Hopeless

Chapter 20

Phoenix's POV

When I woke up from my nap, I saw that my phone had a couple texts from the lads. I didn't want to be bothered, so I left my phone on the table and thought back to earlier that morning.

Harry must've heard me puking. He called me and I declined it. Realizing that I'd declined the call instead of letting it buzz, I knew I was going to have to fake it. He came in and called me out, so I had no choice but to move. Harry snuggled in next to me and told me I'd gotten skinnier. Scared because I didn't want him to put two and two together, I told him I had a big day. And I did. Today I found out if I moved on to a different modeling gig that paid better, or if I stayed with this one. The current one was lame and the clothes were too revealing, but it paid the bills. The lads didn't know I was modeling, and the agents had been telling me to lose weight for a month now.

That morning, I'd shown up to work and had begun answering emails like normal. One minute, I was typing, the next, I'd blacked out. Someone called an ambulance, and I woke up in the ambulance with a headache.

Harry's POV

After lunch, I went in to see if Phoenix was awake. She was on her phone.

"Hey," I said. Her eyes flickered up to meet mine and then flickered back down to her phone. I awkwardly sat down at the end of the bed.

"We know," I said cautiously.

"What do you know and how much do you know?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"We know you're bulimic and we know about the scars," I answered.

"Call the lads in and get comfortable," she fell back on the pillows. They all came in and stole pillows from the closet to get comfortable.

Phoenix's POV

"Six weeks ago, I got an offer from a modeling agency. They wanted me to model for them. I accepted, and then they started subtly telling me to lose weight. After a couple weeks, they flat out told me to start losing weight. I eventually HAD to resort to what had happened. Nothing else was working," I said.

There was absolute silence as the lads were shocked with tears brimming in their eyes and a look of hard rage on Harry's face. I saw him leave the room clenching and unclenching his fists.

Harry's POV

That was it. I was pulling Phoenix out of that job. It wasn't even close to healthy.

"Hello, I'd like to speak to the boss of Miss Phoenix Styles... Yes, I'd like to inform you that she will no longer be working for you... Who f****** cares about two weeks notice! She's in the hospital with an eating disorder because of you!... No, I don't give a s***... You can find someone else to treat like a slutty whore. I don't approve of the clothes. They make her look like a slutty whore, of which she is not. Good day, ma'am!" I hung up and walked back into the hospital room, muttering under my breath.

Phoenix's POV

"Two weeks notice, my a**," I heard Harry mutter under his breath when he came back into my room.

"Harry, what happened?" I asked. It couldn't have been good if he's this upset.

"Your boss gave me s*** because I pulled you out without two weeks notice," he growled.

"Oh Harry, you're wonderful! Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, overcome with relief.

"So, not to ruin the moment, but how about that burger and fries we talked about?" Niall asked. At my nod, he put in the order. The smart lad had figured out how to use room service!