Redemption [h.s]

seventy-four

Grace

I woke up as I felt the bed shake under me, and I rolled around to turn on the bedside lamp, noticing that Harry was sitting up on the bed, his eyes wide, staring right in front of him.

"You're okay, Harry" I told him, touching his shoulder. "You're okay."

He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing, his hands gripping the blanket hard, not saying anything.

I glanced at the clock, to find out that it was somewhen past 3am. I looked back at him, and realised that he seemed to be too tense to go back to sleep anytime soon. "Do you want something to drink?" I asked him putting my hand on his back, but he didn't reply. "Come on" I said softly as I stood up, just to sit back on the bed, but this time right in front of him. I put my hand on his, making him release the strong grip on the fabric and intertwining our fingers. "Come on" I repeated, succeeding in making him stand up.

I walked him to the kitchen not releasing the hold on his hand, and I pulled out a chair for him to sit on. I warmed up a cup of milk and I put it in front of him, sitting down next to him.

He sighed, his fingers around the cup. "I hate this" he murmured after a while.

"How are you?" I whispered back reaching out to caress his forearm. "It hadn't happened in a while."

He shrugged lightly, taking a sip. "I really did wish it wouldn't have happened again."

"You'll get there" I replied as he continued to drink. I touched his hand as he put the empty cup on the table, feeling it cold. "Are you cold?" I asked.

"A bit" he replied honestly.

"Let's go back to sleep" I said standing up, and he did the same, following me into the bedroom.

I got under the blankets first, lifting them up for him to slide under. He did, and I hugged him, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.

"What time is it?" He murmured, relaxing into my arms.

"Somewhen between 3am and 4am" I replied, and he gave me a faint nod, before cuddling closer to me. I turned off the lamp, but didn't go to sleep until I was sure he had fallen asleep.

•  •  •

The next morning I woke up to find out that I was alone. My first instinct was to turn around and go back to sleep but I saw a bright ray of light coming in from the half closed window, and I sat up with a groan. I slid out of bed and reached the living room, tiptoeing on the cold floor.

When I saw that the room was empty, I walked to the kitchen, just to find out that it was empty as well. I returned to the living room and glanced at the corridor, seeing that the bathroom door was wide open as well, and realising that Harry wasn't in the house. I pushed away the feeling of worry that settled inside my chest with the realisation, disconnecting my phone to take it with me as I sat on the couch, but deciding against calling him. I wanted to start trusting him with himself more, and I was sure he wouldn't have been out for long. Or at least, I hoped so.

I unlocked my phone and went to the contacts list, scrolling down until it was halfway through. I looked at the screen, my thumb hovering over the name, wondering if I was doing the right thing before clicking on it. It rang a few times, before the other person picked up.

"Grace?" I heard him say on the other side.

"I think we should talk" I replied.

"When?"

"Whenever works best for you."

"I'm always free."

"Alright, I will text you, then." I hesitated a bit. "Goodbye, Niall." I closed the call, without waiting for him to say anything.