4. If You've Got Something to Hide, Make Sure You're Not on TV.
“No. Absolutely not.”
Harry sighed. “Get in the wheelchair, angel.”
A wheelchair. Since when had I turned one hundred and eleven?
“I’m not getting into that thing! I can walk just fine.”
He eyed me dubiously. “You’ve sprained your ankle, passed out at least twice today already and when we got here, you looked like you were about to throw up.”
“Yeah, well, people have been known to throw up and walk at the same time.”
Harry snorted and slapped the seat of the wheelchair adamantly. “Sit.”
I was being a stubborn ass, I knew that. But right now, being difficult was coming more naturally to me than I’d like, courtesy of the fact that I’d almost had a panic attack in front of Harry Styles. Harry Styles, of all people. This day couldn’t get any worse.
“Thanks.” Harry had said, after I’d handed him his phone back in the van.
I’d clenched my fists tightly - watched as the hospital doors loomed closer and closer. Ellie was going to be here in a few short minutes. I huffed out a breath. Maybe I could do this. Maybe I could really go inside, just this once.
St John’s wasn’t the worst hospital that I remembered. We’d only been there a couple of times, but the nurses had been nice. They’d let me visit my dad before his operation... before they’d wheeled him through those double doors - a tray table of jars and masks, of scalpels and syringes following him inside.
I’d gasped at the memory, felt my chest constrict.
“No. No, I’m not going in there, Harry.” I’d panicked. “I can’t. I just can’t.”
“Shhh,” Harry soothed. I’d felt the weight of his hand on my shoulder and watched him unlatch his seatbelt.
I was ready for a barrage of questions - for him to ask me what was wrong with me, for him to ask me why... this perfect stranger that I’d only met a few short hours ago. My brain was already sifting through a flood of excuses, a thousand reasons why I couldn’t go inside – grasping for any lie that would make him listen. I’d kick and scream if I had to.
But the questions didn’t come. Instead, Harry’s eyes searched mine for a split second, before he got up abruptly and weaved through the front seats towards the driver. I bit my bottom lip hopefully, as they spoke in hushed tones. I heard the driver mumble into a walkie-talkie.
Then the van rumbled to a stop.
“What’s going on?” I asked, wide-eyed. The engine whirred back to life as the van began to reverse, before turning down a different route and crunching onto a gravel road.
“You said you couldn’t go inside.” Harry loomed over me, bent slightly at the waist so that his head didn’t hit the van's roof. “They’re going to send a nurse outside and fix you up the hospital gardens.” He said it as if it were obvious.
The hospital gardens? I straightened a little in my seat and watched a sea of green shrubbery roll by, its leaves dotted with multi-coloured flowers of pink, yellow and white. Tall, drooping maple trees bowed above the van, their branches curving to create a subtle archway over the gravel road as we drove past.
I turned back to Harry. He watched me intently, probably to make sure that I wasn’t about to throw up on his shoes.
“Thank you.”
I was grateful, but I’d mumbled it so quietly that I wasn’t even sure he’d heard.
“You’re welcome.”
And now, Harry was standing in front of me. Holding a freaking wheelchair.
“Harry, come on.”
His green eyes glinted. “One way or another, you’re getting into this chair, love. I can carry you, if you’d rather?”
“Do we have a problem here, Miss Price?” A robust policeman slammed the door of the van, huffing slightly as he jumped out.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Harry beat me to it.
“That depends...” He answered the officer, his voice a low warning. He turned back to me, the corner of his mouth quirked, as he nodded at the wheelchair.
I can carry you, if you’d rather? Harry’s voice rumbled with amusement in my head.
Fuck that.
I huffed out a sigh and eased myself into the wheelchair.
I expected him to tease me mercilessly about his victory, but he stayed silent. I pretended not to notice when he waved away the policeman's offer to help with the chair and simply wheeled me down the gravel path gently, towards the centre of the hospital gardens. I could see a stone water feature in the distance.
As far as gardens went, this one was not so bad. In fact, it was beautiful.
Red roses and peonies dotted the pathway, standing to attention on either side of the gravel strip. Together, they created an endless aisle of pink, red and yellow and filled the air with the floral scent of spring.
Grey, stone water features and statues dotted the greenery around the garden, encircled by tulips of every single colour. Even Harry seemed to slow down as he pushed me down the path, taking the time to admire everything and breathe in the fresh air.
He’d been too tense in the van; like a tightly coiled spring, his mind constantly working in a jumble of stress and nerves. He seemed different now. I think we’d both realised that we were living on time that we’d stolen. In a twist of fate, we may not have been so lucky. We may not have been here at all.
“What are your favourite flowers?” Harry asked, breaking our comfortable silence.
I thought for a second.
