---

I get home and once again, no one is there. Hotshot whines looking around. I think he’s looking for my parents, too. I sigh and collapse onto the couch, realizing that this time they haven’t even left a note. Could they care any less? I take my phone out and mindlessly toss it back and forth between my hands. Back and forth. Back and forth.

I must have sat doing so for two hours or more, and eventually my bottom becomes numb from sitting down for so long. I stand up and glance at the clock in the kitchen. It’s just past four in the afternoon. I haven’t eaten a proper lunch, so I enter the kitchen and go through the cupboards. I find a box of Easy-Make Chicken Pasta, and decide I’ll make it. After filling the saucepan with water and setting the stove fire to high, I pour the pasta in and stir. Hotshot falls asleep by my foot, becoming tired of boredom.

Once my pasta is done, I pour it into a bowl and grab a fork from the dishwasher. I it down at the dinner table and eat. Only halfway through my extremely late lunch, the phone rings. I groan and set my fork down, walking to the phone. I pick it up and answer.

“Hello?”

“Hello. Is this Lucilia Aesbury?”

I narrow my eyes though the caller can’t see. “This is she. Who is this?”

“This is Doctor James from Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. Listen, we have some disappointing news.”

My heart beat picks up speed. “Go on.”

“You’re parents; Jonathan Aesbury and Ellie Aesbury were in a car accident. We would appreciate if you could come to the hospital immediately.”

And cue the heart attack.

“Excuse me?” I laugh bitterly. “Is this some kind of joke? I’m not a gullible person, you know.”

“I’m very serious, Ms. Aesbury. Both parents are in very critical conditions and we think that you need to be here.”

“I-I don’t believe you.” I say stupidly. I can feel blood pounding in my ears. This isn’t happening. It cannot be happening. This is the most cliché, stupid, incredibly outrageous thing that could be happening to me.

“Please, Ms. Aesbury.” I hear the pleading in his voice, and my fight with my parents flashes before my eyes. What if those were my last words to them? Those hateful words I said to them?

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I whisper, suddenly soft spoken. I feel tears gathering, and my throat is burning. My breathing becomes faster and I can’t think. And then I realize, I don’t even know how to get there. I don’t know how to get to the damn hospital. I don’t even have a way to get there. My hands are trembling and I swear I’m going crazy. My heads spins as I pick up my phone. I find Callie’s number as my vision begins to fade, but as I lose grasp on consciousness, my fingers scroll down to a different name. He picks up on the first ring.

“Niall,” I sob. I try to stop the tears. I hate crying so much, but I seem to be doing it a lot lately. “Niall I n-need you.”

“Whoa,” he gasps, “Luke, what happened?”

“Just come,” I cough, choking on my tears.

“I don’t even know where you live!” he explains. I can tell I’ve scared him, but it’s for a scary reason.

I tell him my address and he asks me something else, but my ears are pounding too hard, and my head is spinning too fast.

“Luke!”

But I’m already down on the ground.



Niall’s P.O.V.

The GPS is telling me to go right, but I almost go left. So many questions run through my head. Why was Luke crying? Why didn’t she answer when I asked her if her parents did something to her? I follow the commands of the GPS until I reach a large house covered with green moss like leaves. I step out of my car hurriedly and rush up the steps to the front door. I ring the doorbell over and over again, but no one comes. What if Luke is hurt?

I pull my hair and try to think of how to get in. The back door. I jog around the house and to the backyard porch. I place my hand on the doorknob and smile slightly when I see the door is unlocked. But that could also mean a robber has gotten in. When I step inside, the first thing I see is Luke sprawled on the floor. Hotshot is barking at her, and when he sees me, whines and backs away for me to try. I rush to her side and kneel down, putting my hands under her back to lift her into a sitting position. I lean her limp body against the wall and rush to the kitchen sink, soaking a cloth with cold water. I press it to Luke’s forehead and pray she’ll wake up. I look at her face. It’s stained from tears. But she’s still beautiful. The house is completely silent other than me whispering for her to wake up.

“Niall?”

“It’s me, Luke,” I nod. Her head is rested on my folded thighs, and she’s looking up at me with her beautiful eyes. A sudden flash of fear passes her eyes and she sits up, turning to face me.

“Do you know where Beaumont Hospital is?” she asks. She looks desperate, and I can see her eyes tearing up again.

“Yes, of course,” I nod, extremely confused.

