𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 ✓

t-h-i-r-t-y--t-w-o

It's a solemn four days Niall spends in the hospital, waiting for the moment he'd be released to go home. Greg came by to visit a number of times, though there was hardly a word shared between the two brothers.

Greg knew his little brother was broken, and would be for a very long time, so instead of saying anything, he would just come, hold his hand, and sit with him. It was nice, for Niall to have his brother there with him. His mother hadn't stopped by since the first day, and Niall wonders if it's because she doesn't want to, or because she feels like she shouldn't.

Either way, he has Tricia.

The day finally comes, however, when Niall's nurse appears with his discharge papers. He runs through the aftercare and medications he's going to need to keep up for a little bit, Niall nodding along as the man talks to him for fifteen straight minutes.

Yaser and Tricia, who have come to take him home, listen attentively because they know Niall will not.

"You ready to go sunshine?" She asks, Niall nodding slowly. He's been so tired, all doped up on his pain medication to help keep his arm as comfortable as possible. It's broken in three places, and it really fucking hurts.

Yaser wheels him out of the room in his wheelchair and the three of them make their way out to the carpark, where Yaser walks off to bring the car around.

"You feeling okay, lovey?" She asks, Niall shrugging. He leans over and rests his head on her hand that's resting on his shoulder.

"Sad," He says softly, Tricia sighing and nodding back. She lifts her hand and rests it on his head, her fingers carding through his almost completely brown hair.

"I know, sunshine. We all are," He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, the smell of Zayn lingering on him.

Yaser pulls the car up and Niall stands up, Tricia's arm around his waist as he limps over to the car. His knee is still messed up, but he's been practicing walking. He can't go very far, and if he has to go long distances he has to be in the wheelchair, but he can do a little hopping if needed.

"Let's go home," Yaser says, reaching over the centre console to take his wife's hand as he looks at Niall in the back seat, who just nods.

Home.

What is home?

Zayn was his home, and now he has no Zayn. He might as well be homeless.

But still he sits and watches the scenery fly by the window, his head resting on his uninjured hand.

He was so close to making it out, so close to being free. How could that have been taken from him so quickly? How could he have lost the one person he could spend the rest of his life loving? After all they've been through, how could this be how it ends? Must the universe hate him that much, to take away his person? His one person? The one person he wanted?

"Sweets?" Tricia asks, Niall turning to look at her.

"Yeah?" He asks, seeing she's turned around in her seat, looking at him.

"You're crying," She points out and Niall sniffles, reaching up and wiping at his face to get the tears off.

"It's not home without him," He says softly, turning to look back out the window, "How am I supposed to go on?"

Yaser pulls the car into the driveway, turning around in his seat to face his wife as the two of them look at Niall, the two of them holding onto Niall's free hand.

"We don't know," He says honestly, sad looks in his eyes that mirror the look in his wife's.

"But we're here to help you figure it out. You have us. All of your belongings are here, you can stay for as long as you need, sweetheart," Niall nods, turning his hand upside down to lace his fingers with hers.