I furrowed my eyebrows as I reached out for the car door handle, "Stop the car right now."
He didn't say anything back. Instead, he increased the car's speed.
"Where are you taking us?" I asked again, "Who do you work for?" I shouted.
"Zosie, don't shout," a trembling voiced Zoella said. I wrapped my arm tighter around her.
He still didn't say anything back, his whole attention fixed on the road.
You should have stayed away, look where you are now.
But, I refused to regret anything now. I needed to get us out of here.
I pulled on the door handle but the door didn't budge. It was locked.
"Zosie, what you doing?" she shrieked. I got her off my lap and placed her on the seat beside the window, making him give me a sideways glance. "Hold on to my shirt tightly," I told her.
I calmed my pounding heart and my racing thoughts, "Stop the car," I said lowly. I inched towards him and the steering wheel, "Stop it."
Yet, all he did was just grip the steering wheel harder. I reached out for the wheel and aimed to turn it around. The car swerved to the right, the sound of the tires screeching filled my ears disturbingly as he stepped on the brakes. Zoella let out a small scream.
"Are you out of your mind?" he yelled, stopping the car. "Do you want to kill us?" he asked, his green eyes piercing mine.
"Let us out," I said, carrying Zoe off the seat who was now crying silently. "Open the door and let us out," I said more fiercely. His angered eyes were no longer on mine but on Zoe. He closed his eyes and turned to the steering wheel again, starting the engine.
"Sty-"
"We are going to the hospital," he said.
My heart hammered in my chest upon hearing that. I looked down at Zoella to check if something had happened to her when the car swerved, but nothing was wrong with her except for the silent cries that vibrated off her chest.
I looked at him madly, "Why would we go to the hospital?"
"To check on your hip. I know you won't go do that alone, so I decided I will take you myself. See, I'm not some freaking top secret spy, Josephine," he said, raising his voice a bit louder than normal.
"And I know if I told you that, you would still refuse to go with me; therefore, I did it my way. If you don't believe me," he paused and got out his phone from his pocket, unlocking it and pressing a few buttons before he turned the phone screen to my direction, his eyes on the road, "look at the GPS and see where we are and where we are heading." I examined the screen and found that we were indeed making our way to a hospital.
My jaw dropped, "Are you serious?" disbelief lacing my voice.
"Ye-"
"Why would you decide that for me? I told you that I won't go to a damn hospital, it's not your decision to make!" I bellowed, gritting my teeth.
"First, stop shouting my ears are literally ringing, and if it's not for my sake then let it be for the sake of the little girl who's in the car crying from fear." I swallowed and wiped the dried tears off Zoe's face. She sniffled and hugged my waist, looking at him.
"Second, you need to go to the hospital whether you like it or not. If you expect to keep you and your sister safe and sound, then you sure as hell can't do that limping. I'm just doing your stubborn self a favor." he reached out to the box of tissues on the dashboard, snatching one out and giving it to Zoe.
"You fooled me. The one time I listened to you willingly, you fooled me." my brows knitting in a frown.
"Third," he said firmly, "if whatever happened to your hip wasn't serious or if you were okay when we get out of the hospital then we will indeed be heading to a place to finish our project and we would eat ice-cream together like I promised." he stole a fast glance at Zoe, who smiled slightly. "So, I didn't completely fool you. We are going to do what I said we will do after our little journey to the hospital," he said. "This is the millionth time you misunderstand my actions, and think of me as the bad guy, and I prove you wrong." he stopped the car.
"I don't want to go to a hospital."
"Well, that's pretty unfortunate because we are already here," he replied, his eyes resting on a place past us. I moved my head and looked at the building in front of us. "Just a quick check-up, Josephine."
"My name is Black," I snapped.
"Bebe," Zoella whispered, "listen to Harry. I don't want you to feel ouchy."
I sighed and kept my attention on the window then I tried to open the door, forgetting that it was locked. I heard him open his door and get out. He jogged to our side and opened the door, "Child lock can be useful sometimes." he muttered, smirking.
