safe haven │ larry stylinson

89

Harry's POV

When they arrived it was already 10 AM. Louis had gone home and instead of joining him, Harry had called Jeff. They would meet Matthew Benston in the office of his lawyer an hour later. This was something Harry wanted to do as soon as possible, not letting himself think about it for too long. He wanted to know who that man was, that man who had published information about him that had been as private as it could've been. The person who was responsible for his pain - at least in a way.

"So, what's the plan?" Harry hadn't told Louis that he would meet with that man, he had simply said that he had an appointment with Jeff. He knew that Louis would't have stopped him from going there. He would've joined him and Harry had feared that he would've beaten the shit out of Benston at the first opportunity.
So now he sat in the car next to Jeff on the way to the office, feeling a little guilty that he didn't tell his boyfriend.
"There's no plan. You told me that you wanted to speak with him. We're doing that"
Harry nodded and rested his head against the window. London was cold and rainy. And he enjoyed it. Of course he loved the sun and hot weather and preferred it over rain most times. But at the same time rain reminded him of home, made him feel home.

The rain hadn't stopped when they got out of the car. Surprisingly, the paparazzi hadn't gotten wind of Harry's appointment so the three of them, Jeff, Harry and a bodyguard, could walk in without any problems. The office was - to put it into nice words - shabby. The walls weren't painted, the wallpaper was already coming off of the walls at many spots. It wasn't even an office. The two-roomed flat filled with a huge desk that was drowning in papers and files smelled dusty. The windows looked like they hadn't been cleaned in ages. In the middle of the mess, a man awaited them. He was tall and scraggy, looked older than he probably was. His suit was too big and stained by coffee.

"Oh- Mr. Styles, Mr. Azoff, I didn't expect you to be on time. Please, take a seat" He quickly shoved papers aside and pointed at two chairs next to the desk. Thanking him, they sat down. That was when Harry noticed the man - the boy sitting on a small chair in the corner of the room near the desk. He looked at him, his blue eyes wide. He was wearing plain jeans and a wrinkly shirt, his face unshaved.
"Mr. Benston was already waiting for you. Matthew?"
"H-hi" His voice sounded as horrified as he looked. Harry couldn't remember his age but he couldn't be older than twenty in his eyes. He had wanted to confront the man who had done this to him, had wanted to let Jeff talk to him. But seeing this boy sitting there made him change his whole plan.
"Jeff, Mr..."
"Asher" The lawer kindly smiled at him.
"Mr Asher, is there a possibility for you both to leave the two of us?"
Jeff looked at him as if he was crazy. "Harry, are you sure-"
"Please" He pleaded and noticed the fear in Matthew's eyes as he shifted on his seat.
"Ok. We'll just be... outside" Reluctantly Jeff followed Mr Asher out of the office, taking his bodyguard with him after Harry gave him a look, and leaving the two of them alone.
Harry turned, looking straight at the boy. Neither of them said a word for a few seconds.

"I-I'm sorry" His voice was shaking and he didn't dare to look at Harry. Matthew's eyes were focused on the floor.
"What?" Harry frowned.
"Mr. Styles, I'm sorry" He repeated, still not daring to look at him.
"I don't want your apology, Matthew- I'll just call you Matthew if that's alright. I'm Harry. But you know that. Since you leaked everything there is to know about me and my mental health" Matthew flinched when Harry raised his voice for a moment. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I just want to know why"
"I can't tell you. I'm sorry" He nearly whispered.
"Why?" Harry asked, anger in his voice.
"I can't- I'm sorry"
"Damn, Matthew. Look at me! I'm a human being. You probably give a fuck about that but I have feelings. I have a life, I have privacy. At least I had. I deserve an answer!" He exclaimed, making the boy flinch again.

"I- I know. But I can't. They'll- I can't. I'm really, truly sorry Harry" This time his eyes met Harry's and Harry frowned. There were tears in his eyes. The boy wasn't only frightened because of him. He was frightened because of someone else.
"Who are they, Matthew? What is this all about?"
"I said I can't tell you" He repeated. "I can't. I'm sorry"
"I can help you. I can protect you. Please, Matthew. This is about my life" He begged and the boy looked at him, shaking his head.
"No, no you can't. They're too big-"
"Who is too big? Talk to me" Harry went on, making him shift uncomfortably.
"If I tell you, they'll end me"
"No one will end you. I promise. Please, help me. Why did you do all of this, Matthew?" Harry asked one last time. And this time, Matthew broke his silence.

"I want to be a singer. My sister, she's two years older than me. They've already signed her. And they threatened if I don't do this- they'll kick her out. And I wouldn't stand a chance to get a good label or management, ever. I'm just a kid from downtown London, Harry. We can't even afford our rent. I had no chance- no choice- they would've stopped every kind of income we had- I had to do that. And I'm so so sorry" He explained, his voice trembling as he spoke.
"Who are they, Matthew?"
"I can't-" He whispered.
"Please. Trust me"

"The Modest! Management" The boy whispered again and Harry took a deep breath. He should've known. After everything they had done, it should've at least crossed his mind. But this was a step too far. Even for Modest!. They had stepped over the line.
"Would you mind explaining everything in detail?" He asked and Matthew nodded unsurely before telling him everything.
It was too much. They hadn't only stepped over the line, they had stepped on the law. And this time ot would have consequences.