It's 4:30.

Leaning against the wall on my side, eyes peering down through the open window.

I heard her moving around in the other room a few minutes ago and it woke me up. We're probably the only ones up in the house but I don't let her know I'm waking.

Esrin crashed on the couch soon after our kiss in the dark hallway. On Eddie's way to the room, he suggested leaving her there with a blanket or something but instead I carried her upstairs. Come on, what if her drool stained the couch or something? I worked hard on pairing this furniture, you know.

I didn't know she was that serious about leaving so early to make it back in time for work. Everyone at the table realised it was important to her but still I didn't completely believe it until now.

In case though, last night I parked my car outside so she'd be able to leave this morning. I see her do exactly that, carefully leaving her bags in the backseat and then getting into the passenger seat.

With that, I moved from the window and crashed back into my bed.

My alarm goes off at the time it's set for and I rolled off the bed, remembering my aim and schedule for the day immediately.

I showered and got dressed within a few minutes. Next, I'm throwing the rest of my things in the bag I came here with while changing my outfit at the same time. Quitely walking downstairs, the house was dark and empty.

I slide out of the glass doors at the side of the house to my Jeep. Harry's car was no longer parked behind mine but instead at the side of the house outside. Without wondering much about it, I go on and place my bags in the backseat and then sat in the front, taking off.

The drive home almost felt like switching into a new chapter of my life. It's like recently, I haven't been the best version that I needed to be and I feel like I've lost control but I'm ready. I'm ready now to get my life back in order, grab hold of everything that's been slipping away and take back control.

Driving really can be therapeutic.

Making my way up the elevator, I'm a bit disappointed that I don't have as much time as I thought I would remain. I was planning to make myself a nice breakfast but I'll have to snatch something from the cafeteria at work instead.

Arriving at my door, I'm almost surprised that there aren't any tulips waiting for me. I hurriedly open it, already deciding that I'm going to do the simple makeup look I knew to buy me more time.

My steps are halted when I hear the crunch of glass beneath my shoe. I've been on a roll all morning, hustling since I've woken up and rushing inside the penthouse is what it finally takes for me to stop.

There are absolutely no words that can ever be used to describe the sudden shift of my world when I saw what I walked into.

The bags I were tightly gripping dropped to the floor and I don't remember letting go of them. The only light supplying the room was the drapes pulled open slightly but it was enough for me to see all of it. My steps were cautiously slow as I walked deeper in. It was like I couldn't stop myself from taking every inch of this broken mess.

All the sculptures Remi and I had spent hours searching and choosing were broken into so many pieces. Even the ones that took us months to get our hands on were broken to destruction. The few massive crystal pieces of amethyst were shattered on the ground, broken into irreversible pieces. Her books were torn in half by the spines, the shelf thrown across the floor.

Our desks between the living room area and the kitchen were wiped clean. All our things from the top were now on the floor as well. The candle I received and never lit was now melted to where the wick was no longer there.

The paintings worth thousands of dollars were ripped down into shreds.
Even our coffee table was smashed into small tiny glass pieces. Our couches were torn with the stuffing oozing out of the cuts across the cushions.

Our massive TV that sits in the middle wasn't destroyed but it wasn't untouched either. The words 'FOUND YOU' were written in jagged letters messily across the smooth screen. Seeing it scared me for multiple reasons but especially because it looked like dried-up blood.

The wall-length windows behind were covered by the drapes and were slightly pushed apart to fill the room with light but on the glass, I see more red. Grabbing one end I drag it to the side all the way down.

Hearts and red smiley faces were spray painted across the windows in dozens. Only they weren't normal smiley faces, the eyes were replaced by crosses like the letter X. The hearts weren't perfect and shared unique, personal touches in every single heart. Not everyone draws the shape the same and I only know one person that draws theirs like this.

I can't deny it anymore.

