Ravaged // h.s. au

17.

Harry

It had been so calm, so serene and peaceful, that I had forgotten that a world existed outside that door. And that world, was out to get us. She laughed, and I felt like I wasn't so useless anymore, like that very scene, was why I was ever brought into this world. The smiles she gave me were now closer to how they used to be, and I was so incredibly grateful. I couldn't forgive myself, but at least, she could try to.

My phone rang in my pocket, interrupting her laughter, as she put the milkshake glass to her mouth, creating a brown mustache against her pale skin. I laughed again, putting the phone to my ear, wiping the mustache away with my free hand.

" Styles," I said into the phone, but the words seemed to dissolve into my chuckles, and I struggled to remember the last time I had felt this happy.

" Harry, they're here!" Zayn's panicked voice screamed through the phone, as I heard the sound of gunshots echoing along with screams and panicked orders.

" What? Who's they? Zayn, talk to me." I subconsciously rose to my feet, as if distancing myself away from her, would somehow protect her from all that.

" I don't know, they threw in a gas bomb and they cut off the power. I don't know where the rest of them are."

" Rodriguez. They're there for Rodriguez." Realization dawned on me, a single thought overshadowing all others, as I willed myself not to scream out in frustration.

" Fuck, Harry, just keep your eyes opened over there." I heard a single gunshot, but it was closer than the previous ones, and then the line went dead.

" Zayn? Zayn!" I yelled, a hand running through my hair, pulling at the roots in panic. I redialed Zayn's number, over and over again, but there was no answer. I then tried Louis' number, and Liam's, and even Niall's, but I couldn't get ahold of any of them.

" Oh God." I whispered. Amidst of it all, Gypsy had found her way towards me, laying a hand to my chest, and it was the only thing keeping me grounded.

" What happened, Harry? What's going on?" She asked, so tenderly, in fear of scaring me any further. I looked down upon her, meeting her eyes, to maintain the last drop of strength I owned, before I tried Zayn's phone again. I was about to collect my belongings and leave to try to save whatever that was left, but his voice came through, coughing fiercely, but still, there.

" Zayn? Is everyone okay?"

" They got Rodriguez." He choked out. It dawned on me that another life was taken. Another parent was lost. Another name was to be added to the list of Joshua's victims. Another lost life was to be added to my heavy conscious, because if I had managed to protect my wife, none of that would have happened. I sighed, feeling the heavy weight of remorse setting upon my chest once again, almost knocking me out of breath.

" What about you guys? Are you all okay?" I then asked, hearing him calling out on every name that came to mind, receiving distant replies from each.

" Yeah, we're all alright. This doesn't make any sense though, why didn't they kill any of us? Or all of us even? We were blind in there, they could have taken us down."

" They were probably there to kill Rodriguez before he can give us any more information."

" Yeah, but, killing us would have ended the whole thing."

" Maybe this was some sort of distraction." My eyes fell upon Gypsy, who was now collecting the plates and glasses, after being reassured that they were all okay. My eyes then moved onto the stairs leading to Hazel's room, and I suddenly, had a nauseating feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.

" Distraction? What for?"

" Oh fuck. Hazel." As soon as the name escaped my mouth, my feet hurriedly carried me up the stairs. I heard a slight gasp, coming from where Gypsy had previously stood, along with the sound of crashing utensils, but I couldn't stop. Not yet. I slammed the door to her room open, not caring about waking her up, because if she was there, then nothing else would have mattered. I quickly scanned the room, heart beating erratically in my chest, panic coursing through my veins at the thought of losing her too. Her bed was empty and unmade, the window to her room was opened, and there were no signs of her. A shaky breath went past my lips, before I felt Gypsy's body colliding into my own. She held onto my arm, burying her face into my back, in fear of having to see something, that would completely and utterly ruin her. Her weight rested against my own, and I knew, she couldn't carry herself.

" Is she-"

" She's gone."

A single sob went past her lips. The lips that I had been fascinating about kissing for the past few hours. The lips that I was still thinking of, when I got that call. The lips that were never meant to release such horrid, sad, sounds. She walked past me, and towards the bed. She shakily took the pillow, then removed the blankets, hoping that this would be another one of her games, and she'd be hiding somewhere. Only, she wasn't.

" Where is she?" Gypsy cried, bending down to look beneath the bed.

" Where are you, Hazel?" Her question faded into thin air, but she continued to cry it out, with every single hiding place that was found to be empty. Finally, she collapsed onto the floor, by the bed, hugging the still warm sheets to her chest, and crying into them. I felt myself being awoken by her breakdown. She had been so collected for so long. I hadn't seen her this shattered in months, and I was reminded of what I was supposed to do, but failed to, all those months ago.

I dropped the phone that I had been numbly holding to my ear, falling to the ground as well, and crawling towards her, because my legs seemed to be too weak to carry my heavying weight. My arms were trembling, as they circled around her, embracing her in a way, so that my pieces and hers fell into a complete mess of shattered humans. I cried into her and she cried into me and it hurt like hell. But this time, I willed myself to stay.

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A/N: Soooo... they have Hazel now. What do you guys think will happen? What did you think of this? Let me know please :)

ily x