Why you wanna see how far I fall?
'Cause I'm already up here and I got my eyes closed
And I ain't never fell from a love this tall

"Shit," Maxon cursed, pushing his golden blonde tangled in waves away from his widened green eyes that were locked on mine. Red shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, washed out jeans covered his legs, running down to meet his ankles, square jaw clenching as he swallows. The freckles scattered like stars across his cheeks were more faded than the last time I'd seen him. He'd grown so much though I could still recognize him anywhere, even by just looking at his eyes.

"Well this just took a turn," Zayn commented through the awkward tension hovering over the room. I wanted to glare at him but I couldn't find it in me to look away from my brother. "Uh, Harry I think we should give them some room to speak," Liam suggested after clearing his throat. My eyebrows furrowed at his comment and it didn't take long for me to analyze what it meant.

I turned to Harry, feeling a wave of hurt crash into my body from the moment I saw the guilt swimming in his green sea. "You knew?" I bluntly questioned though I already knew the answer. "Yes, but-" Harry admits with defeat. "Can't believe this," I muttered. Liam walks further into the cabin, he hooks one arm on Zayn's and then walks to us and hooks the other around Harry's. "Come on, boys," he says and yanks them away from us, leaving Maxon and me alone.

I remained frozen, feeling as the shock made my body unable to possibly move from where I was. So Maxon slowly walks to me, smiling as he studies me. Thankfully, he stops at a distance because if he came any closer I would've broken down. "Look at how much you've grown," Maxon breaks the silence, smiling widely, love caught in his eyes as he stares at me. Maxon reaches out to touch my hair and he chuckles to himself. "You never did like blonde," he points out.

Maxon Alvaris.

Then brother that took the first opportunity he got to leave our small town and never look back. That meant never seeing me again because I wasn't allowed to visit and he refused to return home for the holidays. The relationship he tried to keep on Skype felt like something we were forced to do. I didn't know how it happened or who was the source but eventually, we stopped communicating online.

Then when I ran away and was announced a missing person in an abduction case, I couldn't reach out. If I told him I was alive and well then he'd probably tell my father too. Couldn't blame him since it's a serious topic. I wonder if he came home when he found out I was missing.

"Yeah," I agreed and licked my lips, hoping it would make me speak more. "How did you...." even though I tried it was still hard to form proper sentences. Maxon takes another step closer and my hands roll into fists at my sides to prevent them from the noticeable shaking.

"Liam and I have been together for three years and five months, I found out about all of this eventually," he reveals. My eyes widened, that's a very long time. "You're okay with it?" I bluntly asked, the question coming out so suddenly. "Li makes it worth it," he shrugs his shoulders with a cute smile on his face.

I thought finding Harry would've made it worth it too.

"I'm sorry I haven't reached out or that you had to find out this way. It's a lame excuse but I didn't want to suddenly walk into your life and mess up everything, you know? Plus, Harry told me how much he's done to make sure you're not involved with this side of the world and I didn't want to ruin all of his hard work to keep you safe," he suddenly rambles off.

I don't say anything, still shocked or stunned to let any words through. "I'm sorry, Em," he softly adds, his eyes showing me how guilty he felt and how sincere he was being. "It's Madeleine now..." I murmured, feeling useless to correct him but also necessary. "And hey, it's not Harry's fault you didn't find out, okay? I asked him to keep this away from you and it's not like he's been in contact with you to keep it from you really," he's defending Harry.

"Would you have ever reached out to me if I hadn't been here?" I wondered out loud and watched as the colour drained off his face. That already gave me my answer. "Don't be like that," he pleads but that only made me go on. "Did you ever wonder if I needed family? Did you ever wonder if I had someone to replace the role you were supposed to play in my life?" I continued, allowing myself to be as angry as I was keeping in since I saw him.

His lips parted to say something but he just shuts them after no words came out. "Nothing to say now, huh? Don't have any explanations for that?" I scoffed and turned around, not bothering to waste my time any further. I didn't need any of this right now.

"Emryn, please!" Maxon shouts after me as I walked to that bedroom. I angrily grabbed the doorknob and yanked it open. "It's fucking Madeleine!" I screamed at him and gladly slammed the door after getting inside.

"Fucking asshole," I muttered to myself and began pacing the floor, nervously biting the tip of my fingernails. "You've got to stop slamming that door," my head snapped to the unexpected voice. Harry sat on the edge of the bed I'd woken up in, resting his elbows on his lap with his head held high staring at me.

"Then stop giving me reasons to," I fired back and walked closer to him, keeping my arms folded across my chest. Looking at Harry right now, I realised that I couldn't possibly be mad at him.

