the song for this chapter is New Person, Same Old Mistakes, by Tame Impala
***********
Man, I know that it's hard to digest
But baby this story ain't so different from the rest
And I know it seems wrong to accept
But you've got your demons, and she's got her regrets
And I know that it's hard to digest
A realization is as good as it gets
And I know it seems hard to accept
But you've got your demons, and she's got her regrets
But you've got your demons, and she's got her regrets
***********
Harry
Tate was still asleep when I pulled up to the hotel I had picked for us to stay in tonight. I looked over at her and felt the pain and anguish all over again.
The marks on her neck, the welts on her face...the torn up shirt that I tried to hide under my own. Thoughts about what could have happened if I hadn't gotten there in time had haunted me the entire drive, and I don't know if they'd ever stop.
I'll never forget the sound of her screams for as long as I lived. They traveled through the park, each echo of more painful to hear than the last. I was sprinting like a madman throughout the park, trying to follow the blood-curdling screams to their source. I think that was one of the worst parts of it...not being able to find her for that long, but knowing that with each minute that passed, more agony was brought upon her.
I hated that I lost control the way I did in front of her. Everything became a blur of rain and blood as I unleashed all of my anger on the man who attacked Tate. Even after I had shot him, after he was dead, it was like I wanted him to feel pain even in the afterlife.
But Tate's face when she looked at me...she looked so scared. All I had wanted to do was make her feel safe, and yet I managed to put the same fear in her eyes as her attacker did.
I parked the car and leaned over to gently shake her shoulder. Apparently, I wasn't gently enough. Tate immediately shot up and started breathing heavily, panic flashing across her face as she tried to figure out where she was, lightly reaching up to touch her throat.
"Tate, you're okay. You're okay," I whispered, calming her down.
Her breathing began to steady itself, and she closed her eyes as she settled down.
"I'm sorry...I...I just..." she trailed off.
She didn't have to say anything for me to understand what she meant.
"I know."
I looked at the marks on her face and throat and realized I should probably get something for her to wear to cover them so that when we checked in, the hotel workers wouldn't think that I was the one who had given them to her. I would hate for anyone to think that I would hurt Tate, especially her.
"We're at the hotel. I'm going to get a hoodie out of my bag for you so that you can..." I trailed off, not wanting to finish my sentence.
"So that I can cover up the bruises on my face and neck so people don't think you are a psychopath? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...you kind of are," She spoke. My heart dropped at her words for a moment, until I noticed the small smile growing on her face. I chuckled lightly, before getting out of the car and opening to back door, rummaging around in my duffle bag until I found a hoodie.
I tossed it to her and she slipped it on, pulling up the hood and tightening the drawstrings slightly, pulling some pieces of hair out around her face to further hide any marks.
I grabbed both of our bags, waiting for Tate to get out before locking the car door behind me. She kept her head down and walked next to me.
It was a quaint little hotel, I couldn't really find any nearby chain hotels, so I settled on this little one, called The Bloom Inn.
It was clean and cozy inside and smelled faintly of eucalyptus. I walked up to the front desk, hoping that I had gotten off all of the blood from earlier, not wanting to have an awkward encounter with the kind-looking old woman smiling at me.
"Welcome to The Bloom Inn loves! Oh! Goodness me! You poor things, you're soaked! What'd you kids do, have a date dancing in the rain or something?" She teased, raising her eyebrows at me and looking over at Tate, who I knew was blushing furiously underneath the protection of my sweatshirt at the idea of us being on a date.
I just beamed back at the old woman, glancing down at her name tag. "Why, yes, Esther! We did! Little pouty pants over here," I began, nudging Tate with my shoulder, "she thought it'd be a great day for a picnic! I tried to tell her that it was supposed to rain, but she didn't listen! So, we had to leave, didn't even get the chance to enjoy our food!" I pouted, and she old woman tutted at me.
"Oh my! You two really do make a charming couple!" She exclaimed, and I swear I heard Tate choking faintly at her words, causing me to have to suppress a laugh.
"Thank you, Esther! This is a lovely place you've got here!" I complimented, trying to do anything I could to make sure we didn't look suspicious.
"You are too kind, dear! Okay, so, should I put you down for a single bedroom or a double?" She asked, typing away on her old computer.
I opened my mouth to answer. "A doub-"
"A single, please," Tate's small voice spoke, and I looked down at her like she had lost her mind.
Esther just laughed at us and continued to type. "Well, considering the woman is always right, I'll put you down for a single," she spoke, winking at us both.
"Thank you," Tate replied, and I'm glad she did because, at the moment, I was at a loss for words.
After typing a few more things down on the big and clanky keyboard she was using, Esther handed us a room key.
"You can pay in the morning, or if you decide to stay more than one night, just let me know! You two look like you could use a little rest!" She chirped, smiling at us in adoration.
