in the ring / harry styles

28- Harry's POV

Harry's POV:

the air in the car is suffocating, heavy with the kind of tension that burrowed into your bones and refused to leave. The weight in my chest pressed harder with each second, every streetlight flickering past us like a ticking clock I couldn't ignore. My fingers tapped against my thigh in a rhythmic, restless beat as if I could somehow pound out the anxiety building up inside of me.

My mind couldn't stay still. It kept going back to Lucy's face, her laugh, her voice. The thought of her alone, or hurt—no, I couldn't even let myself finish the thought. I swallowed hard, feeling my stomach turn.

"Come on, Lynn," Zayn muttered under his breath as his phone buzzed again, and I could practically hear the silent prayer under his words, the hope that somehow, she'd have an answer we hadn't yet found.

The speakers crackled, and Lynn's voice spilled out, every word frantic, laced with a kind of panic I'd never heard from her before.

 "Emilia and I have been trying to call her for hours. She's not answering anyone, and I know she's not okay, Zayn, I can feel it."

I could feel the nerves in her voice wrap around me, intensifying the dread already coiled tight in my chest. Liam's jaw was tense as he gripped the wheel, his eyes sharp as he glanced my way, as if he understood exactly what was surging through me. 

I could see it in him, too. We'd all started with our eyes peeled on the streets, as if she might be walking back to her campus, maybe too shaken to answer her phone. But that hope felt more like denial now.

"Lynn, listen," Zayn said, trying to ground her, but his voice wavered, his usual calm cracked by the fear gripping all of us. "We haven't found her yet, but we're checking all the usual spots."

Then, like a gunshot out of nowhere, she said a name that made me feel like the floor had dropped out beneath me.

"Jake," she said, her words raw and panicked. "She was with Jake before she disappeared. He left flowers and some note outside her door. She was so upset when she found them, and she went to confront him. That was the last we heard from her."

Jake? My mind stumbled over the name, and everything else faded into white noise. My throat tightened with a sour taste, anger rising so fast I had to grit my teeth to keep from shouting.

"Who the fuck is Jake?" The words tore out of me, sharp and biting, before I even thought them through. The silence that followed told me everyone was waiting on the answer. My fists clenched so tight my knuckles went white, the muscles in my jaw straining as I held my breath.

I'd known Lucy had a past—everyone has one—but the fact that she'd kept this from me? I felt fucking sick. She'd kept this? And now, because of it, she was missing, maybe in danger. I didn't know if I wanted to break someone's head through a wall or scream.

Lynn's silence stretched on, as if she was taken aback, and when she finally spoke, her voice was tentative. "You didn't know? Lucy never mentioned him?"

"No," I snapped, my voice strained, barely keeping my composure. My mind was racing. How could she not tell me about this guy? "Not a word. And if he's been bothering her—if he's the reason she's out there alone—I swear..."

"Harry," Lynn interrupted, her voice quick, shaky, but desperate to explain. "I didn't realize you didn't know. Jake... he's her ex. He's been trying to get back into her life, and he's not exactly the type to take 'no' for an answer. It's complicated. He's manipulative, and he knows exactly how to get under her skin. He's the reason she's been... She probably didn't want to get you involved, okay?"

"Where does he live?" I demanded, my voice so low it almost didn't sound like my own. I didn't care about anything else right now—just finding her, just making sure she was safe. Then I'd deal with Jake.

"Harry, please, just find Lucy," Lynn begged, as if she could sense what was brewing inside of me. "Don't go looking for a fight with him."

"Then tell me where he is, Lynn!" My voice rose, louder and harsher than I meant, but I couldn't help it. It felt like every part of me was burning, and the only way to put it out was to find this Jake and make sure he never went near Lucy again.

The car went silent. Zayn, Louie, and Niall watched me, tension rippling through each of them. They knew me well enough to sense what I was feeling, the storm building up that I was barely keeping in check.

Then, in the background of the call, I heard another voice—Emilia, I realized—calling out an address, her voice faint but clear enough for all of us to hear.

"Emelia!" Lynn hissed, but it was too late. We'd heard, and nothing was going to keep me from that address now.

"Got it," I said, already burning the directions into my mind. "Liam, head to the address."

Lynn's voice came back through the line, frantic, desperate. "Harry, don't do anything stupid. Just... find Lucy."

But I was beyond reason. I didn't bother responding, and Zayn ended the call with a look that told me he understood. He shoved his phone back in his pocket, and the car fell into an even thicker silence. The only sound was the hum of the engine, and I could feel the tension simmering in each of us, anticipation coiling tight as we braced for what was to come.

As we sped through the streets, I couldn't shake the twisting feeling in my gut. Lucy had dealt with this, and kept it from me.