I was awoken by loud knocking on the front door. I groaned and snuggled into Harry more who pulled me closer. I smiled realising we had fallen asleep together. Then I blushed, realising he had taken his shirt off.
The knocking continued and I furrowed my eyebrows. Where were my brother and my father? I stood up when the knocking continued. Did the people not realise maybe no one was home?
I stood up, untangling myself from Harry who rolled over, mumbling nonsense. I giggled before heading downstairs, announcing I was coming. When I opened the door, I gasped, jumping slightly.
Two policemen stood at the door, warm smiles on their faces.
"Hello young lady, we were just wondering if we could sit and talk for a moment?" The younger one asked nicely.
"Of course," I said, gesturing them to come in and closed the door behind them. They took a seat on the couch, making themselves comfortable.
"One second please," I said, quickly jogging upstairs. I slapped Harry on the back, making him jump up in surprise.
"Put a shirt on, the popo are here," I said, picking up a note on my bed side table. The note was from my father saying he and Jake went to get groceries.
Harry threw on a shirt, before heading downstairs with me. The policemen looked at Harry with squinted eyes and I furrowed my eyebrows. It reminded me of how the other policemen from the other night had told him to stay out of trouble.
"Are your parents home?" The older policemen asked.
"Um, no my dad's not home, but he should be very soon, he left me this note, about an hour ago," I said, handing him the note.
He nodded, "We'll get started anyway. Do you guys know this man? He goes by John Dolen," he said, showing us a photo.
Harry's arm snaked around my waist and pulled me into him.
"It was me who beat him up," Harry said. The policemen stood up, one of them pulling cuffs out. My eyes widened and I jumped up.
"What are you doing?" I yelled.
"We have to take him in to custody for assault," The younger policemen said.
"No! Listen to the story!" I said, practically forcing him to sit down.
"I'm going to need you to calm down ma'am," The policemen said.
"And I'm going to need you to let him go," I snapped right back. The policemen gestured for the other one to let Harry go, and I quickly shoved myself into his arms.
"I was walking home from school when I tripped in front of an alley. The man grabbed me and dragged me in the alley. He started... touching me. Anyway, Harry came and he saved me. He was doing nothing but protecting me," I said hurriedly, "You have to believe me," I whispered.
The policemen looked at each other, mentally debating. Just then my father started to walk in, groceries in hand. When he saw the policemen he dropped the bags.
"Tell them dad, tell them it's true. They don't believe me!" I said hurriedly.
"What is going on?" My dad said angrily.
"We are aware your daughter may have been molested by the man John Dolen and Harry here saved her. Do you know if that's true?" The policemen said seriously.
"Yes, that is true. She came home with torn clothes and Harry told me the story. I don't care what people say about this young man, I believe him. My daughter practically loves him, but if he had done anything to her or anyone else for the wrong reason, she would've said so," My father said just as seriously.
Love? I didn't know if I loved Harry. I've barely known him a week or so. All I know is I like him, a lot. And he makes me feel like no one else can.
"Well I guess that's all we need then. Thank you for your time," The policemen said, leaving.
"Why the hell didn't you call me?" My dad yelled. I hung my head in shame. I had no excuse, it just slipped my mind.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"I just ungrounded you, EARLY, and then this? What would've happened if I didn't show up? They probably would've taken Harry. I'm telling you right now Isabella Cardenas, if sense doesn't start making it's way into your head, I'll ground you and lock you in your room," My dad said, then left to the kitchen with the groceries.
I frowned. I didn't mean to make my father angry. Besides, I knew my father. If I had called to let him know they were here, he would have said to give him fifteen minutes because he's nearly done. But I guess he would have felt better knowing and I could understand that.
Harry and I made our way upstairs to my bedroom. I wanted to ask him why the police act like that with him, and what my father meant when he said he didn't care what people said about Harry. But I had a feeling that it wasn't something Harry wanted to be asked. But I did anyway.
"Why do the police act that way with you?" I blurted quickly, playing with my fingers.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows, "I don't know what you mean," he lied. I frowned, surprised he would lie to me. But I guess we weren't as close as I thought we were.
"You can tell me, don't lie," I said softly.
"What makes you think I'm lying?" He asked angrily. I bit my lip. I didn't want to turn this into a fight. But I wanted to know, curiosity was getting the better of me.
