***

As we part, I feel him smile and can’t help but bite down on my lip. My heart is thrumming rapidly inside my chest and my hands shake from a mixture of nerves and excitement while my eyes can’t seem to decide if they want to be open or closed, so they flutter as I try to steady my breathing. But Harry’s still grinning, one of his big hands having moved to my hip where it grips the flesh there.

I swallow and pull back so I can peer into his face better. He pushes pieces of my hair out of my face while unabashedly showing me the big smile that he can’t seem to fight.

“Was that worth the wait?” I ask softly.

He pulls me closer, so I’m leaning on his chest, and constricts his arm around my waist. “Definitely.”

Now I smile, a grin so large that I take to hiding my face in his chest, and hold onto his sides while he effortlessly keeps us up and off the wet sand.



They’re hands are on me, hard and sweaty and hurting as their fingers push into my flesh. Faces, blurred by how fast they’re moving in and out of my line of vision, contort intp a vicious expression that makes me cry out because it gives a hint as to what’s to come. One of them slaps me and I try to yank my head away as I whimper more, but its jerked back into place.

“Shut the fuck up,” one of them sneers.

I don’t say anything, just try to quiet my squeals of fright till just silent tears are rolling down my cheeks.

My clothes begin to be pulled from my body and they’re not gentle in their removal of any of the garments. The shorts that I’m wearing pose a problem, though, the thick denim not ripping as the thin material of my shirt had. It makes them angry, especially the one who’d been trying to kiss my neck and yank the article of clothing off at the same time, and he takes it out on my chest, where he slams one of his big hands down on the tender flesh while he grunts as he’s unbuttoning my jean shorts. He yanks them off as the other nods eagerly behind him, near the end of the bed.

“You gonna give us our money worth, girl?”

“Sure she is,” comes the one waiting for his turn. “Or else.” He lumbers towards me and appears on my right, leaning his face down as his friend, who weighs heavily on top of me, laughs sickeningly. “You hear me, slut? You better give us our goddamn money’s worth, or else.”

His hand reaches out for my face and he squeezes my cheeks together while yanking my face closer to his. He sneers threateningly at me some more, then jerks away, only to send that same hand over the right side of my face. When I cry out, the other one, who was still resting on top of me, grips my naked thigh tightly and hisses in my face.

“Shut the fuck up!”

Then he starts to spread my legs and situate himself between them while gripping ahold of my hips. I just grab handfuls of the sheets we’re laying on and bite down on my lip so I don’t make any more noise.

The dream rockets through my brain, making my whole body spasm in fear and pain as I pull myself up. I frantically run my hands over my body, searching for the injuries the men had given me while hastily sweeping my gaze around in the dim room I’d been left in. I listen too, strain my ears to see if I can hear the men still lingering around anywhere. It’s only minutes later, after I realize that my hair smells like sea water and that there’s pieces of sand in it, that I remember where I am and who rests just a couple of rooms down.

My breathing slows some, but not enough to help me calm down. I let the blanket I’d been clutching to my naked body fall to the mattress and press a hand over my chest, whispering faint words of comfort to myself. But I’m too shaken; the dream had seemed too real and it had brought back the night I’d escaped almost two weeks ago.

After minutes of trying to rationalize with myself, I deduce that I’m never going to be able to go back to sleep, at least not by myself. So, without another thought, I quickly scamper out of bed and only pause for just enough time to grab an old, oversized t-shirt that I was sure was Harry’s and some underwear before slipping them on while I try to walk through the dark hotel suite.

I know Harry’s asleep, that he’s probably sleeping soundly in his big bed, and feel bad about the prospect of waking him, but know that he’s the only person that could calm me now. When I reach his room, I bite down on my lip and hesitate at the doorway, peering around his ajar door to see him lying on his back. His chest is bare and gleaming prettily in the streetlight that is casting shadows in through an curtain-covered window. The covers are disheveled greatly, hanging off one side and barely covering his boxer-clad hips and upper thighs.

Pushing the door open a little more, I move further into his room, picking up on the smell of his cologne and fumbling with my trembling fingers while I debate on what to do. But then, as I’m glancing into his room and back at mine, a large boom of thunder rings through the dark sky and I jump, completely abandoning the idea of sleeping alone. Quickly, I sprint the rest of the way into his room and thoughtlessly take the side of the bed that he wasn’t lying on. I move closer to his warm body as another loud ring of thunder pounds through like a bomb going over, trying not to jump too much but obviously failing when Harry croaks out my name.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, scooting away from him a little more.

He’s frowning and there’s a few wrinkles creasing his forehead as he pushes back some curls out of his face. Raising his arm, he looks over at me.

“C’mere, love,” he says. Situating the blankets for me, he lets me rest against him and lie my head on his left shoulder, taking to wrapping his long arm around me tightly. I move as close as I can and try to stop trembling so much while he attempts to cover us both up. “You’re trembling,” he whispers softly. I just nod and press myself closer to him.

“I had a nightmare,” I confess.

I feel him nod and then he’s softly running his free hand over my head while his lips kiss my forehead. “I got ya now, alright? You’re safe.”

“I know,” I reply.

I lay there like that for a while, letting Harry comfort me and listening as he whispers something. But then the thunder gets worse and I can’t help but jump.

Harry just holds me tighter, taking to wrapping both of his arms around me and turning so he can press his forehead against mine. Then he starts to sing to me; it’s a light hum and I can barely understand the words, but his voice is still perfect, no matter that it’s husky and thick with sleep. I listen and try to ignore how bad the storm outside is pushing at the windows and walls that keep both him and I safe, sinking into the way he holds me and how pleasant his deep voice is.

“Even if the skies get rough, I’m giving you all my love,” he sings, voice getting clearer and the words easily reaching my ears.

Every once in a while he’ll pause and kiss my lips quickly or my forehead or the tip of my nose, but he hums when he does that and then goes right back to singing.

For a while I’m just caught up in how beautiful he sounds and he seems content with trying to lull me back into a sense of comfort. I start to get drowsy, though, and let my eyes drift shut while I tell myself to not stop listening to his voice. But, with his warm body wrapped around mine and the feeling of safety blanketing me, my body loses the tenseness that had riddled it and I fall into him, soon drifting off and, this time, dreaming of the beach and a hut that was just ours.