1k reads already???? HELLO????? who allowed that???? y'all are the best, i tried to get this update out as fast as possible!! enjoy!!

MADDIE'S POV

Another week means another studio drop in to see Addison and Eden, and after Tuesday night's events, it's much needed.

When Harry dropped me off, James wasn't even back yet. His work junk was all sprawled out where he left it and he didn't get back until about thirty minutes after I did. When I heard him come in from the bedroom I figured he got right back to work, and I was right, because I fell asleep long before he even showed his face in the bedroom.

Yesterday, Harry and I had lunch as promised. It ended up being too close of a time crunch for both of us because of all of our appointments so we ordered lunch to be delivered and ate in my office, only spending a mere thirty minutes together before he had to get back upstairs. It was much too short-lived for my liking, but it was still nice.

This morning I had a couple appointments and now I'm keeping up the theme of having lunch out as I'm on my way to pick up the food I ordered for the three of us to eat at the studio. Eden said they're wrapping up a shoot soon so it was the perfect time for me to pop over.

The only downside is that it's raining. Like, torrential downpour. I hate driving in the rain more than I hate the rain itself, and everyone on the road gets mad at me because I'm too scared to go even close to the speed limit with all the wet, slick pavements.

It started raining mid-morning, so I didn't dress for the weather or bring an umbrella and my jeans are sticking to me and my sneakers are all sloshy. My hair is frizzy too and the humidity is causing some of the natural curl in my hair to come back but it still looks so disheveled, just to top it all off.

I groan loudly even though the driver who just honked at me can't hear me. I can barely see through the windshield with the speed that the rain is coming down and my windshield wipers are working double-time, it's not my choice to be driving this slow.

I turn into the entrance for the cafe I ordered lunch from and quickly park, bracing myself and grabbing the bare minimum that I need to save everything from getting soaked before I open the door and run as fast as I can inside.

Despite the twenty steps it took me, I literally feel like I just jumped in a pool.

I ordered the food for pick up so I quickly grab the bag that's ready to go with my name on it on the counter, sending a quick thank you to one of the employees. I'm already drenched so there's nothing to help me there, so now my main mission is to protect the food on my way back to the car.

I hold it as tightly to my chest as possible before pushing the door open with my hip and walking quickly to the car, sliding in right as a crack of thunder rings out and I almost drop the food.

"Fucking hell..." I say to myself and I start the car again, the seat underneath me now completely soaked. I drive the five minutes over to the studio and decide to park near the back entrance because it's less distance from the car to the door. When I do park, I grab my keys and the food and bolt inside, only spending a few seconds in the rain before swinging the door open.

I breathe out a sigh of relief as I hear Addison and Eden's faint voices in the other room. My shoes squeak as I leave wet footprints as I walk into the main studio and I can see the remnants of the set of their last shoot still in the corner.

"I'm here!" I say, holding up the bag of food that I successfully saved from the rain.

"It's raining?" Eden says sarcastically, knowing how I feel about the inclement weather.

"No, I just thought I would go for a swim fully clothed before popping in." I reply dryly.

"Mm, well at least you brought lunch." Addison chimes in with a smirk.

I smile sarcastically. "How did the shoot go?"

"Good, it lasted for forever. The girls were nice though." Addison continues.

"Who were they?" I ask as Eden pulls out all the food.

"It was a dance company, they needed pictures and headshots for their upcoming recital next month. Changed into their costumes and everything."

We get our food and begin eating, the rain still coming down hard on the metal roof as it echoes through the studio in an oddly calming fashion, occasionally being interrupted by the low rumble of thunder.

"How's Bella?" I ask Eden.

"Good," she perks up, "I, uh, officially asked her to be my girlfriend last night."

"You had the balls to do that?" My jaw drops and I laugh.

"You didn't tell me that!" Addison exclaims.

"Yes I had the balls, I'm not as much of a scared wuss as you." Ouch. "And I was gonna tell you eventually, but we had a busy morning!" She turns to Addison and defends herself.

"Well, I'm happy for you." Addison rolls her eyes with a smile. "About time."

"So that's why you couldn't come with us the other night. You were planning, weren't you?" I connect the dots. I had told her and Grey about the plans for the pub in the midst of my excitement about seeing Dakota, but neither of them could make it and didn't tell me why. I even mentioned the Styles' being there but they still said they couldn't come.

"Yes..." she smiles, "which reminds me, I want Cassie or Hayden's number if you have it since I couldn't see them last night. I wish I could've gone but, you know, had to plan just like you said."

"I have them," I go to grab my phone in my back pocket, but it's empty, "shit, I left my phone in the car. I'll text it to you later."

"That's fine." She shrugs.

"Do you know what Grey was doing last night?" I ask. "He didn't make it either."

"Probably painting."

We all finished our lunches in the next ten minutes, and then Addison recruited us to help her take down and clean up the photoshoot set- a drill I'm all too familiar with. Thankfully, I have some time before I need to be back at the office.

"Uh, I think one of the dancers left their costume." I yell out as I tidy the changing area with all the racks of clothing, picking up the pale pink and gold decorated leotard and tutu.

"They're definitely gonna want that back." Addison yells back. "Hang it up and I'll send them a message."

I put it on a hanger, scooting the rest of the clothes down to fit the piece in. Amongst the clothes I see a...watermelon costume, and a mermaid tail? Random.

Just as I'm making my way over to Addison to help more, the main door opens and for a few brief seconds I can hear the wind whoosh and rain hammer on the ground before the door closes again.

