Oakland's POV
We stood there in confusion, not understanding why our parents were so insistent on us being home right now. They knew we were out, we are always safe, and nothing to worry about.
I looked up at Harry, whose face looked just as puzzled as mine.
I redirected my gaze back on B, who was staring right through me.
"Did she sound mad?" I wondered, hoping that we weren't in trouble for anything.
"No... more distraught if anything." Byerly claimed.
I scratched the back of my neck, racking my brain for any reason for the need to be back at the house.
There was a giant LED light that showed the time up on the wall above the stage, which read 12:47am. I let out a sigh, knowing that it was still considered early in the night.
B's distraughtness really sobered me up quickly.
"Um... alright. Let's get going then." he nodded and clapped his hands together, already scanning over the crowd to find Mitch and Sarah.
I was glad that Harry wasn't angry with the fact of the matter, and that he seemed just as determined to get us home as we were. I riffled through the crowd, along with Harry and Byerly.
"Over here!" I heard Harry say from behind me.
I turned around, seeing him already in the direction towards his friends. They seemed to be having a good time, just as Harry and I were, but we are about to have to break it all up.
"Hey guys!" Harry had to shout over the loud DJ's music.
They flipped their heads at us, smiling when they saw us in their direction, but their faces falling the second they registered our emotions.
"What's up?" Mitch asked the second we got closer.
"They gotta get home." Harry nodded in my sister and I's direction.
"Sorry, our mom's freaking out about something." Byerly spoke up.
I looked up at Harry, catching his eyes. "We can leave them here, you can come back and get them so that they don't have to leave too." I offered, feeling bad for already ruining Harry's night, and not wanting to reciprocate it onto them.
"Oh, no. it's fine, we'll come." Sarah's sweet voice spoke.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked.
They both nodded genuinely, already ready to head towards the exit. We all squeezed through the people, and as we passed the bar, Harry slapped down a few big bills to pay the tab on the shots we took earlier.
I shoved open the giant door, instantly feeling a gust of cool summer winds blow my, now down, hair out of my face. As we walked towards the car, Harry felt around his pockets searching for the keys. The second his hand grasped them, he hit the unlock button, and we all climbed in.
It didn't feel right to play music right now, so I opted for just listening to whatever was on the radio at this time. I turned the volume low, allowing there to only be a soft hum from the speakers.
We drove in silence, not a single peep from anyone in the car. I caught myself subconsciously tapping my foot against the floor board only when I felt Harry's hand rest on my thigh. I looked up at him, seeing he was flicking his head back and forth between me and the road.
He gave me a soft smile, letting his thumb rub against the skin on my leg. The little things he does always seem to calm me down.
He mouthed a silent 'it will be okay' to me, instantly slowing the pounding of my heart against my chest walls. I never really get into trouble with my parents, and even though Byerly has had her fair share of chastation, she wasn't acting like her normal 'I don't care' self like she usually does when she gets in trouble.
This signaled me to know that something was probably up, and there is a true reason for us to be asked to come home so urgently.
Of course the bar that was chosen for tonight was across the island, leaving us to drive for around twenty minutes in pure silence. The tunes of the radio barely filled the void of quietness, and even then, the whole energy seemed to plummet from the high we were on only a mere few minutes ago.
I leaned my head over to rest on Harry's arm that was stretched across the console to my side, letting out a soft hum and I tried to clear my mind by closing my eyes. I never fell asleep, but I sure did drift off enough to not feel that we had stopped in front of our house.
I felt a small kiss on the top of my head, and Harry called out to me.
"Hey, Love. We're here." he whispered.
I sat up, letting out a deep sigh before turning to open the car door. I saw Byerly had done the same thing, and was already halfway up the driveway, but waiting on me to go the rest of the way.
Before I could get a grip on the door handle, I was pulled back in to reconnect eyes with Harry's. He stared at me for a long second, then flashing his eyes to his friends in the backseat, who clearly were knocked out. Sarah resting her head on Mitch's shoulder, while Mitch rested his head on top of Sarah's.
He looked back at me, giving me a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry about it, everything is going to be fine." he spoke the truth.
