Fix You

liam.

I sat across from Danielle in the small Parisian café, not believing what I was hearing. “…What?” I asked.

“I’m breaking up with you Liam. I’m sorry.” I just looked at her; she was breaking up with me? But she couldn’t break up with me, she was my everything! I tried to look into her eyes, but they were locked on her coffee so she couldn’t see the pain she was putting me through.

“But why?”

“Because Liam, with all the tours and the paparazzi and the death threats… I don’t want to forever be known as Danielle Peazer, girlfriend of Liam Payne, the lead singer of One Direction.” She sighed, finally looking up at me. “I’m really sorry Liam.” She said again. She tossed down a few dollars for her coffee and walked off. I wanted to chase her, grab her and tell her this was wrong, we were meant to be together, but I was frozen. She was leaving me, this was really the end. She’d been distant the last few months, this must have been why. I was so stunned that I didn’t even know how to think. I just looked at her coffee as the steam thinned out and eventually disappeared.

I don’t know how long I sat there in shock before my phone buzzing finally snapped me out of my trance. I looked blankly at the screen and picked up to hear Louis.

“Hey mate! Where are you?”

“Some café.” I said hollowly. How could she do this? After all we’d been through?

“Liam, you alright?”

“No. Danielle just broke up with me.” I told him, running my free hand through my hair.

“What?”

“Yeah.” Dani…

“Liam, Jesus. Listen, why don’t you come back to the hotel?” I shook my head. She’d broken up with me because of me being famous; she couldn’t take everyone watching her every move. I knew it wasn’t fair that I was mad at Louis and the rest of the band, but I just couldn’t see them right now.

“I think I need to be alone for a while.”

“Liam-”

“Please Lou.” I asked. “I just… I can’t see anyone right now.” He let out a long sigh.

“Alright, but be careful. Paris is a big city and the last time I checked, you don’t speak French.”

“I’ll be fine.” I said.

“Liam.”

“Yeah?”

“I really am sorry mate, Dani was a great girl.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I whispered, hanging up. I got up, leaving the Dani’s money on the table as I walked outside, unaware of which way to go. I looked up to see that it was raining, but I didn’t care as I just started walking.

Paris was busy usually, maybe as busy as London or New York, but the rain had driven most of the people off the streets. I kept on my trek, haunted by Dani’s voice, her laugh, her body, her smile, just every detail about her. I wanted her back so badly it hurt. I’m not much for tears, but I felt one slide down my face. Luckily it was disguised by the rain as I made my way to a small park and the trees provided a bit of a barrier from the torrential downpour. As I left the fountains, trees, and soggy grass I went to cross the street.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice echoed through my head as I drug my feet over the concrete.

Danielle…

“MONSIEUR!” I felt hands on my back as I was shoved forward, collapsing onto the ground. I heard brakes squeal and a car horn. I looked up to see a small girl get hit by a car, her body bending at a sickening angle as she looked at me. It was like the world was in slow motion as she flew backwards, hitting the pavement. I shot up and ran over as the driver got out and started yelling at me in French, but I only saw the girl on the ground.

I knelt down next to her and pressed my ear to her chest, her heart was still beating. I turned to the guy. “HELP! CALL AN AMBULENCE!” I demanded. He looked confused. I felt panic sink in as I racked my brain for the few French phrases Paul had made us learn. “Uh… um… AIDER! Obtenir de l'aide!” I screamed. He nodded and grabbed his phone as people started flooding over to help.

“Is she alright? Is she bleeding?” A woman with a thick accent asked. I looked her over to see blood pooling on the pavement around her. I saw the red staining her shirt and pulled it up to see a gash across her stomach.

“Do you have a towel or something? I asked. She pulled off her jacket and pressed it to the girl’s stomach.

“Is she breathing?” The woman asked.

I hovered my hand over her mouth, but didn’t feel anything come out. I pressed my lips to hers, breathing into her mouth. “Come on.” I whispered, breathing for her again. “Breathe dammit!” I pressed my lips to hers again and pulled back when I heard her take a breath on her own. “Thank God.” I whispered. I whipped my head up when I heard the sirens to see an ambulance racing over. I looked back at this girl. She had saved me, a complete stranger. If I’d been hit by that car and my kidney had been injured there was no way I would have made it. I cradled her face in my hands. “Hang in there.” I said. The EMT’s ran over and secured her to a stretcher, taking her into the van.

