Last One Standing

*Haley’s POV*

I realized that not many people were up to sitting inside the hospital at three in the morning, and that about the same number of people were keen on driving London’s streets. It didn’t take me long to figure out that we were going to Zayn’s. I was actually fine with that; there was absolutely nothing making me yearn for my own place or my own space. I could share all of it with Zayn.

He was driving much more calmly now, careful not to ruin his tires and shocks with potholes. I knew that it was because Hannah was alright. I was glad that she was fine, but couldn’t help being a bit bothered by his attachment. Zayn stayed quiet the whole ride home and didn’t say much until we had stock piled our luggage into the elevator. Without hesitance, I edged closer to him until we were shoulder to shoulder. I nudged him a bit and he did the same to me. We continued on like this until the elevator sounded our arrival. It was four thirty by now and all I wanted to do was sleep.

Zayn piled our bags in a corner of the room for the night. I realized that I didn’t have another pair of clean pajamas here so I sat on the end of the bed, hands folded in my lap, and watched him peel off his over shirt, a white wife beater being all that was left. The muscles tensing in his back were enough to make me sigh. He casually turned around to give me an amused smirk and I felt my face go pink. I’m not sure why – maybe it was from fatigue – but I felt incredibly embarrassed that he had caught staring. As Zayn turned around, he gave me a curious look. “You’re sleeping in jeans?” I shrugged my shoulders and looked over at my bags.

“Well, I’m not digging through that fucking mess tonight.” I laughed a little and stood up. Zayn turned around to take out his earrings and I couldn’t help but feel drawn to him. I silently crossed the room and wrapped my arms around his waist, letting my fingers brush his toned stomach. He turned until his dark arms enveloped me in warmth. After sitting there for a few moments, I drew my hands upward, successfully taking his shirt with me. When I reached his pecks, Zayn grabbed a hold of my wrists and leaned in to kiss me. I only stayed long enough to leave him wanting more before I pulled the wife beater the rest of the way over his head.

Zayn leaned back in to kiss me, but I only turned away and started stripping down. He groaned audibly to let me know that I had gotten to him as I pulled my shirt over my head. Shivers ran up my spine as fingers found my waist and worked on the zipper to my jeans. I put on the undershirt and practically dove into bed, Zayn close behind me. Knowing that he would be right there, I spun around into his waiting arms. I cuddled into his chest and listened to his heart beating on the other side of his skin. I didn’t think about anything. All that I knew was that I was here with the one man on this earth that would protect me… love me like Harry did Hannah. That was all I could really ask for. He started humming to me as I drifted off, tracing meaningless patterns on his bare skin.

*Zayn’s POV*

I kept my tune going far longer than I really needed to. Haley had probably fallen asleep an hour ago, but I didn’t stop until she rolled off of my chest and on to her side. She wasn’t a very still sleeper at all, but when she started moving was when I knew she was thoroughly asleep. Letting my humming voice fade, I tried desperately not to move the bed as I stood up out of it. The floor had never been louder as I tried to cross to my dresser drawer. I pulled on a pair of jogging pants and gave Haley one final glance – lying so peacefully in my bed – before I turned to slip out of my complex.

The car couldn’t drive fast enough. It had to be tonight; by this afternoon it would be too late. All would’ve been given up and I would live in fear every day, knowing that I could’ve done something to stop it. I was going to stop it. I wish that I knew that this wasn’t a wild goose chase, but I could almost feel in the pit of my stomach that it wasn’t.

I was impatient in pressing the button to call for the elevator, although it only took a few seconds for the door to open. By the time I was on the correct floor, I suddenly became very nervous. What if I was right? What could I ever say or do? None of that would change anything. The door knob looked like it had been through hell, as did the door. The lock was nonexistent as I pushed the door open with ease and a rush of cold air hit me like a freight train. The house was completely dark except for a light that was coming from what I assumed to be the kitchen. My feet were silent against the floor as I moved toward through the darkness. I’m not sure if I didn’t see it or it appeared out of nowhere, but it hurt none the less. I bent down and nursed my left shin, cursing the corner of the coffee table I had run into. Doing my best to be silent none the less, I was alarmed by what sounded like a chair moving.

