Chapter 15

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For the second night in a row, Harry Styles slept in my bed, next to me. I wasn't even sure why he was bothering to pay for a hotel room, if it was up to me, he'd sleep in my bed every night. But the truth was, that night, not even his presence had been enough to keep the nightmares away.

First I'd dreamt of my dad, a weird dream where I could see him, but we couldn't talk, or even touch. Every time we did, my dad faded a little further into darkness. I woke up, feeling distressed, my sudden movement waking up Harry too. He was quick to hold me in his arms, whispering reassuringly in my ear, until I fell back to sleep.

The second dream was even weirder. I was lost in the woods, calling Oscar's name in agony, surrounded by the bodies of my dead friends. Suddenly the dream shifted, and I was back home, mourning the loss of my dog, Ben, my abusive ex-boyfriend, hugging me from behind. A part of me was trying to run, but I was stuck, imprisoned within my own frozen body. At one point, Harry got there too, a dark shadow rising behind him, strangling him. I screamed.

I screamed in my dream, and I screamed in real life too. Harry woke up, once again, flustered. It took me a while to fully understand that it had all been just a dream, and Harry was right beside me, rocking my shaking body back and forth.

"Shhh. I'm here. You're safe, baby. You're safe."

"Harry?"

"Yes, I'm here. I'm with you."

"Oh my god, Harry! I dreamt of you... you..."

"Shhh. It's was just a dream. Breathe, love."

"Where's Oscar?"

"In his bed. We're all okay, I promise."

He kept me in his arms for a long time. Once my breathing was under control, Harry pulled away to look into my eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Better now. Thank you. I'm so sorry for waking you."

"I don't care about that. I just want you to feel safe. Do you?" He brushed my hair away from my face, planting a kiss on my forehead.

"I do, thank you. So you're not wishing you'd gone back to the hotel to sleep?"

"Are you kidding me? I would gladly trade an eternity of good nights of sleep if I could spend them with you." Flicking the tip of my nose with his finger, Harry softly kissed my lips. He opened his arms, inviting me back into his warmth. "Come here."

I did, letting the proximity with his body fight the fear that still lingered within me. Soon, Harry was back asleep. I, however, couldn't, too afraid I'd have the same horrifying nightmare.

Carefully not to wake him up, I'd freed myself from Harry's embrace, and grabbed my phone, walking to the kitchen to make myself some coffee.

I looked at the time: 5 am. Sighing, I figured that if I wasn't going to sleep, I might as well get some work done. Confirming that John had already reviewed my previous code production, I grabbed my laptop and a blanket, sitting on the couch.

A few minutes later, a sleepy Oscar was jumping on the couch, curling up next to me. I petted his head distractedly, while I waited for the alterations on the project to load.

A couple of hours later, my phone flashed with a text message. It was Ava telling me she'd just got home from spending the night with Charles, and he had confirmed he would be coming to dinner, tonight. Smiling at my friend's happiness, I thought back to the conversations with her and Val. They'd both been way easier than I thought they would be.

Val had been her beautiful self. I bluntly told her I'd lied to her before, and she took it like I just told her the weather. She did have a lot of questions, but I managed to convince her I'd spill all my secrets at dinner.

To be so lucky  {H.S.} ✔️Where stories live. Discover now