All is Not Fair in Love and High School

Chapter Thirty Three.

The past two days have been absolute hell. For me, for my Dad, and for Harry too. I've made it a living hell for them. I've had nightmares the past two days, and I've been acting out with no good reason. But finally, today will be the day I've been waiting for. I will see my Mom and brother again. 

"The truck is loaded and all set to go, are you ready?" Harry asks me. "Yeah, I think so. I mean it's now or never right?" I ask. "Right. Let's go get your family back." Harry responds. I smile and him and pull him into a tight hug. "I know I've made the last two days have been pretty hellish for you, and I'm really sorry about that. It's just I have nine billion thoughts going throughout my head every second and I can't control them all. This is huge for me. If we don't get them back I don't think I'll be able to survive it."  I tell him. 

"I know, babe. Which it exactly why we aren't coming home tonight without them." He reassures me. "I love you, so much. I know I haven't been saying it all that much lately, but I just want to remind you." I say. "I love you more." He answers and kisses my nose like the cute asshole he is.  

Just then my Dad walks into the room. "Okay, lovebirds, ready to rock and roll?" He asks. "Yeah, Dad. We are if you are." I reply. He winks at me and motions at us to follow him. "Harry, how did you cover up all of the gang stuff for so long?" I ask out of the blue. "Well, most of the time, I wasn't directly involved in any of it. No one knew that my Dad even had a son, so no one ever bothered me. And of course I never said anything because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. Oh by the way, when we get back to school, everyone will know everything. Zayn texted me that one of Julia's friends spilled the beans about all of us, including Julia, and that's she's been missing ever since." Harry tells me. 

"Oh my god, my friends are going to be so mad. I mean, they don't really have a right to be, I was keeping them out of all of this shit for their own safety. And do you think Julia's father killed that girl?" I ask him as we walk into the garage. 

"It wouldn't be the first time, that's for sure. Back in middle school, this exact scenario happened, meaning one of Julia's best friends caught her Dad doing something out of the ordinary, and told everyone. She was found floating in a river two days later, dead." He explains. "Holy shit." I respond. 

"Yeah, he's not really a guy you want to have on your bad side, unless you're us of course and the fear factor is mutual." He says. I smile and hop into the van behind Harry and his Father. "How long will it take us to get there?" I ask my Dad, who's driving the car, and I notice that one of his henchman riding shotgun. "Only about ten minutes, some place even more remote than this one." He answers. 

Just breathe. You'll be fine. Just keep breathing. I say in my head. Harry grabs my hand, and rubs my knuckles with his thumb. I smile at him and then turn my head to look out the window. Maybe if I focus on the trees flying past us I can manage not to throw up. My insides begin to twist and turn and my head and heart pound in sync. "I can't do this, Harry, I can't do this." I say, as the sweat shoots down my face and my eyes dart in a million different directions. I being to picture my nightmare again, my Mom and brother being held at gunpoint to their heads and I can't save them. They die every time. 

The sound of the hollow gunshot rings in my ears and I can't make it go away. I start to scream and shake my head. I say "No, no, no, no!" repeatedly and I punch the window. I put my head in my lap and place my hands over my ears. I hear Desmond say, "Harry, she's having a panic attack! Do something!" I feel him pry my hands off of my ears and lift my chin up so our eyes meet. My eyes are wild and darting everywhere and his eyes are scared, worried, and unsure. Suddenly they snap into focus. It's like a light bulb goes off in his head. 

He crashes his lips onto mine. The kiss consumes me and swallows me whole. It distracts me from everything I was just feeling, and I suppose that was the point. His lips linger on mine for a few seconds, and as he releases he holds my face he looks deeply into my eyes. I immediately calm down. I don't know how that worked, or how he did that, but it worked. "How did you do that?" I ask him breathlessly. "I don't know, I think I read somewhere that kissing someone can stop a panic attack. Which is what you were just having." He tells me.