Ripped Away (A Harry Styles Fan Fiction)

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Anne tapped lightly on her son’s door. “Harry, dear? You almost ready to go?”

Harry glanced up from the small pile of clothes he’d folded and refolded a dozen times. “I’ll be right there,” he answered, and looked down at the dress shirt in his hands. It was lavender purple, Crystal’s favorite color.

He half-smiled as he recalled the time he wore it to her 22nd birthday party. “Well, look at you, handsome beaver!” she’d noted as he walked up to the house, before taking her in his arms and delivering her first birthday kiss.

Harry packed everything neatly into his small black suitcase and zipped it slowly. He had been dreading this all week.

Stepping out of his room, Harry saw Niall standing in the kitchen, nibbling on a biscuit. Louis and Liam were helping Anne load the car while Zayn was on the phone with his girlfriend, Perrie, bidding her goodbye.

Anne sighed heavily as she stepped into the house. “Alright, then... All that’s left is Harry’s suitcase and then I think we’re good to go! Have you got everything, love?” She smiled delicately at her son, who was standing motionless at the end of the hallway. He nodded in silence and sauntered out towards the car.

The trunk was packed tightly, leaving just enough room for Harry’s suitcase. He remembered the time when the five boys took their girlfriends on a camping trip, and everyone was packed into two vehicles for a solid three hours. Harry couldn’t fit his bag into either trunk, so it had to sit on his lap the entire way. His legs eventually fell asleep and Crystal had to help him walk once they arrived at the campsite. He remembered trying his best to keep his balance in order not to crush the little thing. She was so small he could huddle her in his jacket when she was cold. She was like a kitten, all curled up on his chest...

“Harry, you need some help there?” Louis interrupted Harry’s daydreaming, startling him slightly. He raised his eyebrows at Harry and awaited his answer.

“Uh...no. I’ve got it, thanks.” He stuffed his suitcase into the trunk and brought the door down forcefully so that it would close. “Good to go, then?”

Louis nodded. “I think so.” There was a pause, and Harry shoved his hands in his back pockets while biting the inside of his bottom lip. Louis studied his movements. “You know, everyone will understand if you don’t go. You don’t have to put yourself through it if it’s too much-”

“Lou,” Harry said softly, stopping him from continuing. He knew he didn’t have to go. But in a way, he did.

Louis bit his cheek and nodded understandingly. Like Harry, he didn’t really want to go, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

Just then, the rest of the boys stepped out of the house. “Anne’s just on the phone with Paul; she’ll be ‘round soon.” Liam stated, and the group lingered quietly beside the car, each dreading the hours ahead.

Once Anne had hung up, she felt a sudden wooziness to her that she couldn’t describe. It was like she wanted to pass out, but was somehow much too aware to grow unconscious. She wasn’t prepared for all this. She wasn’t ready to watch her son be devoured by grief. Not at his age.

She carefully made her way outside, and quickly checked with everyone before locking the door. They piled into the car and, without another word, drove off to catch the late flight to Edmonton, Alberta.

~

Hoods up and shades on, Anne and the boys manoeuvred around the crowds to retrieve their luggage and meet up with Paul who had earlier arrived. They slipped out of the airport unnoticed and made their way to a hotel. Normally, Crystal’s parents would have insisted that they stayed at their house in the country, but her family was in no condition to have people over, which was completely understandable.

When they arrived at the hotel, it was past midnight. Technically, it was already considered the 13th, and the funeral would be held in only a few hours, but Harry pushed that thought as far away as he could. He didn’t anticipate being able to sleep tonight.

After lying awake for over three hours, Harry decided it was useless to remain in bed. He might as well keep his mind busy if it insisted on staying active all night. He quietly retrieved his phone from his suitcase and tip-toed to the bathroom in order not to wake Liam who was sharing his room.

Harry sat on the edge of the bath tub and hesitated before opening the Twitter app on his phone. He had intentionally ignored it all week, but he knew he needed to check things out eventually.

To his surprise, no news of the incident had leaked online. No one was talking about it; no one even suspected that anything was wrong. Harry was relieved, but at the same time disappointed, because he knew he couldn’t hide the news from the world for long. Somehow, he was going to have to tell them. It was only right.

A few fans commented on his absence from Twitter but the other boys had posted things like, “Super busy rehearsing, won’t be on much” which excused their lack of tweets.

Closing his eyes, Harry contemplated what he was about to do next. He knew it would hurt, but he couldn’t resist. Typing her name in slowly, he clicked to view Crystal’s profile.

Her photo was of the two of them from the day they were having a barbeque. Harry was teasing Crystal that her shirt had been inside out all day without her noticing. As payback, she had taken his phone from his back pocket and threatened to hide it. He chased her around the yard in order to get it back and someone snapped a shot right as he caught up to her and grabbed her by the waist. In the picture, they both looked so happy. Harry remembered Crystal always loved to be chased. He smiled as her short squeal of surprise rang through his ears from the times he would catch her. He loved to swing her to the ground and pin her down playfully. Those moments had been pure bliss.

Coming back into reality, Harry scrolled down to see what her last tweet had been. It was from the day she had died. It read, “Watching Criminal Minds...needed a pillow for this one! Does this stuff actually happen?! Freaky!!”

Harry couldn’t believe the irony. It was too much.

Sighing, he logged off and locked his phone. He kept yawning, and at this point it was getting painful. He knew he might as well get a tiny bit of sleep before tackling the day ahead. He crept back to his bed silently and focused hard to keep the image from the barbecue in his mind. He never wanted to forget how happy he felt when he was with her. It put his mind at peace and before he knew it, he was drifting off into slumber.

~~~

Long time, no see! :D

Well, diploma exams are over and I believe they were a success! This new semester may be the death of me though...forgive me if I don't update as often as I'd like to, but school must certainly come first!

Anyways, I know this chapter's pretty uneventful, originally I wanted it to be of the funeral but I needed to incorporate the Twitter thing and also needed to lighten the mood a bit so the funeral will be its own chapter!

Until then, I bid thee farewell!

Crystal xx