Look at Me - H.S.

~ Chapter 27 ~

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Cassie!" I shout as I run to her. I slam my palm against the big red stop button on the treadmill just before falling to my knees.

She's breathing, but out cold.

Her hair is in a messy ponytail and her skin is covered with beads of moisture. She has on loose jogging bottoms and a fucking hoody. No wonder she's soaked. The air con isn't even on in here. The sweat on her head is acting like glue and the wispy hairs that have come loose are stuck to her face. I move her slightly as I sit on the floor with my back against the wall and pull her into my lap.

With one hand cupping the back of her head against my chest, I grab my phone from where I dropped it on the floor ready to dial 911. Just as my thumb hovers over the green call button, she groans and moves her head slightly, nuzzling further into my bare skin. My phone falls from my hand, hitting the mat with a thud but I don't give one single shit right now. I gently wipe the hair from CJ's face and move myself so I can speak quietly, directly into her ear.

"Cassie, you're okay love. I'm here. I've got you." I whisper gently. I unconsciously begin to rock us both back and forth slightly.

My heart is pounding against my rib cage as if I've just completed a ten mile run and I can feel the emotion fizzing behind my eyes. I twist my lips to the side and blink quickly, looking up to the ceiling, trying to will away the tears before they escape. I have to be calm right now. She's going to be fine. She has to be fine.

"Harry?" Her voice is soft and sounds like she's just woken up from the best sleep of her life.
I tilt my head back down to see her face, her eyes are open and scanning her surroundings but she makes no effort to try and move from my hold.

"Fancied a little mid-workout nap, did ya sunflower?" I smile brightly at her. It's fake but I don't think she notices. She tilts her head to get a better look at me and I wink at her, the smile never leaving my face. It's then that I notice the red mark on her left cheekbone, it's not a rosey red, like when you get hot or embarrassed. This is an angry red and I can already see the beginnings of a purple bruise starting to form.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, Shh. It's okay CJ. You're okay. Here, drink some of this." I hand her my water bottle and she opens it up and guzzles down the cool liquid like she's been stranded in the desert for weeks. I scan the room and notice that there isn't any other bottles of water in here so she probably hadn't had any of her own before now.

"I - I was just running a-and then I started to feel a little lightheaded but everything went black before I could stop the machine. I'm so sorry I worried you."

For the first time since I've known Cassie, I'm pissed at her. Now, I know she's hurting. I know her mind isn't in the right place but seriously? That machine wasn't doing a gentle jog, it was going fucking fast. She's got no water, probably had no fucking food, she's got heavy clothing on and has turned the air conditioning completely off. What the fuck did she think would happen?

I release a steady breath through my nose, curling my lips into my mouth to try and prevent anything coming out that might upset her.

We sit in silence for a few moments before she asks, "are you mad at me?"

I'm not sure how convincing I'd be if I tried to lie right now. So I don't. "A little, CJ. Yeah."

Her head tilts up and our eyes connect. Hers are almost lifeless, like the blue has dulled and her bright blue sparkle is now almost grey. Her lash line becomes watery and the anger begins to dissipate. I shake my head slightly and peck her forehead. "You scared me, Cass."