Teenage Dirtbag

23. An Old Friend

Harry’s POV

I watched Louis run out of my hospital room, unsure of what to say or do. Should I stop him? Should I let him go? What should I do?

He was already gone by the time I got the ability to speak again.

That was that. My best friend had just kissed me. Was it awkward? Of course. But did it ruin our friendship? I hoped not.

But then again, it could be hard for him to approach me again. What exactly did this mean? Would he avoid me? Would he convince his parents to kick me out of his house? I didn’t know. But I did know I needed to talk to Louis.

I still wanted to be his friend, but I needed to explain to him that I was with Taylor and that I had no romantic feelings toward him at all.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” I exclaimed.

When the door opened, it revealed Taylor’s family.

“How are you holding up?” Andrea asked, quickly walking to my bedside with a sympathetic look on her face.

“I could be better. But I could be worse.” I replied. “What about Taylor? Have you heard anything about her yet?”

“They’re at least keeping her overnight. She was smart to let them take her in. If she would’ve refused, they would’ve believed that she was in fact the one who shot you. The jury will be in favor since she agreed to come in and testify.” Andrea replied.

I nodded my head, unsure of what to say.

“Austin needs to get home. He has a big game tomorrow, but we just wanted to make sure that you were okay. I’ll call you if I get any new news on Taylor, okay?” she added.

I smiled and hugged Andrea, then thanked Austin and Taylor’s father for coming before they walked out the door.

There I was, stuck in silence again. I wished that Louis would come back so we could at least talk. I wish he would’ve just given me the chance to say something.

As I was thinking about Louis and what I planned on saying to him, I didn’t realize how much time had actually passed. About 45 minutes later, a volunteer nurse entered my room prepared to give me more pain medications.

“Hello, Harry.” The volunteer said, not revealing her face quite yet.

When she turned around, I recognized her familiar face.

An instant smile hit my face. “LARISSA?!”  

Larissa had been the same volunteer who helped my mom when she was being treated.

“How have you been?” she asked, handing me a plastic cup full of water and 2 pills.

I took the pills in my hand and placed them in my mouth, then took a drink of water, swallowing the pills.

“I could be better. I mean, I took a bullet in my leg tonight.” I replied.

She laughed. It was a laugh that I had grown comfortable with when I spent all of those nights in the boring hotel room with my mom. Larissa was one of the people who brought a smile to my face.

Larissa was a senior, just like Taylor and I, and she had a dream of going off to college and becoming a nurse. She spent as many volunteer hours here as she possibly could. It was her dream.

“I have to go and treat some other patients, but I’ll come and chat with you in a little while, okay? I wish I was seeing you somewhere else, but it’s good to see you again.” She said, smiling.

I smiled back as she walked towards the door. “It’s good to see you again, too.”

With that, she walked out.

It was so great to see her again. She was literally the only thing that could bring a smile to my face when my mom was sick. She cared about every single one of her patients and she was possibly the sweetest person I had ever met. She had a wonderful sense of humor as well.

My thoughts were interrupted by yet another knock on the door. WOW my room was busy tonight.

“Come in.” I yelled.

The door opened and the minute I saw her blonde curls, I wanted to jump off of my bed and run to her.

But I couldn’t.

“TAYLOR!” I screamed, instantly sitting up straight in my bed.

Instead of saying anything else, she ran to my bedside, her lips meeting mine almost instantly.