Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Ninety-Seven

Meredith was up all night, bent over the toilet, vomiting her guts out. When she first rushed in, Harry assumed that the poutine ended up being too much on her stomach. Like the dutiful and loving husband that he was, he held her hair back. Soon, though, with her stomach empty but dry-heaving continuing, he realized something was very wrong. She was shaking, and it was more than just the chills.

"Mere." He brushed back her blonde hair. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head no. When she opened her mouth to say something, she went back to dry-heaving.

"Hold on. I'll be right back." He kissed her forehead and stood.

Harry hated to leave her like that, but he knew it was only going to be a moment. His concern was high with how she was acting. Some of her symptoms mirrored those of a panic attack. However, he didn't know what caused it. If it wasn't that, then there was a good chance that she needed to go to the hospital because something else was wrong. He didn't wish to think about that.

Grabbing a hold of his mobile, he called Jessica. It wasn't that late at night, but it was late enough that it was possible that she was asleep. He knew he was able to walk 20 feet to her room, but he didn't want to risk it with Meredith. From the main area, he watched as Meredith paused for a few seconds and then she launched herself back over the bowl. He explained what was going on with Meredith, and Jessica was just as concerned. She started to make plans.

Harry glanced down for a second to see if the poutine had anything to do with it, and he caught sight of the receipt. He turned it over with black scribbling, reading it again and again. His mind moved quickly because his blood began to boil. He had his own questions. But he also knew why his wife was acting this way.

Jack Campbell terrified Meredith. It was a hard part of their relationship that they didn't talk about much. Meredith preferred it that way. Years had gone by without seeing him, but Jack always managed to pop up somewhere. This was just another one of his sick jokes. While Meredith was scared of Jack Campbell, most likely than not, she was more concerned for her unborn child's safety. Harry had no idea how Jack knew, and he had no idea how this message came from Jack Campbell.

Harry commanded, "Get Bill and Bella here now." He hung up and returned to Meredith's side. Bending down, in a gentle voice, he asked, "Mere, is this what has gotten you so upset?" It was an understatement, he knew, and even as he lifted the receipt, she looked away and nodded. "Okay. It's going to be okay." He kissed the top of her head and pulled her close. "It's okay. It's going to be okay. I've got you."

"What about--"

"Shhh, Mere. I got it. I promise nothing will happen."

Meredith prided herself on being independent. She didn't like needing him by her side, but right now, she did. Her world twisted, and her mind panicked. She knew it wasn't good for her child, but there wasn't a lot that she was able to do to calm herself down. Everything that Jack Campbell did from that horrifying night four years ago flooded back to her.

A loud knock came to the bedroom door, and Bill, Bella and Jessica came in. There was another person that Meredith didn't recognize.

"I'll be right back," promised Harry. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Standing, Harry closed the door behind him so that no one saw inside, even though he caught Bella looking with a kind face. He thrust the piece of paper at Bill. "How did this happen?"

Jessica took it from Bill's hands and read it. Bill skimmed it over her shoulder.

"I thought everything was being monitored," Harry continued.

"It is," Bill said, "and it was. The food was checked. They didn't even know who it was going to. I checked it myself."

"Then how do you explain this?" Harry nearly yelled it.

Bodyguard Bill had been Prince Harry's bodyguard since the prince was a child. He was used to the outbursts because they came when someone he loved was hurting. Bill felt his own pressure and disappointment. Up to this point, there had been few safety errors. There had been one here or there, but those were out of his control. This felt squarely on his shoulders.

"I want the person found that is doing this, and now," Harry ordered. There was no possible way it was Jack Campbell because Jack Campbell was locked up in a prison cell in the United Kingdom. Without another word, Harry went back into the bathroom with his wife, who continued to shake.

"Harry--"

"It's going to be fine." He pulled her to his chest.

In this moment, he felt like he was failing. Meredith didn't see it that way, but he did. Harry was protective, and it was something that Meredith wasn't always fond of, calling it being overprotective. However, right here and now, that overprotectiveness drove him. It was what made him write that letter to the paparazzi to stop their harassment of Meredith Rogue. It was what caused him to do a lot of things. Meredith was able to stand on her own two feet-- Harry believed that-- but he had seen when her feet were taken out from under her, where it was impossible to stand. Jack Campbell ended up being a main cause of that. She had never gotten over it, and who was supposed to blame her? A person died that night because of what Jack Campbell did.

"Harry." Meredith pulled away, still shaking and tears running down her face. Her belly wasn't showing a pregnancy bump, but she had her arm curled around it protectively anyway. "Harry." She tried to rub off the wetness, which just made her face swell further. "Harry, we have to do something."

"Mere, Jack Campbell is locked up. He can't hurt us."

That didn't seem good enough for her, but she let it go for now.

Slowly, she stood on trembling knees. Harry carefully stood behind her, in case she was going to fall. She didn't look too well, not that he was going to admit that out loud. He valued his life.

In the mirror, Meredith took a look at herself, and she immediately looked away. Harry reached up and attempted to draw back a singular blonde strand, but she shook him off. She looked in the mirror again.

He watched in absolute awe as Meredith transformed before his very eyes. She had been a wreck on the floor, a heap of terrors, a full panic attack had taken over her body. However, something had changed in her. He had seen it happen before, and he knew if she got an idea in her head, there was no way to stop it. He didn't know what ran through her head, but he knew it was something so powerful that it was hard to put into words.

Staring at herself in the mirror, Meredith leaned over and dabbed her face dry. It was still swelled red and her green eyes looked absolutely bloodshot, but it was going to have to do. Slowly, her lips pulled back, and then they snapped shut. She blinked a few times. Rolling her shoulders back, Meredith continued to stare at herself, mumbling something under her breath that Harry didn't caught. She pulled up her lips again to expose her white teeth, and she repeated the words a little louder: "You're not weak, Mere. You've got this. You're not weak."

Harry had heard these words before, but he didn't realize that she was still using them. She probably pulled them out when she needed them most.

Swallowing, Meredith almost looked back to her old self.

"Mere--" His voice was so gentle.

"Don't," she snapped. "If you do, then I'm going to cry again." Her voice wavered. "One last day. One last stop. And then I can breathe." Meredith didn't even want to think about Jack Campbell. She refused to do it, putting up a wall so that nothing was able to break it down.