I collapsed on the ground, ready for hell to open up and swallow me whole. There's glass below my knees and I feel it piercing my skin but I didn't have the ability to get off right now. My body leans forward, my strength giving out completely and I just cry.

Everything I'd been bottling up was all the ingredients for a perfect explosion and this was the last thing needed. That bottle explodes and there's nothing to lessen the damage. My throat aches as I screamed through the pain, fingers tight in my hair with my skull ache.

I don't know how long I stayed there, leaning over myself with my hands propped on my lap, elbows digging into my skin with my fingers through my messy hair. How can I fix all of this? I don't want to be here anymore. I'm not strong enough to go further.

Long after I stopped crying, I still hadn't moved. Pounding against the door is what takes my head out of my hands and I stare at it. "Esrin! Are you in there? I don't have my keys!" The familiar voice of my best friend and roommate shouts from behind the door.

I blink repeatedly, realising that this was real. Crap. I fixed my hair the best I could and used the bottom of my top to wipe my sensitive wet face. It's easy to wipe the tears away but it's not easy to erase the stain it leaves on my reddened cheeks or the puffy mess it causes.

My legs shake as I stand up and began to walk. When I opened the door, I don't see Remi. No, my eyes fall on Harry's first. On this rare occasion, he lets me see the confusion mixing with all the emotions behind his eyes as he takes in my face, then drops his eyes to see if the rest of me was just as bad.

His jaw clenches when he noticed the blood running down my foot from the cuts on my knees. I don't even feel the pain of it. "Who did this to you?" I can barely hear his voice, all I notice was the anger laced in them.

"Esrin?" Remi tries when I don't respond, who is standing beside him in the same close she slept in. I kept my eyes on Harry a little longer because if I looked at her, keeping myself together in front of her would be much more difficult.

No choice by now, I look at her. "I didn't do it, I didn't do it," I say with my eyes pleading at Remi. Her eyebrows, one of them had a ring through its furrows.
Immediately thrown into concern, she barges into the apartment and then I'm left with Harry. He too barely looks at me again and then rushes inside, following his friend.

"What the fuck," every emphasis applied to every word and hearing it made me flinch. "I found it like this. I-" I had nothing more to say, all I could've if I opened my mouth was cry oceans so I kept my lips shut.

"Someone broke in?" There's so much pain and sorrow in her eyes and suddenly it's like that ocean of guilt raging inside me has shoved me a thousand feet under. "Who would do something like this?" I don't reply even though I knew the answer.

I didn't do this, I shouldn't feel guilty.

But it's still my fault.

"That's blood," Remi states pointing at the TV. From the number of times, she's seen and dealt with blood during crime scenes, I wouldn't doubt her.

"It's like a tornado went through here," she comments, still taking in everything. She's stronger than I was when I'd first come in here. "Was anything valuable taken?" Harry finally says something. I look up at his cold eyes. "They weren't taken. They were broken," I softly say.

Then, his question hits me.
Wait, wait. There's one thing. Pure dread seeps in and I can feel my heart twisting in my chest at the thought. I turned around and bolted towards the kitchen.

"No! Don't touch anything," Remi shouts at me and of course, I don't listen. The drawers from the kitchen cabinets pulled open, and the doors ripped off their hinges. The tulips were scattered in a pool of water in the kitchen, shards of glass around from the broken vase.

I ran into the kitchen, pushing everything aside so I can make it through. Rushing to the broken cabinets, I push the broken door away and looked at the place it was always at. Like a beautiful lotus submerging through murky waters, my Chip cup sits perfectly unharmed.

"Thank god," I whispered, clutching the silly cup so hard to my chest. I looked around the kitchen, realizing some of our plates were thrown to the floor and broken but the majority of our dishes and cutlery were unharmed.

Using my forearm to sweep the remains of a broken glass cup off the countertop and into the floor, I winced when one of them cuts my skin a little. "Fuck's sake, Esrin," Harry mutters from where he and Remi were studying me. I placed my cup down on the cleared space and walked back to them.

