Personal Experience

Chapter Thirty-Two

"How the hell did you find me?"

"Liam told me what you started, and I tracked your phone," he answers angrily.

"Leave me alone."

"No." Louis grabs my arms.

"Let go of me!"

"No," he says firmly. I wind up my arm and sock Louis in the jaw. He throws a punch right back. "We're leaving." I don't say anything; only follow him solemnly.

Louis helps me into the back of his car. I see that Eleanor is in the front; almost looking as solemn as me. My eyes flutter as the alcohol takes over. The last thing I hear is, "What are we going to do?" from El.

I wake up, not in my room, but the guest bedroom I know all too well to be in Louis and Eleanor's home. My head pounds as I struggle to sit up. "Fuck, what happened to me?"

"You've been getting drunk every night..." I look up to see El in the doorway holding a glass of water and something else in her other hand. "Here," she says walking over to me. She hands me two Tylenol. I look away from her as she sits next to me on the bed. She starts to rub my back, "Harry, you'll find her."

"You don't think she'll do anything stupid do you?"

"Her? No. There's no way," she says matter-of-factly. I sigh deeply.

"Mate, why don't you go after her? Start looking for her?" Louis asks joining us.

"How?"

"You seem to be forgetting that you have, as selfish as this sounds, the money to get the resources to find her."

"But that would be invading her privacy. What if I go there and she hates me for it?"

"You won't know until you look."

Louis's right, I have to find her. She can hate me all she wants, but I need her. It's no longer that wanting feeling; it's a needing feeling. A need that makes my heart ache. My first idea is to call the hotel to see if they'll know where the taxes took Colleen. It's a small hope, but still a hope.

"Hello?" the front desk answers.

"Hi, this is Harry Styles. Of One Direction, so I'm hoping I'll be remembered..." I hesitantly say. "We were there a couple months ago, and I was wondering if the person who was working Wednesday, August fourteenth was there?"

"Yes, Trish is here. I'll go get her for you."

"Thank you!"

A few minutes pass, "This is Trish."

"Hello Trish, I don't know if whoever I just talked to told you, but this is Harry Styles."

"Yes, I was told so. How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you could track down a taxi service that my girlfriend took that day."

"Her name?"

"Colleen Burke..." I hesitate.

"Just a second." I wait impatiently hoping for some kind of news. "Yes, it was just Yellow Cap services."

"Do you know where they took her?"

"It says Orlando International Airport."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I say.

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

"You too!"

"What did they say, Harry?" Eleanor asks.

"They said she took a cab to Orlando International Airport..."

"You don't think...?" Louis says hesitantly.

It hits me, "She went home," my eyes widen. "Home home." The other two look at me in shock.

I hop in my Rover, which they brought back for me, and drive to my house. I run through my house frantically throwing random stuff in a suitcase. I have to get to her! She's at the only place she can get away from everything. The only place she escapes from the world. I just hope I'm not too late. Louis meets back up with me to drive me to the airport.

"One flight to JFK?"

"You're lucky; we have one seat left, and it boards in twenty minutes."

"I'll take it!" The woman hands me the ticket after I pay and I rush to the waiting area. Louis and Eleanor stay with me. We keep our hoodies up; hiding ourselves as much as possible. The longest twenty minutes of my life finally pass, but now I have another eight agonizing hours to get to her. Not counting the drive I have to take from JKF; so it's really an eleven hour trip.

"Call us when you get there. When you find her," Eleanor says looking into my eyes placing her hand on my cheek.

"I will," I cry. Colleen, I'm coming for you!

*Twelve hours later*

I'm finally here, and I'm terrified to enter her house. It's almost five in the morning when I vigorously knock on the front door.

"Who the hell is at the door at five in the morning?" I hear her father say through the wall. "Who the he-" he stops mid-sentence. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Sir..." I stumble. "Mr. Burke," I say shaking. "Please...?"

"You better have a damn good reason why you're just arriving."

"Can I come in?" He steps aside letting me in the warm house.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Mr. Burke asks after making us coffee.

"I don't have anything to say," I stare at my cup.

"She didn't stop crying for weeks. She used to wake up every night screaming before she got help. She tried running one night," he says sternly.

"I... I know she does... She had for months with me... And-"

"The first night she tried running after waking up from a nightmare, and she still hasn't told us what any of them are about."

I stop moving my legs and shoot my head up to look at him. Tears are on the brim of my eyes. "I am so sorry I haven't been here. I was selfish. I didn't know where to even look for her. I... I couldn't think straight without her around... I had it planned that we would stop here after the tour, and I... I was..."

"You were what, Harry?!" He's the only man other than my own dad that scares me when he's angry.

"I was going to ask your permission if I could marry her..." I look away from him.

I see his hand tighten around his mug from the corner of my eyes. "After all of this... This... Shit. I don't know if I want you to." I knew this was going to happen.

"Please, sir! I can't live without her. I've been going crazy. It only took me this long because I was stupid and was drinking away my problems. It took my friends to make me realize-"

Mr. Burke cuts me off, "But," he says sternly, "All she's been doing is wondering if you still cared for her. She never expected you to show, but I know she hasn't given up." I still won't look at him. "She's my little girl, and if you let anything happen to her, you have to deal with me."

"I know, sir," I say shakily.

"I will allow you to marry her. If she says yes."

"Thank you," I whisper.

"Go get some sleep, son."

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to." Mr. Burke stays with me for a few more hours; around the time Colleen usually wakes up.

The story will get better, I promise!