Helping The Poltergeist // H.S.

Chapter 32: Uninvited

Louis

"Are you okay, mate?" I pat Zayn's shoulder and he just shrugs my hand off.

"Okay." I drawl, my hands up in surrender. I then rest my arms on the almost frozen rail. "You do realize it's freezing out here."

"I just needed a breather." Zayn mutters under his breath, exiting the balcony for his room, I guess.

I knew why he had a brawl with Harry. We all know why.

Without being able to stop myself, I said, "Hollie is not some kind of a rebound."

I didn't need to see that Zayn is actually crying. Yes, crying. He always was a crybaby. Most especially ever since the day that girl dumped him.

Ashley. The girl who disappeared without anyone else knowing where she went. Not even her own family.

Zayn abruptly stops and becomes immobile, clenching his knuckles until they turn papery white.

"Of course. This is a different story, Louis. It's not always about that girl." He resumes his walk, leaving me in silence.

As I transfix my gaze back to the flickering reflection of the moon on the lake, my whole body turns rigid as I see someone dive in.

"What the fuck!" Who in the world would be crazy enough to swim in that freezing water?

Futile the cold is. Whoever that person is, I'm pretty sure he's some sort of recluse who escapes from time to time when he probably shouldn't.

"Hey London! We have an uninvited guest by the lake. Would you mind having it checked out?" Immediately, I alarmed the security and everybody else that an outsider is in the lake while I make my way out there just to assure that my eyes weren't playing tricks with me.

I take a coat on, wrap a scarf around my neck and head outside. I don't why I'm so curious as to go out here and die looking for someone who might just be a figment of my imagination.

It's weird though. The backdoor was left ajar as if somebody just went in. But that's impossible. If so, I would've seen him.

"B-Bloody wint-ter!" My teeth chattered as soon as I exit the backdoor of the house, experiencing the brutal cold.

What am I doing?

Although I thought I was alone, I wasn't.

Another figure, not too far from where I was is frolicking around the woods with an odd gait like that of a drunken man.

"Wait for me! I'm coming!" I hear from the person and in that instance, I realize who it was.

"Hollie?" What the hell is she doing out here?

With a slow pace, I sneakily trail behind her, curious about her motive in going outside in this horrible weather. Then I remember that some outsider was out in the woods.

"Hollie! Hey!" My voice succumbed to the howling, no, more of roaring wind. "Hollie!"

My eyes were trained on Hollie that I didn't notice a large root of a tree was protruding from the snowed ground. "Ho-" And of course I tripped, hurting my hand.

"Damn it!" I hiss in pain as blood start to flow out of my palm. I tear a cloth from my shirt and wrap it around the wound to stop the bleeding.

The moment I look up, Hollie was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit! Where did she go?" Where the fuck is Zayn's security group anyway?

I just resume my walk and look around for Hollie, and also making sure that nobody else is with us.