thank you for 8k on crumble wtf ily guys.
*lydia is dreaming in the beginning, just to clear up any confusion lmao.
Lydia White
My tired eyes opened and my aching head immediately began to hurt more from the light. I woke up in a what looked like an office. There was a desk, some chairs, beige colored walls, and a two other doors; one on my left and one behind me. It seemed all too familiar.
What startled me the most was the three men standing tall in front of me.
Zayn, Alexander, and James.
I looked down to see that my hands were tied in front of me tightly by a white rope. I began to panic immediately, struggling to get myself out.
"Look who's awake." Alexander says, crouching down in front of the chair I was sat on.
I glared at him, the man who has caused Harry and I so much hurt, with pure hatred. "Let me go!"' I shout, jolting my tied hands.
"I'm sorry sweetheart," he pouts his bottom lip as he tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. "but I can't do that until he gets here."
Was he referring to Harry? It would only
make sense. They kidnap me so they can get Harry right where they want him and get him to do whatever they ask him to if it meant my life was on the line. It was all a trap.
"Don't hurt him!" I demand in anger and fear for my boyfriend.
Alexander chuckles and grabs my jaw harshly, bringing his face uncomfortably close to mine.
"I don't think you're in any position to be barking commands at me, honey." he says through a menacing smirk. His eyes were so genuinely evil looking. There was not an ounce of good in this man.
"My cousin will be here soon, and when he finds out I have you, he'll surrender everything. You're doing all of us a favor here, Lydia." he taunts as he stands up.
"What do you want from him?" I work up the courage to ask.
" Nothing." he states, making me furrow my brows. "I just need to see him suffer."
I blink back tears, trying to hide my fear from my captors. I looked past Alexander and over at Zayn, who was standing by the door in front of me. I then looked at James, who kept a gun pointed at me ensuring that I didn't try to run.
I didn't notice the gun before.
I felt despair coursing through my body. I had no way of warning Harry...and I had no way of escaping. We were doomed.
When he gets here and sees me he'll be devastated, and I know for a fact that he'll willingly surrender himself to Alexander and the Phantoms if it's the cost of my safety.
The door opens, and another black leather jacket wearing Phantom pokes his head in.
"Styles is here." he says, making Alexander perk up. My heart rate picks up knowing that he was in the same building and I couldn't do anything to save him now.
"Get her in there." He directs Zayn towards the second door in this room.
Zayn comes up behind me and quickly ties a white piece of fabric around my head to prevent me from calling out for help. I whimper and muffle protests as he roughly grabs me and drags me into this tiny side room with him.
Small, silent tears fell as I waited for what felt like forever.
And then, I heard his voice.
It was muffled through the door, along with Alexander's, until Alexander eventually boomed a command to Zayn.
"Bring her out."
The moment I was forced out of the room, Harry's focus landed on me. Pain filled his eyes as he had to see me being held by Zayn.
I stood there in fear. But as this was all unfolding, I noticed that the room was changing.
The walls were dripping with blood.
I felt my head beat pick up as I looked around the room.
Alexander, Zayn and James had turned into these huge, grotesque monsters. They didn't look human at all.
I backed away in horror as the three of them slowly approached Harry, backing him into a corner.
There were growls, drool, and then Harry's horrified screams.
I couldn't move. I watched him being torn a part by these creatures in pure terror.
I jolt awake with a gasp, immediately sitting up and breathing heavily.
My chest rises up and down as I have trouble coming back to reality from what I just saw.
I tug at my hair, pinching my eyes shut and trying to slow my breath down, but I was panicking.
Suddenly, I feel an arm wrap around me and pull me in tight.
"Hey, it's okay. It's okay." the voice says in a frantic tone.
I open my eyes and finally realize that I'm still in the place I fell asleep in, and not in a warehouse being held by the Phantoms. I was still in the hospital bed, with Harry.
When I realized he was the one hugging me and saying things to calm me down, I immediately- instinctively- let my head rest on his chest.
"Bad dream?" he asks, rubbing slow circles on my back.
I nod into his chest. "You have no idea."
The dream felt so real up until the part where they morph into monsters...it's probably because that the first half actually happened.
