Breathless // lp

Chapter 15.

Ash shot up panting and shaking uncontrollably. The sheets beneath her tangled her feet as she kicked at them wildly. The fall and rise of her chest increasing every second, Ash tried to see through the thick blackness the room, but just to her luck she saw nothing. 

Ash could feel her heart pounding and racing in her chest, making her greedily gulp for air, breaths coming out in short ragged gasps. Slowly she brought her hand to her face, trying to calm herself down. The nightmares were getting worse. 

More and more they've been haunting her, bringing back old memories that Ash had hoped she'd forgotten. Sighing, Ash pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. It had only been a mere five seconds before she heard a  noise. 

A soft cry, somewhere else in the house. Fear crawling into her chest, Ash quickly turned to wake Liam, but as soon as she saw his sleeping form, she couldn't possibly bring herself to do it. His eyes were shut tightly, as if something was stirring him in his sleep. 

Biting her lip, Ash decided against waking him and slipped from the warm sheets of her bed. A cold gush of air hit her legs almost immediately, making her want to slip back in bed. But almost as if it was on cue, the cries seemed to grow louder in her ears, becoming that much more desperate. 

Careful not to wake Liam, Ash scampered from the bedroom and down the dark hallway, blindly feeling her way to the living room. 

"Hello?" She hissed through the darkness. "Anyone there?" Suddenly the crying stopped and a soft snifle indicated the noises were coming from the far corner. Ash whipped her head around the corner to see a curled up ball, obviously a person crying into their knees. Gasping, Ash felt her heart drop to her stomach in fear.

"H-Harry? Is that you?" She whispered, settling herself down in front of the curly haired boy. It was silent for a moment, until Ash's soft voice was followed with a snifle and a nod from Harry. 

"What...what's the matter with you? Are you alright?" Ash asked shakily, awkwardly reaching out to touch Harry's arm comfortingly. 

"N-N-No," Harry stuttered quietly, barely loud enough for Ash to hear. Sighing, Ash debated on what to do. On one hand, she could just go back to Liam's room and wake him up, saying that Harry was crying, but on the other Liam was already tired enough. 

Maybe she could handle the situation herself, after all she couldn't always depend on Liam for help with everything.  

But Harry was crying. Ash had never seen him cry. She didn't know what to do. Sighing, Ash scooted a little closer than she would have liked and grabbed Harry's shoulder. 

"Hey. Listen to me, everything alright-" 

"No it's not!" Harry hissed. He brought his head up to look at Ash, his glassy green eyes glinting with the pale moonlight shining in from the window. Ash recoiled slightly at his harshness before taking a deep breath and waiting to see if he had more to say. 

"Harry-" 

"He's kicking me out, Ash." Harry moaned, pouting a moment as more tears fell from his eyes. With a small cry Harry buried his head back into his arms and sobbed quietly, the cries muffled by his hoodie sleeve. 

Ash felt her breathing quicken, and she glanced towards the hallway, half expecting Liam to come but he never did.  Liam was kicking Harry out? Ash shook her head. No, this doesn't make sense. He wouldn't. Harry's their bandmember!
 

"I've messed up everything. With y-you, with t-the band, I just can't. He said it'd b-be best if I left. Where am I s-supposed to go, w-what am I supposed to d-do?" Harry choked, sniffling and bringing his eyes up to meet Ash's.