My eyes go to the stairs. "I haven't been up there," I say and now I wanted to. Along the entire hand railing of our staircase that leads upstairs, it is coated in red. That only meant that upstairs could be no better than downstairs.

I go. Needing to see it. Needing to see what more I caused. "Esrin, don't!" Harry shouts after me. I don't listen, I kept climbing up the stairs. Careful, as if it might break around me just like everything else.

Along the way leading to our bedrooms and the guest bathroom, we had more paintings and sculptures on stands that were ruined the same way as the others. 

Entering my room, it's destroyed too. The sheets, bedding and blanket of my bed were torn off and thrown to the ground. Pages of my notes that were neatly on my desk flew across the room, my lamp too on the floor. I walked into my closet, some of the clothes were off the hangers and some drawers were thrown open but thankfully, nothing looked ruined.

Before entering my bathroom, I could already see the drawers of the vanity pulled open. Someone definitely rummaged through everything they could've gotten his hands on.

Some of my lipsticks were still intact. Two of them were ruined, used to write on the mirrors.

'Your turn'

I stuttered back, walking out of the bathroom. Remi rushes in to understand what I saw in there but she wouldn't understand it. Not like I did. I knew what it meant.

Even though I didn't let myself get too attached to this place, this still stung. If that wasn't already obvious. There are not many pieces of me here but all of the physical things that had mental memories attached to them were broken.

"I need to get my team here, now," Remi decides, having enough of this. I know her, I know she'll work nonstop to find out every bit of information she can about the culprit. She won't stop unless someone can pay for it.

"Harry, can you take her away from all of this?" Remi's voice is soft. Or maybe she's right here and I'm just so zoned out that I barely hear her. When Remi walks in front of me and I'm no longer looking at the destruction, I feel a crack in the dam wall.

She didn't deserve any of this. Just because we shared a home, she had to face all of this even though she didn't earn any of it. "Do you know who could've done this?" Remi asks and my nails were digging into my palms again. "No," I lied without even thinking about it. I can't do this.

"Can you contact your dad? We'll need all the footage while we were gone. There has to be something," she says, proving to me that she didn't know my father didn't own this place anymore. I only nodded, not having the Will power to voice another lie.

The look in her eyes is one of defeat. I hated seeing it. She sighs and then starts to walk away and I don't know when I'll see her again. I grabbed Remi's hand before she could left. "Don't let anyone find out about this. Please. They can't," I begged.

She nods her head. "They won't. The quieter, the easier to catch the son of a bitch that did this," Remi says and I visibly relaxed. The front door shuts and it's the same as it always does but this time it feels so much more different.

I'm nearly alone again and I barely can keep it together. It's like Remi took some of the control away when she left just now. I feel another wave of overpowering sadness creeping in. My hands are shaking from how hard I'm fisting them, even my teeth are shaking from how hard I've been trying to keep in the sob.

"Come here," his voice is soothingly soft, laced with so many emotions. Harry doesn't even give me an opportunity to because he's wrapping his hand around my shoulders and tugging me into his comforting chest, his hand sliding into my messy curls to hold me to him.

As much as I didn't want his comfort, I needed it. This one I couldn't hold back. Earlier, I had stopped crying and thought that was the end of it. Thought I couldn't possibly produce any more and right now I'm proven wrong. I'm holding onto Harry so hard, crying way more than I had when I was alone.

My fingers fisted his clothes, keeping us inseparably close so that maybe I was trying to mould us into one. If he can hide me against all of this. I will rather be suffocated, kidnapped and waterboarded than experience this and what's about to come.

They found me. The life that I built because of them will now be ruined because of them too.

"I can't do this," I cried, fisting the back of his shirt in my tight fists while my tears soaked the front of it. "Yes you can and you will," Harry denies and somehow it feels like I can breathe clearer now.

