And To All A Good Night [h.s. one shots]

Soft Place to Land by stillhurtingstyles

Yeah, yeah. They can all go screw themselves. This really is a last resort. If it wasn't the dead of winter, I might actually consider sleeping in my car.

My parents are terrible. They're better than Cal, for the simple fact that they never laid a hand on me. But they just didn't care about me. Everything always has and always will revolve around Beverly.

Beverly was the one who got straight A's without trying. She was the president of every club she ever joined. And a track and field star.

Me? I was just happy that I made it through high school. I applied to a bunch of random state schools, and never turned back. I would come home for the occasional holiday, but would leave every time crying, because for some reason I had gotten it in my head that this time would be the time my family would notice me.

Why I still let them bother me, I'll never know.

Sometimes I would leave without saying goodbye just to see if anyone would care. They never did.

Funny, how your life can change in the blink of an eye. One moment you're on the receiving end of your boyfriend's hand, and the next you're on the road to see your neglectful family. One second you're driving carefully, doing your best not to think about all of the people who have let you down, and the next your car is skidding out of control on the freeway.

I lost complete control of the wheel. I tried to hold on, but it was no use. My car was heading straight for the barrier.

I figured that when I was about to die, I would be scared. Panicking, trying to do everything that I could to prevent it.

I was frozen. The only thing I could do was wrap my arms around my body for extra cushioning as I felt my car flip into the air. I heard the crunch of the doors hitting metal and caving in. My body jolted forward and my skull cracked on the windshield. I could feel the blood trickle down my forehead.

I didn't know if the smell of metal was from my own blood or the distress the car was under.

I didn't know if I was alive or dead.

All I knew was that snow was packing my car. Within a matter of minutes my car and I were going to be completely covered.

I tried to reach for my phone, but the crash threw it somewhere. It wasn't within reach, not that I could move my hands from the position they were in.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, between choking sobs. "I'm so sorry. I promised that you would be the only person I didn't let down. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Those were the last words I got out before everything turned black.

Harry's P.O.V.

Whistling to the carols on the radio, I did my best to concentrate on the roads. After what felt like a week of nothing but meetings, I was glad to finally be getting out of the city. I wanted to be left alone, no noise, no nothing. Living in the city meant that I didn't like to own a car because parking in the city was an absolute nightmare, and I much preferred the car service that my company provided. But when I mentioned that I was getting out of the city for the holidays, my buddy Johnny said I could take his car out of town. I rented some cabin in the middle of nowhere, and I was desperate to get there. "Don't come back here until you find a nice woman!" he teased. It's not my fault that I've gotten so wrapped up in work these past few years that I haven't had time for dating. So I'm in a bit of a dry spell. Sue me. I sowed my wild oats or whatever the dumb phrase is. I'm almost thirty now, and the desire to start a family and settle down is always at the back of mind. But that means taking time off work, and actually finding someone I want to spend more than three hours with.