I tried to smile, the corners of my lips peeking upwards at the flashback of Harry and I on the airplane. We were mere strangers, yet I instantly knew there was some sort of connection by the way he calmed my nerves from flying. He simply spoke those words, reached around me to open the plane window, and my whole body stopped having the almost complete come apart it would have had if I were alone.
I gave him a reassuring nod, finally turning to get out of the car, so that I wouldn't leave my sister waiting for too long. I stood facing away from Harry with the door open for a few seconds, finally turning around, and reaching across the car to kiss him one last time. I felt a deep inhale at the quick action, but his lips soon melded to mine.
We separated our lips only slightly, and I whispered to him. "I'll call you later. I'm so sorry about tonight."
"Don't be, Angel." he shook his head insistently.
"I'll see you soon?" I asked, moreso, to reground myself.
He didn't even hesitate, "soon, Baby." he spoke back.
I gave him one last look before turning around and shutting the door. I made the trek halfway up the driveway to meet my sister, who seemed to have her eyes locked on a certain spot on the ground. It seemed like quite the captivating spot on the pavement by the way she was so focused on it, but when I approached her fully, she seemed to have her eyes dilated and not focused on anything in particular.
"B, let's go." I whispered, placing my hand on her shoulder.
She finally snapped out of her trance, whipping her head in my direction, and speaking at lightspeed. "Do you think we did something? I've never gone into getting yelled at without knowing what I did." she states, seeming much more stressed than I.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." I said, pushing her shoulder to get her to start moving.
We climbed up the stairs that led us to the front door, both of us looking at each other before taking in a deep inhale, filling our lungs to the brim simultaneously. She gripped the handle, taking a second longer before turning it and pushing it open.
We both stepped inside cautiously, but were met with an odd sight before us.
My mother and father both in the same spots we left them in earlier in the night, but this time the television was off, and there were two coffee cups that replaced their mixed cocktails. My mother had her head in her hands, and my father was completely silent up until we fully entered the room.
There was a melancholy presence across the entire room.
"What's up?" I broke the silence since Byerly wasn't going to.
My mother brought her head off of her hands to respond. "Have a seat. There is coffee in the kitchen."
I nodded, going over to the pot of warm black coffee, and pouring up two mugs full for my sister and I. I have a deep gut feeling by the energy that surrounds the entire house that what is about to be discussed is going to be bad.
I was still subconsciously racking my brain for whatever could be the issue at play here, but seriously nothing comes to mind. Byerly and I haven't done anything wrong for there to be a need for us to come home at such an urgency, and neither of my parents seemed mad like they were expected to be.
I took a few shaky steps back to meet the rest of my family on the couch, handing B the other mug, and taking a sip of the warm liquid, feeling it drain down my throat slowly. I rested my back against the plush white cushions, hoping that a relaxing posture would somehow calm my ever racing nerves.
My father took a deep breath, still not breaking the silence, but sharing a look between my mother and him before finally opening his mouth.
"B... Oak," he began, but stopped shortly afterwards, not finishing his sentence.
"Um..." my mother hummed, repeating the same action that my dad did with not continuing their train of thought.
I heard my sister huff, "will someone just speak up already?" she somewhat snapped, setting down her untouched coffee.
I just took another sip to stop myself from doing the same thing Byerly did. I just wanted them to speak, and not hold back whatever is running through their minds, but you know what they say... a watched pot never boils.
"It's Grams." my mother finally spoke up.
I furrowed my brows, complete confusion washing over me by her words. Grams is my mother's mother, and the grandmother that gifted me the camera I've been carrying around all week. We are all very close to our distant family, and I am just confused as to why she is being brought up.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my face twisting.
"Y'all know she has always been sick." my father nodded once he saw my mother put her head back glued to her palms.
She has always 'been sick', for as long as I've been able to remember her, but it was just kind of something that we knew about, but nothing that meant anything. I couldn't even tell you the actual sickness, because she has always been healthy, just with something underlying.
"I mean... yeah?" I responded with more of a question, still not fully understanding where this is going.
"Well, we just got a call..." mother dragged out once again, causing there to be a growing headache in my brain.
"Good lord! Mom, Dad. just spit it out already!" byerly snapped once again, this time I could see tears brimming her eyes.