“You realize that you’ve completely lost the element of surprise.” Slowly, I presented myself through the threshold of the kitchen. There he was. There was nobody else he could be: Alexander Nixon. He stood only a little taller than I did and I’m pretty sure it was because I had a habit of slouching. I looked at him, not knowing what I was planning to do if he was where I was assuming he’d be. “Makes sense that the little coward would run away from home and send back-up.” Although the words were not offensive to me, they still stung a bit. I knew that he was recalling the time that Haley called the police once she left home.

“She didn’t send me,” I replied defensively. “I came because she doesn’t deserve to have to deal with you any more.” My eyes bored into his, searching for any rhyme or reason to the way he believed he could treat those around him. “Why are you here?”

“Why do you have the right to ask?” I stood my ground with unimpressed features.

“How did you find her?” He didn’t answer me. He only sat back down and that was when I noticed the papers and the bottle on the table. There were a few different papers laying there. They were all envelopes from the checks that Haley had been sending her father. Nice to see what he’s spent them on so far. The beer bottle sat next to a pack. “Planning on being hammered when you beat her next?” My gaze fell on him again as he folded his hands being his head, leaning back in his chair.

“Damn, what doesn’t she tell you, Pretty Boy?” I remained as still as possible.

“Sorry, I don’t swing that way. What, no women to abuse in the joint?” His facial features hardened. I was getting to him. “I thought that might have been why this was your first stop on the list.” His hands unfolded and he came to his feet again. I just needed him to swing once. “Don’t wear yourself out old man.”

“I’m not that old.” He stepped forward tremendously; we were almost chest to chest in the small kitchen, one waiting for the other to back down.

“Too old for anything you have to say to Haley to matter.” That was it; he swung. It was a lot harder than I expected. I stumbled backwards a bit, my hand finding my lip. It was wet and when I drew my hand away, my fingers were smudged crimson. He came at me again, but I was ready now. Now it was self defense. I ducked and jabbed simultaneously. If I hadn’t been so caught up in what I was doing, I would have taken the time to realize that Harry’s boxing skills really did come in handy. Alexander was both drunk and taken aback by my speed as I round housed him. Watching him fall to the floor, I was surprised that it didn’t take more to take him down; he was significantly larger than me.

My eyes never left his figure, slump on the floor, as I brought my cell phone to my ear and dialed for the police. “Hello, Officer? … Yes, I’ve been attacked… I’m alright mate… Oh, you see I called because I do believe that he was in violation of his parole… Well, he attacked me and so I fought back and well, he obviously isn’t the one calling you… Yes, he’s alive.” I held laughter at the thought of my calling to turn myself in for manslaughter. “He was in my girlfriend’s apartment when I got home… I can stay here until someone comes to get him… That sounds perfect… Yes, have a good night Sir.”

When the cops arrived, Alexander was just waking up and was hurting like hell. He scowled at me as three officers walked him out the broken door. I was asked to follow them down to the ambulance because they wanted to check the cut on my lip. When the doors opened, I wished a million times over that I had snuck out a back door or something. A hundred or so cameras began flashing from the moment I stepped outside. Shit. I had no shame, but I wasn’t trying to flaunt that I beat the crap out of someone. I was already known as the bad boy, I didn’t need to be known as the one with the temper as well. That was supposed to be Harry’s alias. I sat still while the paramedic told me that this might sting a bit. Observing her hand carefully as it came towards my pouted lower lip, she inhaled sharply. I could tell that she would’ve been very attractive if it weren’t who knows how early in the morning and her hair wasn’t restrained by a tie.

“If you need to check on him first, that’s okay with me.” She looked at me timidly.

“Don’t swallow this; spit it out,” she instructed. I hissed a bit as the bitter liquid met my split lip. Her face softened a bit; as if seeing that I showed pain made me little less of a bad boy and a little more human in her eyes. She visibly relaxed as she continued applying the liquid. “So he only got one swing in.” She didn’t meet my eyes. She finished with my lip and moved to my knuckles.

“After one swing,” I inhaled as the stinging sensation met my knuckles as well, “the rest is self defense, right?” She nodded her head and put the cap on the bottle before starting to wrap my hands in gauze.

“So who was he?”

I looked her dead in the eye, not impressed by all of her questions. “It was my girlfriend’s father.” After saying that, I shrugged on my jacket and walked towards my car. There was only one thing left on my mind. Back to Haley.

*Niall’s POV*

I got in the car and slammed it into gear. Past being upset, I drove – still cautiously – through the parking lot. What kind of person can wait until three in the morning and still have no compassion for someone who just nearly had the life beat out of them? Who would rather hang around and risk the life being beaten out of them too? Especially now that Damon knows that Emma has told me everything. I showed compassion for her, why isn’t she capable of doing the same?

