Rescue Me [H.S.]

20. No Going Back

Victoria's POV:

I have been pacing around the apartment, looking at my phone every 10. second. Finally I hear a faint beep-sound. A short message from an unknown number.

"Internet; search: harry punches niall. Hope you're okay. Louis xx"

First I stop my pacing. Is it really Louis writing this? Where did he get my number? And why do I have to search "harry punches niall"? He didn't actually punch Niall did he? Only one way to find out, I think, as I break my promise to Harry and turn on his computer. Luckily, he didn't hide it from me.

As the MacBook awakens, my hands are shaking slightly as I type in the few words. A gasp escapes my lips as the firsts results show up.

"Is this the end of One Direction?" says a headline and I click it.

"After the so-called Directioners, fans of One Direction, have started cutting after seeing evidence that Harry Styles' girlfriend apparently do so, Harry and Niall were seen getting into a fight. Click video below to watch the fight between the two (former) best mates."

After seeing just a minute I stop the video. The fight began with just a single punch, but then Niall attacked Harry from behind as he was trying to leave. None of the paparazzi intervened. I close the computer and check my phone. No messages. Now all I can do is to wait. Seconds turn into minutes, which turn into hours...

* * *

"Hey... Vic, I'm home." It's Harry's gentle, familiar voice that wakes me up.

"Must have fallen asleep," I mutter as I slowly open my eyelids, yawning.

"Sorry it took me so long to come home," Harry says as he sits down on the couch next to me, placing his arm around me.

I glance at the clock on the wall; it is only a bit past eleven - which means he has been alone for several hours since the meeting with his manager and the fight with Niall.

"Are you okay?" I ask, stroking his cheek.

"Yeah. I just had some thinking to do. But I'm better than okay. I'm good. I'm happy. I've decided that you were right. I have to leave One Direction. I've already got a lawyer on it, and I don't care how much it's gonna cost me, I can't - I can't after.. It was Niall who found out your secret and shared it with the world," Harry explains.

For some reason it doesn't surprise me nor disappoint me - I've learned to expect the worst from people because that way they can never let you down. I just nod at his words and yawn once more before I turn to look at him. A gasp almost escapes my lips at the sight. His eyes are bloodshot, hair messier than usual and not in the stylish way that it usually is and he has a black eye. Never have I seen him so unlike himself. Was it really the right decision for him to leave One Direction? It has been his whole life for the past years, but leaving would be the fastest and maybe only way to regain some independence and freedom.

"Are you sure?" I whisper and now it's Harry's turn to nod.

After a silence between us, Harry grabs the remote and turns on the TV. We both stare at the screen for a while though I'm sure none of us even know what we're watching. I lean my head on Harry's shoulder, ready to just fall asleep and forget everything for a while, when Harry sighs and gently lift my head of his shoulder, making me look at him.

"I have to tell you something. And then ask something of you. I'm sorry in advance, but it's probably best that you'd hear it from me."

He sighs again, avoids my gaze by fidgeting with a bracelet that I'm wearing.

"People... Girls, our fans... Have started cutting because they think it would get our attention because yeah."

He's still not looking at me.

"It's okay. I knew. Louis sent me a text to look up your fight with Niall."

Harry shortly looks up at me and nods slowly.

"But you probably don't know everything.. A girl cut too deep and she's now dead. But Vic... What if people keep doing it? I know, and you know, that it is not your fault or mine, but... If there is a way for us to make the girls stop cutting, don't you think we would have to do it?"

He finally looks into my eyes, and the emerald sparkle is gone - replaced with guilt, hurt, and shame. I lightly touch his swollen eye and nod. I know what's coming next, but when he says the words I still feel my heart drop.

"I think you need to check into a rehab facility."

We look into each other's eyes for a while and though none of us speaks, it is the most heart-breaking conversation I've ever had.