Byerly and I have always been extremely close to Grams. She would be the person to watch us for our entire childhood when our parents would go to work during the week. She was practically a third parent, and raised us as one of her own.
I could still remember every spend the night we had at her house growing up. We would always bake cookies and watch movies. Grams would also sneak us the 'sugary' cereal, since our mother never let us have any unhealthy breakfasts, but we always knew that the second we stepped foot into Gram's door, we were stuffed full of junk food.
"She was sent into the hospital, it isn't looking good."
A chill ran down my spine.
My mind flooded with thoughts, and my ears began to ring.
She was fine. She has always been fine. Her sickness was just a part of her; we never expected anything to ever come about it. It was never supposed to escalate. It was under control.
I was so zoned out that I couldn't feel a single tear drip from my eyes until it hit my hands that rested in my lap.
"So... what does this mean?" I finally asked, my words coming out choppy.
My mother spoke,
"your father is going to wake up tomorrow morning and try to find us the first tickets back home."
My stomach became tight, a physical feeling of a knife that has been slowly inching its way into my abdomen all night finally began to twist. My chill flipped to sweat, and I began to feel quite suffocated sitting here.
I took the liberty, and stood up, rushing towards the hallway, but was stopped by their voice.
"Oakland."
I kept my back to them, looking down. "I-I gotta be alone right now." I squeaked out.
They didn't say anything after that, letting me make my way into the seclusion of my own room. I opened the door, and wasted no time closing it behind me, resting my back against the wood, and sliding down to meet my knees to my chest.
Just a mere day or so ago, I was sitting in this exact position in Harry's hallway, listening to him play such angelic songs. Now, I am sitting here trying to come to terms with leaving him way too early.
I just want to stay. I want to stay and not go back home to the harsh reality that is waiting there for me. I know I could never leave my family, but I just want to not face whatever is waiting for me back home. I want to stay in Harry's arms forever.
At least I know it's safe there.
I sniffled my emotions down, hoping and praying that this was all a fever dream, and that I wouldn't be having to go home so soon because one of the people that I have always looked up to is sicker than ever.
More tears broke the barrier of my tear ducts, and I soon became a complete mess. I let my head hang down, resting my forehead on my knees while tightening my grip around them.
I sobbed.
I sobbed so hard that I don't think I was getting enough air into my lungs to fully satisfy the need for oxygen. It felt like all of my walls were being torn down, and all I wanted was just to wake up to the sound of the island bird chirping and the smell of my mother's delicious cooking.
I looked up, staring directly out of the glass door that led out to my patio, into the complete abyss of the night. It seemed like time had completely frozen. I was out of my body, watching myself fully unravel against the wooden door separating me from the rest of my family.
I could hear the muffled sobs coming from down the hall, sounding like Byerly, who I knew was taking this just as hard, if not harder. We both love Grams more than anything; she was an angel sent from heaven.
What hurts the most is that we knew deep down that one day this was inevitable, but we always stuck it on the backburner. Even she would, always putting on a front to seem better than she probably truly did. She would always play with us, never showing any sort of weakness, creating my sister and I to be the strongest women we could ever be.
I felt my eyelids fall heavy, and I knew that this low was going to make me crash. I brought my shaky knees out from my chest, raising up to stand fully. I made my way over to the unmade white bed sheets, instantly crawling into the warmth that it held. I rested my head down on the plush pillows, staring directly at the ceiling, my mind completely overflowing and blank at the same time.
I began to think of how I will handle everything with Harry. My heart breaks into tiny little shards that seem to be stabbing every corner of my interior, feeling like I am going to bleed out from all of the information that I've accumulated over the past hour.
I stayed in my spot, hearing my sister shuffle down the hallway and shut her door softly behind her. I could still hear subtle cries throughout the house, and I could tell that my mother was definitely taking this extremely heard, since it is her mother who is ill.
I couldn't even begin to fathom what she is feeling, but I can't seem to bring myself out of my bed to console her as of right now. I just need to be secluded from everyone right now.
Everyone but him.
I finally, somehow, brought myself to sit up slightly, resting my body weight on my forearms as I extended one out to grab my phone. Without even thinking, I slid it open, relieving the one person I knew I needed to talk to right this second.