"Greyson? What are you doing here?" I stop walking as my drenched brother shakes out his hair.

"Have neither of you been on your phones the past hour?" He rushes out, grabbing Eden's attention as well.

"I left mine in the car-"

"Mine's in my bag over there-"

"Okay, well mum called me saying that neither of you picked up after she tried you both." He rushes out again, this time more aggressively.

"Okay, Grey, calm down. Is something wrong? Did something happen?" I ask him, trying to find out what this is all about.

"She didn't tell me much but I think something happened with dad but she sounded calm over the phone and said that he was fine but I-"

"What?" Eden spits out loudly as my jaw goes slack.

"Slow down, say that again because I really hope I didn't hear you correctly." I urge him nervously.

He sighs, collecting himself. "Mum called me and said that neither of you were picking up your phones. I asked if something was wrong, and she said that something happened with dad but that he's 'okay.'" He bends his fingers in air quotes for that last word.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I ask as Eden stands there speechless, and Addison has now abandoned what she was doing.

"I don't know! She wouldn't tell me anything but...I have a feeling there's a lot more to it." Greyson exasperates.

I'm almost in shock, I think the only thing keeping me from spiraling into a sudden panic is the missing details and my mother's apparent composure over the phone. If Grey said she was acting or sounding different- more worried- I'd be more concerned. And I don't want to drive myself up a wall creating tragic scenarios in my head when I don't know what happened, although that doesn't mean I'm not worried. Extremely worried.

"O-Okay wait, so what does she expect us to do? Just say 'okay, keep us updated' when she didn't even tell you what happened? No, I'm driving up there- I- I need to be there. Fuck, I should've had my phone on me-" Eden begins to panic, rushing over to grab her stuff and I can tell her hands are shaking violently.

I'm struggling to come to terms with how I'm feeling about this- overwhelmingly, I'm worried. Part of me is trying to be rational and telling me to call my mum and figure out what exactly happened, the other is in an adrenaline induced panic that cancels every emotion out and makes me feel numb to the situation already.

"Eden, take a deep breath-" I run up to her and grab her shoulders to stabilize her.

"She called me four times-"

"Eden, stop." I grab her hands to stop them from shaking. "Listen to me, breathe. We'll go, I want to go too, but you're not in the state of mind to drive anywhere right now. Um, okay, Addie-" I nod to Greyson to take over for me with Eden, rushing over to Addison.

"I need you to not let her leave until she's calmed down, I'm going to run home and call my mum and figure out what the hell is going on and maybe pack a fucking bag."

"Are you sure you're okay-"

"I'm fine. For now. Just please make sure-"

"I got her, don't worry." She assures me, and I waste no time sprinting it to my car, ignoring the rain that now feels like acid on my skin and getting inside.

I can't believe I left my stupid fucking phone in the car.

I was on the same page with Eden when she said she wanted to drive home, that's the first thought that came into my head when Greyson was explaining what he knew. It's my dad, I don't care if he broke his bloody arm, I want to make sure everything's okay.

Looking at the clock, I didn't even realize how much time went by inside because I'm supposed to have an appointment in fifteen minutes.

"Fuck. Work..." I groan. Right now my priority is to call my mum, so I text Addison to call Louis and explain what's happening because there's no way I'm making it in this afternoon. After that, I actually go to call my mum, simultaneously realizing how much my hands are shaking. I shouldn't be driving like this, but I have no choice because I need to get home.

My wet hair sticks to my face as I drive and try to ignore the startling cracks of thunder that sound above me.

I've always hated the rain.

"Mum?" I say as the ringing stops in my ear.

"Hi dear." I can't help but notice the exhaustion in her voice.

"Mum Greyson just told me about- what happened? My phone was in the car, I would've picked up if I had it with me but what's going on? What happened with dad-"

"Shh, Maddie, your dad is alive, he's okay."

"I'm sorry, alive? Meaning he almost died? What is that supposed to mean-"

"Let me explain." She sounds abnormally calm. "Yes, something happened. He was on his way home from work last night and his car was hit, but he's stable."

"I- Wh- He- He was hit? But he's okay? Is he injured? What does 'stable' imply? Where are you right now?" I spit out all the questions that come to mind, trying to remain as calm as humanly possible in a situation like this, especially while I'm driving in a fucking storm.

I hear her sigh over the phone. "I really don't think it's best to do all this over the phone."

"Okay, well, I'm coming home, I'll be on my way in less than an hour. I should be there by six."

"That's fine, but please be safe, and tell your siblings-"

"We're all coming. They'll be there."

We hang up shortly after, and I pull in and park at my building. Everything that's happened up to me now being in the bedroom with an open duffel bag on the bed is a complete blur. I'm not even sure what I'm packing as I yank random articles of clothing out from my drawers and closet, tossing it all in haphazardly.

I texted Greyson and briefly filled him in on what mum told me, and he said that he was with Eden at his place getting his stuff. They're gonna come over here after- probably in the next fifteen minutes- and we're all going to drive together.

I don't even notice the silent tears that slip down my face as my shaky hands zip up the duffel bag. I'm numb to the thunder outside because I'm so hyper-focused on trying not to panic, even though it's not really working.

I barely even pay attention to the knock that sounds at the door as my subconscious tries to push away all the distractions, but with the second and much louder knock I'm able to snap out of my thoughts, realizing it's most likely Greyson and Eden ready to go and the faster I open the door we can be on our way home.

Except when I open the door I don't see two redheads starting back at me, I see a wet mess of brown curls.

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super short chapter but this is a double update so fifteen is already up go go go !!!