Adopted by Harry Styles

Finding Ellie

(Song: My Blood by Twenty One Pilots)
Harry's POV
I texted Ellie a few minutes ago letting her know it's time to come home, as it is almost 6:00, but I get no response. She must just not be on her phone. I decide to text Louis since she was at his house with Claire.

'Hey, Lou. Can you send Ellie home?' I text him.

He replies within a few minutes saying, 'she never was here. Claire is sitting with me doing her homework. I'll let you know if she stops by though.'

'Are you kidding me?!' I send. Why did Ellie lie to me. We just figured things out last night. I thought we were on the same page, but I guess I'm wrong.

'Yeah. Sorry, mate. Need any help?' Louis sends.

'I think I'll be okay. Thanks though,' I send and exit the app, going to the phone app to call Ellie.

I call her twice but she answers neither of them. Where could she be this late that she doesn't want me to know about?

Kyle's.

I run outside with my car keys and begin to drive off to Kyle's place. I arrive in about ten minutes. Quickly, I take off my seatbelt and walk up to the front door, firmly knocking on it. I can't help but be a little angry with El. All she seems to do is disrespect me.

A few moments later, Kyle opens the door. "Oh, um, hi, Mr. Styles. What can I do for you," Kyle asks. He seems a little nervous. Probably because he's hiding my daughter in his house.

"I'd like to speak with Ellie, if you don't mind," I say bluntly.

"Oh, I just got home from school a few minutes ago, sir. She's not here. You're welcome to take a look yourself if you don't believe me," he says, opening the door a little further. I look past him, but I don't see anyone else. I didn't want to walk inside because that would be awkward for the both of us. And I guess I kind of trust that El isn't here; Kyle has actually always been cooperative with me.

I sigh. "No, it's fine. Thank you Kyle," I say.

"Hey, I'll text her and tell her to call you. She's probably just hanging out with her friends and has her phone off," he says.

"Thank you Kyle. I appreciate that," I say. Thankfully Kyle is being really thoughtful about this whole situation.

"Of course. Have a good day," he says.

I walk back to my car and get in. If she's not at Kyle's, where else would she be? I think for a minute before driving home again.

On the way home, I pass the park and see a group of three people. I look over more closely and realize one of them is El. I can tell it's her, even from the back of her head. I turn around and drive back, parking my car in the empty parking lot. I get out and start walking toward the group. The two other kids see me and immediately get up and run into the forest.

Nice to meet you too?

El looks back, confused, until she sees me. "Get in the car, El," I say quietly, but not in an aggressor voice. She can tell that I'm upset because she just simply nods her head and walks with me to the car.

We both get in the car and remain silent while buckling our seatbelts and I start the car. I begin driving and hear sniffles come from El. She has both her legs pulled up against her chest. Why is she so upset? Didn't she know that I would find out? I should be the one upset if anyone

I park the car in the driveway, but don't get out. El remains crying in her huddled position. I take a deep breath and rest my head against the head rest, gently closing my eyes to gather my thoughts.

"Okay," I say while sitting up and turning to face her. She moves her head up so she can see me and then puts her legs back down and the ground and turns toward me. "We're going to talk about this," I say. "We're going to talk like reasonable people without getting mad. That's something we both need to work on."

She nods her head and wipes her nose on her jacket sleeve. "I'm not mad, El. Okay? I'm just really disappointed. I thought we worked through this,". I say.

"I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again," she whispers while looking down and fiddling with her hands.

"El, why didn't you tell me where you were actually going? I spoke with Louis and he told me the You never came over at all. Do you know how worried I was?" I say.

She shakes her head, only answering my last question.

"Answer my first question, love. Why did you lie?" I say, repeating my unanswered question.

"I-I can-can't tell you," She says, bursting out into sobs right after.

"El, you can tell me anything. There's not a thing in the world that can make me not love you," I tell her. What is going on? I can't believe she's this upset. I hope she'll talk to me.

She shakes her head and continues crying. "Let me in, El. I'm here for you. You know that," I tell her.

"Dad..." she says, her voice cracking.

She looks up to me and I notice her red eyes and flushed cheeks. I don't think I've ever seen her this upset before. She must have a lot on her mind. "It's okay, you can tell me," I say gently. All the anger that I was keeping inside is now gone. I just want to help out El.

She shakes her head no. "I'm s-sorry, but I can't t-tell you," she says.

"Who were the people you were with, El?" I ask. She doesn't say anything and I grow concerned. "Do I have to guess?"

Again, she doesn't communicate with me in any way. "Were They your friends?" I ask. She shakes her head slowly.

"Did you know them?" I receive a nod.

I sigh. This is going to take a lot longer than expected. "Let's go inside and talk, okay? I think it'll be more comfortable," I say. She nods her head and gets out of the car, gently shutting the door  behind her.