At some point, my tears stained my cheeks and I only sniffled now and then. My hold on Harry lessened into something more comfortable. I didn't know when he started but eventually, he was rocking us side to side.

"Let's get away from here," he says and they're the perfect words ever. I want them to mean that I can escape from my life and all of the chains of mistakes and sins on me.

I was quiet for the ride. I knew I didn't need to pretend to have the energy. I can just be there and that was enough for Harry. The rest of it feels like a blur if I'm honest. I don't remember the streets on the way, I don't remember what was playing on the radio or the feel of being in his car again.

Harry secures his car and we enter the house using the door connected to his garage after he unlocks the millions of locks he has. I'm mostly dragging along, drained. Harry's house is in one piece.

His hand remains on my shoulder. I've never seen him show so much of his old self as he has today. Harry sits me down on the couch and leaves. I have to urge to tell him to stay. Seconds later he returns with a cold bottle of water. He opens it and then tells me to," drink."

Harry sits down closely next to me and I appreciate it. I didn't realise how much I really needed water until I was chugging down the water. When I'm done, he takes the water and places it on his coffee table. That is in one piece, mine is currently in a million.

"You should get some rest. You barely got a good night's sleep and today..." Harry trails off, not wanting to say the words of how much of a mess today made me. "You're probably exhausted," he says and I feel his fingers playing with the ends of my hair.

My head falls on his shoulder, not having the energy to fight it. One moment, my eyes are open and staring around his house and the next they're closed and it's hard to open them again. "I missed you," I whispered with my hand on his forearm. Harry held me, protecting me from anyone and anything while I was in such a vulnerable state. Harry held me, letting me know that I wasn't alone, he was there.

When I'm awake, I'm no longer on the couch. I'm laying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Pillowcases that matched the matcha green duvet with white sheets on a four-poster bed with corner post canopy bed curtains. Rolling to the end and then sliding my feet off so I'm in a sitting position, I touch the fluffy material of a matcha green mat.

I feel revived and refreshed but still I feel the presence of the grey cloud hovering over my head.

I walked outside missing my slippers and it made me feel even sadder. I find Harry instantly. Leaning against the kitchen countertop with his phone in one hand and a candy wrapper in the other. His eyes are on me without having to make myself known and then he drops both items and stands straight.

"This is yours," he mummers and then carefully places a cup- my Chip cup- filled with steamy tea near me. I barely remember much after Remi left, I don't know how this cup is here but I assume Harry picked it up.

I didn't know how he knew that I needed it. Or that I'd crave tea right now.  don't know what time it is but it definitely isn't a usual hour for tea but who cares.

"Thank you," I whispered, wrapping both hands around it and bringing it to my lips. I know I should be precautious, he could've drugged it or something but I couldn't help myself and I didn't care.

Did you know that trying to be smart all of the time gets tiring? And very quickly so. I'm tired of making so many decisions for the best possible future. I still regret so much. I still could've done so much better for a better outcome so what truly was the point of all that I've done? All that I'm doing. Or maybe I'm the problem.

"Remi says no one is allowed to enter the penthouse. She'll bring over whatever wasn't destroyed," he fills me in and walks around the counter so now he's closer to me. I can feel his eyes studying me for a reaction as he says it. Whatever wasn't destroyed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did that," I softly say, peering down into the cup. "But you know I didn't," Harry points out. Then I feel his hand under my chin, tipping my head up to stare into those curious green eyes. "So does that mean you know who did?" He wonders.

"No," I say and he shakes his head a little. "Second time you lied about that," he noted, dropping his hand and then he returns to the other end of the kitchen to lean against the L-shaped countertop. I remain quiet, now wishing that I didn't leave the room so soon.

"You give me shit about what Remi would do if she finds out who I am but what about you?" Harry points out and I hate how right he is. It scares me so much that I'll try every single thing to prevent it.

