Deception - H.S

Chapter 57

Trigger warning: mentions of suicide, grief

Harry Styles

When I found another stupid box in Hope's hotel room, I immediately texted Niall and told him to look into it. So when Niall called me saying he found something, I had to meet him, no matter how much I didn't want to leave Hope alone in the house.

It was a constant worry now and this person's motive was to harm her, the reason might be unknown but there is no fucking way they will succeed.

The trip was a waste of my fucking time though because the CCTV footage didn't catch the person's face. I had to watch that son of a bitch go into her room and plant another threatening message. It also seemed like they knew how to avoid the cameras because not a single one of them caught their face.

She couldn't know about this, it would only make her worry more and I knew she wouldn't worry about herself but everyone else around her.

As soon as I was done meeting Niall, who, by the way, is still angry at me for the pool incident, I rushed back to my place. I didn't know how to convince him that my intentions were anything but hurting her. Couldn't he fucking see how stressed I was about this stalker?

On my way back, I stopped at a grocery store, grabbing a few things and honestly feeling so fucking stupid about this as I carried the bags through the front door.

"Bree?" She wasn't on this floor, maybe she was still in the library. I didn't know why I wanted to show her that or why I told her that all those romance books were mine. Fuck, we even spoke about it. Except for Kiara, and now Hope, no one else knows of my reading habits.

When I don't find her on this floor, I put the bags on the center table in front of the couch and make my way upstairs.

I could hear some struggled breathing and sobs from the room where Hope was sleeping in, my feet rushing to push the door open.

What the fuck?

She was lying on the floor curled up, those fucking boxes were out too. I sat beside her, my heart suddenly feeling like it was beating at a thousand miles per second as I pushed her hair away from her face. Unsure of what was happening, I quickly scan her for any injuries but there were none.

Her cheeks were red, eyes pinched tightly shut as tears stained her cheeks. Her breathing was choppy and I was afraid that she was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen with how she was behaving.

"Baby, look at me..." I force her to sit up, wiping her tears but she refused to open her eyes. I take her hand and put it over my heart, inhaling a deep breath and holding it in for a few seconds before exhaling, "Breath for me, please." I had no fucking idea what this was or what triggered it, only that I couldn't see her like this.

She took short, sharp breaths, struggling and her tears wouldn't stop flowing. "Just fucking try..." I pulled her face up when she lowered her head, pressing her palms against her eyes and ready to give up.

I didn't know what to fucking do in this situation so I was just doing what she did when I was having a panic attack. She was choking on her own tears and her staggered breathing was getting me worried.

What the fuck happened to get this reaction? Holding her face, I tilted it to face mine, swiping my thumb back and forth on her reddened cheeks. "Do this with me..." I guided her with my voice, "Breathe in..." I inhaled, tapping my thumb against her cheek four times before exhaling, "Breathe out..."

I learned that having a physical action, something tangible and enough to ground you can help in such situations, hence the tapping of skin.

I pressed her hand against my chest again, repeating the process and this time she follows, inhaling and exhaling with me.