"Stop smirking or else I will slap it off your face," I scowled and got out of the car, putting the little kid on the ground and holding her tiny hand in mine.
He mumbled something that I didn't catch, closed the car door behind us and started walking, leading the way to the hospital doors.
I huffed. I wasn't in the mood for this, I was going to be bombarded with a million questions now, I could have just stayed home and healed naturally.
Zoella tugged on my hand and took tiny steps to the front, "C'mon, it's going to be fine." I looked ahead of us and found that Styles was already by the hospital doors, waiting for us.
We started walking and soon after we were in front of the double doors that led inside. I looked at the hallway that stretched beyond us, not making a move to open the door. I heard him sigh before he pushed the doors open then placed his hand on my small back, ushering me in.
I tried not to flinch from his touch in order to not make a scene and walked inside, the familiar hospital smell overcoming my senses. The clean hospital smell. The smell of sickness and mortality. I despised it.
Styles moved from beside us and went to talk with the nurse standing behind the counter while I kept still beside the doors, so I couldn't hear the conversation between both of them, but I could clearly see the flirtatious looks the nurse kept directing towards Harry.
I never looked at him and went like 'Oh my god, he is an extremely, overly, amazingly, truly, attractive guy.' but I couldn't deny the fact that he was indeed attractive. His body had the perfect frame, muscles protruding from his shirt. The swells and lines of black ink that covered his skin drew attention to him and marked him as a bad boy, and made people who didn't like tattoos remark how it undeniably looked attractive on him. His face structure was carved perfectly. He was flawless.
The mysterious, dangerous, aroma he carried around was enough to attract women. My hands ached to draw every line and inch of him on a piece of paper.
I shook my head at the direction my thoughts were heading. The nurse threw her head back from laughter and was greeted with an uncomfortable smile from Harry. I snickered.
He looked at us and tipped his head to the stairs, motioning for us to come. Zoella started walking and I followed her. He thanked the nurse and then we climbed a set of stairs.
Once we were upstairs, we were met with another nurse who asked where we were going then pointed at a door at the end of the hall.
"The doctor is going to be here in a few minutes," the nurse said after we entered the room.
"Sit down," Styles said. I exhaled deeply and let my eyes take in the room. A desk was placed in a corner of the room, sitting upon it tons of papers and decorative objects. A few frames of two little kids and two other grown-ups hung on the wall behind it. Nothing else stood out in the room except for this side of it. A normal doctor office.
I made my way to the two chairs placed in front of the desk, Styles already occupying one of them. I avoided looking at him and focused my attention on the wall behind him instead.
The door to the room opened a while later, a woman in a white coat coming in. She looked like she was in her early thirties, brown hair tied up in a bun and hazel eyes that stared back at us.
"Hey!" she greeted us, smiling. "I'm Dr. Emma. It's nice to meet you," she said and made her way to her chair, flipping through a few pages that sat on the desk.
"So, who exactly has the hip problem?"
I felt Harry's gaze on me, waiting to say something.
"I do," I muttered.
She folded her arms on the desk, "Okay, can I have your name first?"
"Black."
"Black, what exactly happened to your hip?"
I looked at Harry wishing I had a laser that came out of my eyes so I would burn him alive.
"A car hit me accidentally while I was walking the street a few weeks ago."
"A few weeks ago? Why did you not come to the hospital instantly? You can't sit that long without having it checked, it could be dangerous!" she exclaimed.
This was exactly why I didn't want to come here in the first place.
I glared at Harry this time.
"She wanted to see if the pain would go away by itself, she didn't think it was a big deal. Though when she figured that she wasn't getting any better by time, she insisted that we visit a doctor," he said, saving me from answering.
"That was still a mistake, you shall never do that again," she said and I nodded in return.
"Let me do an x-ray on it then, come on." she got off her chair and walked to the door, opening it and standing by it. I inhaled deeply then got up, Zoella holding my hand and Harry getting up as well.
