WILD // (Harry Styles)

S I X T E E N

CHAPTER 16

HARRY

I stare at her blank eyes for twenty two seconds. I know because the only sound in the room is the ticking clock on the wall behind her.

Claire slowly retracts her hand, an estranged look on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asks, noticing my sore eyes and teary cheeks. Her brows furrow, and she strokes the side of my arm. Instead of sending tingles, it shoots chills through my body.

"Claire, it's me, Harry," I try, getting close, from which she backs away. She looks fourthly confused, her eyes unrecognizable.

"Uh, I know! You're bandmates with my brother Louis," she nods, smiling as she does. I feel my head shake, and my every limb starts trembling.

"Y-yes but, I... don't you remember me?" The words are forced out of my throat when I realize have to ask. My voice is weak and hoarse, and the arc of hope I built in the last 10 minutes are being brought down. Her brows lower, and she laughs nervously.

"Uhm..." she starts, her eyes squinting. It seems as if she tries digging something up, she exhales and shakes her head.

"We've never met before," she breathes and my body weakens as nausea spreads through me. I lean back on one of the counters, the cold steel pressing against my palm.

I expect there to be more tears. But they dry up, as I'm unable to blink. I just look at her eyes, and the cruel realization that she doesn't remember me clings to me.

"We found scopolamine in her system..." I hear the doctor beside me, in the doorframe. I look over at him, as I struggle to keep from breaking down.

"It's known as a mind-manipulative drug, that can also cause memory loss." He gently speaks, looking down at the chart in his hands. Claire's eyebrows furrow, clearly confused. She doesn't know what's happening.

"Memory loss?" I hear Claire's voice pitch. She has a worried look on her face as she looks at the doctor.

"Claire, how old are you?" The doctor asks, approaching her with a small flashlight. He checks her pupillary response, and she hesitates a bit.

"I-I'm... fifteen," she implies, nodding to her answer. I look down at the ground, burying my face into my palms, heavy sobs releasing into them. No... She has lost a year. This is too cruel.

"...Right?"

"Can someone just tell me whats going on!" Claire raises her voice, becoming increasingly panicked. Her eyes wide, her pulse speeding.

"You're sixteen Claire, and you live with me, here in New York." I blurt out, raising my head up from my palm. She opens her mouth, ready to say something but her face pales as my words hit her.

"We're in New York? No... I live with my parents in England" she says, her brows lowering as she tries to convince herself and us. She looks down at the ground, and eyes moving back and forth in a confused motion.

"No, you have lived with me in New York for the past 3 months," I explain, my voice thin and hoarse from my sore throat. Her heads shakes in a relentless motion, as her breathing escalates.

"Why?" she asks plainly, her hands clenching around the edge of the examination bed. I have to say it out loud. I have to try and convince her that she loves me. My heart is decimating.

"We love each other Claire," I say just loud enough for her to hear, and a sudden intense desperation appears in my gut. I need her to love me.

My body pulls towards her, and I take her hands in mine.

"Please..." I whisper, her hands warming the rest of my body.

"Love me," I plead, begging for her to feel my touch. To recognize it as something she loves. But a strained look remains on her face as she slips her hands out of my grip. She has an apologetic look on her face as she backs away.

"I'm sorry... But I don't know you."

"Yes you do!" I raise my voice with hurt and frustration, and I see her jump as I shout.

"You love me! And I love you! If you think for one second I'm letting you forget that-" my speech turns desperate as I can feel her soul distancing itself. I didn't come this far to watch her slip away from me.

"I'm taking you home," I decide, and I grab her hand. She rips it away from me again, shaking her hand, her lips trembling.

"Stop!" Her expression fades into sadness and fear, her hazel eyes gleaming in the light. She's afraid.

"Harry, maybe it's best for you to-" Yang starts with a calm voice, laying a hand on the side of my arm. I push it away, still staring at Claire, who looks uncomfortable under my eyes.

"No!" I interrupt, feeling the veins in my neck popping out.

"Try to remember, Claire. Please! The time I came into your room in California! Our first kiss! When I asked you to move in with me! When you chose me! Y- you... said you'd always choose me."

Sanity slips away as the tears escape freely. The never ending drop in my stomach is spreading around like slime.

"I'm sorry! I really am, Harry. But I don't remember ever meeting you." She says with sincerity, and I see her eyes fill with sympathy, as the truth leaves me breathless.

She really feels bad, and that's the last thing I want. I walk out of the room, wiping the streaming tears off my cheek. I sit down on the chair that I was sitting on the time I thought she was dead.

She still is, in some sort.

"Please tell me she will remember," I say, not daring to look the doctor in the eyes as he leaves the exam room. He takes a breath, and sits down across from me.

"Scopolamine is a very dangerous drug, that not only causes memory loss, but causes severe effects on the psyche. With time, medication, and weekly therapy... It can help with most side-effects. With the memory loss, however... There is a minimal chance she will regain it all, or even some." He reveals, and I close my eyes as the final sentence releases from his mouth, ensuring the shatter I hear from my heart hitting the floor.

She may never remember me, or what we had.

I collect myself, and walk back into the room, where I see Claire offer me a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry I scared you." I apologize, but her beautiful smile widens slightly, like she accepts it.

"If you let me, I'd like to show you our apartment." I suggest lightly, moving closer. The smile disappears, her eyes examining my every move. Her lips pout slightly, like she's considering it. After a few seconds, she exhales, still insecure and confused. Her lips part.

And right before she answers, I turn around to see Louis, Niall, Troy, Johannah, and Michael all enter the room.

A/N

I'VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO ANSWER!

Who do you ship in this story?

Do you prefer Harry's or Claire's point of view?

Would you like me to do a Q&A? (like where you all ask me questions and I answer them y'know)

And, of course, did you like this chapter?:)

See you in the next one! I can't believe I have over 200k reads on this one and it's #9 in fanfiction. thank you so much<3