HEARTBEAT {h.s}

33

Harry's been comforting me for a while now, each minute feeling like I'm slipping away even more. He encouraged me to fight to keep my eyes open which became increasingly more difficult as I felt like the only thing I wanted to do was rest. I even feel relief with each blink I take.

"Distract me?" I whisper to him but it's more of a pleading.

"Okay..." He sits a little straighter, his fingers running through my hair now. That was distracting enough but I wanted to hear his voice. "What do you want to hear?"

"Anything," I sigh, "Everything."

"Uh..." He thinks to himself, "What do you call a sleeping bull?"

I scrunch my face in confusion, "What?"

"A bulldozer." He tells the joke but his face doesn't change. The joke was so terrible that I actually found myself laughing.

"Ok...uhm, why is the grass so dangerous?"

"Why?" I say, anticipating whatever horrific punchline was next.

"It's full of blades." He smiles, sensing that he's lifted my mood and taken my mind off the numbing pain.

"Harry, they're terrible jokes." I laugh, reminiscing the look on his face when he told them, waiting for a reaction.

"I panicked." He chuckles, watching my smile I realise. "It made you smile though."

The pain in my hand suddenly creeps up my arm and the cramp feels like it's pulsing, which removes the smile off my face. I groan and shut my eyes, trying to adjust to the agony.

"Bell, we're gonna be at the mansion any minute now, okay? Just say strong until then. You're gonna be okay, I promise. I'll be right next to you the whole time."

I nod my head, understanding his words and being grateful for his presence. "Thank you." I squeeze his hand, a gateway to distinguishing some of the intense discomfort in my body. I call out finally, "Niall?"

"Yeah?" He immediately responds.

"C-Could you text Eden and just let her know I'm okay?" I push the words out.

He's taken away a bit, I can tell, "I- How do you kn-"

"Please, give me a bit of credit, Niall. I'm not entirely an idiot." I smile.

"Of course," He laughs solemnly, "I'll make sure to tell her."

Seconds later, the car comes to a stop. I only hear the sliding of the door before Harry is shuffling out with me in his arms. I press my face into his chest, my hand gripping into the material of his shirt as I'm carried into the mansion.

I don't open my eyes until I'm being placed down and out of his arms. My body hits a cold slab underneath which makes me shiver and I realised I'm lying down on the kitchen island.

Harry disappears from my sight only to come back and lift my head onto a small pillow.

I hear the mumbling of conversation but the screeching in my eyes makes it hard to understand. An unfamiliar face moves into my point of view and I see he's wearing blue latex gloves and a white coat.

"Hello, Ms Webber. I'm Dr Carlson. And this is my assistant, Miss Dawson." He introduces the woman standing next to him. I know you're feeling incredibly uncomfortable right now, but I'm here to help, okay?"

"Mm." I nod, feeling like I'm only half awake.

"Can you tell me how old you are?" He asks, shining a bright light into my eyes.

"Uhm, 20." I choke.

"Good. And do you know where you are?"

"Harry's mansion. Uh, Crescentwood Estate, that's it."