Checking my mirrors, I slowed down as I realized I was driving way too fast, and a crash was the last thing that my friends needed to deal with. Emma wouldn’t even know. Would she even care? Caught up in my thoughts, I almost missed the blond curls bobbing up and down on the sidewalk, shoes in one hand, purse in the other. The car slowed to a crawl as Jackie climbed up the steps of the bus. I wasn’t sure what to think – being so confused at the moment – and wrote off the flutter in my stomach as nothing.

When I came back to the complex, there was no one, nothing, silence. It was calming as much as it was infuriating. I shouldn’t have to be alone tonight. I didn’t do anything do deserve the sight of every successful couple and have to sit there alone. Why wasn’t I allowed to be happy like Hannah and Harry? I went to my cabinet and opened it only a little, not really caring what I pulled out. Whiskey: the water of life. I got a glass out of a separate cabinet and cracked some ice out of the tray. I always had a bottle on hand and I nearly always saved it for some occasion or another, but I was also pretty sure that I wouldn’t care after I was a few glasses into it either.

I took a drink and began digging through the fridge. Once I had found everything I needed, I took another drink and started making a sandwich. I tried not to think. I just kept drinking until I had to focus on chewing each bite carefully.

My third sandwich wasn’t so much washed down by whiskey as the whiskey came more often than the food. I gingerly sat my plate in the sink and grabbed my bottle, strolling towards the bathroom.

I turned on the water and waited for it to boil before turning on the jets and sinking in, not sure how many glasses I’d had anymore. In my attempt not to think, I squirted some soap into the water and watched the bubbles build mountains around me. My head found the end of the tub and my lips found the edge of my glass. Without hesitation, I let sleep take me, the alcohol allowing it to be dreamless and peaceful. Normally, being a very touchy feely type guy, dull senses were a blessing when they were all running hay wire while I was sober.

*Emma’s POV*

“I’ll drive.” Damon grabbed his coat and keys and we headed out the door. I sat in the passenger’s seat and took a turn looking every which way, slightly shivering from the cold rain. Then my eyes landed on Damon. It was impossible to resist the fact that I was given his nose. Nobody said that this was a good trait, but it was undeniable none the less.

The car pulled out of the driveway and whipped into forward as we sped down the road. I knew that we lived about half an hour away from the hospital and I prayed that Niall would still be there when I finally showed up. I wiped the tears from my eyes while I thought about how terrible I had been on the phone. There was no reason that I should’ve spoken to Niall that way. He was only trying to protect me and, even though I was fairly positive that I didn’t need protection anymore, there was nothing telling him that it was time to stop worrying. There was nothing that had shown him that trusting Damon was an okay thing to do. I couldn’t blame him for the way he responded, blowing off everyone was pretty extreme.

Damon caught my eye once again and I found him already staring between me and the road. I was just feeling like an overall shitty person. I felt guilty towards Damon because I was thinking that ditching him might have been the right thing to do, but I also felt bad that I didn’t ditch him because Ni really needed me right now and I still would be able to get to him for the next twenty five minutes. The more I thought about it, the harder I had to work to keep the tears from spilling over their barriers. I rested my elbow on the glove compartment, and almost jumped when I felt Damon’s fingers slide over my hand that was covered by my stretch sleeved sweatshirt.

We had been in the car for about ten more minutes when it happened. I was looking out the side window when the white glint caught my eye. Although I had seen it, I didn’t process what was lying in the road until I heard my father curse for the first time since he had apologized to me. The car started to thud and lean slightly to the front left side. We popped a tire. Damon swore again and pulled over to the side of the road.

“We might wanna get out of the car.”

“What?” I looked at him in astonishment. It was pouring outside, and it wasn’t going to lighten up any time soon.

“The more weight that we put in the car, the more likely it’ll be to bend the rim of the tire.” I still gave him a skeptical look.

“Damon, it’s really coming down.”