“Êtes-vous de la famille?” One of them asked me.

“Huh?”

“Family? Are you family?” I looked at this girl, I couldn’t leave her.

“Yes.” I lied.

“Get in!” He barked. I hopped into the ambulance behind them as they hooked an IV into the girls arm. I took her limp hand in mine as they placed an oxygen mask over her mouth. I ran my thumb over her bloody knuckles; they must have scraped the pavement. I looked back up at her, unable to watch them stitch up her stomach.

She was actually stunningly beautiful. She was probably my age, maybe a year or two younger with dark brown hair and long eyelashes. Her full lips had dark pink lipstick and I reached up to touch my mouth, realizing it’d rubbed off on my own lips. Her skin was like porcelain, but now was covered in dirt and small cuts. I reached up and brushed a piece of dirt off her cheek, unable to take my eyes off my savior as we drove to the hospital.

I followed the stretcher as far as they would let me before a doctor put her hand up, stopping me. “Vous ne pouvez pas aller là-bas.” She said simply.

“What?” She rolled his eyes before looking back at me.

“You. Can’t. Go. In. There.” She said, over enunciating and making me feel like an idiot. She pointed to a waiting room. “We’ll get you when she’s out of surgery.”

“SURGERY?!” I asked. “What’s wrong with her?”

“For now? We think internal bleeding and a ruptured appendix. But we haven’t gotten a better look yet. We’ll get you when we know anything else.” I felt like I was going to pass out.

It should be me in there; I should be the one in surgery. I should be dead. I plopped down and pressed my face into my hands. Why hadn’t I been watching where I was going? This was all my fault. I heard my phone buzz again and pulled it out. It told me Haz was calling as his face popped up on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Where are you mate?” He asked. “We’ve been worried sick!” I let out a long breath.

“There was an accident.”

“WHAT?!”

“Not me, well, almost me. A girl pushed me out of the way of a car. I’m in the hospital waiting for her to get of surgery.”

“And you did all of this in two hours?” He double checked.

“Haz, this is no time for joking, she’s really hurt.” He sighed.

“What hospital are you at?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then how did you get there?” I bit my lip.

“I… might have said I was family.”

“Liam, Jesus Christ mate.”

“I didn’t know what to do! I couldn’t just leave here there!”

“Look, we’ll come down to get you-”

“No.” I said. “I got myself into this mess, it’s my fault she’s even here. I’m staying until she wakes up.” He let out a long sigh.

“Alright, keep us updated.”

“Will do Haz.” Then I hung up and folded my hands, waiting for her to get out of surgery.

All is saw was her face, the girl, as the car smashed into her. I looked into her eyes, they were so scared. I wanted to reach out, stop this from happening. I wanted to save her, but I was trapped on the pavement as I watched her go flying through the air. But this time she fell into a black pit. Then I was falling with her as her tears flew up to hit my cheeks. I was so close, but no matter how far I reached I just couldn’t grab her hand as she screamed and was swallowed by darkness.

“Monsieur.” I opened my eyes, I must have dozed off as I looked up to see a doctor, he was older with a white beard and soft brown eyes. I leapt up.

“How is she?”

“She’s stable. We’ve stopped the bleeding and removed her appendix and she’s still asleep. But…”

“But what?” I asked, feeling a cold shiver race through me.

“The violence of the impact was so severe that her ovaries were nearly destroyed. We had to remove them or she would have bled out.” I didn’t quite know what that meant, so the doctor broke it down for me. “She will never be able to have children.” I pressed my face into my hands and collapsed back into the chair.

I had ruined this poor girl’s life.

“Monsieur, it’s alright, I’m sure the two of you can talk through this when she wakes up. But there are a few things I need to talk to you about.” He said, sitting beside me.

“Of course.” I said.

“Well, she didn’t have any identification on her, so I need to ask you a few questions.” I felt my stomach turn to lead. “You are family, right? At least, that’s what the EMT’s told me.” I looked at the ground, terrified. I could lie, but then when she woke up she’d just tell them and I’d be in even more trouble. I decided to bite the bullet.

“I’m… I’m not family.” I said.

“But the EMT’s-”

“I know. I told them I was because, Jesus doc, I couldn’t just leave her all alone when she saved my life.” He looked at me for a long time before letting out a long sigh.

