burning pain in throat as I breathed. I slowly opened my eyes, wincing as they became used to the brightness of white sunlit room. Once they adjusted I looked around to see a bunch of flowers and Get-Well-Soon balloons set around the room. Suddenly, every memory that I had about the fire came rushing back to me. Waking up in a smoke filled room, already struggling to breathe from inhaling so much smoke and being too weak and disoriented to move. Harry finding me and carrying me as we tried to find out way out of the building.
Harry...
My heart started racing, causing the monitor to go haywire. Where was he? Was he okay? I didn’t remember what happened after he found me. Did he make it out? I tried to call out for him, but when I tried to speak nothing would come out. This only scared me more. It became hard to breath. It felt like someone was pushing down on my chest. Why couldn’t I speak? It was like being in a nightmare where you want to scream, but you can’t. Niall was the first one to run in. He tried to calm me down, but I just couldn’t. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to see Harry and know that he was alright. I just wanted Harry. Tears started forming in my eyes when Liam entered.
“Emily! You need to calm down! It’s alright” he said.
‘Harry’ I mouthed to him. ‘Where’s Harry’
“I’m sorry, Emily. I don’t know what you’re saying”
“Em!” A familiar voice called.
I looked at the doorway to see my brother, Matt, run in with a nurse. I lifted my hand and moved it rapidly, using sign language to tell him what I wanted. It took him a moment, but he finally got it.
“Harry! She wants to see Harry” he said. I nodded my head rapidly.
I nodded my head rapidly. Liam pulled out his phone and called someone while the others tried to calm me down. A few minutes later I heard footsteps running down the hall and a familiar voice call my name. Harry appeared in the doorway, and I reached out for him. He rushed to my side, taking my hand tightly in his.
“Shhh. It’s ok, love. I’m here” He kept speaking to me as I slowly began to calm down.
His hand reached up to touch my cheek and I leaned into his hand. He wiped away my tears with his thumb, then gave me a kiss on my forehead. His lips moved down the side of my face, leaving soft kisses until they landed on my lips. He pulled back a moment later and looked at me with tear filled eyes.
“I love you” he said. I tried to say it back to him, but I couldn’t.
No matter how hard I tried, nothing would come out. I looked at him for an explanation, but he avoided my gaze so I turned to Matt and signed to him.
‘What’s going on?’
“You had a lot of smoke damage in your airway. They had to remove some of the infected tissue...They don’t think you’ll be able to talk again. I’m sorry, Emily” he said.
So that’s it...Just as my career is starting...It’s over. I would never be able to talk again...Or laugh...Or sing.
“It’s not so bad, Emily. At least you still got your wicked guitar skills. I think that’s pretty damn awesome” Niall said.
I smiled at him and opened my arms to him. He leaned in and gave me a bear hug, then kissed my cheek.
“We’ll help you through it. Knowing you, it’ll only be a temporary thing” Liam said.
I looked around at all of the boys as they smiled back at me. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Notes