Lightweight

Chapter Eleven

Annie put her face in her hands and cried one last, exhausted sob. Her strength had been completely drained and her throat was burning and sore. She didn't know how long she sat there and watched the black water of the ocean roll in and out; undisturbed and unchanging every time but it must have been a while because the sun was threatening to peek just over the horizon at any moment. She didn't want to move, to leave the sanctuary and closure the roof had provided her. Did she even have to? Where did she have to be? Nobody was looking for her, she could stay up her as long as she liked.

The door creaked and somebody walked across the rooftop to her direction. Under normal circumstances, Annie's head would have snapped towards the source of the sound and the person approaching but she just didn't care anymore. They sat down next to her and looked out at the ocean in silence. Finally, Annie tore her eyes away from the water to see who it was sitting next to her. It was Liam.

Annie tried to ignore his obvious presence but eventually she caved in. "What do you want?" she spat.

"I'm guessing you heard the interview," Liam ignored her question and continued to stare at the ocean.

"Oh? The interview where Niall said I was nothing? That interview?" Annie expectorated.

"You know he didn't mean it," Liam rebutted.

"Don't you dare defend him. He called me nothing. Nothing," her voice cracked at the last word.

"Annie, you have to believe me when I say that he didn't mean it," Liam pleaded, finally turning to look at her. His eyes were worried and tired, the stress he was going through displaying itself on his features.

"I don't have to do anything for you, or him for that matter," Annie said coldly.

"You have no idea what is going on," Liam replied, his dark words hitting on something deeper than he meant to reveal to Annie. She looked at him, a good hard, long look at the boy who sat before her. His eyes has darkened and his face hardened, jaw clenched and lips tight. Something was going on.

"Then fucking tell me," Annie said, "I don't want to be a part in any kind of game. So tell me now or leave me alone. I can't be put through things like this and you know it."

"I know, Annie," Liam sighed, "I'm so sorry. I thought we were past all of this bullshit."

"What is going on?" Annie demanded, tired of Liam's mysteriously ominous answers.

"It's out management team," Liam finally said after a clear bout of an internal struggle, "They found out about you and Niall just like the rest of the world from that interview and they aren't happy about it. I thought we were past them trying to run our lives and trying to assert a say over who we date and what we do. I guess I was wrong."

"What does that even mean?" Annie asked, beyond confused.

"Long story short: our management team doesn't like you and Niall together and they usually get their way. They seem to think that they own us and never let us forget it," Liam said, sadness lacing his voice.

"Well, is that it then?" Annie asked, holding back the tears again.

"Are you kidding me?" Liam asked, "Niall has been fighting with them all day. He usually just goes with what they tell him because he sees what Louis and the rest of us have to go through but he isn't giving in on this one. He isn't giving up on you."

"But you said they always get their way, Liam," Annie reminded.

"Yeah, they usually do. But do you honestly think that Niall is just going to stop seeing you because a guy in a suit tells him to? Niall really likes you and I know you feel the same about him. They aren't going to win this one," Liam said, harshly, as if he was speaking to his management team instead of Annie.