“Daisies.” Only a notch above weeds, my dad had always called them.
Neither of us said anything else as we made it to the fountain, the overbearing stone walls of the hospital visible in the distance.
A pretty, brunette nurse was waiting for us as we arrived. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties, but seemed much older. Her skin looked drawn and tired and there were bags beneath her eyes, but it was her eyes themselves that sparkled with compassion and intelligence. Although she was older, you could tell that she'd been stunning back in the day. She still was.
“Ava Price?” She smiled warmly. She had to have known why she was treating me outside. “I’m Meredith, it’s wonderful to meet you.”
Harry’s phone vibrated loudly behind me. I felt a prick of relief as he turned his back to us and answered it reluctantly. I stood up from the wheelchair.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” I shot her a small smile. “Well, considering the circumstances.”
“Right now?” Harry’s voice was a low hum as he spoke into his phone.
I sat down on the stone bench near the fountain where Meredith had already laid out her kit, and she got to work undoing the plaster on my forehead.
“I’ve got to take care of something.” Harry strode over to us, the gravel crunching beneath his feet.
Something close to disappointment tugged at my chest.
“They need me inside, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Worry lines etched into his forehead. He paused, his expression hesitant.
Was he not leaving because he was worried about me? I forced out a laugh.
“Go, Harry. I’ll be more than fine.”
He dragged a hand down his face and turned to Meredith. “Is everything alright?”
She nodded back at him sweetly.
“Right." He dragged a finger across his bottom lip, still unsure. "I’ll see you in a bit.”
He turned and made his way towards the hospital walls.
Goodbye, Harry Styles. I thought to myself absentmindedly.
“Oh, one more thing…”
My eyes darted back to Harry’s retreating figure and I watched as he turned to face us, walking backwards, his voice danced across the lawn.
“If you’re thinking of trying to escape while I’m gone, you’re not getting rid of us that easily!”
And with a smirk that I swear I could hear in his voice, he spun around and jogged towards the hospital.
***
“Wow, what happened here?” Meredith looked startled at the small strip of scars that criss-crossed down the right side of my body.
“Oh, that was just a childhood accident.” I grimaced, as she prodded the bruises on my ribs for damage.
I’d been nine years old, and it was the first time I’d met my best friend, James, when it happened.
I’d been a part of a girl’s karate class (held in a room directly opposite the boy’s) and was sick and tired of catching them make faces at us from across the hall. One day after class, before my dad had arrived, I’d challenged the biggest boy across the hall, James (eleven, at the time), to a fight.
Even then, I’d been fiercely competitive.
The fight was unsupervised of course, all of our best fights were. James had pushed me straight into a wooden fence - making the false assumption that the fight was over - before I’d gotten up and tackled him to the ground, waving my arms in the air victoriously at my defeat.
My dad had been furious that night, as he'd picked wooden splinters out of my side – but the next day, the boys hadn’t made faces at us. And James and I had been best friends ever since. I knew he still felt guilty about the scars when he saw them, but I didn’t mind at all.
They were barely noticeable now, and we’d done a lot worse to each other over the years.
A car squealed around the corner suddenly, interrupting my thoughts and jerked to a stop nearby.
Ellie.
A weight lifted off my shoulders, as I watched Ellie tumble out of her car and stumble towards me.
“Oh my god, Ava! Are you okay?! What the hell happened? Damn it, I swear I nearly had a stroke on the way here!”
Things must’ve been serious. Ellie hardly ever cursed unless she was really freaked out. Even in a mad rush to the hospital, she still managed to look pretty and put-together. Her serious, grey eyes were wide with worry, as she continued to ramble hysterically and her pixie-cut brown hair was only slightly more mussed than usual… other than that, she still managed to look stunning and colourful, dressed in a way that only Ellie could pull off.
‘An explosion of her personality’ was how James had once described it. Right now, I’d never been so relieved to see so many colours in my life. The only thing I was slightly worried about was Ellie in a panic. Out of the both of us, she was usually the one who kept me in sane. According to everyone else, apparently I was the one with impulse control.
“And then you said you were at the hospital! Jesus, I knew there was going to be hell to pay if they tried to force you through those doors – tranquilisers would probably be involved…” She adjusted her buttercup, yellow scarf absentmindedly, as she paused to take a breath and scan the garden around us.
Her eyes widened. “Speaking of which, this is a much nicer arrangement!” She beamed. “I thought hospitals were meant to be all yucky and grey! How did you get so lucky?” She bit one of her nails as she rambled.
“That’s a whole other story.” I flashed her a reassuring smile and flicked her wrist to stop her biting. She only bit her nails when she was really nervous. “I’m completely fine now, Elle. I promise.”
“You don’t look fine.”
I laughed. Trust Ellie to blurt out whatever was on her mind. “Yeah, well, I’ve been better.”
