The Truth

twenty two

  The next morning as I wake, I notice that Harry isn't in bed. I don't hear the water running from the shower either. I call his name, but I am only met by uncomfortable silence. After wrapping a robe around my shoulders, I venture out of the bedroom and search around the suite. Harry, his phone, and his wallet are all gone. My phone rang on the counter, which startled me, but I picked it up, my heart still racing.

"Hello?" I asked sleepily.

"Ali?" Eleanor's voice said panicked. "You've got to get home now!"

"El? What's wrong? What's going on?" I ask, taking a seat by the counter.

"It's Riley," she replied, and I swear my heart stops for a moment. "He's hurt. Niall is with him in the ambulance."

The phone still pressed to my ear, I run back into the bedroom and open up the wardrobe. All I find is a pair of sweats and Harry's hoodie. "El, what the hell happened?" I ask, setting the phone down on the bed after putting it on speaker.

"He and Theo were playing out back. Riley ran into the glass door," Eleanor explained. "It shattered."

"How is he?" I ask, tears starting to spill down my face.

"I'm not sure yet," Eleanor sighed. "He got cut up pretty bad. He lost a lot of blood."

"I'm leaving for the airport now," I say. "I'll call when I land."

"What do I say to Niall? He doesn't know you're in Paris," Eleanor whispers.

"Let me worry about that," I say. After my clothes are on, I pull on Harry's sandals he left behind, which are far too big for me. I avoid the stares of hotel staff and other guests as I jog out the door. I hail a cab, and ask the cabbie to drive me to the airport. When I arrive, I head straight for the information desk.

"When's the next flight to London?" I ask frantically.

"Let me check," the lady says, typing slowly on her keypad. "The next flight to London leaves in ten minutes."

"I'll take any ticket on it, I can get," I say, pulling out my credit card.

"We only have one available seat, first class. It's 1,100 euros," the woman replied, with a skeptical look on her face. She knew I couldn't afford it. But I didn't care.

"I'll take it. What gate?" I say. She swipes my card as I tap my fingernails on the counter anxiously.

"Gate 17. It's the next gate," she replies. She hands me my boarding pass, and I take off running for the gate. The flight was miserable. I had no way of contacting anyone, no updates on Riley. It was truly the longest two hours of my life. Finally, I had landed, and as my promise, I called Eleanor immediately.

"El?" I say desperately into the phone.

"Ali? I'm at the airport. Louis is gonna drive us to the hospital," she said.

"How is he?" I ask.

"He was in surgery when we left," she says. "Niall had to donate blood."

"I see you guys," I say and hang up the phone. As I approach, Louis throws his arms around me, and I start to cry again.

"Where's Harry?" he asks.

"I don't know," I sigh. "He wasn't in the hotel room this morning. I didn't have time to call him."

"Come on," Eleanor says. "I'll call him and explain."