The Accident (One Direction Fanfic)

Chapter 22: Braided Justice

I don’t know how long I had been asleep for but I only woke up once more when it was finally quiet and dark. I was being carried in someone’s strong, comfortable arms down the familiar hallway, I tried once more to stay awake but I gave in to sleep and was unconscious before I had the chance to see who it was.

(LOUIS’ POV)

It was early in the morning and Harry, Zayn and I could have kept singing till the sun came up but I looked over, seeing that Nora and Ellie had begun to dose off and decided to call it a night and take them both home. It was too late for anyone to drive so Eleanor just crashed at our place and Harry carried Nora home, although Liam said he didn’t mind, Harry insisted and so we wandered back down the dimly lit hallway, both of us carrying the girls in our arms. There was a slight problem when we got to the door and had to get out the keys but we managed and soon I had fallen asleep in my oversized bed with Eleanor close beside me.

I woke up a few times in the night out of habit, I would usually check on Nora and because she had been so fragile in the first few weeks it was usually to make sure she was still breathing. I rolled over expecting to see Nora but a smile broke out over my face when I saw Eleanor’s peaceful sleeping figure lying next to me. Fighting the urge to get up and check on Nora instead I curled up closer to Ellie, she shifted slightly in her sleep when I wrapped my arms around her so I kissed her softly on the cheek and whispered I love you as I fell back into a deep slumber next to the girl I loved.

“Louis, Lou… come on babe, wake up…” Ellie was always an early riser and I blinked in the early morning light that was streaming in through the open curtain of my bedroom.

“Morning love,” My voice was still groggy and I struggled to keep my eyes open as she pecked me on the lips and pulled me up and out of bed.

“Come on lets get some breakfast I’m starving!” For such a tiny person she really could eat a lot and I mechanically turned on the coffee maker as she sat down on one of the stools opposite the counter.

“I’ve really missed you…” Her words hung in the air and a lump rose in the back of my throat as I struggled to put into words how much the time away from her had made me love her all the more.

“I love you Ellie.” She smiled and I kissed her full on the lips, grateful to have her back in my arms. All too soon though a ‘ding’ from the coffee maker pulled us apart and I reluctantly walked back over to the counter to make us breakfast. The bacon was crackling on the stovetop and the eggs were frying in the pan when Ellie brought up the fact that we hadn’t seen either Nora or Harry yet.

“Would you mind watching these and I’ll go get them up now.” She gladly took over the cooking and I walked to Harry’s room to try and get him up first, knowing all too well that he wasn’t much of a morning person. I opened his door and was surprised to see that his bed was still made and had clearly not been slept in last night. I shut off the light and closed his door before going over to Nora’s room and finding them both there. Nora looked so tiny in her oversized bed and Harry was sprawled out, taking up most of the room and leaving Nora to curl up on the edge. I laughed, obviously Harry had wanted to be near her like me, but I had Eleanor and he didn’t so clearly he had acted on it and I was glad that he had been there to look out for her on her first night with us.

“Wake up!” I switched on the light and laughed at how the both of them instantly reached up to shield their eyes from the bright light.

“Morning,” Nora had sat up and stretched out before lazily flopping back down onto Harry’s back. He groaned and rolled over making her fall off the side of the bed. I rushed to her side to make sure she was okay. At first I thought she might have been crying and was worried that she may have hurt herself but she lifted her face and I saw instead that she was just laughing. A sigh of relief escaped my lungs as I pulled her to her feet and took her into the other room, having given up hope of waking Harry up a long time ago.