I was actually in that situation the day Harry 'died'. It was terrifying, waking up surrounded by those people who's only intentions were to hurt us.
But why was I dreaming about this over a year later? I rarely ever have bad dreams, and when I do, they're never that vivid.
"What was it about?" Harry asks.
Do I tell him? It was awfully graphic and I'm not sure if he'd want to hear about him being viscously murdered by monsters that resembled his enemies...
...but, I know that if I don't tell him, he'd activate his stubborn side and push me until I did.
"Um." I clear my throat, pulling away from his chest so that we were just sitting next to each other now. "It was the day you left for the attack and Alexander used me as bait to get to you."
I hesitantly turn my head to the side to look at his face, which had fallen into sadness.
It was clear that hearing about my nightmare bothered him and I could tell just by looking at his face.
"Do you normally get nightmares like that?" he questions, toying with his rings.
I shake my head and bite down on the inside of my cheek. "No. Not at all."
He purses his lips to the side and knits his brows together in thought.
"It could've been from the stress you had last night. I mean, you endured a lot of shit. The nightmare is probably how your mind handled it." he suggests.
Okay, since when did he become a sleep therapist?
His suggestion actually made a lot of sense. I went through being cheated on and watching the person I loved overdose and have a seizure all in one night...no wonder I was having bad dreams.
"That's...actually a really good point." I say in surprise.
He chuckles slightly while adjusting himself on the bed. "I know right."
"I just hope they don't continue. That dream was awful." I shake my head as I bring my knees to my chest.
Harry nods in understanding. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"It's okay. I'm awake now."
"No. I mean-" he pauses. "the real thing. I'm sorry they used you just to get to me. You shouldn't have gone through something like that." he looks at me with sincere remorse.
"Harry, I'm okay. Don't beat yourself up." I reassure. What happened to me was definitely traumatizing, but I had been through so much before...and I've had the time to grieve, get back on my feet, and move on.
Harry looks forward and sucks in a sharp breath. "I wish I killed those bastards when I had the chance." he says with his jaw clenched and eyes darkened.
It does sort of make me nervous that the Phantoms are still out there. Alexander and Xavier both wanted Harry dead, and as far as we know they're still roaming around.
"Harry." I say.
He turns his head back towards me, acknowledging my voice.
"Do you know where the Phantoms are?" I ask timidly, because we really haven't discussed the Phantoms since he returned.
He bites his bottom lip and shakes his head. "Not really. I know where some of them are, but not the important and most dangerous ones like Alexander. The Kings kind of went into hiding after the battle."
"Hiding?" I tilt my head, wondering exactly what he meant.
"After the attack happened, I wasn't sure what was gonna come next. Only forty two of my men made it out of that battle alive. I couldn't afford to lose any more so we completely fell off the grid and created a sort of hideaway." he explains.
I was still confused, but also shocked at how many Kings were killed.
"So if you 'fell off the grid', do the Phantoms not know where you are either?"
"Well, I don't know." he starts. "Part of me thinks that they think the bomb they set off in the Kings headquarters killed me...but the other part thinks that they're hunting me down to this day and waiting for the perfect time to strike."
I sigh and put my head in my hands, taking in what he was telling me.
"There's one more thing..." he says, making me look over at him. He continues to look forward as he sighs. "The guy that grabbed you the night I came back...he was a Phantom."
I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up knowing that a Phantom was after that night and was probably the one stalking me outside my window.
I look at Harry. "How do you know?"
"I've been tracking him for a while because he's the only Phantom I've seen since the attack, and he led me right to you."
As crazy as it was seeing Harry alive after a year, I couldn't be more thankful that he was there that night. God knows what could have happened to me if he didn't stop that Phantom member.
The thing that scared me, however, was that Harry didn't kill that Phantom..meaning he knows I'm still out there.
"What if he's still looking for me?" I say in worry.
Harry runs a hand through his hair. "Just don't worry about it. I'll handle everything, I promise."
"Killing people isn't the answer." I say, knowing what he meant by 'handling everything'.
"It is when it comes to those fuckers." he says with his jaw clenched.
Before I can reply in protest, a nurse wearing purple scrubs walks in. She was small and had her brown hair tied into a ponytail. She seemed to be around 30.
