Golden || H.S. ||

Chapter 31

A knock on the door halts me in place on the floor with my tearstained face still wet and probably flushed. I have no clue how much time has passed since he left.

Is he back?

The excitement I feel by that thought is confusing, because I know we can't be together. Even if we both want to be, it's just not feasible. And to be honest, I don't even know if he wants to be with me anymore after seeing Zayn's text. I rub my temples, then start to stand up so I can answer the door. After opening it, I'm surprised and a little disappointed that it's Gia on the other side and not Harry. Wiping my eyes, I solemnly ask, "Hey. What are you doing here? It's early."

In her pale blue scrubs, she steps forward so that I'll back up and let her in while she says, "I know, I was about to head to the office, but I got a call from Harry." I close my eyes and sigh, then slowly turn around and make my way to the couch, assuming she'll follow me. After we both sit, she looks at me with genuine concern in her eyes. "You okay?"

I'm already feeling choked up, so before I go through the whole thing all over again, I decide to try to figure out what she knows so far. I nod and then ask, "What did he say on the phone?"

Leaning back comfortably and angling her body towards mine she says, "He just called and said, 'She needs you,' and then hung up. I knew the only person he could be talking about was you. I tried to call him back, but he was sending me to voicemail. Then I tried to call you, but you didn't answer either, so I came over."

"Oh, sorry... I didn't hear my phone ringing." I wipe my face with my hands, doing whatever I can to get away from this feeling.

We're quiet for a moment, then she breaks the silence and says in a generally soft tone compared to her normal voice, "So what happened?"

Staring down at my hands on my lap as I mess with my fingers, I say through my collapsing throat, "We ended it. We're done."

Her gasp is small, but enough to make me look up at her with my watery eyes. "What? Why?" she asks.

My face scrunches up as I take a deep, uneven breath. "He's engaged, Gia. He has been this whole time."

She gasps again, louder this time, and with more of a shocked look on her face than before. "You're lying..." I shake my head no, and cough out my next round of sobs. She pulls me in for a tight hug, rubbing my back and scratching my scalp with her fingers in my hair. "I'm so sorry. That fucking stupid ass boy... what's wrong with him?"

     I shrug, crying into her shoulder. I want to defend him to her, but I can't come up with a valid reason for why he would keep this from me. Actually... yes I can. "He didn't want me to leave, that's why he kept it a secret. Because he struggles with being abandoned, I think." Before I keep going and give out too much of his personal information without his permission, I pull back out of her grip and look at her as I sniffle and calm myself down. "How much do you know about his mom?"

     "Not much, but I kinda read between the lines a little when he went on and on about his dad and his grandparents that night we played that game. Figured she wasn't around much if he didn't bring her up." I just nod, choosing to shut that down. It's not my story to tell. She changes direction after we sit quiet for a minute. "How did you find out?"

     Sighing again, I rub my face with my palms before starting. "After you left the boutique yesterday, his fiancée showed up with her brother. I knew who she was because I saw him with her at the HALL a few weeks back, but I didn't know that they were together then. I had a hunch that something was up with them though, I should've trusted my gut. But when I asked him about it that night, he wanted privacy, so I gave it to him because he was giving me privacy with details about my own life that I wasn't ready to share yet." She nods, letting me know she's following along so far.