"The police guy at Starbucks, the way he said for you to stay out of trouble. It was like you're always getting into it. And if the police are involved tha-" I was explaining when Harry cut me off, standing up and glaring down at me.
"It's nothing," He snapped suddenly, before pushing by me. I fell to the ground landing on my butt softly. But Harry just kept walking and soon I could hear his car starting.
My lip trembled. That's not how I wanted that to go. I didn't mean for Harry to get mad at me.
At least now I know he's got things to hide.
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In the morning, Harry didn't come pick me up. I was disappointed. I thought he'd come and we could both apologise. I know I had been in the wrong. It was none of my business to go getting my nose in his.
Thankfully, Jake didn't have to go to school until later, and offered me a ride. Jake is a senior at different high school. He was asked to go to that high school by the principal because of his academic achievements. Unfortunately my dad couldn't afford for us both to go there, and I was okay with that.
When I got to school, there was a big herd of people surrounding someone. I also saw Harry leaning against his truck.
First I went to the herd and squeezed my way through to see what the ruckus was about. A boy my age was standing there. He had blonde hair and was pretty tall. His face was flushed red and he looked terrified, like he could have a panic attack any moment.
Our town was small and we didn't get many new people. So when we did it was havoc for the poor person. I felt sorry for the poor boy.
I quickly snatched his hand and dragged him out of the herd. All the while telling people to calm down. They listened thankfully and dispersed.
"Are you okay?" I asked the boy as he caught his breath.
"Yes, thank you so much," He said. He had a thick Irish accent, it was adorable.
"I'm Isabella," I introduced myself, smiling. I held my hand out for him to shake, but he ignored it.
"Niall Horan," he said, bringing me into a tight hug. It was intimate. He had his arms wrapped around my waist, tugging my body flush into his. He nuzzled his head into my neck as well. I hugged back after the shock wore away.
He was a nice boy. With the way he was acting I don't think he had a single mean bone in his body. He wouldn't hurt a fly.
A cough made us pull apart. I looked up to see Harry there, obviously angry. I inwardly sighed. I wasn't one to think jealousy was cute. It meant they didn't trust you. And when they say 'it's not you, I don't trust him.' Bullshit, it takes two to tango.
"Oh, hello, I'm Niall," Niall said politely, reaching his hand out to shake. Harry merely muttered his own name and ignored Niall's hand. Niall awkwardly put his hand down. He tried to keep from meeting Harry's murderous gaze.
"Knock it off, Harry," I snapped, making him look at me.
"He was just hugging me, damn it. And he's obviously new, so it's not like he's going to magically know we're dating. So stop being rude," I said, poking him in the chest now and then.
All he did was glare at the ground and it made my blood boil.
"Come on Niall, I'll show you to the office," I said, grabbing his wrist and tugging him along.
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During lunch I was in a better mood. Niall managed to make me feel a bit better. He would try and crack a lot of jokes. By try I mean they were so bad they were funny.
I also learned he and I had two classes together so far. Harry should have been in our fourth, right before lunch, but he wasn't there.
I saw a couple guys run outside, saying something about a fight. I quickly followed them to the back of the school. A good amount of people were watching.
As I got closer I could see the mop of curls. My eyes went wide when I saw Harry sitting on a boy from one of my classes, practically beating him to a pulp.
I immediately walked over to them. I grabbed Harry's shoulder but he just shook me off.
"Harry!" I cried, grabbing him again. This time his hand lashed out pushing me to the concrete roughly. My head smashed against the rough floor making me gasp in pain.
"Isabella!" Harry cried, quickly getting off the guy and coming to help me. But I couldn't help but flinch when he reached out to pick me up. The saddest look came over his face and it broke my heart but I was afraid of him at the moment.
"Isabella, please," he whispered, almost desperately, sticking his hand out. I hesitated but took his hand anyway. When he pulled me up, everything became blurry and I fell into him.
"You're bleeding," I barely heard him whisper. I hummed leaning into him and closing my eyes.
"No, Isabella stay awake, open your eyes, look at me," He said urgently cupping one of my cheeks. My eyes fluttered open lazily, and I saw his beautiful face. He looked so worried as he walked to his car. At least I think he was walking. When did he pick me up?
He caught my eye and smiled at me, "That's it angel, just look at me," he whispered, bending his head to kiss my forehead. Though the action made my eyes flutter close again. But I fought to keep them open for him.
It just got harder and harder. It was harder to understand what he was saying. But eventually I couldn't do it and I let my eyes close.
