she

TWENTY ONE.

I awoke suddenly with a jolt. My eyes immediately blinded by bright sunlight. I rubbed my tired eyes, attempting to understand my surroundings. I then remembered where I was and what happened in the past few hours.

I lifted my body up from the flat position on the bench. Every muscle in my body ached with soreness. Stretching my limbs out, I noticed a small piece of paper tucked under my hip. It read:

"Be careful with your heart little girl." -A

Goosebumps rose on my skin and it wasn't even chilly outside. Questions started clouding my brain. Where did this come from? What does it mean? Who wrote it?

I started feeling extremely unsafe and wanted nothing more than to be back in Harry's arms, where it was safe. I still didn't know if I could trust him fully but at this point, I just wanted to be safe and talk to him. I sat up from the bench and rubbed the last of the sleepiness from my eyes.

Because I was already in the heart of the city, I decided to just walk to Harry's apartment. I remembered landmarks around it and I was almost certain I could find it. Walking away from this bench seemed like the safest idea at the moment, so I began the quick paced walk.

Exiting the park, I took a turn at the street his building was on. Luckily I was correct and I spotted the tall grey building in the near distance.

Finding myself on the over- extravagant doorstep, I felt awkward and out of place. What if he didn't want to see me? What if he didn't want me here? What if he was having sex with some random woman as we speak?

Pushing the invasive thoughts away,
I pressed a button labeled "H. Styles" on a device on the wall next to two large main entry doors. It made a buzzing sound and a click, signaling he answered. "Harry..." I said cautiously. There was another click and a dead line. Great I was right, he didn't want me here.

I brushed a hand through my hair and choked back more tears. I stepped off the step and turned to leave, but the two doors suddenly flew open.

"Angel?" Harry's voice said. His normal deep, soft voice sounded dry and strained. "Wait!" He said with a little more intensity. He reached out and grabbed me by the elbow, yanking me into the doorway. The door clicked shut behind us, blocking out most of the light in the now dim lobby.

I stood there, unsure what to do or say, so I just focused my eyes on the marble floor at my feet. Harry placed his hands on my shoulders. "Look at me." He demanded.

I brought my gaze to his, noticing how much different he looked from the last I saw him. He looked tired and older.

"Don't ever do that again." He gasped out, yanking my closer to him, still gripping my shoulders. He brought his arms around me to hold me in a hug. However, I squirmed out of his grip and looked back up at him. He frowned in confusion.

"No." I said.

"Please Angel, just let me hold you. I'm so sorry and I was extremely worried for you!" He stepped closer to me but I took a step back.

"We need to talk before anything." I told him.

"Okay we can do that, come up to my penthouse first." He held out his hand in attempt to hold mine but I brushed past him and walked towards the elevator.

The ride there was a new level of awkwardly quiet. Harry's usual demeanor was completely gone, as was mine. When the doors opened my first impression of his home was messy. The TV was left on some news channel, there were throw pillows tossed on the ground, broken glass, bottles of alcohol, even some pill bottles.

"Uh, sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting you to- y'know come by." He said rushing to pick up the mess and hide the alcohol and pills from me but it was too late, I'd already seen.