^me reading yall's reactions to the end of the last chapter knowing it's only about to get worse and y'all are gonna kill me.
anyway, here it is.
Lydia White
I woke up in the middle of the night due to an uneasy feeling in my gut.
I felt like something was wrong, and when I patted Harry's side of the bed to wake him up...it only made the feeling deepen.
Harry wasn't in bed. He wasn't laying next to me like he usually would be.
His phone wasn't on the bedside table either. I grew even more nervous and stood out of bed.
I put on a pair of pyjama pants, as I fell asleep in the clothes from the night before. I threw on one of Harry's hoodies and exited the room, praying Harry would be somewhere else in the apartment.
"Harry?" I call over the railing of the staircase.
No reply.
My stomach twists uncomfortably.
I walk down the stairs and search all around the apartment, calling his name and panicking more and more when he doesn't answer.
Living room. Nothing.
Kitchen. Nothing.
Dining room. Nothing.
He's not here.
I feel dread fill my heart. I tried to justify it by thinking that maybe he was with one of the boys, or down in his office.
But deep down, I knew something wasn't right.
I couldn't think straight. My head was going through so many different scenarios.
So, for some reason, my first instinct was to go to Louis' apartment.
Louis was Harry's best friend, and if Harry wasn't with him, then something was up.
Also I know that if Harry was in trouble, Louis would be on it right away.
I took the elevator down a few floors until I reached Louis' door. Like Harry, he was the only one on his floor.
I knocked on the door and Louis immediately opened it with a beer bottle in his hand. His face fell extremely confused when he saw me, probably because we don't really talk unless Harry's around.
"Lydia?" he furrows his brows.
"Louis. Harry's not at home. I don't know what to do. I panicked, so I came here." I say in a worried tone.
"Uh." he says in confusion. "Come in." he opens the door more so I can enter.
"Thanks." I say, walking in.
"You said Harry's not home?" he says, looking for confirmation.
"Yes. I couldn't find him anywhere." I pace around Louis' living room, pulling slightly at my roots.
"Okay, okay. Relax. Have you tried calling him?" Louis says, trying to calm me down.
"N-no." I mumble, feeling slightly stupid. Calling him would have been the obvious thing to do, but I was panicked and no thinking straight.
"Well let's do that before we start jumping to conclusions." Louis pulls out his phone and dials Harry's number.
We go into his kitchen as the phone rings. Louis sets the phone on speaker and rests it on the countertop.
I stare down at the phone as it continues to ring.
That's all it was. Just ringing.
Then a click, making my heart stop.
"You've reached Harry Styles. Leave a message."
"Oh God." I throw my head in my hands, feeling pure worry and fear.
"Don't freak out. Maybe he just doesn't have his phone on him." Louis tried to reassure me.
I look at him, and I can see by his facial expression that he knows something's wrong as well.
"What if something happened to him, Louis?" I ask.
Louis glances down at me and bites his lip. His eyes were filled with concern for his friend.
"I-I'm sure he's okay." Louis lies.
"Should we call the others? Maybe he's with them." I suggest.
Louis nods. "Yes. Good idea."
Louis and I stand at the kitchen island as he dials Liam's number next.
Liam picks up and tells us he's with Niall and that Harry wasn't with them.
I feel sick.
Louis tells Liam and Niall to come to his place. They tell him they'll be up in a moment.
Louis calls Zayn next.
Zayn tells us that Harry stopped by his apartment earlier, but left about three hours ago.
It was 3 am. Harry hasn't been seen for three hours.
In the span of five minutes, Liam, Niall, and Zayn all come to Louis apartment.
Louis gave me water to try and keep me calm. But it was so hard knowing that something has possibly happened to Harry.
"Zayn, you said Harry was at your apartment?" Louis says to Zayn, who was sitting across from me.
"Yeah. He stopped by to make sure I was okay. He only stayed for about 20 minutes." Zayn states with crossed arms.
"And no one has heard from him over the span of three hours?" Louis asks, looking around. Everyone shakes their heads.
