WILD // (Harry Styles)

S I X

CHAPTER 6

HARRY

Four days.

96 hours without her.

You would think her absence would be easier to handle over time, but it's not. I can't grasp it. Every time I manage to think about something else, I forget about it all.

Just for a split second, I forget that she is gone. Joy courses through me, and I tell myself that I just have to turn around in the bed to look into her eyes. But every time I do, I am met with nothing. Absolutely nothing.

An agonized groan vibrates through my throat, and my body fills with longing. I long for her. Anything about her. The way her hair felt between my fingers, her smell, when our eyes would meet and I would look directly at her soul, her beautiful, perfect soul.

I never realized all the little things I adore about her until she was gone. The way she would randomly laugh at nothing at 12 am. How she always pressed her face against my chest when she was sleepy. How her face lit up when I came home from meetings. How her fingers lightly feathered against my tattoos, sending tingles like no other through me.

I wish I savored the moments with her. It all seemed like it would last forever. I was sure it would. I manage to use my body enough to sit up, and fumble to the drawers by the door. I fall to my knees in front of the drawers. I reach my hand out to open it, and dig under the clothes. I feel the small velvet box against my fingertips.

I close my eyes as my tear ducts sting, and I grip my hand around the fragile box. I pull it out from under the layers of clothes, and I open my eyes to see the dark red velvet and the gold opening.

I refuse to blink as I stare, for several minutes. Right before the tear forms in the corner of my eye, I wipe my eyes with my sleeve and open the box.

The ring shimmers the in the remaining light, particles of light shooting at me. I close the box again with the heartbreaking realization that it may never be placed upon her finger. She may never truly and truthfully be fully mine.

I know I shouldn't think like this. I should have hope. But with every passing second, the situation becomes more hopeless. She feels further away.

If I just knew where he took her... What he wants from her. I could fix this. I could bring her home. But I'm powerless. I feel as weak as never before.

When the elevator dings, I have to clench every muscle in my body to get up from the floor. I put the box in the drawer again, and stumble into the living room to see who the fuck is in my living room this late.

"Who the fuck are you? And how did you get into my living room?" I say with confusion when I see the two people, facing away. I rub my eyes and they turn around, and my mouth drops open.

"Troy? Johannah?"

Claire's parents.

Of course they were notified by the police. But what the hell are they doing here if they know Claire's missing?

"What are you doing here?" I ask, taking a few steps forward, and their eyes widen.

"What are we doing here? What the fuck are you doing here? You should be out there, looking for her!" Troy shouts, pointing out to the city, and fury boils in me. Who the fuck is he to tell me what to do about Claire? He hasn't been there for her for the past five years. None of them have. Johannah just has a concerned look on her face.