The Story of Us-- One Direction/ Harry Styles Fanfiction

Chapter Eighteen - Surprise, Surprise

Chapter Eighteen - Surprise, Surprise

*Harry's Point of View Continued*

      I woke up, curled up on a couch with the soft comfort of someone gently scratching my head. I sighed with pleasure. It felt good, almost home-y. My mum used to do the same thing when I was little. It made me feel safe.

      "Char, is that you?" I mumbled sleepily. 

      "Haz, it's me, mate," a deep voice rumbled. My eyes snapped open and I sat up to find Liam staring at me. He smiled sympathetically.

      "Where is she?" I demanded. Liam ran his fingers through his messy hair and took a deep breath. I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He looked really tired...

      "Harry, you should eat something first..."

      "DAMN IT, LIAM, WHERE?" I shouted angrily. Liam winced, obviously hurt by my sudden outburst. I felt sweat sliding down the back of my neck as I anxiously waited for his response. Finally, he sighed.

      "Room 214..." he whispered. I stumbled up, a little dizzy, and I ran down the hall. I passed the rooms, mumbling the numbers to myself. I came to the room and paused, taking a deep breath. There were no doctors around. I was too scared to look into the window. I gulped nervously, opening the door and glancing inside. Instantly, my heart shattered into a million pieces. Charlotte lay in the white hospital bed, bandages wrapped around her arms and head. There was stitches across her right cheek bone. The lids of her eyes were purple and her jaw was bruised. I slowly walked over to her and collapsed in the chair next to her. I shuddered out a breath, tears streaming down my cheeks. I grabbed her hand and held it up to my lips, kissing it repeatedly.

      "Charlotte, love, please. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left. I should've stayed at the house a little longer. I should have--I should have--" I broke into sobs again as I stared at her pale face. The monitor beeped steadily behind me. About ten minutes later, the door slowly creaked open. My head shot up, and through my puffy eyes, I saw Andy. He gave a struggled gulp as he stared at Charlotte. Finally, he managed to look at me.

      'Nobody would tell me anything...what happened to her?" he choked out.

      "Car accident..." I whispered. Andy shuddered and fell into the chair on the opposite side of the bed. He chewed on his lower lip to keep himself from sobbing but the tears were already leaking out of his eyes.

      'How is she?" he whimpered. I slowly shook my head, too pained to say the real words. It hurt too much. Andy seemed to understand, though, and didn't need anymore explanation. He laid his head on her thigh, letting out his collected sobs. He cried hysterically, taking in sharp breaths as he mumbled something. Apologies. He was apologizing for Taylor...

      "Char, I'm so...so sorry. I should have protected Taylor. If I did, Sully wouldn't have come to that party and hurt Lou or Niall...and you wouldn't have gotten in that damned Buggy of yours. Please, Char, you can't leave me...please...please forgive me." he begged, clutching her other hand and the blanket. I blinked my tears away as I watched her peaceful face. She looked so pale, so weak. Charlotte, the toughest girl I knew, looked so breakable and fragile. The girl who was willing to take a bullet for anyone of her friends, to prevent someone from getting hurt, who was cold and harsh on the outside but emotional and a hopeless romantic on the inside. She spent her rainy days laying on a couch reading Wuthering Heights or watching Pride And Prejudice with a bucket of ice cream by herself. She'd do anything possible to show someone that she wasn't weak. She tried her hardest to prove that she couldn't be broken.