"Oh no, we don't all have to go. We will just get the x-ray and come, you guys can stay here."
Zoe stepped in front of me, "No, I wanna come."
"Zoella, why don't you and I play something together until she comes back?" she looked at him then back at the doctor.
"Don't hurt my sister," she said.
The doctor smiled, "I won't."
She walked hesitantly to Styles, holding his hand once she reached him.
"Why don't Zoella just co-"
"You can go, I will take care of her," he said, sitting back down and pulling Zoe closer to him.
"C'mon then," I heard Dr. Emma say. I glared at him for the millionth time today and walked to her, following her to god knows where. The last thing I saw of them was Harry smiling warmly to Zoella.
~
The woman we have been with for the past hour was sitting in front of me again, x-ray sheets in her hands. I rested my back on the chair and huffed, I wanted to get out of here so bad.
"Stop it," I whispered angrily to Styles when he didn't stop moving his feet up and down. He rolled his eyes and steadied his feet. Zoella still stood by him holding his hand.
"Your hip is fractured," Dr. Emma said, making me snap my head back to her.
"What?"
"Your hip, It is fractured," she paused as she looked at me, "you have to be a lucky one because I expected that such accident would lead to a broken hip."
"How do you treat that?" Styles asked when I didn't say anything.
She diverted her attention to him, "Normally by a surgery. But in Black's case, it would be preferred if the bone was left to heal naturally. Now, tell me, how were you treating the pain and your hip these past few weeks?" she asked.
"Um, I just took painkillers."
"Did you get any rest? physically and mentally?"
Ha, what do these stuff even mean?
I didn't give her an answer and thrummed my fingers on the desk impatiently.
"I will take that as a no," she said, taking a piece of paper out and writing on it something. "Okay, I will prescribe for you other medications to take alongside the painkillers. Bed rest is going to be important for you to heal and taking physical therapy will also help greatly." she folded the paper and gave it to me. "Also, I'd love if you paid me a visit again, so I'd follow your healing process."
"Is my sister okay?" Zoella's little voice filled the room. My eyes landed on her face, she looked worried. I smiled slightly.
"Yes, your sister is fine," she reassured her.
I nodded to get this over with. I knew that whether I liked it or not, whatever she just said was not going to be done. This shouldn't have happened in the first place. I finally got up and murmured a thank you, ready to leave the place.
She got up as well, "Woah Woah, don't you want a brace?"
"No, I'm fine," I looked at Styles, "let's go." I smiled sourly.
"Are you sure you don't need a b-"
"Let's go," I repeated firmly, stopping him from completing, he had already done enough. Zoella came to stand by me again and we walked out of the office. I didn't wait for him as I stormed out of the hospital and headed away from where the car was parked.
"Black, the car is in the other direction."
I ignored him and completed walking, having zero idea on to where I was heading.
He groaned and soon after he was beside us.
"Black, get in the car," he said, breathing heavily from running. "Don't be stubborn, you don't even know where you are! You are going to either end up getting both of you lost or killed by that mad guy." I stopped abruptly and slammed my eyes shut.
"Idiot," I whispered and opened my eyes to look down at Zoella who kept looking back and forth between us, eyes wide.
"She understands English, you know," I spat. He swallowed and bent down to her, she looked at him with fearful eyes, "I'm just joking, don't worry." he smiled, trying to comfort her. "Come here." he opened his arms. Zoella left my hand and walked to him, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. He engulfed her in a hug, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, "It's okay."
He opened his eyes and looked up at me. The pair of eyes that stared back at me held such softness and something that looked like sadness that I couldn't bear to look at them, so I looked away. There were moments for him where I felt like I was standing in front of a whole new person with a whole new personality. He was confusing.
"Let us go eat ice-cream then, shall we?" I felt him get up, still carrying my little sister in his embrace, and look at me. I sighed and turned towards the car, waiting for him to walk first. As soon as he was ahead of me, I lifted my arm and held the back of his shirt even though I knew that he wouldn't do anything anymore.