"Well, thank you, Esther! You have been absolutely lovely! I hope you have a great rest of your night!" I finally spoke, putting my hand on Tate's lower back and beginning to guide her towards the staircase.
"You too! Get some rest!" She called back. Tate turned around slightly and gave her a small wave, which only made the smile on Esther's face grow.
I wandered through the second floor until I found our room number, 205. I wiggled the key into the door handle and pushed it open.
It was a simple room, decorated minimally with a small table for two with a fresh set of flowers sat in the middle of it, two bedside tables, a dresser, and a tv, and perhaps the most daunting thing of all, the single bed staring back at me.
Tate spoke up. "I'm going to take a shower, and then get in bed."
I looked at her and smiled softly. "Yeah, of course. Take your time. I'll shower whenever you're done, here's your bag."
"Thanks," she answered quietly, taking her bag from me, before disappearing into the bathroom.
I sighed and went over to the table, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down, taking my phone out of my pocket, and going to my contacts until I found Abel's name, pressing the call button.
He answered on the second ring.
"How'd it go? Did you find it?" He asked before I even had the chance to say hello.
I rubbed the back of my neck and let out a breath of air. "Yeah, kind of. Half of it," I winced.
Abel was quiet on the other end for a bit, before finally replying. "Styles, you're telling me you found half of a key?"
"Yep."
"How is that even possible? Was it broken?"
I contemplated lying to him, just coming up with some bullshit reason. But I realized that I didn't want to. I trusted Abel completely, and I knew that he wouldn't tell Whit about the information I had until I told him he could.
"It wasn't broken. It was intentional. It's a two part key. And...we think the other half of the key belonged to my dad."
I heard Abel begin to choke on air, and he coughed and sputtered around a bit before replying.
"What does your dad have to do with this?"
"Well...That journal that Tate's dad had? My dad had one nearly identical to it. Both of our dad's journals are locked, and without a key. Tate has a hunch that the other half belonged to my dad," I explained, fully aware of how insane I sounded.
"And what do you think, Harry?" He asked softly, knowing that the topic of family was not one of my favorites.
"Honestly," I sighed, pushing some hair out of my face, "I don't know what to think."
"Yeah...that's...that's a lot," Abel replied. "What's your plan now?"
"Well, I was thinking it'd be nice for Tate to see a friendly face. So, I was wondering if you wanted to come with us to figure out a way to get her dad's journal from her uncle's house. You and the rest of the team could go ahead and start working on arranging a private plane. I think we should go ahead and get both journals first, and then I guess...I guess I'll have to start thinking about where my dad would have hidden a key," I sighed, wanting to push off that topic as long as I could.
"Okay, sounds good," Abel replied, and I could hear him typing through the phone.
"And Abel?"
He hummed in response.
"Can you not tell Whit about my dad possibly being involved in this? I don't want him to get any more worked up than he already is."
"Harry, I won't tell him, or any of the other guys until you say it's okay," he answered, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, Abel," I replied softly, feeling tired after everything that had happened today.
"Harry, is everything okay? You sound...off. Is Tate okay? Did something happen?" He asked, and I could hear the panic in his voice as he spoke.
"Everything's okay now...but, yeah, something happened. I don't know who it was, or who he worked for, but...well," I paused, taking a deep breath to gather myself.
"Tate and I got in an argument today, I told her about the death threat for her and her mom...it didn't go over well. She wandered off, and then I heard..." I sucked in a breath, still being able to hear the sound ringing in my ears. "I heard her screaming and so I ran to find her, and some man was attacking her. He said he knew what she had, and that a lot of people wanted it too. He didn't tell me who he worked for, so I killed him," I finished, and I heard Abel whistle through the phone.
"Is Tate...is she okay?" He asked sadly.
"She has some bruises and maybe a cut or two, but I think the real damage is the emotional side of it," I answered, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Wow," Abel chuckled, and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
"What? That's funny?" I snapped.
"No, no! Not at all. It just...you sound so...so concerned," he laughed.
I felt flustered and I clenched my fist tightly on the table, wishing I could punch Abel through the phone right now.
"I just...I feel bad an innocent girl is in the middle of all of this," I lied, and Abel's laughter grew louder.
"Harry Styles, concerned with the innocent?" He howled.
"Okay, well, fuck you, Abel, talk to you tomorrow!" I sighed, and Abel just continued to laugh, unable to catch his breath. Once I had decided I had heard enough, I hung up.
A few minutes later, I heard a noise coming from the bathroom. Out of instinct I immediately shot up and walked over the door. I was about to open it, but I paused, pressing my ear against the door.
It was Tate, and she was crying.
I leaned my head against the door and sighed, feeling my heart twist at the sound. I knew she was trying to hide her tears, wanting to be strong, and she was strong. But what had happened to her today was enough to make almost anyone break.
