Larry One Shots

Louis: Bump in the Road (2)

Louis POV
        I began coughing right after Liam left. It wasn't new, just got worse. Honestly I don't really think much about it because I smoke. It's not a new thing, so I cough. This one just seems different. But by the time I realize that it's different, Harry is knocking on the front door.
        I head to the front door and peek out the window just to ensure that it's Harry. I hesitate about opening the front door for a split second, until Harry knocks again and I hear his voice that I miss so much.
        "Lou? I know you're in there open the-" I opened it before he could finish. He smiled as soon as he saw me. "Hi love." he said, pulling me into a hug. I hesitated but hugged him back. I ruined the moment however when I started coughing again.
        "Sorry." I said heading to the kitchen to grab a drink.
        "You alright?" He asked. "You sick?"
        "Uh no." I said. "Let's just go to the living room to talk." I said, clearing my throat. I could feel his glare on my back, but I ignored it. We sat down on the couch and I tried to quickly put away my cigarettes on the coffee table, but unfortunately he saw.
        "Lou-" He said and I just stared at the floor, not wanting to see his disappointment. "I thought you quit?"
"I did. But when you left I just got stressed and needed some sort of release." I coughed in between some of the words and he looked at me with concern. My chest started to feel tight, but again I tried to ignore it.
"So that's why you are coughing?" I nodded while I let out some more coughs.
My chest really started to hurt now so I put my hand to it and Harry definitely noticed.
        "Gosh Lou." He sighed. "Is your chest hurting love?"
        "Y-yea a bit." I said slightly short of breath. "I-I'm h-having t-trouble t-taking in a-air."
        "What?" Harry shouted. "Come on let's go. I'm taking you to the hospital."
        "N-no I'm f-fine" I said standing up, but I felt weak suddenly and couldn't stand, so I fell to the ground instead. I had another coughing fit and felt like I couldn't breathe. Harry lifted me up and gave me no choice about the hospital. He placed me in the passenger seat and I soon passed out from the lack of oxygen.
Harry POV
        After Louis said he was having trouble breathing and then practically passed out from standing up, I put my foot down and was taking him to the hospital. I placed him in the passenger seat and he had passed out from not taking in air and I was worried, but I wasn't waiting for an ambulance at this point.
        I started driving, over the speed limit may I ask, as I was very worried about Louis. I could tell when I walked into the house that he started smoking again just by the smell, but I wasn't just going to confront him, that is until I saw the cigarettes on the table and he clearly knew I saw them.
        Louis came to when we were almost to the hospital. He was coughing fast and hard, and may I add a lot. He was definitely struggling and I grabbed his thigh to let him know I was there and to hopefully give him some comfort.
        After another agonizing 5 minutes, I pulled into the emergency entrance of the hospital and stopped in front of the entrance. There were two doctors standing outside  and I called them over and they came fast, as they could sense my distress.
        "What happened?" One of them asked as the other began to examine Louis and call for a gurney.
        "H-he started smoking again and I came home to find him coughing a lot. He was having chest pain and he tried to brush it off, but then he started struggling to breathe and he passed out in the car and came back coughing hard and fast and couldn't seem to take in air." I said it all in one breath and was starting to panic. A nurse came out with a gurney and they quickly put Louis on it.
        "Okay sir it's alright try to calm down, he's in good hands." The doctor said and I nodded. Then he turned to the nurse. "I'm concerned for a collapsed lung, let's get him to an emergency room. Put him on oxygen, 100%."
        "I-Is he gonna be alright?" I asked following them into the hospital.
        "We are going to check him out and someone will be out to update you. I'm sorry but I have to go. Stay here and try to remain calm." I nodded and sat down, putting my head in my hands. I was very worried and there wasn't much I could do. I decided to call Niall, as I needed someone here. He picked up after the second ring.
        "Hey Haz. How'd it go with Lou?" He asked and I remained silent. "Haz?"
        "Ni I'm at the hospital." I said quietly.
        "What did you beat him up or something?" He laughed and I remained silent. "Wait is he okay?"