“Okay,” he sounded a little frustrated, “I’ll just get out.” I looked at him quizzically, but he got out none the less. I watched through the front windshield as he pulled his cell phone out and started to dial. He shoved his already dripping hair behind the rim of his hood before he began speaking. Watching him from the dry warmth of the car should have fulfilled a little bit of the revenge that I used to want him to have to pay for. At the moment, I remembered the night he locked me out of the house; it had rained and there was no other way in, so I was left to sleep in the lawn chair out back. Maybe it was just because I had more of a heart than he did, but I didn’t feel vengeful; I felt guilty. A deep sigh escaped my lips before I stopped the car to save gas and stepped out into the rain.

He gave me a soft smile as he embraced me with one protective arm, rubbing my arm as if to keep me warm in the cold storm. After leaving a soft kiss on the top of my head, Damon turned abruptly and began yelling through the phone. “Forty five minutes?! Are you kidding me?!” I leaned against the low sitting car, letting the rain drench through my purple sweater. It clung tight to my body and hung heavy over one shoulder and absently over the other.

Damon walked around the car to get a better look at the flat and bent down. With the risk of my life proof phone case failing, I retrieved my phone from my pocket and found that it was going to be awhile before the tow truck got here. There was no way that I could just sit here and wait for that long. I gave Damon a look and he looked back, both of us knowing that there was no way for me to get to the hospital any time soon. He walked through the rain and pulled me into his chest again – as if all of my problems would disappear there. I was about to break down along with the car as tears began escaping my eyes. “Dad, I have to get there!” I cried.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I just don’t know what else I can do.” I took a step back.

“I… I just…” I started walking backwards toward the road, “I’ll meet you back at the house.” He looked at me, half astonished. “I’m sorry Dad. I have to get there.” He lowered his head in understanding before I turned and half jogged down the side of the road.

I began walking again after a couple of blocks. Dad’s head lights were no longer visible through the downpour I was standing I, and I wasn’t much closer to the hospital than I had been before. None the less, I had to keep walking. I tried to wipe the rain from my face, but it was pointless because my sleeves were soaked just as much as my mascara stained face. The rain worked to pound me down until the hospital came into view. I watched towards the front doors, wiping my face again – this time to clean off the smeared makeup more than to dry the skin. A few people came out; a few went in. There wasn’t much else.

The woman at the front desk looked old and tired. Her hair was graying and her face fell as she scanned the computer screen, eyes seeming to droop as she looked up. “Long night?” She closed her eyes for a moment before smiling and looking up.

“Sorry, the girl on the evening shift is much… perkier I guess you would say.” I gave her a small smile.

“Can you point me towards a room?”

“Visiting hours are long gone sweetheart.” I looked up, reading the clock that had somehow reached 2:30 am.

“And… no exceptions?” A sympathetic look crossed her face before she shook her head ‘no.’ My heart sank and my stomach dropped before I thanked her for her time and turned to walk back out the sliding doors. There was a bench, but it was wet with rain; not worth the discomfort. As I pulled out my phone, the screen all cracked and smeared with rain water, my finger hovered over Damon’s contact number. Before I could bring myself to press his name, I locked my phone and stepped out from under the awning. Damon wouldn’t be able to come and get me, so either way I was walking. There was only one person that I wanted to see anyhow: Niall.

Looking around, it wasn’t hard to tell that the hospital was near the boys’ place. No longer worried about how terrible I looked, I huddled against myself as I walked the few blocks to the flats. The woman at the front desk recognized me almost instantly and brought be a towel from the service room. I wrapped it around my hair and rustled it around until most of the water was gone. I thanked her and went to the elevators, pressing the button for Niall’s floor.

I would just tell him everything. He would understand if I was just honest with him, right? If nothing else, I knew he wouldn’t just let me walk home in the pouring rain. I trudged down the hallway, preparing for the fight that would probably come before the sleep. I almost expected Niall to be waiting up, so I was slightly surprised when I noticed the deafening silence filling the flat. Of course he wouldn’t be up at this hour. Why would he be? Maybe he wasn’t even home.

There were only a few lights on and one was coming from under the bathroom door. When I got to the door, I knocked gently on the frame. After a few knocks, I heard sloshing water and a sloshing voice telling me to come in. I opened the door to find a very naked Niall, in the bathtub, pouring himself a glass of what looked like whiskey at first glance. Noticing that Ni may have been trying a little too hard to focus on that bottle, I walked over and grabbed the bottle first, placing it on the counter. Niall savored the last drops of his drink before I snatched his glass too. He glared at me with a look of distaste. “Give it back.” I raised my eyebrows, challenging him.

“No.” He scoffed at me and rolled his eyes.