I wanted to cry. He's missing. He could be dead. I didn't want to think that way, but what other way was I supposed to think.
I stood in silence, praying that his name would flash across the phone screen, or better yet that he would walk through the door perfectly fine.
But that moment never came.
Harry Styles
My head is throbbing.
My arms are stinging all the way from my wrists to my shoulders. They feel...restrained.
I try to steady my breathing by inhaling and exhaling, but I soon realize that I cant breathe through my mouth.
I can't see anything.
I try to move my hands, but my wrists are stuck together.
Once all of my confusion clears up, I realize that I'm tied to a chair.
Confusion turns into panic. I don't know how I got here. I can't remember anything.
I almost immediately think of Lydia. Where is she? Is she okay?
I hear a door open, then footsteps. I try to remain calm as they get closer.
A cloth bag that was prohibiting me from seeing anything is ripped off of my head. My eyes adjust to my surroundings.
The walls are stone. There's nothing else in this room except for the chair I was tied to and a metal table on the other side of the room.
My eyes drift to the person in front of me, and once I see who they are...my heart drops and anger fills my body.
"Rise and shine." he smirks.
It's James.
I look up at him in hatred. I was trying to mask my confusion about how exactly I ended up here and my fear about not knowing where Lydia was.
James looks me up and down. "I wonder where your gang thinks you are right now." he chuckles.
I tug at my wrists, trying to get loose. I could take James. He didn't scare me.
James pulls a device out of his pocket and holds it out towards me.
My phone.
"Louis' called you six times. Liam's called you twice." he states, pacing around in front of me. "Nothing from Miss Lydia, however." he pouts his bottom lip.
She was probably still asleep. My heart sank at the thought of her waking up and me not being there.
"Not to worry though, Styles. You'll see her again. The Phantoms will pay her a little visit later." he smirks.
I instantly start jolting in my seat in a desperate attempt to break loose. I shout into a piece of tape that covered my mouth.
I was infuriated. I was terrified for Lydia.
James chuckles lowly at my attempts to break free.
My phone begins to ring in his hand. He looks down at the screen and then back to me.
"It's Louis again." he states.
To my surprise, James answers the call. He just holds the phone in his hand, not saying anything.
"Harry? Are you there?" Louis' voice says from the other line.
James stays silent.
"Styles, can you hear me?" Louis speaks again.
I instinctively start screaming into the tape loud enough for Louis to hear me through the phone. James almost immediately swings his fist and punches me in the side of the face, making my head whip to the right. I can taste blood.
"Harry!" Louis yells.
I scream again to let Louis know that I'm here, earning another hit from James.
"Shut the fuck up." James spits as he clutches my jaw roughly in his hand. I can feel my mouth pooling with my own blood, making me want to gag.
I can hear commotion from the other side of the phone. James lets go of my face and backs up.
I swallow the vile taste of my blood in my mouth, praying for this moment to be over.
"Harry?" My world stops turning as I hear Lydia's sweet voice talk to me through the phone.
"Harry, please be strong. I love you." she says. Her voice was shaky and unstable as if she was trying really hard not to cry.
I shut my eyes and dip my head down. I wanted to be home with her. I wanted to be holding her in my arms.
James hangs up the phone, disconnecting me completely from the one person I had to live for.
I wanted to breakdown, but I had to stay strong for Lydia. I had to come back to her...she was counting on me.
"Well, Styles...unfortunately I have to let someone else deal with you now. It's been fun." James says. I furrow my brows, wondering who this 'someone else' could be.
James sets my phone on the table and opens the steel door, exiting and leaving me alone in the room.
I immediately get to work, moving my wrists around behind me as much as possible to loosen the tape around them. I can feel the adhesive begin to peel off of my skin, which was a good sign...but it seemed to be wrapped around so many times that it was too thick to just break through.
I couldn't stop trying, though. I had to get out of here.
The heavy door opens again. This time, a dreaded and familiar face walks in, making my stomach twist.
Alexander.
