as it is || harry styles au

thirty-one

tw // sexual assault

i v o r y

     "Hey, I just real-sized that you and Harry Potter have the same name!" Jamie exclaimed from the backseat a little too loudly, in too little of a space, and a bit too early in the morning.

     Harry and I woke up at the ripe hour of seven-thirty in the morning thanks to my phone ringing. It was a call from Erica letting me know Jamie was ready to come home, saying he wanted to hang out with his family. So, Harry and I quickly got up, brushed our teeth, and dressed in last night's clothes. I shot Em, Mick, and Jenna a text even though I didn't think they'd be waking up for another couple hours or so.

     "That we do." Harry's voice was extra deep and gravelly this morning. Every so often I'd get an extra dirty thought which would have me squirming in my seat. Harry moved his arm across the center console and laid a hand on my upper thigh.

"Are you named after him?" Jamie asked next.

     "I've never thought about that, bub. I don't believe so, but we'll have to ask my mum."

     "Yeah, I'll ask Annie. Are we going home?"

     "We are," I answered. "Zizi Em, Auntie Jenna, and Uncle Mick are still sleeping, but they'll come over later. Maybe we can convince them to go ice skating."

"Momma, I don't really wanna go ice skating."

"Well, we can do whatever you want to do. They have three more days here before they go back to Boston."

     "Are we going to Harry's home, Gigi's home, or our home?"

     "Our home."

     I was nervous that Jamie would be scared to go to Harry's place. I hated the thought of him being traumatized by that night.

     It got me thinking about the text exchange I'd had this morning while hiding in the bathroom. Hiding because I didn't want Harry to know about it.

     Lance Brewer: January 2nd @ 11:00 am. My office here in Boston.

>>> Not your office. Somewhere public.

     Lance Brewer: The intent is privacy.

>>> It doesn't have to be fucking Fenway Park. A small coffee shop or something would suffice. I'll even wear a wig and glasses for you.

Lance Brewer: Funny. We'll do the cafe next to my office. I don't think I need to remind you to come alone.

>>> You don't.

>>> And fuck you again.

Lance Brewer: Have a good day, Ms. Henderson.

I booked a red eye flight for late New Years Day. I just needed an excuse to not only head out of town, but to go to Boston. I had an idea, but I hated lying to the people I loved.

Jamie went straight to his room to work on the puzzles he got for Christmas. Harry started making coffee, and I tidied up the living room some more. It typically took at least a week to recover from Christmas Day, but the trash was all gone and Jamie's toys he left out were piled under the tree. The next step was taking down the tree and lights, but I liked to wait until the new year to do that.