“Bitch.” I thought my jaw would drop. This wasn’t Niall; not the one that I knew anyways. The Niall that I knew would get out of the tub and hold me and talk to me until we sorted out our differences. He would tell me he loves me and get me to cuddle up next to him and fall asleep. This Niall. This one called me names and made me want to cry. He made my heart feel like he had the complete power to make it snap in two at any moment. Had I really given him that much power?

I drew the curtain and pulled the shower plug, spraying a very drunk Niall with very cold water.

Once he was almost done yelling, I left the bathroom and went to his room to wait. I finally let the waiting tears fall but commanded them to stop with the shower water. It didn’t take long for him to sober up in the chilled water. Soon, the shower was off and sloshed footsteps were trailing down the hall. When Niall entered the room, his towel hung low on his waist and his eyes avoided my own. His jaw line was tight, anger obviously still pulsing through his veins. He dug through his drawers and pulled out both a t shirt and a pair of sweats. He threw me the shirt with out looking my way and he waited until I was gone to start drying off. He kept me in his peripheral vision, but wouldn’t look directly at me – as if I would do something else terrible if he didn’t watch his back. With sad eyes, not completely following their orders, I closed the door and went back to the bathroom to change out of my soaking clothes.

By the time I came out, I looked down the hall to see that Niall’s door was open against and I was assuming that he was welcoming me as a visitor. When I stepped into the room, quietly knocking on the frame, I received the same offset glare that I had the last time. Niall stood by the window, his arms crossed as his glare shifted somewhere past the glass.

“You know it’s really easy to surprise me, right?” I stared, questioning where he would take this, but his eyes didn’t waver. When I didn’t respond, he found motive to continue. “I know that you don’t know Hannah very well, but I was really hoping that you would surprise me and show up tonight.” His eyes glassed over as he looked towards the floor and ran his hand over his unshaven jaw. If there was only one thing that I needed to say to him, this had to be it.

“I didn’t go to dinner with Damon.” His eyes snapped to me, but left me immediately afterwards. “I don’t really like that you were trash talking him, but I know that you’re just trying to protect me.” When there was still no reaction, I sort of started mumbling. “It was actually his idea for me to go to the hospital instead of going with him,” I looked away as I got into what I was talking about, “so we got in the car and started driving and then his tire went flat and then we got out of the car and waited for the tow truck and then they said they wouldn’t be there for almost an hour and then I started running to the hospital and the lady at the front desk told me visiting hours were over and Damon told me to call him but…” I felt someone grab my arm and spin me around. Ni didn’t say anything; he just stared at me, switching his glance from one eye to the other. It wasn’t a gaze that told me to stop talking, but it did remind me that I was rambling. “How is she?” I realized that this wasn’t only about me. Yes, he was mad at me, but he was also hurting for Hannah’s sake as well. His eyes softened with my question, and he loosened his grip on my arm. He brought his other hand to my other arm so that we were closer than before.

“She’s awake. She woke up a little while before we all left.” I could still see something behind his words; something that he wasn’t getting to say.

“But?” He dipped his head down as if to hide his face, but I dipped mine under his, far enough that he was forced to look at me. “Niall,” I pushed the hair away from his forehead, “talk to me.” He looked towards the lights as a tear rolled down his cheek. He sniffed and wiped it away quickly before turning to go sit on his bed. I followed him and dipped down on the bed beside him, leaning so that he could see my face if he wanted to.

“They lost the baby.”

Notes

Hey kidos! So I know I haven't posted in literally six months. My bad. I've been really busy with work and all that jazz. I'm also starting volleyball so my schedule isn't getting any less busy but I know that I'm not going to wait nearly as long to post chapter 63. I realize that most people have probably stopped reading and I understand because it really has taken me FOREVER to update!
Thank you @CrazyZaynLover for encouraging me to update. I know it doesn't seem like much but it really made me want to update faster.
Anyone still reading, Comment and let me know!
Also, I've decided that the last three chapters will be as follows:
Chapter 63 - COMPLETELY NIALL AND EMMA
Chapter 64 - COMPLETELY ZAYN AND HALEY
Chapter 65 (Final Chapter) - COMPLETELY HARRY AND HANNAH
I love you guys and thank you for following me through the year and a half that I've been writing this. I'm also going to be posting continuously on Wattpad.com to help spread my story.
One more thing, I'm debating a sequel... Comment any thoughts?
xoxo Hannah <3