as it is || harry styles au

fifty-five

a/n: this is a double update! make sure you read yesterday's chapter fifty-four first!!

h a r r y

Pain.

Was this why they called some headaches ear-splitting?

I slept so horribly. I slept so wrong. My left arm was still asleep. And my side was on fire. I needed to stretch—

The smell of smoke had my eyes shooting open.

     There was an accident?

"Daddy!"

     90 mph...

     95...

     100...

     "Will, someone's following us and trying to run us off the road. Harry's heading towards your mom's house and he wants you to meet us there."

My ears rang. My eyes shut. I sucked in a breath that I immediately regretted. Thick, dirty air filled them and I broke down into a coughing fit that had me thinking it was my side that was covered in flames.

"Daddy!"

Jamie.

"Jamie." His name was whispered from my lips. My eyes shot open. I willing the burning pain in my side away and pawed at my seatbelt, twisting my body around to get eyes on Jamie. He was no longer in his car seat. Somehow, it slipped out from under him. He was crying—sobbing. His eyes were wide and zeroed on me. His face read of pure terror.

Ives.

Beside me, she was quiet. Her eyes were closed, head drooped against her left shoulder.

"Ivy." Her name ghosted from my lips. "Ivy."

I reached down to her lap for her wrist to check her pulse. She didn't so much as twitch a muscle, but it was there. Her pulse was there in slow, strong beats.

It's okay. She's okay. Just knocked out.

"Daddy! Momma!"

"'M comin', bub." My words didn't sound like my own. They didn't sound like they came from my mouth.

I shoved at my door, not realizing it was locked until the second time I shouldered it. Smoke surrounded me. Dark, black smoke plumed from the engine. The smell of gas creeped into my nose.

Before I knew it, I was pulling open Jamie's door.

He clung to me like a lifeline while I undid his seatbelt. I did a quick once over and saw no obvious sign of injuries. "You're bleeding," I heard him say.

"'S'okay," I murmured, cradling the back of his head.

"Daddy, Momma!" His scream not only pierced my one eardrum that seemed to be working, but shot right into my chest.