"I'm not ready, Harry. Not yet," I confessed, shutting my eyes to gather my thoughts and compose myself. "I need reassurance all of the time. The scales must be balanced for me all of the time and if I tell you then it won't be," I continued.

"How can I balance it?" my eyes opened and I see the hard edges of Harry chipping away to show the softness inside. Today I've seen so much of the Harry I spent my childhood with, so much that if I think about it too much, I'd cry. He's still in there somewhere.

There are so many layers to Harry Styles that I want to peel them all away. At what cost? Now I learn that there is a cost. A cost to keep going layer after layer. I can't conceal all of myself and want to expose all of him. It must be equal, a balance and I'm sure neither of us like that.

"Why do you wear the mask?" my voice is soft as I ask because it's a far reach to get it out of him. However, today I fell face-first to rock bottom so I don't have much to lose. Harry sighs out loud, his hand lifting to run over his face. "How could you ask me that if you won't do the same?"

"I will, if you tell me this then we'll be balanced," I ask him right away. As he fidgets around slightly, I see the hesitation and contemplation that he feels through his eyes and movements.

"What you read online wasn't the full story," Harry starts. He takes a deep breath and then a long sigh before continuing," a few years ago, my family and I were sleeping peacefully when they broke in at every entrance of my home. They took him and left us."

"They went about their lives after my family's were cut and nobody did anything about it. When I asked the officers for information about the investigation they said what investigation? If they weren't doing something about it then somebody had to."

"So this is about revenge?" I ask. Harry nods his head. "It's justice and revenge depending on how you look at it," he answers. "I don't need you to say how wrong or fucked up this is. Nothing you say can stop me even if you try your hardest. I will find a way," he insists, I see the determination all over him.

"If they don't pay, Rin I will go mad. Every single day, it replays in my head." My heart sinks and breaks all at the same time when he says quieter than ever," you know how important family is to me."

"So with that being said, this between us is...." Harry attempts to say. Then his eyes flickered up, the storm is rough in the greens of them. "After today, if I find out that you had any part of it then I swear to you, you'll have it worse than the rest of them."

"I know, Harry. You've told me a million times and-"

"I'm serious, Rin," Harry insists, cutting me off. It takes one nod for his tense shoulders to relax a bit. He can ever find out.

"I would've understood if you told me the truth from the beginning, Harry. You didn't have to go about it like that," I softly say. Hurt me like that. "I do crazy things for the people I care about," Harry admits and I don't doubt it for a second.

Then he's walking closer, leaning on the top with his elbows. "I didn't want you to try and convince me I should stop because..." the rest of the sentence remains blank as he never finishes it. He's just looking at his hands that are interlocked laid between us. I take mine off my lap and open his hand almost like he did at the beach house and interlocked our fingers.

"I won't. You won't let me and I know that," I say. My thumb ran across his knuckles. Then Harry composes himself, taking his hands away from mine as he stands up straight and they fall to his sides.

"Back to the point. Balance the scale now, Esrin."

"My ex-boyfriend wasn't a lovely guy," I announced, remembering that night in particular even though so many more built up to it. "His house burnt down one night and his mother blames it on me," I summarized even though it was much more than that. Just like Harry did when I'm sure.

Harry tried to remain composed though the one question he asks gives him away. "What's their names?" His voice is scarily calm even though his eyes are filled with cold chaos. I ignored him and went on because I don't plan on answering his question. "They destroyed my home just like they think I did with theirs. The 'found you'...I left soon after the rumours made their way around town for orientation. They think I ran."

Harry stands and then his back is facing me. One hand on his hip, the other raking his fingers through his hair. "It's just a big misunderstanding. I didn't explain myself and this is what I get," I added.

"I can't fucking-" His nostrils are slightly flared, anger tugging his eyebrows closer when he spins around again. "What are their names, Rin?" every time he uses that shortened version of my name it throws me off a little.

