Adopted By Harry Styles

5

HARRY'S POV

I noticed the excessive amount of bruises Maddi had on her arms and legs when she was wearing my clothes. Unfortunately, I think they were from Mr. Wallows. How else could she have that many? It makes me wonder what else he has done to her. I push the disgusting thought from my mind and get ready for bed.

•~~~~~

I wake up in the middle of the night to cries and I immediately get up, walking to Maddi's door which was only open a small amount.

I push the door open slowly and stand in the doorway. Maddi was sitting on the edge of her bed with her hands over her face, I think in an attempt to muffle the sound of her cries. She hasn't noticed me yet.

I take a few steps so I could get closer to her. "Hey," I whisper in a gentle voice.

Maddi quickly removes her hands from her face and looks at me. She looks petrified. "I'm sorry for waking you," she whispers.

I shake my head. "It's okay. I just want to make sure you're okay," I tell her while sitting down next to her on the bed.

"I'm fine," she sniffles, looking down to avoid eye contact.

"Maddi..." I start. "Please tell me what's going on. I just want to understand." I hope she doesn't feel scared when I ask her what's wrong. I just really think it would help me help her.

Maddi chokes on her sob. "I-I can't," she pauses and takes a shaky breath. "Stay here," she finishes.

It feels like my heart just broke into a million pieces. I hate seeing her so unhappy here, even though I know it was the right thing to do.

"Why's that?" I ask her, hoping to get an explanation.

"I need to go back t-to M-mr. Wallows," she says between cries. I place my hand on her back to comfort her and feel her body shaking. "I need to go back," she says again, only this time sounding more defeated.

"Sweetie, you never have to go back to him. Why do you think you do?" I ask. I move a little closer to her on the bed.

"I'm-I'm scared," she manages to get out. "He's g-going to hurt me when he finds me." She lets out another loud sob.

"Maddi, he's never going to find you. Not if I have anything to do about it. He'll be locked up in a jail for many, many years," I tell her reassuringly.

There's a long silence between us that lasts about a minute while Maddi thinks about what I said. "I'm still... scared," she says in a voice so quiet I could barely hear.

I lift her up and place her on my lap, hugging her. "I understand. That's a very scary thing to think about," I whisper in her ear. "Do you think you'd feel more comfortable sleeping with me in my room tonight?"

I feel her nod her head on my chest. Her breath still sounded shaky, but it has calmed down a lot.

I pick her up and start walking back to my room. "You have nothing to worry about, Mads. Just relax," I comfort her.

I set Maddi down on the bed and get in on the other side, covering us both up with the blankets. "You feeling a little better?" I ask Maddi. We were both facing each other while lying down.

She nods her head.

"That's good. Do you think you can fall asleep now?" I ask.

She nods her head again.

"Ok. Goodnight, love. Wake me up if you need anything at all," I say to her. I watch as her tired eyes slowly shut and think to myself how anyone could hurt her. She looks so peaceful and innocent.

•~~~~~

I wake up in the morning with Maddi still sleeping next to me. I wonder what Mr. Wallows was thinking right now. Maybe he thinks she ran away.

I get out of bed, careful not to disturb Maddi while she sleeps. I grab my phone from the table next to my bed and head downstairs. Hopefully Maddi will realize I'm in the kitchen when she wakes up.

I decide to make some pancakes and bacon for breakfast. It's probably been a while since she has had a home cooked meal. I almost felt bad for feeding her something as simple as a sandwich last night.

When I'm almost through the making of the breakfast, I hear Maddi walk down the stairs. I turn around and see her in the doorway of the kitchen. 

"Good morning," I say with a smile. "Can I get you some pancakes and bacon?"

I see her eyes go wide. "I... I would have made breakfast. I didn't know you got up this early. I'm sorry," she says.

I drop the spatula on the counter and turn off the stove. "Honey, I wasn't expecting you to make me breakfast," I tell her, kneeling down next to her. "I wasn't expecting you to do anything at all except relax."

"Mr. Wallows made me," she says, confused, almost as if she didn't believe me.

"Mr. Wallows wasn't a good person. He shouldn't have made you do that," I explain to her. "You never have to wake up early to cook for me, okay?"

She nods her head. "Okay," she says.

"Now, these pancakes aren't going to eat themselves, right?" I say, pointing to the big plate of pancakes I had made which could probably feed a family of five.

A small smile appears on Maddi's face. She nods her head.

"That's what I thought," I say with a smile.