Silence covered us like a heavy blanket on our way to the place we were going. He didn't dare to say a word and Zoella was too tired to be her talkative self.
He parked the car in front of a small cafe that I recognized. We were in one of the alternative streets I cross sometimes to our house.
"Are we here?" Zoe asked.
Styles smiled and nodded.
"Yay, ice-cream time!" she shouted excitedly, her once tired and scared self gone in a snap of a finger. I opened the door and got us out, Styles doing the same thing. He got both of our bags out from the back seat and handed me mine.
"I want mine too," Zoe said. "I work too."
He shook his head slowly and chuckled, getting out her bag and holding it along with his.
Zoe reached out for it but he held it farther from her.
"I will carry it for you."
"No, me!" she pouted and reached for it one more time, this time he let her take it from him. He got back to the car and closed the back door, locking the car.
Zoe left my hand and ran to his side before I could stop her. He looked down at her and smiled softly, his eyes twinkling and dimples prominent.
"Let's go?" he whispered and motioned towards the shop. I observed the surroundings first, trying to catch something out of place or any shadows but there was nothing. I sighed and walked alongside them, entering the coffee shop.
The warm air welcomed us with a coffee smell mixed with the smell of chocolate and cakes. The brown and white colors were what attracted me the most. Everything was in a beautiful contrast. Cozy seats and cushions were scattered around the different tables filling the small space. Vintage frames were hung all over the place. It was such a shame that I never paid close attention to this place before.
There wasn't a lot of people present, so most of the tables were empty. Styles walked to a table at the far corner and I followed behind.
Sitting quietly, I dropped my bag and listened closely to the relaxing music that played, my eyes scanning the people who were around us. A couple of friends sat at one of the tables laughing. Lovers occupied another table, smiling every now and then, holding hands. What looked like a college student sat on the last occupied table, a laptop and several books laid in front of him.
"Do you like the place?"
I snapped my head back to the guy sitting in front of me, "It's nice," I simply said. A guy came to our table just after I said that.
"Hey, lad! I almost didn't believe Bob when he said you were here, It has been a while," he said with a heavy Irish accent. He had blonde hair and blue eyes that looked happy to see Harry.
He smiled, "Yeah, I've just had a lot going on."
"I could see that." he smirked and looked at me. I pressed my lips into a straight line and looked away.
Styles coughed, "This is a friend of mine. Black."
"Friend huh?"
He ignored his remark, "And that's her sister. Zoella," he completed.
I heard Zoe mumble hi shyly.
"If she wasn't that pretty, I would have mistaken her for your child or something since you're stupid." I again acted like I didn't hear that and looked at Zoe who was fidgeting in her seat and blushing.
"Ha ha," Styles said. "Anyway, this is Niall."
"Hi, Black! Nice name." I barely looked at him and nodded. "Okay, I better take your orders before I get fired, but we better catch up soon." It was only then when I noticed the apron tied around his waist and the name tag placed on his chest.
He nodded, "I will have my usual black coffee and," he paused and looked at Zoe, "Is vanilla ice-cream alright?" her eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly. "and a vanilla ice-cream."
"If it's possible, make it a really small ball of ice-cream," I intervened.
"No, I want a big one," she whined, making me glare at her. She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Wh-" I looked at Styles, who had his eyebrows furrowed, and glared at him too, silencing him.
"Alright, anything else?" Niall asked.
"What are you going to have?"
"Nothing."
"Make them two black coffees, Niall." I looked at him blankly.
"Alright," he said before walking away.
"What makes you think I like black coffee?"
"I didn't, but now I do." he grinned.
I rolled my eyes and looked at Zoe and found that she was still pouting, "Zoella, stop pouting."
"I wanted a big one." she frowned.
"You just had a big one a while ago."
"That was very very long ago."
"Zoella," I cautioned.
She sunk deeper into her chair and didn't say anything again.
