Stockholm Syndrome

Eighteen

Harry's POV

I did it! Ava is no longer my girlfriend, she's my Fiancé! Just looking at the smile on her face means the world to me. It's one step further into our future, but it's also one step closer to my confession.

"I feel like i'm on cloud nine." Ava whispers to me as we walk, hand in hand, through the park.

"We're looking down from the clouds babe." I laugh

"Nothing could ruin this Haz," We approach a fountain and take a seat on the edge. "My life has change so much since I met you, I don't think I can picture it without you. I can't thank you enough for that." I suddenly feel a pang of guilt.

"You have nothing to thank me for, its me who should be thanking you. Thank you for being there for me throughout everything, thank you for letting me explain what the media try's to decipher. Thank you for being perfect and being mine." I reach into my coat pocket, pulling out a few loose coins, given one of them to Ava. "Make a wish babe."

"I don't need to. I've got everything I could ever wish for." She smiles

Just as I am about to speak, a voice interrupts us. "How about the truth." We both turn to see who it is, but the figure remains unknown in the shadows of the trees.

"What?" Ava asks. I have a bad feeling about this. Panic starts to set in.

"You said you've got everything you could wish for, but you don't have the truth." The figure walks forward.

"Mr Blake." I say with clenched teeth. So much for nothing could ruin this.

"What are you doing here?" Ava mumbles, gripping my hand tightly.

"I just came here to see if you really do have everything you could wish for."

"You could have picked a better time. I'm trying to enjoy some time with my fiancé." I say, watching his face fall. I smirk.

"Avangeline, I would advise you think carefully about your decision, hasn't Harry told you yet?" Now it's his time to smirk.

"Told me what?" Ava turns to me, all her happiness and excitement gone, replaced with worry and fear.

"Nothing babe, this bastard just doesn't know when enough is enough." I say, clenching my fists.

"Oh Harry, I think it's the other way around, don't you? I think she deserves to know the truth. It had been years after all." I grab Ava's hand in mine, and gently pull her with me as I walk away from the disgrace of a man. "Avangeline, you've fallen for the one who stole your freedom."

"He's not who you think he is!" He shouts one last time before we are far enough away from him.

I feel Ava pulling on my arm. Urging me to stop. I won't stop. I can't. Not until we reach the car. "Harry stop, please." She whispers, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Not yet." I reply, in a monotonous voice.

We keep walking until we reach my car, I press Ava's body against the car, holding her wrists as I do so. "Listen to me." She keeps crying, "Babe, please." I ask again, pain is felt through my chest when she looks at me. What have I done?

"What did he mean?" She mumbles, sniffling as she does so.

"I will tell you, when we are back at home. But I want you to promise that you will listen to everything I have to say and promise me, promise you wont leave." I rest my forehead on hers, tears leaving my own eyes.

"You're really worrying me now." She says, slipping out of my grasp and getting into the car. I sigh. This is it. I walk around to the other side of the car, getting in and putting the key in the ignition, then gripping the steering wheel.

"I need you to promise." I whisper.

"I don't know what im going to hear, but after everything, I trust you with my life." She grabs my hand. "I promise."

I start the car, driving home through the busy London streets. The journey is silent, apart from the low hum of music coming through the speakers.

We finally arrive home, I park the car in the garage then rub my face with my hands.

"Okay, open the glove compartment." I say, finally letting my secret start to unfold.

She opens the door, my journal sits lonely inside. She looks at me before pulling it out and placing it in her lap.

Ava's POV

I stare at the batted journal on my lap. The once leather cover, now covered in black and blue scribbles.

Im afraid. What did Mr Blake mean back at the Heath. It feels like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. What is Harry hiding from me? Years? Ive fallen for the one who stole my freedom?

"I know you're not going to like this, but for what it's worth, I love you more than anything. You have to know that." Harry says, before getting out of the car and walking into the house. I quickly follow, clutching the brown book in my right hand. I walk into the kitchen where Harry has poured two glasses of Jack Daniels. "You might need this." He mutters before walking into the lounge.

I walk into the lounge after him to see him pacing up and down. "Haz, please calm down." I say, putting the book and the glass on the table.

"I can't. I don't know what to do! I don't know where to start!" I shouts.

"Start from the beginning, you don't have to tell me today, you can tell me later when you feel better." I suggest. I know whatever it is, I won't want to hear it and I can see that it is killing him inside.

"No. I have to tell you." He stops pacing and sits next to me. "Okay, i'll start from the beginning. When we first met." He takes a sip of his drink, grabbing the journal and opening it on the first page.

"After I rescued you from that Dick, we talked for hours. We went on a few dates but you didn't want to go out with me." I can't remember this.

"Harry I can't remember that."

"I know." He passes me the journal. "Don't read it yet. I know you can't remember that because when I asked you to be my girlfriend, you were really angry, I don't really know why. You walked off and it was dark, I followed you to make sure you got home safely. You kept yelling at me to stop, stop following you and to leave you alone. I couldn't take it anymore. So... So I tried to grab your arm, to make you listen to me, but you ran across the road, you didn't look..." Harry was crying, I was crying to, I held his hand tightly in mine. "There was a car, it hit you. It was my fault." He cry's more.

"It was my fault." He keeps repeating, he's now pacing up and down again, pulling his hair out.

"Harry, no it wasn't. I'm hear now. You couldn't have stopped it!" I say, trying to calm him again.

"I could have done. I could have stopped you running. You... you..." His breathing is erratic.

"I what Harry?"

"I ran to help you, the man got out of the car and rung an ambulance, you were bleeding so much, the paramedics came and took you to hospital. You were in a coma. For weeks, I sat by your bed, talking to you, not knowing if you would ever wake up."

"What happened?"

"W-when you woke up..." He pauses, looking at me. "When you woke up, you couldn't remember anything."

"What?" I say.

"You didn't know who I was, it killed me inside. But I saw it as a chance for you to be mine."

"What do you mean?"

"I made sure I was the only one who spent any time with you. You didn't know what was going on, but after a few weeks you started to remember certain information. You remembered me and that's all that mattered."

"I don't understand."

"I forced you to be my girlfriend..."

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AN Hope you liked it! The truth is starting to be revealed, all is not over yet!!

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