        "He started smoking again and he was coughing, but more than usual. He started having trouble breathing and they are concerned for a collapsed lung. I don't know Ni, can you just come down here?"
        "Y-yeah of course. I'll be down there with Liam as soon as we can okay?" I nodded, but he couldn't see me. "Haz okay?"
        "Yeah okay bye." I hung up and a nurse came out to see me. "Is he okay?"
        "We are still working on him, but his right lung had collapsed and his left lung was on the verge of collapsing. We are placing a chest tube on each side to help inflate and it should help with his breathing. We did have to intubate, but once the chest tubes are placed and he starts on pain medication, we can remove it."
        "He should be okay though right?"
        "Of course. He'll have to stay in the hospital for a few days until we remove the chest tube. Oh and he'll have to stop smoking. By the damage on his lungs that we can see, he's been smoking almost a pack a day in the past week."
        "But he hasn't done it in almost 4 years. How did it do that much damage so quickly?" I asked, genuinely concerned for Louis' overall health.
        "Well unfortunately with his past smoking experience, his lungs would technically still be scarred from the past damage, as it doesn't just go away. So the smoking he's been doing for the past week would just add onto his previous damage. And it was already quite scarred."
        "Can I see him at least?" I asked.
        "Unfortunately not yet, but I will be back to let you know when. Is there anyone I can call for you? Family? Friends?" I shook my head no.
        "I have friends coming and I'll call his father and siblings. But thank you though."
        "Of course. Let us know if you need anything. I'll be back soon."
        "Thanks." The nurse left and I was left alone. It was about 10 minutes later when Niall and Liam showed up.
        "Where is he? Is he okay?" Niall asked, with too many questions at once.
        "Niall let him speak for god sake." Liam said, sitting us all down next to each other.
        "He's fine, I think, but he has tubes in his chest or something and he's on oxygen, but he's gonna be fine. He'll be in ICU for a couple days, then a couple days more in a normal room."
        "Well that's good. Guessing you can't see him right?" I shook my head no.
        "Yeah they told me to wait, but hopefully soon." We all nodded and decided to get some food at the cafeteria. About an hour later, the nurse came back with a smile.
        "You can see him now." She motioned for me to follow her, leaving Niall and Liam in the waiting room. "Now just so you aren't alarmed, he has a tube in his chest on both sides, and it's crucial that he doesn't try to pull at them so that they can do their job. He's still on oxygen, but it's just the cannula that goes on his face. He's got an IV for pain meds so he's more comfortable." She stopped outside room 288 and opened the door for me. "Just try to keep him calm."
        "Thank you so much!" I said, heading to Louis' bedside. He was sleeping and I took his hand and he began to stir slightly, so I sat beside him and waited for him to wake, which took about 5 minutes.
        "Ow." He breathed out and I chuckled. "H-haz."
        "I'm here baby. Are you hurting?" He nodded.
        "My side, these tubes." He reached for them. "Take them out." He went to grab it, so I took both of his hands in mine, stopping him.
        "No Lou, they have to stay for now. Let's call a nurse to see if they can give you some more pain meds." I pressed the nurse button and soon a nurse showed up.
        "Did you boys need something?" She asked, checking Louis' vitals.
        "He said that the tubes are uncomfortable and hurting him. Can he get more pain meds?"
        "Unfortunately his pain meds aren't due for another hour, however I can give a local anesthetic to hopefully numb the pain for a few hours." I nodded and so did Louis, so she went to grab the meds, coming back about 2 minutes later.
        "You'll feel a small pinch and then hopefully the anesthetic should be taking place in a few minutes." She gave both of the injections, and Louis winced at them both. The nurse left after a minute. A few minutes later Louis began to feel a lot more comfortable, which allowed him to properly talk to Harry.
        "You alright now Lou?" I asked.
        "Haz I'm sorry." He said, tearing up.
        "No Lou I'm not mad, just kind of upset that you didn't come to me."       
        "I was mad at you that's why. I'm mad at myself now. Can we just forget all this shit happened just as long as you promise not to grind on another man?"
        "Look I'm sorry too Lou. I agree. Let's just forget this happened. I love you." I said as I took him carefully into a hug.
        "I love you too."