Instead of answering again, I just stare at him. "You didn't know? Honestly," I wondered. Harry already knows a lot about my life without me even telling him. I'm genuinely surprised that he didn't know about this but I'm also very, very happy.

"No. Honest. I wish I did," Harry says and I believed him. "Tell me their names," he goes back to that topic quickly. "You're fucking Death Hood, you could figure it out yourself," I replied out of irritation. Harry doesn't deny it.

"Do I know him then?" Harry tries. Our town was small. I vaguely remember him and Harry chatting about projects together in the cafeteria during lunch before Harry would make his way to me.

"Yes," I answered. I wanted to know why he cared. I'm not oblivious enough to deny that he doesn't because he's showing it right now. I've had so many people in my life not care.

"I'll figure it out," Harry says and I don't doubt it. Hopefully, before that happens I get a chance to somehow contain all of this. My mind runs back to Harry's family. I wanted to know every detail about all of them. Whoever is listening to my thoughts knows that even years and years after we said goodbye, I always thought about his new life.

"Can you tell me about them? Your family," I ask Harry. There's contemplation in his slightly narrowed eyes and then he hesitantly nods his head. His eyes fall to our hands again, tightening his fingers between mine. "Every time my mom made me smile you know what I always thought?" He whispers. I shake my head a little.

"Rin would've liked her."

I want to hug him again. Maybe kiss him too.

I'm thankful he doesn't tell me about his dad because I don't know if I would be able to keep my family's secrets in the closet if he did.

"I wish I had the chance to meet her. To meet them. Wish we kept in contact after..." everything would have been so different. We wouldn't have ended up like this. My life went to shit after Harry left. If he stayed in it maybe it would've been better for me.

"Me too."

Harry's phone rings from the side of him where he abandoned it. The screen awakens, and Niall's name flashes across the screen. "Shit, he was supposed to come over today," he recalls and using his other, he cancels the call.

Then we hear a car come to a stop in Harry's front yard. We saw it coming, and only a few seconds after, footsteps are running up his porch followed by three knocks on his front door. "Let me in fucker!" I shut my eyes, mentally cursing when I hear that Irish accent.

"I can tell him to go away," Harry says and then he's walking to the door. I don't turn around to watch, I just stand and wait. The door opens and I hear them talking. How long does it take to tell him to go away?

"Just two minutes," I hear Niall say clearly and then I hear his footsteps walking into the house. I spun around, locking eyes with him already. I knew I was still in a vulnerable state when Niall's eyes reminded me too much of someone who destroyed me.

"Shit, Esrin I'm sorry," Niall blurts out, looking at me with pitied eyes. He knows, great. "Fuck off, Niall," I snapped, not buying it for a second. "No need to be a bitch, I'm just being sincere," he scoffs, rolling his crystal eyes.

"Niall," Harry says firmly with a tone I recognized as a warning. His eyes snapped to him in a glare. "You've called her worse, mate," he defends. I'm not surprised about that. "Now isn't the time," is all Harry says.

"Remove him or I'll send a knife through him," I threatened. Right next to me was a beautiful knife set. Starting with the smallest end and ending with the largest. "She's probably not joking about that," Harry says.

Amusement fills his eyes, the corner of his mouth tugging up in a smirk. "Yeah? Let's see," Niall is all smug about it with his arms crossed on his chest. My dad taught me this one too.

I grabbed the largest knife from the set and I don't aim for too long. Not wanting to try and commit murder again, I aimed right above where I initially wanted it to be. The knife flies through the air and lands right above his head, cutting a brown curl off the top.

His mouth drops open as his jaw unhinges. "You needed a little trim," I say and probably for the first time today, I smiled. Niall turns around with shocked eyes staring at the knife in the wall. "Shit. She's good," he comments.

I grabbed the other knife. "Get out," I demanded holding the handle tightly with the tip aimed at him. Niall huffs, then turns around to grab hold of the knife and pulls it out of the wall and he takes his hair with him as he walks out of the house.