Soon enough I fell unconscious.
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"Wake up, Angel," A husky voice whispered.
"I'm so sorry I did this to you. I didn't mean to. I swear I'll explain everything, but you need to wake up first. I want to see those beautiful blue eyes..." The voice trailed off. Something warm enveloped my hand and I twitched slightly.
"Isabella?" The voice said hurriedly, "Are you awake?" He whispered.
I groaned in response. My body did not want to be awake but I wanted to see Harry. I willed my eyes open and blinked them rapidly, trying to get used to the white walls. Why was I in the hospital again?
I turned to Harry and looked at him. A small smile forming on my face. He was beautiful as ever, even with the bags under his eyes and his dishevelled hair. Probably from him running his fingers through it too much.
I squeezed his hand, "Hi," I said softly, not trusting my dry throat.
He jumped up as if my voice snapped him out of something. He hovered over me for a second, as if soaking all of me in now that I'm awake. Then he caught me off guard by smashing his lips to mine.
I let my hand tangle in his messy curls as he pressed his chest lightly to mine. I could hear the heart monitor speeding up as he continued to kiss me. The kiss was full of such sadness and regret and I could feel how much he had missed me.
There was a cough from somewhere in the room. I tried to pull away from the kiss but I couldn't because my head was against the pillow. I put my hand on Harry's shoulder, who didn't seem to care about the other presence in the room, and pushed slightly. All he did was grab my hand and push it against the pillow.
I couldn't help but giggle into his mouth.
"Harry," I said, but it came out muffled since he was still trying to kiss me.
I turned my head to the side, finally disconnecting our lips. But he surprised me again by starting to plant little kisses against my neck and collar bone. I heard a door open and shut and the person mumbling he'd be back in a few minutes.
A small moan left my lips and I felt Harry smile against my skin. He pulled back, happy with the reaction he got from me. He had the biggest smile on his face, as did I.
"I missed you so much," he said, sitting to the side of me.
"How long have I been out?" I frowned. It couldn't have been that long could it?
"A week," he whispered sadly. My eyes widened, I had been out a week?
"What? Why? What happened?" I asked, sitting up in the bed quickly. I got dizzy for a second but otherwise ignored it.
"That, I can answer," A man by the door said, who I presumed was the doctor.
"If you two are done, that is," he said jokingly. I blushed furiously and glared at Harry who was just smirking. Probably reliving it.
The doctor walked over, "How do you feel?" I told him honestly, that I felt dizzy and tired and my head hurt a little bit. I could feel the bandage around my head and that's when I remembered I hit my head.
"Okay, Isabella what happened was, when you hit your head, your head split and you were bleeding quite a bit. You needed ten stitches but it's healing nicely. You had a mild concussion and nearly fell into a coma. But you didn't and you're healing fairly quickly and well," He said, explaining everything.
I nearly fell into a coma? What if I had? What if never woke up? A million thoughts were running through my head. What would have happened to my dad and my brother? What would they have done? What about Harry?
I turned to look at him and gasped when I saw he was crying. He had his head turned to the side but I could still tell he was. I knew he was blaming himself and he didn't have to. It was an accident. Everybody makes mistakes.
We're all only human.
The doctor left and I grabbed Harry's face between my hands. I made him look at me and wiped his tears. To see him like that broke my heart honestly.
"Stop blaming yourself, Harry. It was an accident, I know you didn't mean to okay?" I said sincerely. He simply shook his head and took my hands in his.
"That's what the policemen talk about," he started, "I get into a lot of trouble Isabella, for a lot of things. I've been in jail before, I've done bad things. And this is what they meant," he finished.
I slowly let what he said mull over in my head. So it was true, about what people said. He was dangerous. Maybe to them at least. I know he would never hurt me.
Intentionally, that is.
"Why were you beating him up?" I asked. Harry sucked in a large breath. He stood up, disconnecting our hands and started to pace.
"It's irrelevant," he said, not looking at me.
"You're lying," I said.
He simply shook his head.
"Just tell me Harry, I want to know, I think I deserve to. If it's not important than why'd you even do it in the first place? If it's not important then why is it such a big deal to te-" I started to go on a rant, but he cut me off.
"Drugs," Harry shouted, "He owed me drugs and he didn't give them to me. He knew the consequences and he got what he deserved," Harry snapped at me.
All I could think was,
Drugs?