"Harry Styles." he walks in, chuckling. "I've been waiting for this." he says, walking up to me.
I make dead eye contact with him, staring him directly in his eyes and not looking away. I glared at him as he walked right up to me. He crouches down to my level and smirks.
"Last time we did this, you got lucky." he states. "But look at you now, Styles. No one's gonna save you. You're finished." he shakes his head, wearing a sadistic smile.
I tug at my restraints, making him smirk even more. He brings his hand up to
my face and rips the tape off of my mouth.
I immediately start spitting out blood onto the ground. Alexander backs up and watches me.
"I gotta say, I never thought we'd be able to spend time together like this again." he says.
"Fuck you." I spit in anger, causing him to shake his head and chuckle while looking at the ground.
"What are you trying to prove here, Styles? Look at you, you're in no position to be acting all tough." he uses his hand to gesture me up and down.
"What do you want!" I shout.
"I want you to suffer!" he shouts even louder, lunging right for my face.
"Then fucking do it already." I say through clenched teeth.
Alexander shakes his head and backs up, almost instantly becoming calm again.
"No, no. Not until Lydia gets here."
Anger rises inside of me at the mention of her name.
"No! Leave her alone!" I start thrashing in my chair, unable to control my fury any more.
"Styles, calm down." Alexander's voice chimes in a menacingly calm tone. He walks up to me and crouches down again.
"Styles, listen. I'm going to kill you...and I'm going to make Lydia watch. Then, who knows? She's a very beautiful girl. I might keep her to myself for a while." he smirks.
I spit in his face. There was no way I was going to let him touch my girlfriend.
He backs up and wipes the spit out of his eyes, grunting in frustration.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her, you mother fucker!" I say in rage.
Alexander storms up to my chair and backhands me across the face, hard.
I feel the instant sting from his hand. It made me see stars.
"Let's give Lydia a little call shall we?" Alexander says, making my stomach fill again with dread. "Say anything stupid and I'll kill her too." he points at my chest.
She was being tortured just as much as I was by this whole situation. They were messing with her head.
He dials Lydia's number and it begins to ring. I look up at the ceiling and blink away tears that filled my eyes from the impact of the slap.
"H-hello?" Lydia sniffles nervously, knowing it wasn't actually me who was calling her.
"Miss White. Hello." Alexander speaks into the phone tauntingly.
All I wanted to do was warn her that The Phantoms were coming for her. I wanted to tell her to run.
I hear Lydia sniffle again. "Please just let him go. Just leave him be, please." she cries. I could picture her talking into the phone with tears streaming down her face, begging for my life to be spared.
"Don't cry, Lydia. Be strong for your little boyfriend." Alexander says. I shake my head in defeat, blinking back tears.
"Don't hurt him." she begs.
"I have him with me right now. Would you like to speak to him?" Alexander says, glancing at me.
"Y-yes." Lydia chokes, sounding terrified and saddened but attempting to remain calm and brave for my sake.
Alexander walks up to me and holds the phone by my mouth. "C'mon, Styles. Speak up." he taunts.
"L-Lydia?" I say.
"Oh my god, you're alive." she exhales.
I feel my eyes becoming glossy and my throat burning at the sound of her voice talking to me.
"I'm okay, baby. Please don't worry." I try my best to reassure her, but I know it won't do anything.
"I'm gonna find you, Harry. I pro-promise." she says through her cries.
I glance at Alexander who kept a firm stare on me. "No Lydia don't. Don't try and find me, please. Promise me you won't." I tell her.
"Harry I-"
"Lydia don't." I say firmly.
I can hear her sobbing, making my eyes fill with tears again. My chest aches for her.
"I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, Lydia." I say as tears fall down my face. "I love you. I love you so much. Please never forget that." I tell her, because it might be the last time I ever get to say it.
"Please let him go!" Lydia shouts a desperate command directed to Alexander.
"Don't talk to him. Talk to me. Lydia please." I beg for her attention to stay on me. I was crying almost as much as she was. My tears mixed with the blood on my face and it stung so badly, but not as much as hearing the pain in her voice.