"Don't," I whispered when I saw that Harry was going to say something.
He sighed, "Okay, let's get to work then." he got out a couple of books from his bag and I did the same and we started working.
A few seconds later, the two black coffees and the ice-cream were placed on the table and once Zoe saw the ice-cream, her smile returned and her frown was completely erased from her face.
"Well, give me a high five because this is officially the first project I work on and finish," Harry said once we were done, raising his hand for me to high five it.
I looked at his hand then back at him, "Congratulations! You're finally not a brat white girl!" I exclaimed.
He narrowed his eyes at me and raised his other hand to high five the one hanging in the air.
"Yay," he said sarcastically.
"I will high five you," Zoe said all of a sudden. At a certain point, she had gotten out a sketchbook from her bag and started drawing.
He smiled and raised his hand again. She grinned and high fived him, her tiny hands making his hand look gigantic.
"Anyway, you said you wanted to talk to me earlier. What did you want to talk about?"
I looked at Zoe and found that she was back engrossed in drawing.
"Why did you do that this morning?" I asked, starting easy.
He shrugged and lifted his cup, sipping from it, "I was reminding the trash where it actually belonged."
"Yeah, but, why?"
"Don't ask stupid questions and I will gladly answer."
I exhaled slowly and pulled slightly on my ponytail, the stress and the thoughts that I managed to mute for a while coming back with full force.
"Did he say anything else?"
"No, I told you everything he told me."
I huffed and looked down at the table. Nothing made sense. I thought that having a few pieces of information would help somehow, but it was as useless as it was before gaining those information, in fact, it would have been better if I hadn't known anything.
It was like a game of puzzles. I had a few pieces of the puzzle but none of them could be pieced together and no pictures could be formed.
"Don't worry about it, we will figure it out," he whispered and reached out for my hand that was on the table.
I snatched my hand away before he could hold it, "We? There's no we." he clenched his jaw and huffed, getting back in his chair and resting his back to it, looking in the other direction.
"What don't you like about what I said?" I questioned, "I'm serious this time. I don't want you to be with me. I don't want you to talk with me. I don't want you to help me. I don't want you to call or text me. I don't want you to beat up people for me. I just want you away from me," I said, edging closer to the table in order to be closer to him to try and make him understand. "I will figure it out, I can help myself. I don't need you to be running after me and taking me to hospitals to make sure I'm alright," I paused, "I'm alright without you!" his body stiffened. "How many times am I going to tell you to get away from us?! How many more times do I have to tell you that I don't need your help?"
"You're right." he nodded and looked back at me, but the guy who looked back at me wasn't the same guy who smiled each time his eyes met mine or the guy who had those bright green eyes that made you miss the greens of springs and summers.
This was the guy who had a really dark shade of green eyes and angered features. The guy I first met.
"You're right, how stupid can I be? You told me how you don't need me a bazillion times but I still end up showing up on your doorstep, what kind of an idiot am I?" he deepened his scowl, "I'm done, I give up!" he said through gritted teeth. "I try and try and try and you just push and humiliate and don't appreciate, but I'm done. Do whatever you want to do with your life. You've got my number, call me when you are two seconds away from death."
He got up, taking out his wallet and getting some cash out then slamming them on the table. He gave me one last dark look before storming out of the place.
I stared silently at the doors he went out from. He never treated me like that, never been this angry, no matter what I said or did
Yeah smart ass, this is what happens when you get on someone's last nerve. You've been tossing him all over the place and you still think he is going to treat you like a princess and fight you because he is determined to stay by your side and help you? Did you forget that he is a human being?
I looked back at Zoella and found that she was looking back at me, her eyes filled with tears.
"Don't you dare cry, do you understand?" I said harshly.
She looked down at her hands and blinked repeatedly. The ache in my heart doubled by each passing second. I didn't know why I didn't get up and leave the place as well, Harry's fit wasn't that low, so the few people who sat in the shop had their attention drawn to the table we were sitting at.
