The Executive & The Artist (H.S)

XIII

[Two days later]. 

"You have reached the voice mail of Harry Styles. If you are looking to reach representatives for Styles Inc, press-"

Nat wanted to throw her phone across the waiting room. 

Because Harry wasn't answering and Liv wasn't answering and Niall wasn't answering and Zayn wasn't answering and Louis answered but he was drunk. Nat memorized the drone of Harry's assistant as she recited his inbox monologue, sounding bored and unamused, like reading off scripts and fetching coffee for one of the most eligible bachelors in London was nothing but tedious. 

Nat had never hated someone more. 

The phrase "don't shoot the messenger" was lost on the furious brunette as she heard the dial tone and the assistant's nasally voice once again.

"You have reached the voice mail of Harry Styles. If you are looking to reach representatives for Styles Inc, press-" 

...

And Nat wanted to throw her phone across the waiting room because hospitals smelled of lost hope and abandonment and she could see the people sitting beside her wrinkling up their noses at the stench of failure clinging to her dress.  Dress, dress, dress.

She assumed Harry still had that dress with the rip at the shoulder- the one she spilled wine on a couple weeks ago. The one that gave her the opportunity to steal his Green Bay t-shirt. 

Dress, dress, dress.

She dressed up for the fundraiser. The fundraiser that took place a couple hours ago. The fundraiser everyone showed up for... besides the one person she needed most. The fundraiser she made six pieces for to raise money for the money his best friend embezzled. 

The fundraiser that most likely ran her previously full-of-potential business into the ground. 

"Miss Beck?" 

The sound of her name ripped her from her thoughts, plastered a fake smile on her face and made her stand, holding out her hand to shake with the nurse. Nat swallowed heavily and wiped her sweaty palms on the soft fabric of her dress. "Is she okay? No head trauma or anything...?" She trailed off, impatient and anxious as the nurse took her sweet time in announcing the verdict. The nurse shuffled through the papers on her clipboard before saying, "No head trauma, no broken ribs, nothing serious. Her wrist does have a pretty significant fracture though- we put a cast on her." The woman paused and let a small smile twitch up the corner of her lips. "That girl is a firecracker- lemme tell ya'. I tried to give her a lolly and she gave me a speech on how she's not allowed to take candy from strangers."

Nat licked her lips and tried to smile, but the image of the little girl, all alone in some hospital room simply severed the last threads holding her heart together.

And it was all her fault.

Nat asked "Can I see her now?" and the nurse said "yes, yes. I'll lead you." And as they walked, Nat got a bit more confused with each step. "Excuse me, Miss?" "Yes, Miss Beck?" "Why couldn't I come back with her in the first place?" 

The woman stopped in front of a closed door, pausing with her hand on the knob. "We weren't sure who you were, for one thing. You had no identification. Secondly, our rules state that unless the child is directly related to or under legal custody of the person who brought them in, we cannot let you alone with said child. I'm sorry for the wait, it just took too long to reach anyone who could confirm your relationship."