Chapter seven

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"But, if you're thinkin' about my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white. Come on dance with me Louis! Aoooo!" Niall shouted the last part and grabbed his crotch trying to dance like Michael Jackson.

He looked ridiculous and Louis burst out in a fit of giggles. He spun his wheelchair around, his way of dancing nowadays.
"Your time to sing!" Niall shouted as the music blasted loudly.

"They print my message in the Saturday Sun
I had to tell them I ain't second to none." Louis sang between laughs.

Harry came into his room and to his surprise he started to sing as well, sounding absolutely amazing. Was there something he couldn't do?
"And I told about equality and it's true
Either you're wrong or you're right."

Niall did the crotch move again with an "aooooo" and Louis and Harry laughed before they all sang together.
"But, if you're thinkin' about my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white."

Zayn walked past and Niall shouted at him.
"Zaynie! Your turn."

Zayn smiled and came running inside and started to sing as well. Louis stared at him with his mouth hung open.
"I am tired of this devil
I am tired of this stuff
I am tired of this business
Sew when the going gets rough
I ain't scared of your brother
I ain't scared of no sheets
I ain't scared of nobody
Girl, when the going gets mean"

Niall tried to look like a rapper while he did the next part of the song.
"Protection
For gangs, clubs, and nations
Causing grief in human relations
It's a turf war on a global scale
I'd rather hear both sides of the tale
See, it's not about races
Just places, faces
Where your blood comes from
Is where your space is
I've seen the bright get duller
I'm not going to spend my life being a color"

He pointed at Louis who grinned and sang.
"Don't tell me you agree with me
When I saw you kicking dirt in my eye."

Harry looked at him with a dimpled smile and sparkling eyes and Louis blushed. They all sang the next part together.
"But, if you're thinkin' about my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white."

Their little performance drew the attention of the other workers and they came into the room to watch the show. They continued to sing together.
"I said if you're thinkin' of being my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white

I said if you're thinkin' about being my brother
It don't matter if you're black or white"

"Are you having a party without me?" Liam asked as he joined them and started to show off some skilled dance moves. He joined in on the singing as well. They were standing in a ring.
"Ooh, ooh
Yeah, yeah, yeah now
Ooh, ooh
Yeah, yeah, yeah now

It's black, it's white
It's tough for you to get by (yeah, yeah, yeah)
It's black, it's white

It's black, it's white
It's tough for you to get by (yeah, yeah, yeah)
It's black, it's white"

The staff clapped their hands when the song was over and they all took a bow, laughing. Louis hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
"You did great, Louis. Just keep listening to music and sing along. It helps you with your speech pattern." Niall said and clasped a hand on his shoulder.

Louis loved this place. He felt grateful for ending up at a place where they went on a limb to help him. Singing, throwing stuffed animals. Their methods may be different but they worked. He was making progress. Everyone cleared the room but Harry stayed behind.
"You really got some pipes there."

"T..thanks. You t..too." Louis beamed.

"The guys and I have a tendency to end up at karaoke bars whenever we go out." Harry chuckled.

"Fun. My f...friends never." Louis said.

"Well, then we have to get you discharged soon enough so you can come with us but for that, you need to get better. Deal?" Harry said.

"D...deal." Louis grinned.

"Great. Let's get you over to the training room." Harry smiled.

"Okay." Louis agreed.

"We're doing a full-body workout. You have to train your legs but also your arms and back so you have the strength to move yourself around. You can almost get in and out of that wheelchair by yourself now. That's our main goal for now. Then you can start to use the toilet by yourself. Alright?" Harry said.

Louis really didn't want to talk about his toilet visits with Harry but he said yes. That would be great. He hated his diaper and what came with it. He was a grown man, not a baby.

He pushed himself to his limit, bathing in sweat, muscles aching, but it felt good. Harry complimented his progress and wheeled him into the bathroom so he could take a shower. Zayn came to help him out. He was exhausted and almost fell asleep under the running water and when he landed in bed he slept until it was time for dinner.

Liam came for their daily session after he had finished eating.
"We're gonna try something new. I want you to write down everything that happened. Details are important. Write down everything you can remember."

Louis twisted uncomfortably.
"Why?"

"Because when you experience a trauma your brain can find it difficult to process the memories. It can be a way of trying to protect you. That means that the brain can't convert it into a long-term memory. Instead, it tricks you to think that it happened recently. I know your accident isn't that long ago but if you don't treat your PTSD you will years from now walk around in the same state as now, unable to move forward." Liam tried to explain.

"Walk?" Louis questioned with a smirk.

"Oh, I'm sure you will walk, Louis. Harry is really determined when it comes to you." Liam smiled.

That made Louis smile as well. He reached for his notepad and started to write down everything he could remember from that awful day.

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