Free Fall (Harry Styles)

Chapter Three

N/A: alright guys this is gonna be a long one (well the longest so far) but I wanted to give some TRIGGER WARNINGS. This chapter includes mentions of toxic relationships, physical domestic abuse, some mental abuse, and alludes to sexual abuse. Please, please, please take care of yourself; your mental health comes first. 

Despite the absolutely bizarre encounter I had with one Mr. Harry Styles, my day continues on as usual. As normal as it can be with the ever-looming threat of knowing I have to face Oliver after work. I remember when I first saw Oliver. He was boyishly handsome and had this aura about him. His tall frame, dirty blonde hair with highlights as if he spent all his time in the sun, and his big blue eyes that had once seemed so inviting. The moment I saw him, I was entranced, and it seemed as though he felt the same. The first week of class together was like a game of cat and mouse: both of us discreetly playing to get the other's attention. I would sit in the front, and he would sit two seats down. The next class, I would change it up and sit in the back, just to see if he would follow. This continued, until one day, after a particularly boring class where we were informed that we would have an exam in two weeks, Oliver approached me. He had asked if I wanted to study for the upcoming exam, despite him having no idea whether or not I was even a good student. And just like that, the cat had successfully lured the mouse into his trap.

Don't get me wrong, the first few months, even the first year, with Oliver were good. In the beginning, he elicited these giddy, school-girl-like feelings within me. I found myself blushing and giggling when he would text me silly sweet nothings. My heart rate would increase every time he would reach over to grab my textbook during our study sessions. It started off sickly sweet and innocent. And that's how it went for a while. I was the innocent American girl, here to study and reinvent myself, and Oliver was his father's son, a boy from a prestigious family who was expected to inherit his family's business. A truly classic pair. As long as I fit the mold he had expected me to fit, things were fine. When I first mentioned taking a break from school, it almost excited Oliver. His mind immediately went to me becoming a version of his mother: a woman with limited options who would inevitably be stuck with him and would have to rely on him and cater to him, a dotting and loving housewife. Not that there was anything wrong with this, not at all. I respect women who run their households; that in and of itself is a full-time job. What I didn't like nor respect was his excitement at the idea that if I entirely dropped out of college, my options would be limited if I were ever to leave him. My lack of a college degree, which again, by itself is not a bad thing in the slightest, was something he saw as a means of power, something he could hold against me and use to permanently bind me to him.

Although my initial decision to take an academic hiatus pleased Oliver, when I began making plans to branch out and make a life for myself outside of our relationship is when his attitude toward the situation shifted. I remember the day I had told him I had been toying with the idea of moving to London with my best friend, Marley, a senior who was set to graduate at the end of the semester. Marley, my first and best friend that I had made in my short time at Oxford, was larger-than-life. She's a natural leader and exudes confidence in everything she does. Marley has this infectious zest for life, and has this inexplicable energy that makes even just her presence a comfort. Marley and I met right before I met Oliver; she noticed me, a doe-eyed, and clearly out-of-place freshman, looking for a place to set up camp in the library to go over the pages of syllabuses given to me by my professors. Sensing my nervousness, Marley flagged me down and offered me a seat at her table. Since then, we have been inseparable. Despite being a force of nature and the life of the party, Marley is incredibly thoughtful and perceptive; she is like the older sister I never had. If I have an issue, she is the first to offer comfort and help. Although she is a free spirit, Marley is fiercely loyal to me and has never made me doubt our friendship and her love for me.