Guarded

33

A machine beeped. It sounded oddly familiar and so did the pungent smell of chlorine and bleach as well. Maybe heaven was just really clean and that’s what it smelled like. I opened my eyes and was blinded by whiteness from all around it. Something was glowing from the one side of the room. Yes, I was definitely dead and this was heaven.

I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the blinding whiteness. I kind of always expected to hear trumpets and a fanfare when you got to heaven. I thought those cute little fat baby angels would come greet you and you could float around and not be trapped in a bed. Wait, bed?

The beeping became more frequent and I looked to my left and saw a sleeping curly haired boy sitting in a chair, dressed in dark clothes. His hair had been pushed back with a black bandana and he rested his face on his hand, breathing through his mouth. He looked so familiar.

I looked around the room. I was in a hospital. This was either the weirdest version of heaven or I wasn’t dead – I was alive. I pinched my skin. Ouch. I poked the sleeping boy who face fell out of his hand and he sat up straight. He must have felt that because his eyes met mine and they were the most piercing green I had ever seen.

His eyes instantly began to water and he pushed me to one side of the bed, snuggling next to me, his arms draped around me, holding me close. He lay across my chest and I rubbed his back, whispering soothing words. He pulled his head from off my chest and looked up at me. “You’re such an idiot,” he said before pressing his lips against me.

This was definitely my version of heaven. His voice was gravely and his eyes were still shining bright. He had a dark purple mark on his neck and his chest and arms were covered in tattoos. He was all mine.

“That’s the first thing you say to me when I wake up?” I asked him after kissing him back a few hundred times.

“I went through a hundred thousand different scenarios while waiting for you to wake up. That was the best I could come up with. It seemed the most accurate. You are a tried and true idiot,” he said, resuming his position on my chest. His words hummed against my chest when he spoke.

As I was about to respond, a nurse walked into the room. “Oh good, you’re awake. Alright, let’s check your vitals. Come off her, lover boy, you can do that when you’re home.”

She checked my pupils, my pulse, my reflexes, took my blood pressure. “Alright, you’re good to go.” She clicked her pen and handed me a stack of papers. “Just take this to the nurses station before you leave.

“Bye cutie,” she winked at Harry.

He handed me a pile of clothes he had with him: dark jeans and one of his white t-shirts. “Your other clothes were filthy. C’mon, get dressed and we can go.”

I stared at him. “I wasn’t shot?”

He laughed. “No, do you feel like you were shot? You fainted once the door opened. James was able to convince Carissa to drop the gun. She’s currently locked up in a mental ward of a hospital in Sacramento undergoing an evalutation until the trial. She nearly broke out the restraints when I arrived on the scene but they managed to put her a police car and drive her away.”

“Wait, I fainted. Then why am I in the hospital?” I asked.

“Er, that was my doing. I was really worried so I made them call and ambulance take you and do all the tests. You have health insurance, right? I forget how shit it is in this country without the NHS.” He shrugged.

“Really? I’m totally fine?”

He nodded. “Yup, I had them do every test.”

“How did you even get away with any of that?” I asked, after I returned from the bathroom, dressed.

“I’m Harry Styles, babe, I can do anything.”

Lizzy and Niall were waiting for us when we got back to my house along with Brandon and my aunt Stacey. Everyone engulfed me with hugs, admonishing me for being so stupid but thankful I was okay. We ordered some food and all sat around the kitchen table, drinking wine and enjoying the company we were in.

I sighed as I glanced around the room. I was truly happy now. I had nothing to really worry about with Carissa being gone and I would only have to provide a statement and not even attend the court date. Cost’s parents had sent a bouquet of flowers to the house. I guess that was there way of apologizing. Lizzy and Niall were off to Ireland in a few days. My aunt was moving in with Brandon and I had this huge house all to myself. I looked to my right, taking in the sight of Harry laughing and smiling with Brandon. He caught my gaze and squeezed my hand under the table.

The boy who always seemed so guarded had finally let his guard down. There weren’t a lot of people in the world who got to see that side of him and I was lucky enough to be one of them. I couldn’t believe how lucky I had gotten as he pressed a kiss to my cheek and I instantly felt the chills from his electric touch.

We said goodbye to Lizzy and Niall who wanted alone time back at their hotel room and my aunt was headed back to Brandon’s. Everyone was happy.

Harry shut the front door to my house once everyone had left.

“Now what?” I asked him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his cheek.

“Iceland?” he asked. He pulled out two tickets leaving in a few hours to Reykjavik. He also gestured by the door where my suitcase had been packed and was waiting next to his. A town car pulled up in front of the house and I laughed, helping carry my suitcase down the stairs to the car.

“Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentleman, this flight is now about to depart.” The flight attendant announced over the intercom. We were sitting in first class, enjoying a glass of champagne before the flight took off. I squeezed Harry’s hand.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you,” he said.

END.