I probably still looked slightly nauseous at the thought of going into the building nearby, but with my back facing the hospital walls, I could almost pretend that we were on a picnic… a picnic with antiseptic and needles.
Ellie eyed me with concern, as Meredith pulled my hair back to clean my stitches. I could tell that she was about to explode with the effort of keeping all her questions in check. I watched her steadily, waiting for her to crack.
I didn’t have to wait for long.
“Ava,” she started. “Are you okay? How much damage are we talking here?”
“She’s going to be fine.” Meredith chirped, doing a final check of the bandages wrapped around my ankle. “Your ankle’s only slightly swollen, your head’s all stitched up and there’s a minor cut on your neck.”
I watched Ellie’s eyes widen at Meredith’s words. “On your neck?” She squeaked.
“You may feel dizzy or lightheaded for the next couple of days thanks to the concussion, but other than that, you should be back to health again in no time. As long as you take the time to rest!”
“Well, that’s great!” Ellie shot me an uncertain smile, forever looking on the bright side. “You can have a holiday for a few days.”
We both knew that she wasn’t going to be able to make me ‘rest’ for long. Not even if she did call it a ‘holiday’. I didn’t like sitting still, and I couldn’t remember a time that I’d skipped a sparring session unless I was seriously injured.
Ever since I was six years old, I’d practised some form of self-defence. My mum had died soon after I was born in a mugging attack gone wrong and my dad’s work had become his life from that point on. He’d been in the military since before I was born and was determined to ensure that I knew how to defend myself. I’d done karate until I was twelve and earned a black belt.
From that point on, my dad had trained me every day until I was fourteen. After he got sick, he’d found both James and I a place to train in a converted warehouse – very creatively dubbed ‘The Warehouse’ – with an old military friend he trusted, Javier, who taught mixed martial arts.
“You know you’ll be out of action with the boys for a while, right?” Ellie mused, reading my mind. I didn’t want her to worry about stopping me, so I agreed absentmindedly. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
Ellie’s ringtone chimed suddenly. I watched Meredith attempt to hide a chuckle. Ellie’s ringtone chirped the opening notes of Live While We’re Young. Typical. She glanced at the screen.
“One second.” She gestured for me to wait and answered the phone quickly. She wandered away from us towards the fountain.
“So, your friend is a fan of One Direction, is she?” Meredith’s eyes twinkled at me as she dabbed some gauze onto my neck.
“Meredith!” I laughed. “You know who One Direction are? Not to be rude, but I didn’t think they reached your age group.”
Hell, they barely reached my age group.
Meredith shrugged and smiled. “I don’t know, I have a daughter that loves the blonde one… but now I’m thinking that the one with the curly hair isn’t so bad.” She winked at me conspiratorially.
I let out an involuntary burst of laughter at her suggestion and shook my head.
“I thought I was the one getting drugged up here, Meredith, not you.”
Her eyes danced with mirth, as she started packing away her kit. “Just know one thing, chica,” she tapped my hand affectionately. “Sometimes people can surprise you.”
And sometimes, they’re exactly what you think.
“Right, I’m back.” Ellie pulled a bottle of water from her turquoise bag and offered it to me. I took it gratefully. “Second question…”
“What happened in that bank?” Her voice dropped lower. “I mean… I only heard the bare details before you called. Something about hostages and shooting. Does that have something to do with how you got that cut on your neck?” Her eyes grew wide with fear.
I spat a mouthful of water at her in shock.
“Oh my god, how did you know about that already? Did the police call the apartment?!”
Ellie shook her head and put her hand over mine. “Ava, it was all over the news. They were playing the footage live. As it happened.”
All the breath left my lungs as her words sunk in. I’d never had a stroke before, but let’s just say that it was lucky I was already at the hospital.
It’s all over the news… Shit.
“Wait, I was unconscious when they arrested the robbers…” I began slowly, trying to untangle everything in my mind. “The TV didn’t mention any names, right?”
Ellie shook her head. I felt a small glimmer of hope.
“So, maybe we can still get out of this! No one needs to know that I was involved.”
She looked doubtful, but stayed silent. I sighed. Yeah, even I’d heard that one. I was officially the Queen of Denial.
I let out an inhuman squeak. Out of nowhere, Ellie’s grip on my hand had tightened like a vice.
“Ellie, Ow! Hand… Dying…”
“One. Direction.” She spluttered, pointing a finger behind me into the distance.
Oh no.
Yes. I turned around, and sure enough, it was One Direction. In all their perfectly quaffed, boy band glory. They strode across the lawn towards us, and I could almost swear that they were walking in slow motion. We eyed them shamelessly, as if each of them were being followed by their own personal wind machine.