Because you were hoping he would come back and apologize that he just left like that. No matter how much you denied it, Josephine Black, you needed him so bad.
When I noticed that the sun was already setting, I finally got up and carried Zoella off her seat. After I had snapped at her, she huddled into a tiny ball on the chair and eventually slept.
The pain in my hip surfaced as I walked down the streets to our house, but I had already gotten used to it. It was just a small burn contrary to the other pains that existed in and out of my body.
Charlie barked happily when he saw us enter the house. "Hi buddy," I murmured and got upstairs, placing Zoe on the bed and changing her clothes as Charlie curled himself beside Zoe like he always does.
I took off my clothes and headed to the bathroom, wanting to take a warm shower so I would wash away all the events of today or yesterday or the day before it.
The warm water streamed down my body but the thoughts and the pain stayed in my body hunting it. I increased the water's heat until each drop that fell on my body burned it, I wanted to forget everything so bad.
The steam from the shower clouded the space that I was standing in and disabled me from breathing properly.
"Please, I've had enough," I pleaded, not knowing who I was talking to. I screwed my eyes shut, my vision going white due to the hot water.
When the water didn't feel like water anymore, but like there was a swarm of bees that constantly stung every part of my body, I reached out for the faucets and turned them off.
My body swayed, making me rest my forehead on the hot ceramic of the wall. I gasped for air and glided against the wall, closing my eyes for a while. As the air around me started to cool down and I started shivering, I decided to get up from my place and put clothes on. The last thing I wanted was to get a cold.
I winced as the fabric of the clothes touched my partially burned skin and avoided looking at myself in the mirror, opening the door to let some of the left steam out.
I was just going to tie my hair in a bun when the sound of a loud thud rang in my ears. I let go of my hair and ran outside the room, checking on Zoella first then looking around the room. Charlie was looking at the window and then he rested his head on the bed and went back to sleep. I got out of the room upon finding it empty, locking the door behind me then proceeded in searching the house. Maybe it was just something from outside the house, not every sound out there is considered as danger.
Or maybe you were imagining it just like before.
I shook my head and climbed upstairs, unlocking the door then closing it behind me quietly. I was too tired to stand by the window, so I made my way to the bed and laid my body beside Zoe's.
I breathed deeply and even though my skin was still itchy, I pulled Zoella closer to me and cuddled with her.
I stared at the wall opposite the bed, my eyelids drooping and the world getting out of focus. I knew that sleeping would lead to a horrible nightmare, but I was too exhausted to care.
I was just about to finally give in to the darkness when the sound of the doorbell went off, making me jolt awake. I waited for a couple of minutes trying to determine if I had imagined it or if the doorbell did indeed ring. Several knocks were heard after a few seconds, so I got off the bed and made my way downstairs. Charlie barked, the bell waking him up too, and followed me down.
I looked at the peephole and didn't find anyone standing on the other side, but a plastic bag sat just in front of the house porch.
Please, don't let it be another threat or message.
I unlocked the door slowly, bent down to catch the bag and looked inside it. There was a few boxes and bottles.
Furrowing my eyebrows, I opened the door wider, so I would be able to look at the stuff clearer. They weren't boxes, they were medicines. The medicines that were prescribed for me.
I looked around, wanting to find the guy with the brown curls, but the streets were completely deserted. He still thought of me even after what I said to him. I held the bag closer to my chest.
If I had just gotten up the second I heard the bell.
I sighed and closed the door back, placing the bag on the table nearby and ushering the dog back to bed, and all that inhabited my thoughts was how caring a person could be even if you treat them like utter crap.
~
AN// Guess who should be studying and actually isn't ? :)
Okay, so the book finally reached its 24th chapter aka this is the first newly written chapter, and considering the fact that I have exams, I will be updating every week instead of every day until I finish, then I will put a schedule on to when I will update exactly. I'm sorry for doing this, but I really should start concentrating on studying in order to not fail XD
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!