Resolution

75. Lay Me Down

"This hurt that I've been through... I'm missing you, missing you like crazy."

Song: Lay Me Down (Acoustic)

Artist: Sam Smith

(Make sure you listen to the acoustic)

“Mr. Styles, you’re cleared of all charges on the grounds of self-defense.  You’re free to go.”

A sob of relief choked from my throat as the words crashed down on me, my hand flying to my lips to stifle the sound.  The looming threat of an undeserved sentence and the terrifying possibility of jail time were no more, the weight of the uncertainty lifted with the words that fell from the judge’s lips.  Harry was free. 

“Next case,” the judge said casually, shuffling the papers of Harry’s case behind a fresh stack.  He nodded once at Harry, indicating he could leave.  I sprang to my feet and practically sprinted the short distance to Harry, launching myself into his arms.  Unadulterated tears of joy leaked from my eyes, the relief coursing through me taking over.  I buried my face in his neck, locking my arms around his neck as he gripped me tightly. 

He hugged me tightly before pulling back to start steering me out of the courtroom.  I sniffed once and tried to reign in the slightly unstable grin on my face, but I couldn’t.  I allowed Harry to push me gently out of the room, completely ignoring anyone else that might have been near us.  Once we’d made it through the multiple sets of doors, he hauled me back into him as if he hadn’t really felt like he was free until he’d left the building. 

My chest crashed into his and our limbs wound around each other again, and I could feel the shaky, relieved breath he blew out.  An ache was starting to settle into my cheeks from grinning so much but I didn’t care. 

“I told you they’d let you go,” I said, my words muffled by his shoulder as I hugged him.  He pulled back just enough for his lips to find mine.  The kiss was firm and filled with an immense relief.  When he pulled back, I was thrilled to see a grin on his face.  It seemed, for the moment, he really was happy.  I sniffed again and let out a soft giggle of giddy relief. 

“This is the only time I’ll ever be happy to hear you say ‘I told you so,’” he said with a wide grin.  My hands slid down his shoulders to grip the opening of his blazer, tugging on it playfully. 

“I told you so.”

“Got it out of your system?” he asked happily.

“For now. But I promise you’ll hear it again about something else sooner or later,” I said lightly.  I’d never felt so happy in my entire life. 

“Pfff. Doubt it,” he said, cocking his head back with a self-assured grin.  I pulled him forward with a grin to reconnect our lips.  

“Ugh, get a room,” a voice said teasingly from behind me.  I turned around to see Maggie standing just outside the doors we’d come through with a wry smile on her face.  Harry surprised me by releasing me and moving toward Maggie, his long arms extending to wrap around her and hug her.  She looked momentarily shocked before recovering enough to hug him back.  He pulled back and smiled at her; he was positively glowing and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so good. 

“Thank you for being here.  And for the statement you gave,” Harry said to her sincerely.  Maggie returned his smile.  I watched their exchange and felt like my heart was glowing. 

“Of course.  It was all the truth so it was only right,” she said with a casual shrug. 

“Still.  Your statement probably made a huge difference,” Harry said.