She walks into the room with a clipboard and stops when she sees Harry and I in the small bed together.
"Am I interrupting?" she arches her brow.
Harry and I look at each other quickly before I adjust my dress and climb out of the bed. "No, we were just talking." I say as I get back into the brown chair next to the bed.
"Alright." she says in a confused tone. "Mr. Styles, I have some good news." she perks up.
Harry and I sit there waiting for her to continue.
She looks down at her clipboard. "You've been cleared for discharge. You're free to go home."
I look over and smile at Harry as he just presses his lips together, not knowing how to respond politely to the nurse.
"I'm aware that you don't have seizures often." she looks at Harry rather than her clipboard.
"No, it was caused by a drug overdose." Harry replies with a tone and a weird look like he was trying to say the nurse should know this already.
"I know that. Now, do you experiment with drugs frequently?"
Harry knits his brows together, taken a back from the question. "No." he simply says.
"Well what caused you to take them last night?" she asks.
Harry scoffs and throws his hands in the air out of frustration. "Alright, what is this? I just want to get out of this place."
"Harry, she's just trying to help." I say, trying to calm him down.
"Mr. Styles, I know this may be a sensitive topic for you. Believe me, it is for me as well. My sister was in a bad relationship that got her into abusing drugs and alcohol. I just want you to know that there are resources if you ever feel like you need to get high again." the nurse explains.
I sit up with slight surprise at the nurse's personal story.
"I'm sorry about your sister." I speak up, causing her to look at me and shake her head.
"No need to be sorry, dear. She's alive, but she does have some issues that we're working on daily." she turns her attention back to Harry. "Drugs can ruin a person's life, Harry. Please be careful." she says, addressing Harry by his first name now.
"You have no idea." Harry says under his breath as the nurse comes over to take out his IV and unplug him from everything. It was true, this nurse had no idea what has went on in Harry's life prior to this...but how was she supposed to?
The nurse presses her lips together and nods. "Have a safe trip home, you two. And tell the same to your friends asleep in the waiting room." With that, she leaves.
Harry shakes his head and gets up from the hospital bed, adjusting his sleeves and grabbing his suit jacket from off the chair.
"What a bitch." Harry huffs, rustling a hand through his hair.
"She was trying to be nice." I reassure.
Harry rolls his eyes and fishes into his pocket. I pay no mind to it until he pulls out a literal pack of cigarettes and pulls a stick out along with a lighter.
"Harry!" I whisper-shout as he puts the stick in his mouth.
"What?" he furrows his brows.
"Since when did you have these?" I widen my eyes in disbelief.
"Since last night." he says like it was obvious as he tries to light the stick between his lips.
"Stop." I say walking up to him and pulling the stick out of his mouth. "You can't smoke in hospitals, and you shouldn't be smoking after what just happened to you."
He pauses in surprise that I just took his cigarette away, but eventually just rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever." he says as he opens the door.
"I get why you're frustrated, but I'm telling you that the nurse was just trying to help." I say as I walk behind him.
"I'm not frustrated, Lydia. I'm pissed." he says as he picks up his pace.
"Why?"
"Forget it."
"No." I say as I reach out and grab his arm to force him to a stop. He turns around and snatches his arm away. "Why are you pissed?"
He huffs out and looks at the ground, shaking his head and clenching his fists.
"The nurse...she-" he bites his lip and shuts his eyes in anger.
"She what?" I push.
"She looked like my fucking mom, alright?" he throws his arms up.
My face falls as I feel my stomach sink. I was at a loss for words.
"Seeing her and then having her tell me all that stuff...it was like my drug addict mother saying it to me. It set me off." he explains.
I know that Harry had a bad relationship with his parents. And I knew that he didn't get the chance to fix it because they were both murdered and he was taken by Xavier.
So, in hindsight, I now see why he was so angry.
"Harry, I'm sorry." I shake my head in sincerity.
He looks up at me for a moment, eyes still dark with anger.
"I-it's fine. It's not your fault. Let's just go." he says, still clearly upset.
I decided not to push anymore and let him blow it off on his own. I simply followed him to the waiting room where, not surprisingly, the boys were dead asleep.
