Saving Styles

Say It

Harry's POV

I woke up long before I opened my eyes, my bed feeling warmer than it ever had. I could feel Hannah's body against mine as her back was now pressed into my chest and my arms were wrapped around her, ensuring she was close to me. The soft way she was breathing let me know she was still fast asleep. Our legs were still intertwined with one another and I looked down to see she had laced her fingers with mine as she held them to her chest.

I didn't know when we had somehow switched our sleeping position, but I wasn't complaining. I kissed the skin on the back of her shoulder where my t-shirt had slid down before she stirred and turned around to face me. She didn't say anything, just let out a quiet moan before she nuzzled into me and settled back into sleep. I sat watching her for a while, taking in the way she pulled her hands up under her chin and the way her eyelashes rested on the top of her cheeks. It was all so new to me, seeing someone sleep.

I could have stayed there all day, but I knew I had to check on Gem. After a while I slid out of bed, careful not to wake her, and made my way to Gemma's room. I peeked in on her as I passed to find she was awake and struggling to get herself out of bed.

"Shit, Gem. Let me help you." I said as I hurried over to her when she winced in pain.

"This shit hurts way more today." She sighed as she steadied herself on her feet and I helped her hobble to the kitchen where I sat her down.

"Yeah, that'll happen. Tomorrow might be worse, but after that things get easier." I said as I grabbed a bottle of advil from the cupboard. I took two out and got her a glass of water before handing them to her. She nodded in thanks and I sat down at the table across from her. We sat quiet for a minute before I started the conversation neither of us wanted to have.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" I asked, doing my best to keep the rage I felt out of my tone.

She took the pills and set the glass down on the table and continued to stare at it as she answered me. "I think it's pretty obvious, Haz."

I took a deep breath before I asked my next question, knowing the topic of conversation would make me angry and I had to stay calm. "Was this the first time?"

Her eyes didn't leave the table, which answered the question without her having to speak. I felt the rage begin to rise within me and did my best to suppress it, but knew I couldn't for long.

"Why didn't you tell me? This didn't have to happen, Gem. I could have helped you."

Gemma and I were always close but we hadn't seen each other much in the last few months. We usually talked on the phone maybe once a week just checking in and making sure we were both okay, but they were usually quick conversations in passing for the most part. She had her life and I had mine. At times it was a painful reminder of things for us to be around each other, but she had to know I would have been there for her.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd freak out. And the first time obviously wasn't like this, he just slapped me, but he swore he'd never do it again and I believed him." She said nonchalantly.

"Give me his name." I said as calmly as I could.

Her head shot up to look at me immediately, her eyes were full of fear before they suddenly changed to a sense of defiance. She was going to make this difficult. "No."

"Give me his fucking name, Gemma." I said sternly, trying my best not to snap at her.

"Why the fuck would I do that? So you can go do something stupid and get yourself thrown in jail?"

"Look what he did to you! Look at your face. Then he just left you there alone like a piece of garbage. You think he's just gonna get away with that? Give me his fucking name!" I yelled as I slammed my hand down on the table.