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

Chapter Fourteen

"Cheer up, Lou, it isn't so bad," Papa nudged him as they walked out of the consultant's room at the hospital. They were leaving an appointment about when he'd be able to get his cast off and replace it with a boot.

He tightened his grip on his crutches and scowled at the ground, trying to ignore the flare of annoyance at his father's words. It was the rare occasion that the man had two whole days off of work and Louis didn't want to spend it being mad at him. He was just frustrated, and the words the doctor had said hadn't done anything to make him feel any better about the situation. If anything, it had just put it into perspective for him just how badly he had messed up his leg.

No strenuous activity for at least three months after the cast and boot were off. Even then, he'd probably need physio every week.

That meant he was looking at no football until maybe next spring. He was devastated to say the least.

"Easy for you to say," he grumbled as they reached the lobby of the hospital.

Papa stopped him then, stepping in front of him to take him gently by the shoulders. "You get the cast off two weeks before Christmas, that isn't so long away...and she said you can start going back to school again next week. I think that's better than we expected, huh?" he tried to say the words lightly, but Louis couldn't see the positive side to them.

It had already been three weeks in the cast, now he had to last another two? And then maybe a month in a boot? It wasn't fair, none of it was.

He was thankful he had decided to be honest and upfront with his feelings about everything because holding it all in right now would have killed him, he was sure.

He looked up at his father with his eyes teary and shrugged. "I just want to be back to normal, Papa. This whole thing sucks," he mumbled. "I miss footie and my friends and the team."

On the contrary, he was dreading going back to school because of what people might say...and seeing the team would be a nightmare, he didn't want the people who had seen him as a champion player before to look at him with pity now.

Papa let out a small sigh at that and tugged him into a bear hug, which Louis gladly fell into without caring that they were in public. "I know it's crappy, buddy. But you have to try and stay positive, it'll make things a hell of a lot easier...hey, how about we go and get pizza after this, yeah? Just me and you?" he offered, and Louis sniffed, managing a small nod.

It did sound good, just him and his Papa spending some time together. It was rare that he got to spend any time with the man lately, and to have him all to himself without his brothers or Dad there to hog his attention was something he liked the sound of.

So he gave a small smile and nodded. Papa was right, he had to at least try to be happy. So he forced down all his upset and anger.

"Yeah, Papa. Sounds good," he said softly.

#

Meanwhile, Niall was in the middle of a session with Cal at home. He hadn't seen the man since the crash, so it had been a few long weeks. His Dad had left them to it, staying upstairs to make a few phonecalls whilst they spoke.

Well, spoke was a bit of a push. Niall didn't really feel like saying a lot, so the conversation was pretty one sided. He sat curled up on the armchair with a cushion held on his lap and Cooper curled up by the side of the seat, whilst Calum sat on the edge of the coffee table opposite.

Usually, they would both sit on the carpet and use the table to lean on whilst they drew or wrote or did some sort of activity. They sometimes even played boardgames whilst they chatted, and Niall would always feel like a weight had been lifted afterwards, since the man had a way of making him say more than he realised.