Perilous (Harry Styles)

chapter 41

"A fool too late bewares when all the peril is past."

- Elizabeth I

______________________

Harry's POV

"Hey, where exactly are you going?" Zoey called after me, just as I was about to disappear from her sight.

"Behind a corner and a tree," I called back, "Or did you want to watch?"

She flipped me off and shook her head, causing me to laugh. I was still grinning when I found an abandoned tree with barely any leaves left.

There was something soothing about the wind that whistled through the dried leaves on the ground, sending them over to edge to let them fly down. Out of sight, out of mind.

I had a hard time to open the belt with the gloves I was wearing and after at least a minute of fighting, I tossed them to the ground. My fingers were starting to get numb from the cold, but I somehow succeeded in tugging my jeans down enough to do my business.

"What a wild life," I mumbled to myself, glancing around to see the missing signs of life.

To be completely honest, I was starting to regret agreeing to this Christmas lunch. My parents always celebrated Christmas up here, but usually I would just join them a few days later and have a nice time.

When my mum asked me to come up here with Zoey, now that we finally had Gemma back and everything seemed to fall into place, I just couldn't deny her offer.

We were a family, and I had Zoey back. That was everything I needed in my life.

I pulled up my jeans and put on the black gloves Zoey had found in the back of my closet. Even though I had refused to wear them at first, I was now glad she had made me listen to her.

Sometimes she really did know what was best for me.

I looked up, trying to see the cabin on top of the mountain. At our little picnic point it had been impossible, but right now I could see the outlines of the small house. We weren't that far away anymore.

Zoey would surely be happy to hear those news.

Spinning around to take off into the direction my girlfriend was waiting for me, I happily hummed a song that was stuck in my head. Zoey had been sulking most of this trip, but I knew she was finally appreciating the quiet of the nature.

Only a few steps away from the corner of the path, I heard footsteps behind me. I stopped dead in my tracks, wondering how the hell she had found a way to sneak past me.

"Zoey, love, you never fail to surprise me," I breathed, ready to just grab her and kiss her, showering her with my love and affection.

I did, indeed, turn around, at the same time the person spoke up. "I bet I never fail to surprise you, either."

My heart skipped a beat. The voice was female but didn't belong to the one I loved the most. No, it rather belonged to the woman who had nearly ruined everything good in my life.

The realization came in the same moment as my eyes landed on her. I opened my mouth, ready to ask her what the actual fuck she was doing up here, but all I could register was the evil look on her face and a heavy thud on my skull before I blacked out.

And as I lay there, shivering in the cold with the uneasy feeling that something bad was about to happen, I thought back to the time I had felt like my love for Zoey was crushing me to death.

Waking up beside Zoey was simply the most beautiful thing ever.

Her hair would always fall all around her, halfway on my face as well, and build an auburn-colored mess. I first had to fight my way through the thick waves until I could finally see the girl lying next to me.