“We have to get there,” she says, standing up and pulling me up after. She still holds my hand, tugging me towards the door. “I’ll explain in the car.”

Once I’ve got my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road, Luke open her mouth to speak.

“The hospital called. They said that my parents got into a car crash and that they’re both in critical condition.”

My eyes widen. Luke tells me that at first she didn’t believe them but realized that it must be true since they had been gone for so long. She chokes on her tears as she speaks, and it breaks my heart. Soon, she stops talking all together, sobbing quietly in the passenger seat.



Luke’s P.O.V.

I walk up to the counter with Niall trailing behind me. When I stop at the counter and see no one there, Niall personally stops a young nurse and begs her to get someone at the desk. Finally a young man comes to my service.

“Hello,” he smiles. Why is he smiling? Can’t he see the tear stains on my goddamn face? “How can I help you?”

“ I need to know what rooms Elli and Jonathan Aesbury are in,” I say, trying not to lash out at him. The nurses calmness is driving me insane. He just smiles and nods, searching up the names on the computer. I feel a hand being placed at the small of my back. I look up and Niall smiles.

“Everything will be fine, Luke,” he whispers. I pray he’s right.

“Elli Aesbury is in room 215 and Jonathan Aesbury is in room 218,” the nurse answers. I nod and wonder where exactly the rooms are. “Right down the hallway, and take the first left.” He answers, completing my thoughts.

I smile and mumble a small thank you before walking at a fast pace down the hall. When I reach the rooms hallway, Niall catches my wrist. I’m breathing so hard and I feel dizzy again.

“Luke, look at me,” Niall says, grabbing my face with a bit of gentleness in his touch. “You need to take a deep breath.”

I take a deep breath, staring back at his eyes.

“What if they’re d-dead?” I shiver, trying not to cry. I can’t cry. I just can’t. But then I feel the tears.

“Everything will be okay,” Niall whispers, pulling me into his chest. He hugs me for a long time, and my arms are wrapped around him too. I don’t want to let go. I almost don’t even want to step into those rooms.

“Hello,” a soft voice interrupts our embrace. I pull away and turn around. My eyes flicker down to the doctor’s name tag. Dr. Richard James.

“Hi,” I force a smile onto my frowning lips. “I’m Lucilia Aesbury. I’m here to see my parents.”

Doctor James’ eyes drop to his feet and back up to my eyes. “Lucilia, I have some terrible, terrible news.” His voice is too calm.

“What is it?” I demand, trying to get a look inside the room he came out of.

“Your mother, she…” he trails off. He won’t meet my eyes, and I can tell he’s trying to sum up something bad. “She’s passed.”

“No,” I shake my head vigorously. “No she hasn’t. You’re lying.” I’m holding back tears. “Stop it! Let me see her right now or I’ll scream!”

“Luke!” Niall grips my shoulders, trying to hold me back. But for once, I’m too strong for him. I throw his hands off me and push into the room. I run to the bedside to see my mother lying still, pale, and…

Dead.

“Mum!” I shiver, grabbing her cold hand. I sob, squeezing it. “Mum wake up! You can’t be gone. You’re supposed to be there for me. For once in my life, you need to be there. Mum please.” My voices changes from loud cries to frail hopes.

“Mum, you can’t leave. You still have so much to show me. You have to show me that you can e the mother I need you to be. Mum…”

She continues to lay still. I cry and cry until it’s just me, my mum and silence. I’m still holding her hand, praying to God she’ll come back, but deep down in my heart I know she won’t.

I can’t even get up, because I’m so weak. I turn my back to the bed and sit on the floor and begin to cry again. Shortly after, Doctor James comes in and helps me up. He tells me that I should go see my dad. I almost forgot about my dad.

I walk across the hall with Doctor James, wondering also where Niall is. I brush the thought away and enter my father’s room. He’s lying in a bed similar to my mum’s. The heart meter is on, but it’s low. I take his hand into mine, and thank god this hand isn’t cold.

“Dad?” I croak. “Can you hear me?”

He groans ever so slightly. I take that as a yes.

“Dad, I’m so sorry for fighting with you earlier. I’m sorry that I’ve been so distant with you and mum and I really do love you. I’m sorry that I shouted at you and I wish it never ended like that. I wish our relationship was better and I know we can make it better, but you need to stay with me. Stay alive. Don’t leave me. I don’t have anyone. I need you. Please dad.”

