*HARPER Point of View*

"There's a good chance someone drugged you."

* * *

"Are you serious?!" My father bellowed. He stood up so fast, the chair behind him fell with a loud clang  on the floor. A nurse came rushing in to find out what had happened, but the doctor told her everything was fine and shooed her out.

"I know it's upsetting," Dr. Rosewin said, "But if Harper is telling the truth, that's the only other possibility." 

I hated seeing my dad so upset, but I wasn't going to hold back to spare his feelings. "Dad, you have to believe me. Harry loves me; I know he does. I've been thinking a little more and I do remember being awakened very early in the morning by one of the producers. She told me I was going to meet Harry for a day-long date in his hometown."

"What was her name?" My father asked, pulling a small notebook out of his pocket, along with a pen. From worried dad to full-on lawyer in no time.

"Claudia," I answered.

"Wait, I thought you said Harry was with you," Dad observed. 

I nodded intently. "He was. For most of the night." I shot a sheepish little smile towards the doctor. Seems I was bringing everyone up to speed on my sex life. "But he left around 4 AM so that no one would know he was there."

Dr. Rosewin interrupted, "Why don't I let you two talk some more in private? I will make sure that you see a full lab report," he assured my father. "I assume you'll want to talk to the police." 

"At some point," Dad nodded. 

Before he escaped, I asked Dr. Rosewin, "How much do you know about me? Or what happened just before I came back to Sacramento?" 

He shook his head. "You arrived on a plane and were found unconscious. Your dad said you were on some TV show over in the UK, and your arrival home was completely unexpected."

"Something like that," I said. "You should know that this is highly confidential. If we make contact with the show's producers, they will likely want you to sign an NDA. I know you keep patient information confidential anyway, but I just thought you should know." 

"All right," he agreed. "Can you tell me anything else about the show?" I told him the basics, what the show was about and that Harry Styles was the star. "OH! Yes, I've been hearing a lot about it. Sounds like it's going to be pretty spectacular from the ads I've seen." 

"What kind of ads?" I asked, curious to know what they could have shown the public already. "Any shots of the women in the competition? Or just hype?" 

"Mostly hype, I think," Dr. Rosewin said. "Maybe some shots from the first few weeks at the mansion. But I didn't pay very close attention. Don't worry, I will mark your file Highly Confidential and make sure no one talks to the press or anyone else."

"Thank you," I sighed as he left. 

My dad turned his attention back to me. "So the Candle Ceremony was Sunday night. Harry came to your room that night, left at around 4 AM, and then this Claudia person woke you up later to tell you that you were going on a date? Is that correct?" 

"Yes."

"What time did she wake you up?" Dad asked, jotting down notes furiously.

"Around six," I said, yawning as if remembering the early hour suddenly made me sleepy.

"Six in the morning?!" He asked, incredulous. "Didn't you think that was kind of strange?" 

"Not really," I said. "I got up that early when I went on my first date with Harry. We flew to Mexico." 

"Mexico?" Dad asked, sounding surprised. "You're going to have to tell me about all your travels after we figure this out."

"Of course," I smiled. "The only strange thing about the date was that Harry hadn't said anything, but then again, he never told us ahead of time anyway. Well, except for the date cards." Dad furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Either the day before, or the morning of a date, a card would arrive, inviting a specific person or group of people on a date. I mean, it would make sense if Harry still wanted to surprise me. Claudia just said that they had forgotten the date card the night before since the ceremony went so late."

Dad nodded, writing it all down. "Anything else seem out of the ordinary?" 

"I started to think something was off when I got to the airport and boarded a private jet; I noticed it wasn't Harry's. I guess it was a little odd that we were flying at all since Holmes Chapel was just a few hours' drive. Anyway, the guy on board was named Alex, I'm pretty sure. I was really drowsy. I couldn't seem to wake up. He told me that Harry and the rest of the crew  had gone ahead on the other plane, and that he was my bodyguard for the trip. I'm pretty sure that's what happened, but like I said, it's all so foggy."

"What's the very last thing you remember?" Dad urged.

"Alex offered me a cup of coffee. Then I-" I stopped and gasped in realization. "The coffee! Dad, I think it was the coffee! Claudia brought me a cup when she first woke me up, and it seemed very strange because she's never that nice!" 

My dad chuckled but then returned to his former seriousness. "That's a good possibility, Dimples. You should have been a detective. Or a lawyer like your old man," he winked. "I'm going to call the police. They need to get involved in this right away." 

"Of course," I nodded. 

I dozed until he came back, probably about an hour later, telling me that an officer would come by to talk to me later in the afternoon. Then he told me, "Oh, I got a call from the airport. They said they have your luggage?" I could tell he was as mystified by this as I was. I had only packed a small bag to spend the day with Harry in Holmes Chapel. I never packed up all my luggage and certainly didn't take it with me that morning. 

"This is getting more and more confusing," I said, rubbing my temples. "Did you get in touch with anyone from the the show yet?"

"No, honey. I tried their executive offices in Los Angeles, and I only got voicemail. I tried the number that Ricardo called me from, and there was no answer. I've even tried tracking down Harry's management team in LA, but of course, they just think I'm the father of a crazed fan and will have nothing to do with me. It's maddening."

"Shit," I mumbled. And then the tears came. After two days of panic and anxiety, I finally succumbed to sadness. "I miss Harry so much," I sobbed. "What if he thinks I left on purpose? I have no idea what's going on over there, and I have no way of telling him I'm okay. What if he chooses someone else because he thinks I just walked away?" Dad sat on the edge of my bed, holding me while I cried. "I love him, Daddy. I love him so much." 

"I know you do, sweetie. I know," he soothed. "We're going to figure this out, I promise." 

After I had cried myself out, I remembered something. "Daddy!" I said, sitting up abruptly. 

"What, sweetie?" He asked, looking at me through squinted eyes, clearly still concerned about my emotional state. 

"Can you get my luggage from the airport? Like now? I need it right now!" 

"Sure, I can. But may I ask why?" He answered.

"My journal is in there, or it should be, and I have some phone numbers in it!"

"I'm on my way," he said. If I wasn't mistaken, he seemed pretty excited. 

Again, I snoozed, finding nothing better to do while lying in a hospital bed. I wondered if Allegra had stopped by, or if Dad even told her I was here. Maybe she was busy with wedding planning or something, I thought as my eyelids closed. 

When my dad returned again, he held out my journal to me. "I took it out of your luggage so I wouldn't have to carry the whole suitcase up here," he said. "That thing weighs a ton! I hope this is the right one." 

With a laugh, I took the journal and said, "It is." I flipped the pages excitedly til I found the phone number I had scrawled in bright pink ink, with a pen I'd borrowed from Ariana. 

I used my dad's cell phone since I had no clue where mine was. I silently prayed that he would answer. When I finally heard his chipper English accent saying, "Hello?" I almost shouted with joy.

"Louis? It's Harper. I need your help." 

____

Am I evil? Or do you love me?