Currently, I knew that Gemma had a brother she didn't know about and refused to tell her about him. Of course, I had good intentions but maybe Harry had good reasons too. In fact, I know he does. No matter how much I wish to hate him, I know he'd never intentionally do something bad to me. Plus, Maxon did say that he asked Harry not to tell me.

Eventually, Harry sits up and releases a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way but I'm not sorry I didn't tell you about Maxon. It was his wish to keep it from you and I was just respecting it. I wish I could've told you," Harry sort of apologized. Somebody definitely rehearsed that.

"Did you know while we were together?" I questioned. Were we even considered together? "No! Then I wouldn't have been able to keep it from you..." he quickly assures me. Thank God. "It's okay, Harry," I softly replied. His hands that were twisting his rings on his fingers fell to his thighs with a slapping sound, his eyes widening slightly and those pretty lips parted out of shock.

"What?" He blurted out. "I understand. Max told me already," I revealed and his shoulders sagged in relief. Harry nods his head and smiled.

"Oh okay. Well, here are some clothes you can wear and you know where the shower is," Harry says and nods his head to the neatly folded stack of clothes sitting beside him. "Everyone is going to watch a movie while Liam works on the security footage so you can join us if you want," he suggests.

That's a while from now. Besides answering messages from my friends, there's nothing more productive to do around here while I wait for Liam to tell me if Draven can find me or not. Unless... "Do you have a computer?" I bluntly asked Harry. "What?" He blurts out, his eyebrows pinching together adorably. "I have important emails I need to reply to and I could do that from any device. If I'm here I might as well be productive," I explained.

"Oh, yeah," Harry nods his head and immediately stands. He opens the bathroom door and walks to the other door at the end which leads to his bedroom. Harry returns with a laptop in his hand and he carefully hands it to me. "Thank you," I say and takes it from him. Harry smiles and turns around, walking out of my bedroom.

No, stay.

I sat on the bed and placed the laptop beside me. I grabbed my phone and went through it, responding to messages from Daphne and Gemma. When I told them that I'd be gone for a few days and said that I'll explain when I see them soon, they demanded that I sent a picture as proof that they could've believed me. I sent them a picture of my face with a wide smile but showed them my favourite finger. Yes, the middle one.

I locked the doors and happily, stripped my clothes off my body and walked into the bathroom with a towel in my hand. I made sure to press the lock down on Harry's door so he wouldn't be able to enter the bathroom. Yes, I wanted to leave it unlocked but that felt like pushing it. These stupid fantasies of him and I can't stop replaying in my head over and over.

Stepping into the shower, I couldn't help but notice how perfect it was to do something else other than actually showering. See? These fantasies. "Just shut up," I ordered my mind and angrily pressed down on the button to release the rain on me. "Fuck, yes," I moaned, loving the feeling of the hot water cascading down my body.

When I'd finish my shower, my skin was red and sensitive as shown in the mirror while I wrapped the white towel around my body. I waddled back to the room and slipped into the clothes that Harry left for me. The second I was in them, I could've moaned at the scent and instantly I knew they were Harry's. Even though it looked like I was being swallowed by his clothes, it made me all happy and giddy.

I fixed the pillows into a c shape in the middle of the bed and seated myself in the middle before bringing the laptop on my lap and turning it on. After logging into my accounts, I get taken away from sending and responding to emails and having to edit my entire schedule for this week because something tells me I would be here for a while.

_♤_

The sound of a song humming through the walls stirs me from my sleep. I opened my eyes only to squint them, trying to figure out where that noise was coming from. Meanwhile, my last recollections flood through my mind seeing as one minute I was doing work and the next I'm all tucked into bed.

What happened? I reached over where the little lamp had sat and turned it on, lending me light. The laptop was neatly placed on the bedside table however that noise wasn't coming from this room. So that only meant...

I turned the light off and laid back down, waiting for Harry to stop the noise from wherever it came from in his room. Ten minutes past and the noise never did and my body wasn't allowing me to fall asleep unless the noise was gone. Groaning, I shoved away from the blanket and reluctantly got off the bed that reminded me of marshmallows and clouds.

Lazily, I walked across the bathroom to Harry's door and tested to see if it would open. The sound kept going on so I opened the door to reveal his bedroom. Firstly, my eyes found the empty bed but it was obvious someone had been on it by the messy sheets and the blanket pushed to the side.

Next, I found the device on the bedside table that was playing the sound. One step closer towards the phone, it didn't take me long to realise that it was Harry's ringtone. The name across the screen was one I thought I had seen wrongly at first but after every time I'd blink, it was still the same name displayed.

Louis Tomlinson.

"Can't be..." I mumbled to myself in denial, eyebrows furrowing. There has to be another Louis Tomlinson that Harry knows, right? I was tempted to answer the call but just as I was about to, Louis ended it. Damn it.