“Legally, I have to tell the police.” He said.

“Doc, please, I just-”

“But, I don’t want that girl to have to wake up all by herself. So, I might have to let it slip my mind.” I hugged him tightly.

“Thank you doctor.”

“Don’t thank me, thank that girl.” He smiled. “Now, let’s go see her.” I followed him through the maze of corridors and hallways, avoiding patients as we finally made it to her room. I walked over and sat down next to her. Jesus, she looked like Hell. I brushed a piece of hair out of her face. They were giving her blood and a bunch of other drugs I’m sure. I took her hand in mine and just sat there, unable to take my eyes off this girl whose life I’d completely destroyed. Because I was too stupid to make sure there wasn’t a car she could never have kids. I pressed my forehead to her hand.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.” I felt a tear roll down my face as it finally hit me what this girl had given up just to save me. She could have easily died. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see the doctor.

“It’s going to be alright.” He said. “It could have been much worse.” I nodded.

“When is she going to wake up?”

“It could be minutes, it could be a day. It’s hard to tell, she’s lost a lot of blood.” I looked up at the bag to see that she was blood type AB, just like me. I smiled, what were the odds?

“I’ll leave you two be.” He said, patting my shoulder.

“Doc.” I said.

“Yes?” I stood up and hugged him again.

“Thank you.”

I stayed with the girl for hours upon hours with not even the slightest hint she might wake up. I ate hospital food and when it got dark one of the nurses brought me a blanket. Luckily, no one recognized me as I camped out all night and well into the next day as she stayed asleep. I had befriended all the nurses, always singing to them and thanking them for taking such good care of me. They even washed the blood off my clothes, lending me scrubs until they were clean and letting me use the shower in the nurses’ station. I kept calling Paul, letting him know what was going on, but I could tell he and the others were getting more and more antsy about me being gone. At about seven the second night he snapped.

“Look Liam, you can’t stay there forever. You’re in the middle of a tour if you didn’t remember. We have to leave tomorrow night.”

“Suspend the tour!” I said. “I’m not leaving her.”

“Liam-”

“Suspend the tour.” I said simply. I was glad he didn’t know what hospital I was at, or he might just come grab me. I closed the phone and turned it off. Why didn’t he understand? This girl had saved me. There was no way I was going to abandon her. I looked back at the girl, now that the cuts were healing I could really see how beautiful she was as I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“You know, they say that if you talk to people who are asleep, they can hear you.” I turned to see Doctor Fleur, who I’d simply kept calling Doc. He smiled at me as I turned to her.

“Do you really think she’d be able to hear me?” I asked as he took her vitals and wrote down the numbers on his little chart.

“I’ve had patients who remember hearing their family’s voices. So, yes, I think she’d be able to hear you.” He smiled as he finished checking her over and I looked at him.

“Any family show up looking for her yet?”

“I’m afraid not.” I sighed. “But I’m sure someone will show up eventually.” He promised. “They usually do.” He patted my shoulder again as he walked out. I looked at this girl, I wanted to tell her it was going to be alright, that I was here for her. I smiled as I softly started to sing.

“When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you”

As I held the last note I slowly yawned and I took her hand and laid down my head, falling into a much needed sleep.

I opened my eyes the next morning when I felt someone shaking me. I looked up to see that the girl was awake and smiled. “You’re alright.” I said, smiling.

“What happened? Where am I?” She asked. I was a bit confused, why didn’t she have a French accent? She sounded American. But all that was lost on me when I saw her bright hazel eyes, they were stunning and I got quite lost in them until she shook me and I blushed.

“You saved me from getting hit by a car by pushing me out of the way, you’re in the hospital right now. Let me go get the doctor.” I leapt up and ran to a nurse, telling her the good news. She quickly grabbed Doctor Fleur and we walked into her room. I expected her to be happy she was alive, but she looked terrified.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Who are you?” She demanded.

“I’m the guy you saved-”

“Do you know me?” I blushed.

“N-not really, but you saved me, I couldn’t just leave you here all alone.”

“So you don’t know who I am?” She asked, completely panicked.

“No, why do you keep asking me that?” She pressed her face into her hands and started to cry. I ran over and put my hands on her shoulders. “Hey, what’s wrong, why are you crying?” She looked up at me, her bright eyes shining with tears.

“Because I don’t remember anything.”