No Regrets

TEN DAYS SINCE THE ACCIDENT

*HARRY’S POV*

I had stayed with Liz at the hospital for ten days now. Her dad got here on day two. It took a while, but eventually I think he grew to like me… I mostly don’t leave Liz’s side, except for basic needs like food or bathroom, or when I have to go to a concert. I’ve been driving or even been helicoptered out to the concerts and back because we talked about it as a band, and as much as I wanted to stay with Lizzie at all times, it wouldn’t be fair to the fans (especially since our tour is still in California, so I’m even in state). Sometimes one or two of the boys would come back and stay with me, pretending to be Lizzie’s brothers when asked, and they have been a tremendous help in keeping me calm, especially since everything is so unsure right now. The doctors had taken Lizzie off of the medicine that was keeping her in the coma, so now she was supposed to wake up by herself at any time over the next few days.

I was taking a break in the cafeteria to give Lizzie’s dad some alone time with her. I was with Zayn, but he forgot his phone up in her room, so he had run up to get it. My second cup of coffee was nearly finished when I felt someone tap my shoulder.

“Hi Harry, could you take a picture with me?” I turned to face a small girl who couldn’t be more than fourteen years old. Plastering my face with a fake smile, I nodded and stood up. As we posed, an older woman who I assumed to be her mother took a few pictures while I asked the girl casual questions about what her favorite songs on the album were and what not.

Of course where there’s one fan there’s typically multiple, because as soon as I finished with the first girl, another came up to me with a video camera asking me to tell a “Jessica” happy sixteenth birthday. As I continued to talk to the girl, trying to ignore the recording video camera in my face, Zayn came running into the cafeteria.

“HARRY!” He called out when he was still several tables away, “YOU NEED TO GO! C’MON! LET’S GO! LIZZIE’S AWAKE!!!” As soon as he said those last two words, I was in a full sprint out of the cafeteria.

“How do you know??” I finally asked Zayn as we slumped over in the elevator, panting.

“I went to get my phone, and I saw through the door. She was awake! As soon as I saw her, I came running down to get you!” I didn’t have time to answer; the elevator had made it to the sixth floor, and I was running down the hallways to Liz’s room with Zayn right behind me. Forgetting my manners, I burst through her door, surprising both her and her dad.

“Liz!” I cried out when I saw that she was in fact awake.

“Oh my god, Harry,” she smiled as soon as she saw me. I felt the tears on my cheeks, except these were happy tears, not my typical sad ones.

“I’m going to go; I’ll come to talk later, Elizabeth.” Her dad said, reminding us of his presence as he exited the room to join Zayn in the hall.

“Is it okay to hug you…?” I asked as soon as he was out of the door. “I don’t want to hurt you…”

“Screw the hug; will you just kiss me already?” She didn’t have to ask twice. I had my lips on hers in a matter of two seconds. I kissed her gently, unsure of how she was hurting right now; I didn’t want to rush anything. After a moment, I pulled away, standing up from the awkward angle I was bent at to kiss her.

“I’ve missed you,” I said quietly as I pulled up the chair to sit by her side again. “I’m so sorry, Liz. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t jus-”

“Harry, stop it. This is not your fault at all. Don’t you dare blame yourself.” She said fiercely as she cut me off. Before I could say anything back, Dr. Monroe walked into the room.

“Ah, Elizabeth! You’re awake!” He said cheerfully. I stood up to leave, thinking Liz would want privacy or whatnot.

“Harry, stay. Please. Don’t leave yet.” She begged as she turned to me, wincing. I immediately sat back down.

*LIZZIE’S POV*

As this doctor was lecturing me about what happened, I couldn’t help but zone out. I was thinking about nothing but the pain in my head and the caring, gorgeous boy holding my hand. Occasionally, his green eyes would make contact with mine, and he would smile. That would completely distract me from the pain in my head. Or the pain by my ribs. He was here. He had stayed here through all of this. I couldn’t describe how much love I felt for him.

*HARRY’S POV*

As Dr. Monroe was speaking, I was daydreaming. I couldn’t help it. I was so happy. Liz was awake, and there was no brain damage. She was okay. She was okay. She was okay. I kept repeating it in my head. There was no doubt anymore. I was so scared that I would lose her. I was playing with her right hand and her fingers as I thought about her. What she didn’t know was that soon, I had a ring to give her that would go on one of those fingers. No one knew. Not even Louis or Zayn or Niall or Liam.

*LIZZIE’S POV*

As Dr. Monroe was finishing talking, I zoned back in. I figured I should listen, since this is about what happened to my body.

“So, Elizabeth, we’re going to do a few more scans later this evening, and if those come back clean, we’ll be good to clear you to leave within the next twenty-four hours, though you will have to go to some physical therapy and other follow-ups.” He smiled. “Any questions?”

“No. Thank you though, doctor.” He nodded at both me and Harry before he walked out. For some reason, I got a wave of this anxiety that I had not had before. My head felt fuzzy. I was tired. I felt a mix of unknown feelings. Trying to rid myself of the negative thoughts, I just assured myself that I was simply overwhelmed.

“Harry?” I turned to him as he was lacing his fingers in mine. He looked up. “Will you just come and lay with me?” I asked softly. He looked momentarily confused. “I just want you to hold me…” I felt my eyes well up. He was up in seconds moving wires and tubes as I scooted over, giving him room to sit. Once he was sitting on top of the covers, he swung his legs up on the narrow bed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling my head gently against his chest. His hold on me was strong, but gentle.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I lay there, breathing in his smell. Instead of responding, he bent down and gently kissed the top of my head. It was such a soft kiss; I almost thought I had imagined it.

“Lizzie?” Harry asked just as gently.

“Yes?”

“I have something that I want to give you.” He began digging into his pocket with his free hand and finally pulled it out when he had something in his fist. “You know how much I love you right?” I nodded, unsure of where this was going. My heart was racing, and you could embarrassingly hear it beeping on the monitor. He unclenched his fist to reveal a simple, but very beautiful ring. It was a circular emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds. All set in rose gold. If I didn’t have that monitor there to remind me, I would’ve thought my heart had stopped.

“I want to give you a promise ring, since we’re both so young. But I just want to give it to you as a reminder of how much I love you, and a reminder of how I want us to be together for the rest of our lives. I know we’ve moved fast in our relationship from the beginning,” this made me laugh, considering the fact that I slept with him on the first day we met, “so to others it may seem unrealistic to give a promise ring when we aren’t even at our five month anniversary yet, but to me, it seems right. I just can’t imagine things without you. You mean so much to me… you’re just perfect, and-” I decided to cut him off; I turned using all my strength and kissed him. The arm that he had wrapped around me tightened, pulling me closer into him, on top of him. Forgetting about the IV’s and other tubes in me, I wrapped my fingers into his hair where they belong as I tangled my blanketed legs with his. Even with the pain, it was one of the best kisses of my life. As I pulled centimeters away from the kiss, he groaned in disappointment. Laughing, I gently got back to my original position; my head pounding, my ribs burning.

“I love you, Harry.” I said softly. Without saying anything back, he gently picked up my left hand and slid the ring on my fourth finger. Once he slid it on, I held my hand out in admiration for a moment, before I snuggled back into Harry’s side and quickly fell into nice, sweet, Harry-filled dreams.

Notes