Of course, that wasn't all though. As the call ends, Harry's Lock Screen reappears. I expected to see a picture of Tori from Victorious but no, it wasn't her at all. His Lock Screen because it was pictures of me. Automatically, my lips tugged into my widest smile, feeling sunshine erupting inside me.

That's one hell of a good sign.

"Can we talk about it?" The muffled sound of my brother's voice made me jump and I spin around after squealing, expecting to see someone in the room. It didn't take long for me to realise that his voice was coming from outside since Harry's room was empty. "Is Madeleine asleep?" I hear Liam ask. "I think so," Harry answers.

They said my name, of course I'm going to eavesdrop now. I tiptoed back to my room- did I just say my room?- and carefully twisted the door open. I peeked my head out, looking both sides in caution. The lights were on in the living room area, that's where they had to be.

Tiptoeing across the hallway, I got close enough without them being able to see me. I pressed my back against the wall and listened. I badly wanted to see them but if I took a peek then someone would definitely see me.

"This is complicated," Maxon sighs and I hear Liam reply in agreement," I know, babe." What's so complicated? "I don't want to talk about this any longer. Did you get an insight on the woman?" Harry speaks up, swiftly changing their topic. "Yeah. I'm working with someone anonymously to pin her location and from there I'll try to target her next move," Liam answers.

"Good. Draven will be pleased," Harry commented. My jaw unhinges at the sound of him saying that. What the fuck? My body straightens off the wall, panic flooding into every inch of my body when I heard the sound of Harry's slippers walking closer to me.

As fast as I had ever been in my entire life, I bolted across the hallway and as quietly as I had ever been, I shut the door. Leaning into the door, I pressed my ear to it and listened to Harry's footfalls as he walks past my bedroom and into his. That was a close one.

I went back to bed, getting in a comfortable position under the soft blankets in hope that my mind would let me sleep. No surprise though, I couldn't with all the new information I'd found out tonight. Louis and Harry somehow still kept in contact. For some reason that was the only one that was screaming the loudest to me.

It took hours for my mind to shut off and allowed my body to rest. In the morning, I was awakened by the sunshine peeking into the room, saying hello which I didn't want because I hadn't gotten enough sleep. I turned to the other side and covered my head under the blanket and shut my eyes, waiting to fall back to sleep.

It never happens. There were already knocking, pushing and chatter coming from outside. No one wants me to sleep in apparently. I huffed and got off the bed, sluggishly walking to the bathroom. Surprise, surprise, I wasn't the only one that planned to go to the bathroom. Harry stood at the sink but this time he was fully clothed in black tight jeans and a sweatshirt with a toothbrush in his hand. Bummer.

"Good morning," he broke the silence. I had to take a deep breath after hearing how raspy his voice was. Everything about him is so hot. "M-morning," I returned, hating the sound of my voice in the morning. I stood beside him, grabbing my toothbrush and holding it out for him to smear some of the toothpaste on it.

He does so before doing his own, we wet the brushes under the running water before brushing our teeth, looking at each other through the mirror with our cheeks burning from smiling so much. After we finished brushing our teeth, Harry leaves the bathroom through his door and I used the toilet and washed my face, making sure I looked presentable before going outside.

"Good morning sunshine!" Zayn cheers, his face beaming with a smile. My body failed to react after hearing him say that, I just froze on spot. "Don't call her that," Harry gruffly commented from where he was mixing something in the kitchen. "What?" Zayn wonders, clueless about it. "Long story," Liam brushes off and pats his shoulder and they returned their attention to something on Liam's phone.

Maxon sat beside Liam on the table, his eyes attempting to find mine but I don't spare him a glance. I quickly walked across the other side and sat down next to Zayn. Harry walks from the kitchen with two trays, five plates in them.

Pancakes. "Why the fuck did you make chocolate chip ones?" Liam questions harry, his face scrunched up at the only plate that wasn't blueberries. "She doesn't like blueberries," Harry murmurs before sliding the one plate of chocolate chip pancakes towards me.

God, I've felt more butterflies as I have over the past day than in the past three years.

Zayn was the first to dig into his pancakes, not caring about anyone else and grabbing the syrup to drizzle over every pancake as he finishes another. Hesitantly, I picked up the fork, nervous yet excited to have the taste of Harry's pancakes after missing them for so long.

No surprise, heaven. There was a reason why I had him make it for us almost every day. "Hey, Em can we-" Maxon leans over the table and attempts to speak to me. I dropped the fork and it hits the glass plate, creating a loud clattering sound. "Madeleine. Not that fucking hard," I spat, clenching my jaw.

