Devil's Due [h.s.]

Chapter 56

TW //

This chapter contains mentions of violence (some in reference to children - the fights) and drug abuse/addiction. I haven't posted a chapter summary because it's a bit long and I want to get it posted but let me know if you want one and I can draft it up. :)

Remember to take care of yourselves and that you're loved! I love you and I am proud of you! <3

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Chapter 56

"Harry," I mumbled, voice hoarse from the past few hours of disuse. Non-surprisingly, I got nothing in response. "Harry," I half-whined a little louder, attempting to wriggle around to face him. "Wake up."

His phone had been ringing off and on for the better part of an hour now, something he seemed not to have noticed. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, chest pressed firmly against my back. With every plea for him to get up and answer it, he merely hugged me tighter and nestled his face deeper in the crook of my neck.

"Harry," I tried again, reaching up to grip his arms. "Seriously–"

"What?" he groaned lowly, the sound emanating from deep in the back of his throat. His mouth pressed against my shoulder, trailing a path up to my jaw where he murmured, "Mm. Shut up. Go back to sleep."

"I can't, idiot," I found my eyes fluttering shut under the feeling of his voice against my skin. "Your fucking phone's going crazy."

Harry drew in a long breath, seemingly trying to wake himself up before his hold on me loosened. "My phone?" he questioned, still sounding half-asleep, his voice raspy. With one arm still around my waist, he rolled onto his back and reached for the device that had only just gone silent a few seconds prior. "How long's it been going off for?"

"Like an hour," I muttered, turning onto my side and attempting to lift myself onto a single elbow. Harry's hand closed over my hip and he yanked me back down. "Dude–"

"Shh," he whispered, the corner of his mouth curving into a grin as he scrolled through his phone. "Stay still. I'm concentrating." His fingers mindlessly started tracing circles in the skin of my waist as he pulled me against him, leaving me little room to argue when he clicked something on his screen and held the phone to his ear.

With a roll of my eyes, I just settled myself beside him, trying to quell the butterflies in my stomach that erupted when he hooked a single leg over my own – drawing me even closer if that was at all possible. Until we were practically tangled amidst one another. He'd turned onto his side now and was looking at me while his phone rang, his hand having slid up from my waist to just beneath my shoulders, where he was toying with a few strands of my hair.

"Yeah?" it was an effort not to jump when he barked the word through the receiver, his entire demeanour changing in a matter of seconds. The soft lines of his face hardened and the hushed, intimate tone he'd been talking to me with vanished completely. Still, his fingers remained gentle as they fumbled through the strands of my hair, dropping down moments later to run softly over my shoulder. "What's up? Why're you blowing my fuckin' phone up this early?"

A muffled voice spoke on the other end, rambling out rushed words that I couldn't quite catch. Whatever they said though caused Harry to still, the skin between his brows creasing momentarily before he abruptly slid his arm out from beneath me and sat up. He swallowed hard, barely even sending a glance in my direction before he got out of bed and stepped out of the room, pulling the door almost completely shut behind him.

Through the small crack he'd left open, I could hear him speaking in a whispered, urgent tone to the person on the other line. Could almost visualize the way he was probably pacing, running an anxious hand through his hair. That alone had a pit forming in my stomach and I sat up, hauling the comforter up to my chest, wondering if it had anything to do with the events of Saturday.