I was pretty sure that Ellie wasn’t breathing.
“Hi there.” Louis gave me a small smile and saluted. Ellie hyperventilated.
Louis’ eyes were a startling blue and the shadow of stubble already darkened his jawline, making him look even more handsome and rugged than ever. I hated to admit it, but up close, each of the boys were better looking than I’d remembered.
“We just thought it fitting that we come out and say hello to the girl who saved our lives. I’m Louis, by the way.” He introduced himself and the rest of them, as if we didn’t know who they were. Meredith took this opportunity to finish packing up her first-aid kit – giving me nothing but a small wink, as she slipped away.
Traitor.
“You alright, babe?” Zayn asked.
I wasn’t sure whether he was talking to me or to Ellie, as it appeared that Ellie had left the planet. I sighed, feeling Harry’s gaze on me.
“I’m good. I’m glad you guys are okay.” Their smiles were friendly, as I introduced the both of us. “I’m Ava and this is my roommate Ellie.”
Ellie made a guttural noise that sounded like a cross between a hiccup and a squeak and I couldn’t help but laugh. Even Harry, the king of charm, let out a low chuckle, as I tried – but failed – to turn my laughter into a cough. I didn’t want to embarrass her. The boys were clearly used to this reaction though and pretended not to notice. I knew Ellie would appreciate it. She was probably close to wetting her paints in excitement.
The smile on my face melted away just as soon as I watched Ellie’s stunned expression turn to one of confusion, registering Louis’ words.
“Wait a second,” she turned to me as it dawned on her that I’d left out an important part of the story. “What’s going on? Who saved what lives?!”
Damn it.
“Nothing, Elle.” I muttered quickly. The boys turned to me in my lie and glanced at each other in awkward silence.
I sighed. Fine. “I forgot to tell you. I may have accidentally gotten caught under the guy with the gun.”
Ellie’s face drained of colour.
Harry snorted. “And by accidentally, she means that she tackled him and saved all of our lives, before he ran at her and squashed her like a fly.”
His eyes twinkled mischievously. I glared at him. Ellie gasped in horror.
“You’re welcome, love.” He added.
Ellie was going to flip. She was like a temperamental Clark Kent. When it came to issues concerning herself, she stayed sweet and wouldn’t kill a fly, but when people she loved got involved, she developed super strength and tunnel vision... like when mothers could lift cars off of their babies.
“You ran at a guy with a gun?!” She hissed incredulously. “Ava! When Javier hears about what you did, he’s going to kill you. And don’t even get me started on James! I’m telling you, painful and bloody, just you wait and see!”
Well, it was safe to say that her earlier shyness had vanished.
“Wait a second,” Harry asked. “Who are Javier and James?”
I shot Ellie a hard look, willing her not to tell them anything.
She ignored me.
“Ava trains with them. And I’m pretty sure that leaning not to run at the guy holding a gun is rule number one.”
“Right, you train with people!” The blonde of the group, Niall, nodded emphatically. “That’s how you did all those crazy moves in there.” He grinned and started slashing violently at the air, his feet moving so fast it was like they were independent from his body.
I laughed as Liam flicked him on the head, interrupting him mid-kick. Niall winked at me and shrugged apologetically.
I warmed to him immediately. He was like a giant kid. When he shrugged, he did it with his entire body.
“Those are some moves you’ve got there.” I grinned at him, impressed. He did have a way with his feet.
“Look,” I added. “Javier and James aren’t going to find out, because we’re not going to tell them. Nobody’s going to - ”
I paused. Wait a second…
“Niall, how did you know about anything I did in there?”
The boys glanced at each other nervously and I felt my stomach drop. They weren’t telling me something, I could feel it. Niall opened his mouth to reply, but Liam quickly intervened.
“I’m sorry, Ava. I don’t know how to tell you this.” He glanced at the band uneasily. “The footage is on the news.”
“I know…” I replied slowly. “Ellie said that the report has been running all day.”
“No, love.” Harry interrupted, he cleared his throat. “Not just the report on the news. Someone leaked the footage of the security cameras online. There’s a video of everything that happened inside the bank on the internet and… it’s gone viral.”
I stopped breathing.
Oh, shit.
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A/N: Thanks for reading this, if you are in fact, reading this. I'm pretty sure I'm writing this story for me and one other person, but what can I say, it satisfies my Harry obsession!
Is it sad that I danced around my room when I reached 30 reads?
Probably. <3
- Freya xx
P.S Please don't be a ghost reader! If you liked the chapter, please take a second to vote. It's free and it makes me cry happy tears of joy.
Dedicated to penpaperguitarbecause she's a cover making genius.
Okay, that's all, leggo
Chapter 5 includes: A SITUATION, A BODYGUARD AND A PAIR OF AVIATORS.