He groans again, and squeezes my hand. It’s enough to make my cry with hope. I kiss his forehead and then his cheek.

“I love you, dad,” I whisper, a single tear dropping onto his face.

“I… love you… too.” He manages. I gulp and let go of his hand. I can’t stay near him any longer or I’ll be bawling in front of him. I rush outside and close the door. Doctor James is waiting. This time, he isn’t smiling. He seems sad, as if to pity me. I don’t want pity.

I just want my mother back.

“You’re boyfriend is in the waiting room,” Doctor James says. My boyfriend?

“Oh,” I wipe away a tear. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a really good friend of mine.”

Doctor James nods and walks the opposite way. I follow the signs to the waiting room. Niall is seated in a chair, tapping his foot. When he sees me standing at the doorway, he stands up and walks toward me, catching me just as my knees buckle.

“Luke, I’m so sorry.” His face is in my shoulder, his arms wrapped around me. I cry into his chest, unable to stop myself. I’m shaking in his arms and I can’t stop. The feelings I’m having are unfathomable. I can only clearly name one.

I’m devastated.

Niall hugs me tighter and I’m crying so hard that I’m starting to lose my breath. Niall strokes my hair letting me soak his shirt in tears. There’s no one else in the waiting room but us, so it’s okay to cry like a monster. When I manage to stop crying, Niall helps me up. My whole body is still shivering from shock.

“Shall we get you home?” he asks, looking back and forth between my eyes. I nod and let him lead me to his car.

---

We get home, and Hotshot is barking like mad. I command Hotshot to shut up, which he does obediently. Niall gives Hotshot a soft pat before following me to my room. I collapse onto my bed and cry again. Niall sits down on the bed and moves the hair out of my face.

“Do you need anything?” he asks quietly. “Like water or something to eat?”

“I just,” I blink a tear away. “I just need someone to hold me.”

Niall smiles and lies down on the bed, his head on a pillow. He pats the empty space beside him. I grimace, crawling into his arms. He tightens his grip around me, making me feel safe.

“How are you?” Niall asks after a while. His breath tickles my neck.

“Not much better,” I answer honestly. He frowns, holding me tighter. His thumb rubs the side of my shoulder, and he starts humming Fly Me to the Moon. I smile at the sound of his angelic voice.

Soon, I fall asleep.

---

I wake up with an unfamiliar weight around me. I turn slightly and am shocked when I see Niall spooning against me, my back against his chest. His arms are wrapped high up my waist and his face is buried in my shoulder.

“Niall?” I shake him gently until he opens his eyes. “You’re still here?”

“I guess so,” he laughs nervously, sitting up beside up. “I think I fell asleep or something. I’m sorry. I should have left after you fell asleep but I was so exhausted and I didn’t want you to wake up and be alone because that-“

“Niall, it’s okay.”

“Phew,” he chuckles. His cheeks are red as ever. He stares at me, and then starts to smile wide.

“What?” I grumble, suddenly worried of my appearance. I probably look like shit, but around Niall, I don’t seem to care.

“You look so tired, Luke,” he answers honestly. He gently pushes me back onto the bed. “Rest,” he commands, cocking his eyebrow. “I’ll make breakfast.”

“No, Niall! It’s alright-“

“Hush,” he says, pressing one finger to my lips. “I’m making breakfast.”

He gets out of bed and heads out of the room. An hour later, Niall walks back in with two plates piled with scrambled eggs and what smells like French toast. I sit up and involuntarily lick my lips.

“It looks delicious,” I smile, reaching for a plate. Niall hands it to me and together we eat or breakfast. Afterward, I lend Niall a spare toothbrush to brush his teeth, and he showers as well. He fits alright into my dad’s track pants, but he wears his own shirt.

“Want to stay here, or go to our place?” Niall gives me choices. Niall already knows my answer.

“Our place.”

Notes

I hope this chapter is good! Five votes for five chapters! I think that's alright? Dunno. Well, please vote and comment and subscribe if you like what you're reading.

Do you think Niall and Luke would be better off and friends or a couple?

Why is their place such a huge connection?

How do you think Luke will handle her mother being dad and her dad being hospitalized?

Clue questions!!! :) THEY KINDA GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THINGS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN IN THE STORY!! Honestly, I think Niall and Luke are really sweet, just as friends and I'm reconsidering it