Without another thought, I was bringing the phone up to my ear, listening to the silence between each ring. It finally cut off and I was greeted with the accent I ever so missed, even though I was just hearing it a mere hour or so ago.
"Oakland?" I heard through the speaker.
"Harry?" I muffled down a sob that was growing in my throat.
"What's going on, Baby?" he asked, still able to send my heart into a frenzy with the pet names.
"C- can you come over right now?" I asked, hoping he would say yes.
"I'm on my way." he said without hesitation. "Do you need anything?"
"No, no. just you." I responded, sniffling into the phone.
"I'm coming Angel." he spoke, and I could hear in the background the sound of his keys rattling, and the sound of his car unlocking.
I closed out the call after saying goodbye, and rolled onto my side, facing my glass door. The only thing illuminating the room was the bedside lamp that I never seemed to remember to shut off. I pulled the covers up to my chest, shutting my eyes, but not allowing myself to fall to sleep.
I wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if I wanted to. Not before I talked to him.
It felt like hours, days even, before he got here, but the second I felt him approach the door to my room, my eyes snapped open, and I felt like I could somewhat actually relax from my stiff position in the bed.
I love how he knew to come straight to my room, not messing with my front door or anything. He could probably sense my hostility and anxiousness through the phone, so he decided to come straight to me.
My eyes flicked down to the lock on the glass, seeing that the one time I actually remembered to lock it was now. I climbed out of bed, feeling my shoulders slouched over more than usual. I unlocked it, still feeling that the weight on my eyelids was too much to keep them fully open.
He slid open the door, stepping in cautiously and softly. He put on a smile, trying to warm up the cold energy that I seemed to fill the entire room with since the second I shut the door earlier.
He was dressed in some grey sweatpants, and a black hoodie; some sneakers tied on his feet, and something gripped in his hand
He held his palm out to me, revealing a pint of my favorite ice cream.
"What's up, Angel?" he asked, a softer tone than I had ever heard from him before.
His gesture allowed the corners of my lips to somewhat perk up, feeling a sense of warmth from the fact that I don't think I've told him my favorite flavor, but he just knew. He always knew everything about me without having to get me to tell him.
"H- how did you get this? It's so late." I asked, skipping over his question so that I could have at least one second of normalcy before I broke down again.
"Well, there is a twenty-four hour shop not too far away. Thought you might want that." he said, noticing my want for him to redirect the conversation.
He pulled out a plastic spoon from his back pocket, handing it to me. I looked down at the sweetness in my hands, feeling my bottom lip tremble from the overwhelming emotions I've been bombarded with.
He saw my reaction, instantly wrapping both of his arms around me fully, burying my head into his chest where I began to release everything I was trying to hold back. I let my arms wrap around him, tightening my grip as hard as I could, as if I was going to lose him any second.
I might be, though.
He brought one of his hands up to hold the back of my head, placing a generous kiss to the top of my head, and allowing me to just stay there.
He let me remain in his arms, which was exactly what I needed, for as long as I wanted. We stood there for who knows how long, and I think I let out every ounce of tears I had building up inside of me.
I finally muffled something against his chest, "I can't lose you." was almost inaudible.
He pulled me back slightly, looking down at me with confusion by my words.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I- I can't lose you, Harry." I spoke clearer from my new position away from his chest.
He shook his head, still not understanding to the fullest extent. "What is going on, my love?"
I took in a deep breath, sucking in every last bit of air that occupied the room. I began to breath heavier, feeling as if no matter how much oxygen I breathed in, nothing could help this feeling of suffocation.
As Harry loosened his grip slightly from around my waist, I collapsed to the floor, squatting down and wrapping my arms back around my knees. I reconnected my forehead to my knees, continuing to sob.
He quickly followed my lead, sitting down in front of me. He tucked his index finger under my chin, lifting it to reveal my puffy face.
"I don't want to pry, but whenever you are ready, I am here to listen." he tells me.
I nodded, switching my feet around to sit criss crossed in between his stretched out legs. I looked down at my hands, which I found fiddling with themselves in my lap.
"I have some bad news." I whispered.