Calling me anything close to Emryn was an unwanted reminder of my father and how my dead mother left and poor excuse of a brother left me too. Maybe that's too harsh. I've been good at pushing things away, storing them in the basement of my mind and never opening the door.

Now was one of the times where I didn't have a choice but to face them and I was feeling all the things I've held back. I really need a hug from Harry right now.

"Come on, don't be so hard on him. You're family and you're supposed to forgive family when they fuck up, darling," Liam quickly defends his boyfriend. "Don't call her darling," Harry muttered below his breath. Why not? You're certainly not calling me it so why do you care?

God, I wish I could've said it so bad. "Fuck you, Liam. As you say this is family and it doesn't include you," I fired back and Harry's eyes snapped to mine. "That was a bit too much, Madeleine," he points out with his displeased tone. "Oh my God, this tastes like heaven!" Zayn moans, his eyes rolling back as he swallows.

That silences everyone at the table. It left harry in a small smile though because I knew he loves it when his food is complimented. It seems like all of us were hurried to finish eating to escape the tension hovering over the table. Liam and I were the first ones to run off to the kitchen with empty plates.

"Hey, can you please let me know when I'm cleared to leave? Harry said you're supposed to be looking through the footage," I lowly ask him. Liam stares at me, tilting his head to the side in wonder. "I'm not doing any of this for you after what happened. I'm doing it for Harry and Maxon," he proudly clarified.

Okay, that's my fault. "I'm sorry, alright? I'd assume I was allowed to be upset. It hasn't even been twenty four hours since you've returned," I defended. "That still doesn't give you a reason to be all sassy with me. I think we both know you'd be the same or worst if it was Harry and Gemma," Liam points out. God, he's right, I'd be begging Gemma to forgive Harry.

"I'm sorry..." I uselessly apologise again. He smiles softly and takes a step closer to wrap his hand around my shoulder, pulling me in for a side hug. "He messed up, I know but give him a chance to make it up, yeah? Whenever you're ready, that is," he says. "I will," I mumbled and loosely hugged him back for a second before we let go.

I walked back to the bedroom, impatiently wanting to be on the bed again. I opened Harry's laptop and logged into my profile, seeing two new emails about my request to reschedule the marketing meetings I had. Elaria also contacted me, letting me know that Draven has been quiet and she hasn't been able to pinpoint his location. Bet Harry knows.

My mind runs to Louis. I don't know if I should feel hurt I didn't know he kept in contact with Harry or not care about it because it isn't my business. I just think it's something I would've liked to know...I'd love to know how it happened too.

My fingertips froze over the keyboard after someone knocked on the door once. Harry knocks twice so my heart drops with disappointment that it wasn't him. "Yes?" I answered. "It's me," Maxon's voice travelled through the door. "I'm not ready to speak to you," I flatly responded, curling my hands around the edge of the laptop.

"Please? I know I fucked up and I'm a horrible brother but I want to do better now," he pleads, hitting his knuckles on the door again. Why is it so easy for me to give people second chances? "Come in," I sighed and pushed away the laptop. The door opens and Maxon walks through within the next second. He nervously smiles and sits down beside me, keeping a safe distance thankfully.

"I'm waiting," I stated, crossing my arms on my chest. "Okay, Uhm..." he scratches the nape of his neck, looking up at the roof of the room. "Today, Maxon. If you're not ready yet then leave, I can wait," I impatiently urged. "No, no. Just...fuck!" He blurts out. "Alright, I admit that I was wrong and you're my little sister, I shouldn't have let anything come in the way of keeping a relationship with you. It was selfish of me to stay away because I was scared to see you even though I was trying to protect you at the same time," Maxon reveals.

"I feel like an ass, Madeleine. I'm supposed to be better than our parents and right now I feel exactly like them. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry and I know it will take time for us to get somewhere and for you to trust me but I don't want to suck at being a brother anymore," he continues.

"Thought you were better of without me, sis. I didn't know you needed me," he whispers, his hand touching my knee and my hand falls to hold his. "Come find me next time, okay? I have amazing people I call family at home so don't worry, I wasn't alone though I really missed you, Max," I gave in.

"Missed you too, Em. So much," he returns. "Whatever happens, if you decide to leave then I promise I'll try to have a good relationship with you, alright? And a physical one, not rare video calls on Skype," Maxon promised and his eyes turned glossy with tears. "I'd like that," I smiled and wrapped my arms around my brother and pulled him into a very much needed hug.

"It's alright, I'm here now. I won't disappoint you again," he whispers, running his fingers through my hair that cascaded past my shoulders.

Now I'm not sure if I wanted to leave this place after all.

Never thought I'd ever be saying this but there are ten more chapters left of Ethereal. We've still got a lot of exciting things coming up which makes it so bittersweet. Someone pass me the tissues!