as it is || harry styles au

twenty-nine

3rd update in 24 hours ahhh!!!! make sure you've read 27 (twenty-seven) and 28 (twenty-eight) first!

tw // mention of rape

h a r r y

     "Where's Momma?"

     "Zuri, could you get Ivy, please?" I asked, not willing to move a muscle.

     I'd just gotten Jamie to settle down in my bed. It took a mountain of pillows and dealing with his hair getting in my mouth while he laid on top of me, but he had calmed. The shaking and whimpering that was tearing my soul in half finally stopped.

     "Sure thing."

     The walls in my apartment were thick, but with the door cracked open, I could only hear bits and pieces of voices and the front door opening and closing.

"She's coming, bub," I promised.

It took a couple of minutes, but eventually, the door creaked open and shut.

Jamie had fallen asleep already.

Ivy quietly walked to the bedside. The room was dark apart from the light coming from the bathroom. When she walked into that light, I saw the devastation painted on her face.

"He's asleep?" She breathed out.

"Yeah, he'll want to see you when he wakes up. Come here, love." I opened up my free arm. She climbed onto the bed and mirrored Jamie's position on my other side.

I kissed the top of her head. "He's okay."

She sniffled, and if she started to cry, my soul was going to start ripping again. "He left a note."

"Who?"

"Him. He didn't leave the note, but he wrote it. The guy Jamie saw was trying to leave it inside, but instead, he dropped it out on the grass when he ran."

Unbridled fury.

"He mentioned that he knew I told people, Harry." Her voice cracked. "I'm afraid he'll hurt him."

     I pulled her deeper to my chest, resting my chin on her head. "Baby, no. Nobody's fucking touching either of you. Over my dead body."

     "Don't say that," she whimpered.

     Jamie began to stir. "Momma?"

     Like the selfless mother she was, she schooled her features and sat up with a comforting smile. She reached over me to grab onto his arm, making sure he could see her face. The necklace I'd gifted her not even an hour ago hung from her neck. It was unfathomable how quickly things could change in an instant.

     She cleared her throat. "I'm right here, honey."

     "I wanna go home."

     She brushed her fingers down his cheeks. "Okay, honey, we'll head home."

     My chest splintered. He didn't feel safe here, and I didn't blame him.