2:56 :: h.s

onze

8:04

"Harry . . . Harry," I hear along with my phone ringing.

I open my eyes and it's incredibly bright.
Once I've adjusted to the brightness, I realize that I'm still in the woods and Rae's hair is brushing against my face.
She's sitting over me, holding my phone on her hand.

"What the hell?" I sit up.

She moves back to sit on her feet, "your mom is calling you."

I sit up, take the phone from her, and answer.

"Hello?" I ask, preparing for the worst.

"Harry Edward Styles! Where in God's name are you?" My mother shouts through the phone.

I sigh, "Mom, I'm fine. I just stayed at a friend's house, I'll be home soon."

"Why didn't you tell me? I come home and you're out missing, then I call you all night and you don't answer! What in the bloody hell?" She yells.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I forgot to call you, I didn't mean to stay out. I swear, I had planned on coming home." I stand up and run my fingers through my hair, "I'm leaving now."

"We will talk more about this when you get here."

"Okay," she hangs up.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
I'm in some serious shit.
I place my hands on my hips and just breathe.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Rae asks.

I snap my eyes open and turn to face her, "why the fuck didn't you wake me up?"

She jumps back a bit at my harsh tone. "I-I didn't know you were asleep."

"Bullshit!" I call her out, "you don't fucking sleep! After ten fucking hours you should know I'm not awake!"

"I'm sorry, you just looked so peaceful I didn't want-"

"I don't fucking care, just take me home," I huff.

Her eyes avert to the ground and she begins to walk.
I'm breathing heavily and I stare ahead of me.
I can't believe her.

Why would you just let someone sleep in the woods?
Who does that?

Rae, that's who.

I don't know much about her, but I have a feeling she was used to getting whatever she wanted.
She should have walked me home after we hung out for a bit, not completely ignore the fact that I have a mother who worries about me more than she should.
I run my fingers through my hair again and wipe my hand over my face.
I feel gross.

"Could you stop that?" She asks softly.

"Stop what?" I growl.

"Breathing so hard."

"Why?"

She stops, "because it hurts. It really fucking hurts. You're walking through this damn forest, breathing like a fucking madman, and I don't even remember what it's like to smell a rose. So please, be a little considerate of the people around you. Even if they're dead."

My stance falters and I feel horrible.
She's right.
I've been throwing something she can't do in her face.
It's a basic human thing to do but she can't do it.
Even if she tried it wouldn't work.
I sigh.
She rolls her eyes and begins walking away.

Fuck.

"Hey, I'm sorry. It's just a natural thing to do, I can't help it." I grab her arm, despite how cold she is, but she keeps moving.

Oh . . . wait.

I tighten my grip, the blood in my hand freezing, and pull her to stop.
Her eyes hold no emotion and I can't decipher what she's feeling.
I can only assume she's angry.

"I'm sorry. You have to know its a normal thing. I can't stop myself from breathing." I say quickly.

Her eyes look away from mine and I can only imagine that if she could breathe, she'd sigh, "I know. I didn't mean to blow up. I miss breathing, more than you could imagine. I have seen so many beautiful flowers that I just wanted to smell but when I tried, I heard something in my chest crack. When you were sleeping, you were snoring ever so slightly and I got so upset. I felt like crying but my being can't even fucking do that and it's just-" she stops and puts her head in her hands.

I don't know what to do.
Normally you hug someone when they're upset, but it's really no use.
She wouldn't be able to feel it.

Fuck it.

I pull her hands from her face and wrap my arms around her shoulders.
As soon as my body presses against hers, I feel the ice cutting into my bones.
Rae stands there for a moment, unsure what to do.
Within seconds she wraps her arms around me and squeezes, begging to feel something.

"I know you can't feel it, but I didn't know what else to do," I say into her hair.

She shakes her head. "I needed this."