Ripped Away (A Harry Styles Fan Fiction)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Harry grasped Crystal’s hand tightly as he led her through the night, trying hard not to be seen. They went through alleyways, snuck past gates and now caught their breath under a massive tree.

Crystal leaned her head against the trunk and closed her eyes. She was used to running from these people, but she could never seem to get away. It was only a matter of time before they found the two of them, in her mind. But she wouldn’t give up. She had to try, for Harry.

“The person…at the door…was looking for you?” Harry asked between huffs.

Nodding, Crystal answered, “I think so. Why else would Paul tell us to escape through the window?”

“Well, that’s just a normal evening for me, but…” Harry joked, and the both of them snickered. Crystal reached over to close the small distance between their hands and took his. They sat for a moment simply holding hands, relishing in the warmth and familiarity of it.

It was Harry who broke the silence. “So, you think you know who did this, then?”

Crystal waited a moment before answering. “Like I said, Harry, I really don’t want to make assumptions, it’s just…it seems logical.”

“Tell me."

Again, a pause. “Do you think, maybe, your managers could have organized this? I mean, I don’t get the feeling they liked me much once we started dating. They could’ve made this happen so I would disappear from your life.”

Harry thought about it. Richard was always a prick, but he wasn’t sure he was smart or powerful enough to pull this off. Then again, it was Richard. He could’ve hired all these people to do it for him. He probably did, too. “You know, I had suspicions that something was up after reading-” Harry cut himself off before revealing the rest of his sentence.

Of course, Crystal noticed. “After reading what?”

Think fast, Harry. “Uh, the…newspaper…”

“Harry, we’ve been together two years. I know when you’re lying to me. What did you read?” Then it hit her, and her expression became mortified. “YOU DID NOT READ MY JOURNAL.”

He squinted his eyes to avoid having to face her death glare. “Please don’t be mad, I believed you had died, I thought it wouldn’t matter!” His words came out fast and apologetic.

“Oh, no!” Crystal moaned, the last part muffled from her burying her face in her arms in embarrassment.

“It’s okay!” Harry consoled quickly. “I didn’t read anything embarrassing! I only got through a few pages!”

She looked up at him exhaustedly. “Nobody was ever, EVER supposed to even know that existed.”

“I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just, you know… I needed to hear your voice, even if it was in my head.”

Crystal nodded in understanding, realizing she would have done the same. “I’m sorry too, Harry. This is all my fault.”

“No.” Harry said firmly. “No, none of this is your fault.”

“But if you didn’t know me, none of this would have happened to you!”

“If I didn’t know you, I would’ve lived a lifetime of emptiness, which is a thousand times worse than any of this.” He paused and held her face gently. “You are the love of my life, and I’d go through any suffering to be with you, even if that meant losing you for a while.”

A small smile of adoration grew on her lips. “I’d die for you.”

Harry snorted. “Again?”

“All over again…” she murmured before their lips met.

A car’s headlights lit up the space under the tree and the couple sprung up immediately to resume their running. They couldn’t be sure who it was, and they weren’t about to wait to find out.

A few minutes later, they found a dumpster in an alleyway to hide behind as they took another break.

“You should’ve told me my managers kept calling you…I would’ve done something.” Harry panted.

Crystal took a deep breath before answering. “I guess… I just didn’t want to bother you.”

“And now look where we are.”

“I know,” she apologized. “I guess I just never thought they’d do anything serious, you know? This stuff’s crazier than anything I’ve heard of before…”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, no kidding.”

“You think anyone’s gonna know this even happened? Or does stuff like this just get pushed under the rug?”

“They can’t actually expect to get away with this, especially not now that I’ve found out.” Harry certainly wouldn’t allow it, either.

Crystal thought before speaking again. “What if they kill us?” Harry stared at her like she was crazy. “You can’t underestimate these people, Harry! You have no idea what they could do to us.”

Upon hearing that, Harry realized that she was right. She told him everything she knew about them, which was probably too much. It was almost guaranteed that they were now running for their lives.

“What about the boys? And your mom? Do you think they’re alright?” Crystal wondered, worried that her revealing herself might have cost them their lives.

Pulling out his phone, Harry answered, “I guess we’ll have to find out.” He dialed the number to Paul’s cell and took Crystal’s hand before shoulder checking and sneaking out from behind the dumpster.

Ring. Ring. “Harry? Where are you?”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Paul’s anxious voice. “I don’t really know, we’re just hopping between alleys right now. Is everyone there alright?”

“Yeah, we’re good. Now, I need you to listen to me, Harry. You two are not safe. You need to get out of sight and stay there until I can come get you. We’ve gotta get everyone out of here right away.” Paul instructed assertively.

“Paul, what’s this about? Do you know who’s doing this?”

“There’s no time to explain things right now, kid. You gotta stay low.” Paul warned, concern building in his throat. He couldn’t let them be found. “I’m arranging for a jet to get us outta here as soon as possible, but for the time being, just stay hidden.”

The duo travelled down a stone sidewalk as Harry spoke with Paul, avoiding the spotlights that dotted the street at nighttime. Harry tried to slow his speed to account for Crystal’s short legs, though she was doing fairly well keeping up. He supposed it was because she was used to it.

Harry then had a split second of confusion when Crystal’s hand was no longer in his. Turning his head, he saw someone had grabbed her from behind and was in the process of gagging her. But before he could even react, he felt a mixture of heavy pressure and sharp pain on the side of his head before everything went black.

~~~

Good evening everyone! How's it going today?

Well I'm happy to announce that I am now settled into my dorm at college and it looks mucho fantastic! I actually saw This Is Us just this morning...gotta say that was a pretty great movie! If you haven't already, GO SEE IT! :D

Anyways, this is the SECOND LAST CHAPTER Y'ALL! So exciting! I'm writing the last one tonight and it should be up by tomorrow night, how cool is that?? Not used to double whammies!

I hope you all liked this chapter and I also hope you love the last one! I know nothing really got explained in this one so you can count on the next one being the big reveal! Aha!

Thanks for everything, you guys are seriously the best!

Much love,

Crystal xx