Hold Me Close (Sequel To Take Me Home and Keep Me Safe)

Chapter Ten

Niall wasn't sure how he felt about returning to school the following morning. He was up early, showered and dressed into his school uniform, bag all packed and on his back as he sat on the bottom step of the stairs.

He was anxious about going in without Louis, but he didn't want to take Cooper with him because people always stared and that only made him feel worse.

He was anxious about the scratches on his face even though they were fading already and the stitches on his forehead, and what people were going to assume.

And he was most anxious about how Louis was going to feel being stuck in the house all day whilst he got to go out and see their friends.

Papa was out at work again, and Dad was busy with all the usual household things. Still, the man looked surprised to see Niall on the stairs when he walked into the hallway.

"Ni! I was about to come and wake you up...you're ready early," he said softly, and Niall just gave a small nod. "Do you want some breakfast?" he offered.

Niall shook his head. "I already had some cereal," he told him honestly. "You weren't up yet."

Dad looked even more surprised at that, raising an eyebrow. "Nervous about school?" he asked, and Niall paused, preparing to give an honest answer when there was a thud from upstairs and his father suddenly stopped caring about the conversation and took off up the stairs.

"M'okay Dad, I just needed to go to the loo and the stupid chair was too far away," he heard Louis huff, and he chewed his lip as the feeling of guilt returned.

What right did he have to complain? He wasn't the one stuck in a wheelchair, missing out on his favourite thing, football. Louis didn't deserve it, and he felt nothing but bad for his brother.

Dad reappeared after a few minutes, forcing a tight smile at Niall. "What were we talking about again, son?" he asked, looking slightly flustered.

Niall just shook his head. "Doesn't matter Dad, I'm fine...I'm gonna go say bye to Lou," he said quickly, flashing the man a false smile and brushing past him up the stairs towards their shared room. His father didn't come after him or push any further, so he figured he wasn't that important anyway.

Louis was moving himself back to bed from the wheelchair when Niall walked in. His brother's face was all flushed from the exertion of wheeling himself around and hoisting himself back up into bed, and his expression was a mixture of pain and aggravation.

Niall chewed his lip and hovered in the doorway. "Do you need some help?" he asked, softly. Louis glanced up at him in annoyance and then carried on moving himself across the bed, finally heaving back against his pillows.

"I'm not a baby, Ni. I'm completely capable of doing things for myself," he said, voice tinged with frustration. Niall nodded quickly.

"I didn't mean it like that, I just -"

Louis let out a small sigh and Niall noticed how his brother was staring at his uniform. He could tell he wished he could come with him.

"Doesn't matter," Lou huffed, shrugging. "Just...wish everyone would stop treating me like some sort of invalid. I'll be back on my feet and out on the pitch soon enough and none of this will matter. You'll see," he said, sounding adament.

Niall, however, knew that it wasn't the case. And as much as he wanted his brother to stay positive, he knew that it would only hurt him in the long run.

"Lou...you can't rush all this. You have to be properly better before you can play football again, else you might get hurt even more and -"

"And what would you know about it, Ni? You're not a doctor, so stop acting like one," Louis snapped, glaring at him.