"Please try. Please come home." she says through pained sobs.
I pinch my eyes shut and lick salty tears off of my lips. "You're my everything, Lyds." I say, trying to control my sobs.
"Please." she chokes out again.
Alexander gives me a look that tells me to wrap things up.
"I love you, Lydia. You're gonna be okay." I tell her before Alexander takes my phone away from my mouth and hangs up.
When I realized that I couldn't hear the voice of the love of my life anymore, I broke down.
I dip my head down. My curls hang over my head. I scrunch my face together tightly as I fight every urge within me not to show any weakness.
I was already crying, but now I was sobbing. Tears were spilling out of my eyes and pained cries left my mouth.
I've never experienced pain like this. It was pure heartache.
"Cheer up, Styles." Alexander's voice taunts. "She'll be here soon."
I suck in a sob and tilt my head to look at him. "Please don't." I beg.
Alexander shakes his head and turns around, leaving my phone on the table.
"I'll be back soon, Styles. Hang in there." he states blankly.
He then leaves the room, leaving me a sobbing mess.
As much as I wanted to wallow, I knew I was just given an opportunity to escape.
I began pulling my wrists apart desperately. The tape was starting to separate from my skin.
"C'mon." I mumble under my breath.
It was just a matter of getting the the tape loose enough so that I could slip my hands out. I clench my fists and continue to pull my hands as far apart from each other as possible.
I could feel the tape ripping.
I wiggle my wrists around until I'm eventually able to slide one out. I exhale sharply in relief and rip the excess tape off of my other hand.
I bend down and rip the tape off of each of my feet that were tied to the legs of the chair.
Once I'm completely untied, I waste no time and grab my phone off of the table.
I had to call someone, but I had to get out of here first.
I didn't have any weapon on me. I was pretty much defenseless but I knew that I had to try.
I slowly opened the heavy metal door and peeked outside, looking left and right.
I don't know where I am, and I didn't know what way to go to get out of here.
My gut told me to go left...so that's what I did.
I cautiously walked down the corridor. It was pretty dark and seemingly pretty empty.
I walked past numerous closed doors that looked exactly like the one I was behind before.
Was this some type of dungeon?
I kept walking until I came to a staircase that led to another door.
I sucked in a deep breath as I walked up the stairs.
The door opens to reveal yet another hallway. I turn my head to my right and see a Phantom with his back turned about 15 feet away from me.
I look down at his hands. He has a gun.
Quietly, I creep towards him, approaching him from behind.
The moment I'm close enough, I grab him and put him in a headlock. I rip his gun out of his hand as he thrashes around in my hold.
I take his gun and press it to his head.
"Show me how to get out of here or I'll blow your fucking brains out." I utter in his ear.
I let go of him, but keep the barrel of the gun pressed firmly to his head. He was about an inch shorter than I was.
"Walk." I push him forward.
Neither Alexander nor James were anywhere to be seen, which made me nervous because that could mean they were on their way to get Lydia.
I need to get the fuck out of here.
The Phantom member leads me through what seemed like an old abandoned motel. When we get to the front doors, I make him step out first to make sure there was no one waiting for me outside.
Once I know the coast is clear, I follow him into the parking lot. There were three cars here, one of them being a big van that I'm assuming is what I was taken here in.
"Give me your keys." I demand, keeping the gun pointed at him.
He rolls his eyes and fishes in his pocket for his car keys, then drops them in my hand.
I press the 'unlock' button and hear a red car to my left unlock.
This was it.
I couldn't just let this Phantom live after I made him help me escape. He'd tell everyone.
So, like it was nothing, I turn and shoot him in the head.
I run to the car and drive away as quickly as possible. If James or Alexander were still here, they would have hurt the gunshot.
I didn't know where I was. I kept racing down the dark highway until I found something that resembled a public area.
Adrenaline was all I could feel. I was experiencing such a rush. I thought I was going to die tied to that chair less than 10 minutes ago.
I saw streetlights, then I saw a hotel.