It was actually sort of amusing how their bodies were twisted into the waiting room chairs. Louis has two chairs, one under his ass and the other under his legs, forming a sort of makeshift bed. Liam had his knees flung over one chair while his head rested against the back of it.
And Niall's position was probably the funniest of them all.
He was in a chair against the wall and had somehow maneuvered himself so that his legs were resting up against the wall while his head was resting off of the chair.
I sometimes don't know how these people are vicious gang members, I just don't.
Harry walks over to Louis and rips the chair from beneath his legs, causing Louis to fall forward slightly as he instinctively grips the arms of the chair under his butt as he wakes up.
"What the fuck?" Louis says groggily, yet angrily.
"We're leaving." Hardy states, proceeding to wake Liam up by slapping him on the forehead and Niall by shoving his legs away from the wall.
Is this what it's like everyday with them?
"That was unnecessary" Niall grumbles as he sits up properly, cracking his neck.
"What's unnecessary is how you were sleeping." Harry retorts, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever asshole." Niall responds.
I stand there awkwardly with my arms crossed as the boys argue in the middle of the waiting room.
Harry turns around to face me, looking at me up and down. "Can I talk to you quickly?" he asks.
I have no idea what he wants to talk to me about, but I wasn't going to say no.
I nod and he addresses the guys one more time. "Meet us outside."
He lightly puts a hand on the small of my back while leading me to a more secluded area.
"What's up?" I ask, crossing my arms and leaning against a wall.
He bites the inside of his cheek and looks around.
"Uh- well." he starts. "Here's the thing..." he inhales,
"...I have to go back."
Go back?
"Go back where?" I tilt my head. I didn't know what he was talking about.
He stood tall in the darkened hallway where no one expect us were. He fiddled with his rings and with the collar of his dress shirt.
"To the gang. To the hideaway." he says.
I sigh, knowing that he would have to get back to his gang eventually because he is the leader. "Well, what do you want me to say? I know I can't hold you back. Just maybe don't blow me off this time. Pay me a visit here and there...or even text me." I tell him. I don't know what's going on between the two of us right now, but I know that I don't want us to stop talking and trying to rebuild our relationship again.
He shakes his head. "No, see you don't get it, Lyds." he grumbles.
"What aren't I getting, exactly?" I furrow my brows.
"The hideaway is three towns away. I can't just come back here."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" I question as my heart sinks.
"Because I didn't know how." he pauses to look at me before stepping forward and grabbing a hold of my hands. My breath hitches as his emerald green eyes stare down at me.
"Come with me, Lydia."
I felt my heart in my throat and my lungs tighten. "Harry-"
"Please." he tries.
"I can't throw my life away again." I shake my head.
I gave up everything for him last time. I can't afford to start over.
"We can start a new life. Together. You've always wanted that." he explains as he holds tightly onto my hands.
The part that hurt the most was that I have always wanted that with him. I always imagined us growing together as a couple, getting married, maybe even having children.
I wanted to spend my life with him...but it was so dangerous.
"Why can't you stay here? Just start over and we can be happy without any worries." I hopefully suggest, feeling my throat tighten.
"That's not how it works, Lyds." he starts, cupping my cheek in his one hand. "We'd never be free of danger if I stayed here. And I'm not saying we well be if you come with me, but at least I can protect you."
Flashbacks from when Harry left me the day of the attack flood my mind. He was leaving me then, and he's going to be leaving me now...because I can't go with him.
I shake my head as tears start brimming my eyes. "Why does everything have to be so hard?" I choke in frustration.
"Lydia." Harry says, bringing my head up to look at him by my chin. He examines my face and looks at me in a way I can't describe. "I can't lose you again."
I bite my trembling lip as I gaze into his eyes through my watery ones.
It was too much. Everything that was happening was too intense for me to bare after all I've been through.
I rip myself away from Harry, causing him to step back for a moment as I begin to walk away.
But I barely make it two steps before he slams his hand against the wall in front of my head, causing me to whip my head towards him.
I barely had time to think before he leaned down and his tender, soft lips met mine forcefully.
//
about time ugh.
how are you guys liking the story so far?