Taylor's POV
"No, Harry, I'm completely fine babe, don't worry," I rolled my eyes at him on my computer screen. We were Skyping right now and Harry was being his usual protective self.
He huffed and a sexy smirk grew on his face. In turn I looked back, confused. My eyes followed his gaze and they landed on my black tank top. I realised I was lying on my stomach in front of my laptop and he had a clear view of my cleavage.
I changed my position on my bed, sitting up, and raised an eyebrow.
"It's rude to stare, Mr Styles. I'm sure Anne taught you better," I said with a disapproving tone in my voice.
He laughed in response. I swear I'll never get tired of those dimples. They made him look more boyish. The time in the bottom corner of my screen caught my eye. Damn. I was going to be late for my lunch date with mom and Abigail. I'd seen my mother just last night when we had a wonderful, quiet moonlit dinner. Abigail however, I felt like I hadn't seen in years... even though it had been about a month since she'd come to LA for a couple of days so we could catch up.
I bid a hasty goodbye to Harry and quickly began getting ready for a girls' day out.
- - -
I stepped out of my penthouse, into the pouring rain and quickly made my way to my car parked in my spot. There were no paparazzi in Nashville. I was glad too because the rain was falling in buckets, something not uncommon in early December. I was not in the mood to be dealing with annoying men shouting things and the crazy weather.
I was about ten minutes away from reaching the cafe we had agreed to meet at when an uneasy feeling spread slowly across my stomach. I shook it off but the uneasiness subsided and evolved into the most agonising stabbing pain. I couldn't even breath. It was like someone was burying a knife into my stomach and then pulling it out and repeating it again and again. It was the most blinding pain I had ever felt. The rain made it even harder to carry on driving and the pain intensified so greatly I thought I was going to pass out from how much it hurt. I doubled over, clutching my stomach as I gave up on driving, deciding that even dying would be less painful than what I was experiencing. I felt my car skidding off the wet road right before everything went black.
....................
Harry's POV
"Okay, Haz. Your turn to roll," Gemma smiled and took a drink from her cup of tea.
I rolled the dice. Six. I stuck out my tongue, cheekily, and my sister scowled as I moved my piece to the Monopoly block that Gem had been planning to buy. Just as I was about to fork over the amount needed to buy it, my phone began to ring. My ringtone was an old song that Taylor absolutely adored.
We'd both heard it one night when we had taken an old pickup truck up to our special beach. I didn't even know she owned a truck. We were laying in the back of the truck under the stars, just talking, when the song came on the radio. It was some old station that promised to play "the best songs of the last 50 years". As the conversation dulled to a silence, 'How Sweet It Is' by James Taylor started playing. To cut a long story short, Taylor and I ended up dancing barefoot in the sand to the song. So it became my ringtone.
Who would be calling me at 7pm? I checked the caller ID. Immediately I began to grin.
Taylor.
I internally laughed at the selfie that was her contact photo. She was looking cross-eyed at the camera and her tongue was stuck out. Gemma was shaking her head in mock disapproval at my infatuation with the mere thought of her.
"Hey babe," I smiled as I answered the call.
It wasn't Taylor though.
"Harry, it's Taylor's mom," a thick American accent said down the phone.
Why would Tay's mom be calling me? I knew something must have happened. I was already on my feet. Gem raised an eyebrow and continued to sip her tea.
"Mrs Swift, what's wrong?" I sensed her deflated tone had something to do with the reason she had called.
She sighed. "Harry... It's Taylor... She's been in car accident... It's pretty serious. I think you should try and get here as soon as possible. If she wakes up, you'd be the first person she'd want to see."
My blood ran cold.
Car accident.
Pretty serious.
Taylor. My Taylor. She was seriously hurt. I shouted something about needing to go and Taylor being hurt as I ran to the door. I didn't even know it, but my legs were working faster than my brain because I was already at the door sprinting to my car outside.
I realised I was still on the phone with Andrea.
"Okay, thank you Ma'am. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Surprisingly, my mind was really sharp in the moment I would most be expecting it to shut down. I called my assistant.
"Josh, it's important. When is the soonest flight from here to Nashville. I need to know urgently," I barked into the receiver and turned into my driveway, barreling out of the car.
"Okay, gimme a sec," he said.
I knew it would literally be a few seconds before he could tell me. Josh had an app for everything, and right now, time was of the essence.
As I jammed my key in the front door he informed me that the very next flight was leaving in less than half an hour.
"Are you going to be able to make it Sir?" he inquired.
I took the stairs two at a time and threw a suitcase on the bed, grabbing random clothes from my closet.
"I have to make it, Josh. Please book me a seat on that one, mate," I said, my phone sandwiched between my shoulder and my ear.
"Yes, Sir." I heard a few clicks. "Done." he announced down the phone. I thanked him and lugged my small suitcase down the stairs and out the door into the car. This was probably the fastest I'd ever moved in my life. One thought was driving me the entire drive to the airport.
Get to Taylor.
I pictured her, pale and covered in blood, collapsed over the steering wheel in the driver's seat. I cringed and drove faster.
- - -
I had made it onto the flight just as they were calling passengers for the last time. I sat comfortably in my first class seat, stretching my arms high above my head. I was tired. Running my fingers through my hair and trying to get my heart - which had been racing since I left my mum's house - to calm down, I decided to try and get as much sleep as I could on the flight.
I wouldn't be of much use to anyone, especially Taylor, if I was tired.
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a/n: i wasn't gonna update believe me, but the idea for this chapter came to me on my way home from my gran's house and I just had to write it.
Hope y'all had an amazing christmas!!!
-kay