Alone again, my eyes are on Harry and there's a pleased smile on his face. He walks closer to me and the countertop is pressing into my back when his hands fall at the sides of me, caging me in but I don't feel trapped.

My eyes are drawn to the rings around most of his fingers then trailing up to the tattoos that take up most residency along his entire arm.

"I wanted to be there when you got there," I whispered, my fingers lightly running along them. "I know," he replies and I wondered if he remembers all the times he gushed to me about the tattoos he wanted one day.

I look up at him and this moment is what it takes for me to realise we've never shared a sober kiss. Screw it, honestly.

"Can I borrow a kiss?" I wondered. My heart flutters at the way a smile appears on his face, his dimples bracketing his smile," hmm...thought you'd never ask." He holds my chin, my hands at his waist over his shirt. I wanted to slide my hands under to feel his bare skin.

"Remi will be home soon," Harry whispers, his nose tracing along the slope of mine. "So hurry up and kiss me," I say, cringing at how desperate I sounded but Harry doesn't seem to mind it. "Do you promise to give one back?" My heart tightens.

"Heart promise."

Harry pulls back an inch or two, pure disbelief written all over his face. His bright eyes flickered back and forth between mine, his lips slightly parted. I'm smiling. Actually smiling. "Fuck," is all he says but his actions are much louder.

His hands still holding my face pulls me closer and his lips crashed down on mine. Only for a second, it's intense but then Harry kisses me soft and slow, taking his time previously and I revel in every single moment. He holds me softly and draws me in closer.

Exactly what I needed.

"This isn't us," Harry whispers when we parted for air. I agreed completely yet it wasn't enough to make either of us pull away. Pointing that out wasn't enough to stop him from pecking my lips again either. And again, and again, and again.

I hate how right this feels. After everything, we've been through. Well, it isn't real right? This is just a part of a plan. That thought was enough for me to slide away from him.

Harry and I behave ourselves for all of the ten minutes until Remi came over. I finished my tea that I'd abandoned and had just finished washing the cup when Harry walked to open the door for her. I shake my head, watching him while drying my hands unlocking every lock individually.

Remi comes through the door and I straightened my back. She magnets towards me and I to her. My tired arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling us together. I don't know why I was feeling emotional again. I try not to cry in her arms but I hugged her back with all that I got because I knew she needed it.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," she says, sounding so sure about it. I don't want her to find out the truth about this. "I know you will," I replied with a small smile even though I wish she wouldn't. When we pull away, she doesn't let go of me completely, leaving her hand on my shoulder.

"Did Harry tell you? We were trying to call you for an hour and got worried when you didn't. That's why we bolted down there, thank God we did," Remi explains. It takes me this long to realize that I didn't know how or why Remi and Harry showed up. "I..." I tried to formulate a response but my mind was blank.

I was too busy breaking down in the middle of our home to answer any calls.

"It's okay, I understand," she sympathizes. "We'll be staying here for a while, Harry is the only one I trust enough and he has the space," she states and I guess I already figured that out. I had mixed emotions about the idea. "I don't want to intrude. I'm sure Louis or-"  I began and was not able to finish.

"No, it's fine. I think it's safer for you both to stay together. I'm sure Remi wants to watch over you as well," Harry cuts me off quickly. "I've got two guest rooms but one of them is a bit occupied right now. I clear it out for tomorrow but tonight, one of you can crash in my room. I'll take the couch," he continues.

"Oh, it's fine Harry. We can sleep on one bed. We've done it before," Remi brushes off with a little shoulder shrug as well. I can't tell if she meant me and her or Harry and her. The idea of the second option has me looking away before Remi could ever see the obvious annoyance on my face.

She likes him. My best friend likes Harry. Why do I keep forgetting that every time?

"Alright."

Thank you for reading<3 let me know your thoughts! I'll admit I'm a little scared to hear them though 🙈 (but please just trust the process here)
okay byeee:)