"Look at me, Love." he said, without an ounce of sterness in his tone, but I still followed his instructions.
We connected eyes, and his seemed to be filled with sorrow just like mine.
"I'm leaving sooner than expected."
His brows drew together, and I let out a deep rooted sigh before continuing.
"M- my grandmother, she's been sick for a while, but since we've been gone, it has gotten worse. We have to go back to be with her." I told him, redirecting my eyes down to my lap again, because I couldn't bring myself to see his reaction.
He didn't respond, which worried me, so I dragged it out of me to look back up at him. He had his face relaxed, his lips slightly parted in a sort of shocked expression.
"I'm so sorry, Harry." I felt the need to apologize.
"Oh, Baby. Baby no." he said, shaking his head and reaching out to pull me back to his chest. "Don't ever be sorry, for anything."
We found ourselves sitting on my bedroom floor, early in the morning, unable to form any more words to each other. I laid there, on the ground, feeling more safe than ever, since I was with him.
He placed three quick kisses on the top of my head, pulling me back to redirect my gaze. I didn't even realize until he swiped them away with the pad of his thumbs, but I had let a few more tears slip out that I didn't even know I had left in me.
"When are you leaving?" he finally broke the silence.
"My dad is booking us flights in the morning."
He nodded, and I could feel his heart break just like mine has.
He took my face into his hands, "it will be okay, Angel. It will all be okay." he tried to reassure me.
I nodded, resting my head back onto his chest. "I'm just so scared, Harry." I confessed for the first time tonight.
I've never seen my Grams weak. Never in my entire life. She has always been this strong woman that was the model that I wished I could be. I always aspired to be her when I grew up.
"I know, Baby. I know." he comforted me, rubbing his hand up and down my back. he allowed me to be upset instead of suppressing it all down like I probably would without him.
He rested his back against the frame of the bed, allowing me to completely confide in him, and hold me for as long as I needed. He truly made me feel safe, and it only ever felt right when I was in his arms. We were magnetic, and the pull between us was too strong to break us apart.
After such a long time, I brought my head up to look at him with puffy eyes. "Stay for the night?" I almost begged.
"Absolutely, Love."
I gave him a small smile, as much as I could muster, and brought myself up to standing, using Harry's shoulders to help my weak knees from buckling. He grasped my forearms, helping himself up too, before turning around and pulling back the covers.
We both laid down, instantly finding each other under the blanket, and reattaching to us. Harry reached over me to flick off the light, leaving the room to be pitch black besides the faint light shining in from the luminescence of the bright moon.
He reached behind his back, pulling off his sweatshirt. We laid as we always did, my head on his bare chest, his arms completely wrapped around me to hold my body as close as they could to his. I let my fingers dance across his torso, mindlessly tracing each of the tattoos littering his body, allowing that to distract myself from reality.
Play song now*
Harry dragged his hand up and down my back, soothing me completely as I melted into him. He began to hum, softly singing the lyrics to a song I quickly recognized. Yellow by Coldplay.
"Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bone,"
His calming voice brought a faint smile onto my lips, yet it was the biggest one I had formed all night.
"Turn in to something beautiful,"
My breathing got heavier as I began to shut my eyes.
"Do you know,
You know I..."
He trailed off the last lyrics, and that brought me back to reality. I didn't open my eyes, but I knew what he was going to say. He stopped his singing, so I spoke instead to fill the ringing of the silence in the room.
"Harry,"
He hummed for me to respond, sending a vibration from his chest in through my head.
"We won't let us forget each other, right?"
I asked a hopeful question, which I already knew my answer to.
How could I ever forget him? He was the best thing to ever happen to me.
"My love. How could I ever forget you?"
I just turned my head, placing my lips into the swallows tattoo that had quickly become my favorite, kissing it softly in a response.
I reclosed my eyes, allowing myself to drift off even deeper, without fully falling asleep. I heard him begin to sing again, picking up where he left off.
"Do you know,
You know I love you so...
You know I love you so."
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!
Sad I know I know...
Let me know your thoughts!!!
Also just got my second dose of the COVID vaccine so I wanted to celebrate with an update!!
Sending all my love<3<3<3