Deception - H.S

Chapter 56

Hope Whitlock

I woke up with a heavy feeling in my chest, my mouth feeling dry and a rumbling in my stomach like I was going to be sick. I sit up straight, seeing Harry sleeping beside me and Liam on the floor on my other side with his head resting on his folded arms on the mattress.

I wasn't sure what was happening but I didn't want to wake either of them up so I slide straight down the bed, flinging the washroom door open and kneel in front of the toilet. The moment I stood up, there was a lightheaded feeling with a familiar throb in my head.

Hovering over the toilet, I threw up all the contents of my stomach which was nothing but alcohol since last night. It didn't even make sense as to what I was throwing up, the acid making my throat burn. There was a pair of hands holding my hair back and I flushed before resting my back against the tub on the left.

Harry was now sitting crouched down in front of me with a worried look on his face. His eyes were a little red with puffiness under them showing that he was tired and I had just woken him up. "You okay?" his voice was raspier than usual but sounded so good.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I woke you." I pushed myself to get on my feet so I could rinse my mouth of the taste but before I could turn the tap on, another wave of nausea hit me and I immediately turned to the toilet, vomiting again.

This time though, Harry was quick to hold my hair back and was also rubbing my back in a soothing manner. Why was he doing this?

I flushed again, groaning, "Go away, this is disgusting." I hated people seeing me in a vulnerable state, even if it was just me throwing up.

I quickly rinse my mouth with water first and then with the mouthwash that was kept at the corner of the counter. "It's not disgusting, it's normal." Harry muttered.

Once I got rid of the foul taste on my tongue, I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing that I was now wearing Harry's blue flannel that he wore for the show, my hair was slightly damp and the swimsuit I was wearing inside was also damp. The fabric fell to my mid-thighs and I would be lying if I said I didn't like wearing his clothes. It was an odd feeling because it was him but there was something about wearing his clothes and his scent on them that gave me a weird feeling in my stomach.

"You threw me in the pool..." my voice came out almost as a whisper as I took him in. His curls were a mess, falling on his forehead and he was still wearing the sleeveless shirt from earlier but it was now buttoned up. As for his lower half, he was only wearing a pair of black boxer briefs.

"I didn't know you couldn't swim, if I knew I swear I would never have done it." He reaches out to me, turning me around and running his hands along the length of my arms, "You have to fucking believe me, I didn't want to do anything that would harm you."

My head ached in a way that sent a piercing shock deep inside my brain. I don't remember what happened after he threw me in the pool but I remember wanting to tell him I couldn't swim.

"I was trying to tell you-" He cut me off.

"Yeah, I realized that after I came back outside. Fuck..." He sighed.

"Maybe you should try and listen to what I say instead of interrupting me." I was unsure of how I felt about this and the ache in my head wasn't helping at all with this.

Harry looked a bit stunned at my words which made me realize that it came out ruder than I thought, "Sorry, my head hurts really bad, I shouldn't have said it that way..."

"No, you are right. I'm..." He takes a pauses deeply inhaling and then exhaling before he continued, "I will try to not cut you off again." I knew he didn't apologize but for a minute I almost thought he was going to. I didn't quite understand that about him, apologizing only when you mean it and act upon it, but maybe that was because I was constantly apologizing for things. It wasn't because it was always my fault but I genuinely meant it when I said I was sorry.