21 Murders | Harry Styles AU (discontinued)

XXXIX. Inclusion

inclusion (noun):  the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure

Noelle's POV

When I awake it is nearly six in the afternoon, last night's extravagant adventure with Estelle and my Nate nightmare taking away sleep that I surely made up for now.

Tiredness isn't still draining in my system, but the thought that Harry never did return to our room after our discouraging conversation is. Either that, or he came and left because he didn't want to bother waking me.

I shrug off the thought and set my feet on the floor. Voices- multiple of them- sound from the living room area along with the sound of a humming bass pressing its sound waves to the walls and floor.

A groggy frown pulls at my lips when a knock on the door is heard and Klara's head pops in seconds later. Before I can even process how to tell her to get out or ask why the hell she is here in this room, she asks, ''Can we talk?"

"If you're not going to try and come between Harry and I or sabotage our relationship, then I guess that's okay," I sneer but she doesn't looked fazed in the least, coming over and sitting too close to me on the bed Harry and I share.

"How are you feeling?" She asks, her sudden compassion almost knocking me out of my seat. Is she acting.. nice? I didn't know she knew the meaning of the word.

"Uh- good, I think. Why?"

"Harry told me about his father.."

"He did?"

A small part of me is surprised and kind of jealous that he'd share such information with her, but they are partners and she does have the right to know about her old boss leaving the country. Plus, maybe this means he has cooled down since our intense discussion.

"Yeah, I feel bad for him. I never expected Des to pull such a move."

"Why not?" I find myself curious, wiping remnants of sleep from my eyes as if it could change how I view this conversation or her. Klara being civil is enough to make me hesitant, but the topic of Des leads me on.

"Des was a proud man- very headstrong- and also loved his position," Klara shrugs, looking relieved to finally speak aloud about it. "When he announced his retirement I knew something was off. I just thought it could have been because of Harry or the strain in their relationship. I never would've made him out to be dirty like Harry told us he might be."

"Us?" I raise a brow.

"Royce and I,'' she clarifies, smoothing out the denim of her jeans with both palms.

Her nervous actions make me bite my tongue. I still dislike her strongly but the attempt she is making to be kind is helping me not release hellfire on her for all the shit she has said behind my back and about me to my face even.

"I guess you could say that he is stuck in the middle," she then adds, solemnly.

"Of a rock and a hard place? Yeah."

"No, forgiving and forgetting." Klara pauses and I consider treading deeper into the topic before I realize how uncomfortable discussing Harry's personal life with a girl he used to sleep with- and is my enemy-  would be.

"Harry is hard-headed," Klara adds, "-and stubborn in the best way. He  struggles with trust and forgiveness and right now he is battling whether or not to forgive the man that gave him some good memories, or to kick him in the ass for ever making him have to decide. Des wasn't as bad as you think- only just recently- and it pains me to say this, but I think it's time Harry lets his father go. Out of the picture, like, completely."