Lockdown | Harry Styles | AU

Chapter 12

The backseat was spacious. The leather seats heated. The air inside the car so warm and inviting that it enveloped Aubrey's body like a comforting hug.

Once she clicked her seatbelt on, she almost immediately melted into her chair, a small puff of satisfaction leaving her pursed lips.

"There's a towel on the seat next to you." The driver told Aubrey once he slipped back into the car after he had put her suitcase in to the boot.

"Thank you." Aubrey breathed rather dramatically when she spotted the small baby blue towel next to her, utter happiness and relief at the small gesture flooding inside her chest.

The driver flashed her a kind smile in the mirror before he shook the rain off his suit jacket and buckled himself in, moving his concentration to the road ahead of him as he started the engine and set off.

Aubrey's hands quickly grasped the towel, using it to wipe her wet face and running it through the ends of her soaking hair. The fluffy texture and gentle cotton smell making her sigh as it soothed her senses.

Aubrey's phone sat in her lap, beaded with water as she looked out the window. The heavy rain skimming against the glass, the scenery just a cluster of passing buildings cloaked in a dull grey atmosphere.

Aubrey's thoughts couldn't help but drift to the last time she was sat in this car, in this very seat. Harry by her side, both of them wet and a little drunk, tension fizzling in the air.

Oh how different she felt then compared to now.

Her spirit and confidence currently crushed, her emotions on the brink of exploding, a helpless vulnerability squeezing her chest. Instead of feeling flirty and lighthearted, bold and certain, she just felt so... incapable. She felt insecure and needy. Her tail set firmly between her legs as she headed towards wherever Harry was, in his fancy expensive car, with his own private driver.

She barely even knew him, really. They had only met a couple of times, and Aubrey had completely avoided him since their last encounter.

Where they had kissed. Where Harry had seen her half dressed. Where Aubrey rejected him.

The very idea of Harry now seeing her in this mess made Aubrey quiver with intimidation.

It made her want to cry.

She felt utterly pathetic that Harry was the only person she could turn to, and she could just imagine his stupid smug face making her aware of the power and wealth he had as she stood in front of him like a drowned rat.

Yes, she did barely knew him. But she knew how arrogant he was, which was right down to his fucking bones.

***

After another 30 minutes of driving, they had arrived.

And Aubrey could finally stop torturing herself.

She could stop going through all the different scenarios in her head. She could stop brimming with worry, because it was happening.

She was about to see Harry again.

Looking like fucking shit.

But before Aubrey could even grab hold of the handle to open the car door, the driver had already swung the door open for her. His friendly face greeting her as he winced slightly when the howling wind blew the rain practically horizontal, his gloved hand clutching a large black umbrella open.

Aubrey smiled nervously at him before stepping her already soaked converse out of the car. The wet ground beneath damp and puddled, her feet squelching as she shifted under the umbrella for cover, clutching her coat tighter around her as the cold bit at her body.