1 month later
"Who would of thought I would be helping you out, aye Stripper? How times have changed."
I didn't bother looking over at the cheeky smirk Niall was wearing, instead, my eyes were scanning over my suitcase and small duffel bag, trying to remember if I packed everything. Not that there was a lot for me to take anyway, but I didn't want to leave any traces of myself in Las Vegas, I didn't want to leave anything that could be used to find me.
Business people and tourists floated around us, brushing past us on their own little journeys. If only they knew about the terror that was hidden deep within my eyes, the now permanent anxiety in my bones about being found.
The game of hide and seek between Harry and I was now alive and brewing. Every second longer I sat in this airport, was another second closer to Harry finding me, and it made the ever growing anxiety bubble in my stomach, making me cast a worried glance over my shoulder every second I got.
I didn't want to be found. Not now, not ever. Though my heart ached with the thoughts of what could happen to Harry, I knew it was best that my departure was quiet and abrupt, going as far as I could and putting as many miles as I could between us.
Harry had been quiet since I had left the hospital, and despite his word of leaving me until I was healed, I hadn't heard a single word from him. It was strange, and if it was any other circumstance, I would assume he was dead - but Niall had assured me the curly headed man was still alive, maybe not well, but he was definitely alive.
Niall had snuck into my hospital room the same night Harry had visited, though he wasn't as quiet. He was loud and crazed as he stumbled through the room. His eyes had been blown, high of whatever he had snorted that night, though there was no hiding the panic in his voice as he stared at my bruised body.
Lord knows when he decided to grow a heart and start worrying about my safety, but I still thank my lucky stars for that moment. Niall had decided in that moment, with or without my consent, he was shipping me off as far as he could.
It was safe to say, even though he would forever deny it, that Niall was worried for both my safety and for Harry's mental state after what had happened after Bill. He had said something about an ongoing investigation being conducted, and he knew if we weren't careful, too many fingers were going to be pointed in our direction.
The News had carried multiple versions of the story of what happened that night, stating that Bill's body had yet to be discovered, but there was more than enough evidence that something brutal had happened to the officer. I hadn't asked any questions to Niall, because the mere thought of blood of Harry's hands was enough to keep me up at night, making me think of all the things that man was capable of. It sent a shutter down my spine and a nauseous feeling to erupt in my stomach.
Maybe I wasn't cut out for this world, despite how badly everyone wanted me to be. They had all been wrong. I wasn't like them, I didn't have that crazed look in my eye like Harry - I wasn't suppose to be like them.
It saddened me, knowing that the soft Harry I grew to care about, wasn't actually there. I felt like it was a figment of my imagination, and for that, it felt as if my heart was bruised. I wanted to love him, I wanted to remind him that things were going to be okay and the voices would disappear but in actual fact, I wasn't his savour.
I couldn't be.
I couldn't allow that responsibility to be on my shoulders, not after everything I had gone through. I wasn't someone that should have that responsibility of making sure another persons mental state stayed in tact. It was something Harry had to do on his own. Something Harry had to be the keeper of, not me.
And because of that, and because of the state Harry was in, I had to run. I had to hide. I had to disappear without a trace and pray to the Gods above that he wouldn't ever find me.
"Am I ever going to get rid of that nickname?" I asked Niall, finally turning to look at him.
He sat on one of the airport chairs while I stood, looking rather comfortable for someone who would have his head blown off if Harry knew he was the one who was helping me.
He merely shrugged at my question, his sunglasses hiding the ice of his eyes. Lips quirking up into a lopsided grin, he let out a snort. "Well, I suppose now it would be a giveaway if I called you that. I've got to get use to your new name, aye."
At the reminder, I glanced down at my new license that were tucked tightly in my fist, like I was keeping the secret of my new identity locked in my palm. Loosening my grip, my fingers brushed against the picture of me. I looked so different. My hair was darker, shorter thanks to Nialls forceful demand.. My eyes looked dull and there wasn't a hint of a smile. I reminded myself of Snow White. So pale and so daintily, I looked as if I was going to break at any moment.
Samantha Winters.
Niall thought it would be smart to keep the same surname, because the likely hood of someone trying to find me under a different name with the same surname was low. He knew how Harrys brain worked, and the last thing he would do would be to look for me and search under the same surname. He would skim past it without a second glance.
"How do I even know you're really helping me?" I asked, hitching my duffle bag higher onto my shoulder. My flight was set to board soon, and I was wondering if I would even be able to get onto the plane. "What's to say that he isn't already waiting for me on that plane?"
Niall crossed his arms over his chest, and gave me a flat look. "I didn't go through all this effort to book you a flight and get you a whole new identity for him to be waiting for you on a plane. That would not only cause a scene, but would be boring as fuck. Besides, I've been helping you the last month, you really asking this now?"
I swallowed, nervously looking around me once more, feeling as if I had a million eyes on me when in reality, not a single person was looking my way.
"You got the license pretty quickly," I noted, glancing back down at it.
Shrugging, Niall stood and stretched his arms over his head. "To be honest, I was planning this for a while, and soon as I caught whiff of Harry's behaviour changing."
My heart stung at the sound of his name. "Do you think he'll be okay?"
"No," he said honestly. He lifted his sunglasses up to show me the sincerity of his eyes. "But I'm going to get him the help he needs. It's going to be a bloody recovery, but it's going to be worth it in the end. It wouldn't of been safe for either of you if you stuck around."
"What about the contract with Louis?" I asked lowly, glancing around like someone else was listening. "Is it going to affect anything with him?"
Niall rolled his eyes at me. "You keep looking around like that, they'll end up getting the sniffer dogs out and do a cavity search for drugs. Quit while you're ahead, Stripper."
Scoffing, I shoved his shoulder, making him huff out a laugh. "Just answer my question, would you?"
He pursed his lips, but nodded regardless. "They've signed the contact, so it's not like Louis will let him go unless he becomes a liability. You've signed a contract, and Louis is having me watch you and keep contact to make sure your mouth stays quiet. Harry's going to become the worst version of himself for a while, and Louis is going to love that, it's just making sure he puts it to good use."
"Good use is not what I'd call it," I muttered, looking away. "What if Louis says something to him about where I'm going?"
"And risk Harry chasing you across the country while he's suppose to be working? Unlikely. Besides, Louis is no snitch. He knows what's happening, and he knows...you know. The Stuff."
I rolled my eyes. Stuff. That's what he was calling it now. Great. "I'm worried about him."
Niall scoffed again. "If anyone, you should be worried about me. My balls are on the line if he finds out I was the one to help you get away."
"Do you think he'll try to find me?"
"I don't know if he'll ever stop, but at least in the meantime, it'll be easier to convince him to get the help he needs."
I shuttered at the thought, and looked back down at my license before turning back to Niall. "You really think this is going to work?"
For once, Niall didn't look at me with any dark humour, nor did he roll his eyes. Within the last two months, Niall attitude to me had changed significantly, and I appreciate the weird friendship we had formed, even if it was from his own selfish desires of wanting something better for Harry and had no real want to help me out.
"It's going too," he promised. Reaching out, he gave me an awkward pat on the shoulder. His way or showing me reassurance, I think. "You'll be fine, Stripper. No one will find you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I'm putting all of our lives at risk if I was even the least bit hesitant. The worst of Harry is yet to come."