Adopted By One Direction

Chapter 16

[ Harry's POV ]

Pain. That's the one emotion that I'm able to distinguish. So much pain. Soul crushing, bone breaking pain. My heart is heavy, and I don't think I've ever felt so much guilt. One of the people who I love the most, trusted me to keep her safe, and I failed. I couldn't do a simple task correctly, and it cost the safety of someone very dear to me. Despite what the lads say, I know they're disappointed in me. I saw the looks they sent each other, and the glances they took at Emily's unconscious body.

"Harry." Louis snaps me out of my thoughts, my head jolting up so I can see him clearer.

"What?" I ask quietly, trying my hardest not to lash out and get angry at my mates.

"They said we can see Emily now." Louis tells me, looking down at me with eyes filled with what I believe is pity. In a flash, I'm on my feet and ready to go.

"Let's do it." I say excitedly, a smile on my face for the first time ever since the incident. "Wait, do you know how long we were waiting?"

"About five or six hours." Louis informs, a large grin resting upon his face.

"Damn," I say, "it feels like we've been here for a few minutes." Louis laughs but nods his head in agreement,

"That's what I said!"

"Oi!" Niall shouts, "Let's go see our baby girl." Finally able to smile, I sling my arm over Louis' shoulders and walk towards where Niall and Liam.

"We got this boys." Liam tells us, and we nod. Time to go see our newest family member.

[ Emily's POV ]

A loud, consistent beeping noise is what pulls me out of my peaceful slumber. The second my eyes snap open, it feels as though my entire body is on fire. Immediately, I begin screaming, the day's previous events rushing back into my mind. My screams of agony fill the silent room, which causes two nurses to sprint over to my bed.

"Sweetheart," one of them says, "we need you to calm down."

"It hurts!" I cry out, flinching as the pain erupts in my back.

"Here honey, swallow these." The second nurse hands me two pills and a bottle of water. With shaking hands, I do as she says.

"You'll feel better in a few minutes baby." The first nurse says, smiling at me. Already I can feel the pain subsiding, allowing me to smile up at her.

"Thank you." I tell them, and then a thought pops into my head. "Wait!" I stop them from leaving, "C-can I see the boys?" I ask, and the two nurses smile.

"Of course sweetheart, we'll go get them." And just like that, they're gone. Waiting anxiously for the boys, I can feel my nerves kicking in. Although I shouldn't be nervous to see them again, I'm just scared as to how they'll be mentally. I know for a fact that they're all feeling guilty for what happened, even though I don't blame them in the slightest. It was just a freak accident, it's really not anyone's fault. As the wheels in my brain continue to turn at high speeds, they suddenly are stopped by a voice.

"Emily?" Opening my eyes, I see my favorite people standing there, large smiles on their faces.

"Oh my god." I say softly, before breaking down in tears. In a flash, the four are by my side and are all taking turns hugging me. I try not to let them know how much pain I'm in, but that's hard to do when they're hugging me as tightly as they can.

"Emily, oh my god, I-I'm so sorry." Harry is the first to speak, "I feel so bad for what happened. Please, forgive me, I didn't mean for it to happen. I love you so much, I'm so, so, so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault Harry," I tell him earnestly, "I don't blame you. No one does." He grins at my response hugging me tighter. When he does so I let out a small gasp of pain, causing him to let go instantly.

"Sorry baby." He mumbles, and I simply smile back at him.

"So, how you feeling?" Liam asks me, searching my expression to try and find any hints.

"I mean, when I woke up I could barely breathe but they gave me some pills and I feel a lot better." As the boys and I continue conversing, a doctor walks in, a clipboard and pen in his hands.

"Good afternoon everyone. As we were looking over Emily's blood work we noticed some inconsistency. The accident that just occurred had nothing to do with what I'm about to tell you, just know that." Louis interrupts him,

"What are you talking about?" The doctor sighs heavily, sadness clear in his eyes.

"Emily has stage two brain cancer." At this, the room goes completely silent. The sound of a pin dropping could be heard. My jaw drops to the ground in shock. "The type of cancer she has is called Glioblastoma multiform, but it's nicknamed The Terminator. We'd like to conduct an MRI and CT scan on Emily, just to make sure that this is what we think it is. I happen to be a neurosurgeon, meaning I operate on people's brains. My name is Dr. Shepherd, please let me know if you have any questions." With that, he turns and walks out of the room, shutting the door closed behind him. I'm incapable of forming any words, I can barely wrap my head around what the doctor just told us. The silence in the room confirms that the boys are feeling the same way as me. With tears running down his cheeks, Liam says,

"Oh my god." Niall wraps Liam in a hug, both of them crying as they hug. Louis sits down on the chair beside my bed, taking my hand in his own and clutching it tightly,

"I'm so fucking sorry, baby." He tells me, his sea green eyes filling with tears. I gasp for air, my cries slowly turning into sobs.

"I-it hurts." I croak, causing all the boys to look at me in horror.

"What hurts honey?" Harry asks, holding back tears.

"My heart." I whisper. At this, Niall pulls away from Liam, walks over to the door and leaves the room.

"I'll get him." Liam mumbles, running out of the room after Niall.

"They're just in shock. We all are Em, it's not your fault." Harry tells me, glancing at Louis as he does so. I grab my head with my hands and slam my head against the pillow that is propping me up.

"Everything's ruined!" I scream, shocking Harry and Louis. "Nothing every works out for me! Just as I was becoming happy, this happens and now I'm sitting in a hospital on the verge of death." When I'm finished with my rant, neither Harry or Louis know what to say. Just then, a nurse comes in, Dr. Shepherd following close behind.

"We're here to take Emily to get an MRI and CT scan." The nurse informs us, smiling at us as she tells us what's going on. Harry and Louis nod and step away from my bed. As the nurse and Dr. Shepherd roll my bed down the hallway of the hospital, I don't bother to even attempt to stop crying. Dr. Shepherd explains to me that during the MRI I have to remain totally still, that way they can see what's wrong with my brain. I nod and manage to stop crying for the time being. Dr. Shepherd lifts me off of my bed and lays me down on a metal platform that slides me into the MRI. Dr. Shepherd's voice comes on over the intercom,

"Remember Emily, you have to stay still for this to work." The MRI machine turns on, the constant shaking of the platform I'm on giving me a headache. More tears are in my eyes but I refuse to let them come out. I can do this. I've survived for so long, I've already defied so many odds. I will beat this disease. I refuse to let it kill me. I refuse to leave the boys behind.

I will win this battle.