I stepped away from the door, wanting to give her privacy, and went back to sit down, wishing there was something I could do to at least ease her pain.
A few minutes later, the door creaked open, revealing Tate in her pajamas, her loose, damp waves falling down her back as she went to put her bag on one of the luggage stands.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked, although it came out more awkward than I intended it to. I think even my own brain was confused at what I was feeling for Tate, not used to having to process things like empathy and concern.
Her head turned to face me. Her eyes were slightly red from crying, and she smiled at me, but I could tell that at any moment she could snap.
"I'm...I'm okay," she answered, and I knew she was lying, but I didn't want to be the one to make her already unstable mind and body collapse.
"Well, I'll go shower really quick, you can go ahead and go to sleep if you want," I spoke, standing up to grab my bag, heading into the bathroom, but I paused in the doorway.
"I won't be long," I reassured her, and she nodded in response.
I shut the door and turned on the shower, getting in and washing myself off, all the dirt and grime off of me, wincing slightly as I went to rinse off my face, my jaw was still a little tender from where that bastard had punched me.
I got out a few minutes later, going over to my bag to pull out a pair of boxers and sweatpants, pulling them on and then brushing my teeth.
I took one last look in the mirror, steadying myself before I opened the door and turned off the light.
Tate had already turned the lamp by her side of the bed off, and was curled up into a little ball. I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not, because, as usual, she had the blankets pulled up almost all the way over her face, burrowing into them like a little bunny.
I walked over to my side of the bed, sliding down under the sheets, before turning off the light.
"Are you asleep?" I whispered.
"No," she answered softly.
"I'm sorry if I woke you up."
"You didn't. I've been awake the whole time," she answered, and her voice sounded so numb it made my heart hurt.
"Tate...is there anything I can do?" I whispered, aching to help her in some way.
She didn't say anything for a bit, and for a moment, I had thought she had fallen asleep.
"Hold me," she answered, her voice so soft, I almost didn't hear her.
"W-What?" I stuttered, not understanding where this was coming from.
She let out a huff before replying.
"I know we weren't exactly on the same page today...but...I don't know. I think after everything that happened today, I just need to be held, by someone who I know won't hurt me. At least not physically," she answered, and the last part stung me to my very core. I didn't want to hurt her ever, not physically or mentally.
"Are you sure? I don't want to do anything you're not completely comfortable with," I replied, but I had to admit, I desperately hoped she was sure. I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in my arms right now and make her feel safe.
I hated feeling this way. I hated it because I felt out of control. Before Tate showed up, I was always on my game. I had my emotions in check, and everything else in my life perfectly arranged. And then she came, blazing in like a forest fire, and began to singe the edges of my perfectly laid plans.
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't make a big deal out of it, please," she begged.
I laughed, hearing the faintest amount of sarcasm in her voice, glad that she still had her sense of humor.
I scooted closer to her, hesitating a bit. I took a deep breath and finally looped my arm around her waist, gently pulling her in closer to me. This was such a foreign thing to me...to be in bed with a girl and just hold her, usually whatever girl I was with and I were on the same page, we did what we both wanted, and then we left. And yet, this was my second time doing it with Tate.
She surprised me when she suddenly flipped around, so that she was facing me, and buried her face into my chest. My heart broke when I felt a few tear drops fall onto my skin, knowing how hard Tate was trying to hold them back as she nuzzled into me and silently cried.
I used one hand to lightly thread into her hair, combing out some tangles in her waves, before massaging her head softly. I moved my other hand from her waist up to her back, rubbing my hand up and down.
"Thank you, Harry," she mumbled into my chest.
"Of course, Tate," I answered.
"I'm sorry I ran off today," she continued.
I chuckled lightly.
"I'm sorry I didn't run after you."
"You did though, without you...I would have been killed, or..." she trailed off, and I heard her voice begin to waver.
I breathed in deeply trying to calm myself as I thought of that disgusting pig's hands on her, and what might have happened, had I not shown up.
I hugged her closer to my body.
"Shh, don't...don't even think about that. I wouldn't have let that happened to you. You're safe now, Tate. You can go to sleep, don't worry about anything. You're going to be okay," I told her.
"Thank you again, Harry," she spoke softly.
"You don't even need to thank me, Tate."
"Yeah, I do. So, thank you. Goodnight Harry," she spoke.
I sighed and continued rubbing her back. It seemed that instead of blankets, Tate would be burrowing into me tonight.
I closed my eyes and nestled further into one of the large pillows.
"You're welcome...goodnight, Tate."
AN: AH I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER! DON'T WORRY MORE ACTION WILL BE POPPING UP SOON! BUT FOR NOW, ENJOY THIS SWEET HARRY POV! ILY ALL SO MUCH! THANK YOU FOR 3K READS! DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT! AND I HOPE YOU ARE ALL DOING FABULOUS! xx