It was 4 am, all the lights to the hotel were off...but the parking lot was packed.
I parked the car a street away from the hotel just in case The Phantoms were able to track it, then I ran on the empty early morning asphalt to the parking lot of the hotel.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Louis.
I held up the phone to my ear as it rang.
"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up." I mumbled.
Lydia White
I sat at Louis' island staring into space, feeling completely gutted and empty.
The person I loved was being held captive and there was no way I could get him back. I was completely broken.
Dried tears stained my face. I've been crying for so long that it got to the point where I couldn't anymore.
The guys were silent, too. We were all hurting.
"Maybe if we-" Niall speaks up.
"He's gone, Niall." Zayn cuts him off.
I didn't want to give up on Harry, but it felt like I had no other option.
I just wanted to be with him, wherever he was.
I've been praying that he'll just show up out of no where. That maybe he escaped somehow and he's on his way home.
Louis' phone rings.
Everyone sits up straight in anticipation. Louis looks at his screen, widens his eyes, and then looks at us.
"It's Harry." he gulps.
"It's probably The Phantoms calling back to mess with us." Liam shakes his head.
"Answer it." I say. If there was a chance it could actually be Harry, then we needed to answer this call.
Louis accepts the call and puts the phone on speaker, setting it in the middle of the island.
My throat feels extremely dry as I wait in nervousness.
"Hello?" Louis says cautiously.
"Louis? It's me!" I hear Harry's voice from the other side of the phone.
I almost fall off of my chair. I let out a breath that I had no idea I was holding.
All of the guys' eyes go wide in shock.
"Harry? Are you okay?" Louis asks in surprise and concern.
"I'm fine. I need you to come get me. I'm at 'Holmes Inn'." Harry says.
"That's a hotel! I know where it is!" I speak up.
"Is that Lydia?" he asks with hope in his voice.
"Yes, baby it's me. We're coming." I tell him. My heart was racing.
"What if it's a trap?" Zayn says slightly quieter.
"We need to go." Niall shakes his head.
"We'll be there soon, Styles." Louis says, already grabbing his keys from the counter.
The drive felt like it took forever. Five of us were stuffed into Louis' truck. I sat in the back with Liam and Niall while Zayn sat up front with Louis.
The hotel came into sight, and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. Louis pulled into the parking lot and my eyes scanned everywhere for Harry.
And then he stepped out from behind another car in his black t shirt and black pants.
I jumped out of the truck and ran directly to him, not caring about anything else.
He saw me and immediately pain filled his eyes. He opened his arms for me to run into.
I crashed into him and wrapped my arms around him so tightly. I instantly started sobbing at his touch because I thought it was something I'd never experience again.
With me in his arms, he fell to his knees. His hands gripped my lower back and my hair. He planted numerous kisses on the side of my head.
I was soaking his shoulder in tears.
"Hey." he brings his hands up and cups my face. I stare at his beaten face with pained eyes. "I'm okay. Look at me." he says, striking my cheekbone with his thumb.
"I..." I sniffle. "I thought I was n-never gonna see you a-again." I say through my cries.
Harry's face scrunches up and his eyes fill with tears. "I-I know." he chokes.
He was equally as shattered about what happened as I was.
He pulls me back into my chest as we both sit on our knees in the parking lot of the hotel, crying into each other.
"I love you." he whispers in my ear through his cries.
"I love you, too." I choke out and sniffle.
I've never come closer to losing him.
I felt relieved to have him back, but it still hurt so bad and it was making me feel so conflicted.
We weren't going to be able to just come back from this. Everything has changed.
But for right now, I just want to take in the feeling of being in his arms again, and feeling the warmth of his body.
Because I thought he was taken from me forever.
-
hahahaahahaha pls don't hate me.
this chapter hurt so bad. like i cried three times writing it.
and i hate to say it but it doesn't get much better...
the rest of the book is A ROLLERCOASTER and when i say that, i fuckin mean it.
i love you all, thank you for continuing to read even though i fuck with ur feelings <3
vote and comment :)