Stuck in the Midde

Thirty-Six: Grazed

I point to Harry's shirt. "Harry, there's blood on you. Are you hurt?" I scramble to my feet.

His eyes widen as I get up. "Y/N, I don't think this is my blood."

"What? No. That doesn't make any..." I glance down to see what is trickling down my skin. My hand is instinctively drawn to injury. It comes away coated in blood. I can feel my shirt stick to my skin. It wasn't an elbow that dug into my side. It was a bullet. "Harry," I breathe, locking my terrified eyes with his.

He doesn't say anything, just rushes to my side and lifts the hem of my shirt to inspect the wound. I flinch away from his touch as pain flares up my rib cage.

"Ow!"

"Sorry," he briefly peers up at me.

I bite my lip. "How bad is it?"

"From what I can tell, it didn't actually go through you. It only grazed your body."

"That's not what it feels like," I groan.

"Just make sure to apply pressure to the wound until it stops bleeding," he tells me.

My eyes flit over to Logan laying facedown on the gravel. I swallow the lump in my throat. "Don't forget I also fired a shot," I say in a small voice.

"I hit him over the head but I don't know if he got shot." Harry kneels over him and slowly reaches to check his pulse, placing two fingers against his jugular.

I don't think I can handle the thought of killing someone, even if it is an asshole like Logan. He shouldn't get off that easy.

It feels like forever when Harry finally says, "He's alive."

A loud exhale escapes me and I momentarily close my eyes. Thank goodness. "What are we supposed to do now?"

He walks over to his car and I follow him, not wanting to be left alone with Logan, even if he is unconscious. "Well, I'm going to tie him up so that he can't get away and you are going to call the police."

My eyes widen. "Really?" This is a change. He doesn't normally like involving them.

He takes out a bundle of yellow nylon rope front the trunk of his car. "Yeah. We can use Logan's own story against him and tell the police that he was trying to mug us and pointed a gun at us when we started to fight back."

"Well, he did take my phone," I remind him.

"We'll leave it with him so it can support our story. Here. Take mine." He tosses his phone at me.

"Thank you." I flip it over in my hand as he finishes tying Logan up. I press the first two numbers and unexpectedly stop on the last one.

He notices my silence and walks over to me. "Did you want me to call instead?"

I glance up. "No, no it's fine. It's just-everything is starting to hit me, I guess."

Harry wraps his fingers around his phone and tugs it out of my hand. "We can wait a minute to call them." He nods to Logan. "It isn't like he's going anywhere."

I let out sound halfway between a laugh and whimper.

He smooths the top of my hair back and kisses my forehead. I wrap my arms around his torso, ignoring the burning sensation in my side. A few tears roll down my cheeks. He places a finger under my chin and tilts my head up. I can feel his heart beating quickly against me and mine is the same way. My fists bunch up his shirt as I try to control my emotions.

"Is this okay?" he whispers, his lips millimeters from mine.

I nod, closing the gap between us. I deserve this kiss after the shitshow that just went down. Just one kiss.

Harry feels me shaking and pulls back.

"Sorry," I apologize.

"It's the adrenaline wearing off. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry I didn't warn you sooner," he says.

I shake my head. "You couldn't have known, Harry."

"But I should have been paying closer attention to his case and the fact that he posted bail, which is fucking stupid in my opinion. I don't understand how that can happen to a guy like him."

"I'm just praying that this keeps him locked up for a long time," I tell him.

"Time to make that phone call to the police then," he announces.

It doesn't take them long to send a few officers our way. Logan is awake by then and is dragged into the back of the cop car. I can feel his eyes burn a hole in the back of my head but I don't turn around to confirm.

Conjuring up a plausible story isn't as difficult as I had thought since Logan gave me a lot to work with. I told the officer how I had a closing shift at work and that when I was walking to my car Logan came out of nowhere and tried to mug me. As for Harry's role, he told them he was coming to surprise me, his girlfriend, and, when he pulled into the parking area, he saw what was going on and jumped in to help. We tried to fight back, managing to take away one of his guns.

It was all self-defense, Harry and I said.

I won't go too much into what happened the rest of the night since it pretty much only involved me getting checked out by a paramedic, dropping by the police station to fill out an official report, and having my parents incessantly hover over me as if I was going to disappear any second. Even Niall found the time to give me a call to see how we were doing, since he couldn't exactly drop by without a police officer recognizing him as being connected to another one of Logan's prior cases.

Eventually, after a few long hours, I am given the okay to go home and get some rest, which is exactly what I do as soon as my head hits the pillow. Fighting really does suck the life out of you.

When I wake up, I feel as if my body was in a coma for the last two weeks. My dad went to a 24 hour pharmacy last night to pick up the pain medication I was prescribed, which I am eternally grateful for because the pain I feel is immensely worse than what I felt last night. Everything aches, even my bones creak.

"Fucking hell," I groan as I sit up. A glass of water sits next to the medication, making the trip of the pills down my throat smoother. I wipe my eyes as I try to figure out what time and day it is, especially since I don't have my phone anymore. Why can't these painkillers hit me quicker? I think to myself as I painstakingly swing my legs over my bed.

Two forms suddenly stand at my doorway, watching me struggle to my feet.

"You're awake!" Danny exclaims.

I grimace. "Sadly."

"How are you feeling?" Tyler asks me.

I give him a look.

"Okay, that was a dumb question. My bad."

I can feel the beginnings of a laugh start to form and groan again. "Don't make me laugh. It hurts."

Danny walks further into my room. "Did you actually get shot?"

"Barely," I reply. "It didn't even go through."

"What happened?"

I give them both a brief rundown of last night's cover story. "And that's why you always make sure to carry mace."

"Or a pocketknife," Tyler adds.

"How about you just don't be alone," Danny tells us.

At that moment, my dad comes into my room. "Not everyone can be with someone 24/7. How are you feeling, kiddo?"

"Like crap."

"Your mom had to go to work but she checked in on you while you were sleeping. You were out like a light."

"A mugging will do that to you."

He presses his lips together. "I'm just glad you're safe. I can't imagine what might have happened if Harry hasn't gotten there in time."

"Yup. He's quite the hero," I sigh. "Look guys, you need to get out so I can shower."

"Make sure not to get the gauze wet," my dad advises. "If you do, just change it. And make sure you're taking the medicine like you're supposed to."

"Okay, I will. Now, shoo!"