Fire (A Harry Styles Fan Fiction)

Chapter 15

I awoke to the sound of muffled giggles. Feminine, but barely distinguishable.

“No, because otherwise…you’d be punched…in the face…with a chair…” A high-pitched voice squeaked. I felt my inhibitions return to me, however the burning in my throat still was there, although dulled. My stomach felt knotted and tender, but I moved my hands down anyway, to try and survey the damage. I noticed the purple cast from my arm had been removed, I didn’t know why, it wasn’t meant to be off for weeks. There was a dull aching behind my eyes, an aching that made me wince every time I attempted to look up at the lights.

“Hey, she’s awake!” Another voice boomed. This one was easily eminent, the voice of Aubrey. I noticed a wave of her purple hair caress the bed linen beneath my chin as well as a hand tightly squeeze my own. My eyes were clouded, but clear enough to see the faces of the two beauties standing above me. Aubrey on one side, Beau on the other. Their hair was dangling below their chiselled chins and their eyes gleamed at me, Aubrey’s a magnificent green, Beau’s an enchanting blue.

“What…the fuck.” I sputtered through gritted teeth. My eyes were still unsure whether they should be open, but I risked it, again noting the beauty of both of the girls. I saw their faces light up as I said the words, revealing their sparkling white teeth and letting off monotone laughs that filled the room.

“You were beaten up, remember?” Beau said, her eyes now tinged with sadness as she stared into my (presumably disfigured) face. I felt my heart sink in realisation, knowing what a mess I must’ve looked. I twisted my legs around off the bed, moving them towards Aubrey’s and planted them on the floor, attempting to stand. Aubrey tried to get me to sit back down, but backed away when I offered her a reassuring smile. I walked over to the door with relative ease, although the sensation of cramp in my stomach becoming slightly worse. I picked up the small mirror that was laid down on the cabinet. What I saw staring back at me was horrible. My eyes were encircled with deep shades of purple and blue, along with a line of red under each one, my bottom lip was heavily swollen and there was a long cut on my hairline. I dropped the mirror back on the table and stepped back, slowly sitting on the bed.

“We brought you to hospital…we didn’t know what else to do. Paige is at home with the police.” I shot Beau a shocking glance, taking in her statement. She flinched slightly at my quick and slightly exaggerated action. I began to touch my face, to explore the damage even further.

“Vi, it’s not even that bad. The doctor said it would go down in a few days…” Aubrey said, in a comforting and gentle tone. She had a way with that, calming me down. I was grateful that they were here, even though we’d only known each other for a few hours, I felt like they knew me well. I gave her a smile in appreciation as well as Beau and went to lie back in the bed, sitting up so I could talk to them.

My movements ceased at the sound of a heavy-footed character storming down the hall. He cursed and swore as he marched through the corridor, asking nurses for my room. After a while, a tall lean figure kicked open the door and stood in the doorframe, a furious expression on his face. But as soon as his eyes met mine, he stumbled back, grabbing onto the frame for support. His eyes teared and his brown jacket slipped from his hand. His lips formed an O shape as he attempted to form a word. My face disgusted him, so I grabbed the pillow from underneath me and pulled it up to meet the hard and painful skin of my damaged face.

“No!” He shouted. I couldn’t see his movements, but I heard him barge through Beau and Aubrey to reach me. His hand wrapped around my left shoulder and pulled me into him. His chest rose and fell quickly, and the sound of his gentle whimpers startled me. I pulled my disfigured face out from the pillow and slowly lifted it to look at him. The tears had escaped his eyes and was now gently flowing down his rosy cheeks, almost reaching the corners of his pink lips. I looked down, ashamed of my horrendous appearance. This only made him pull me in tighter, making the knotting sensation in my stomach all the more ferocious. I let out a hiss that spat through my teeth, a sign for Harry to release me.

He let me go and bent down to my level. Aubrey and Beau had silently left the small room, and left Harry and me alone. I sensed Aubrey was still uncomfortable around Harry, I felt she still had feelings for him. I wouldn’t blame her, and I couldn’t help myself from feeling guilty.

“Don’t you ever…hide from me again.” He spat. His eyes held fury along with the pain and tears that masked it. His hand gripped mine in a ferocious but caring way. “I don’t care what you look like, you are perfect!” He shouted, his voice slightly higher than before. His words melted me inside, but no matter how hard he pleaded, I would never see it. I thought to myself, if one person (Caleb) could think things so horrible of me… then surely it must in fact be true. I smiled dimly, trying to accept his compliment, but Harry knew that Caleb had scarred me. And all I could see in his eyes was the desperation for revenge.