Notorious

Treachery

*EARLY UPDATE! SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ THE LAST CHAPTER, 'Foreboding' AND GIVE ME LOTS OF LOVE! ALSO, GO GRAB A BOX OF TISSUES BEFORE YOU READ THIS - SENSITIVE CONTENT*

When I was younger, before my dad left, I used to have Liam and him pretend to take photos of me with a Barbie camera I got for Christmas. Liam would be the photographer and my dad would be the interviewer.

I called it practice for when I became famous –and they willingly participated because they knew I would throw a tantrum if they didn't.

"Aspen, who are you dating now? Leonardo DiCaprio or Johnny Depp?"

"Aspen, Aspen! How do you feel about being number #1 in the charts for six months straight?"

"Aspen, who are you wearing?"

I dreamed of living in the spotlight, of hearing questions shouted at me, and lights of a camera blinding me. It was all a part of the package.

But, I never wanted it like this.

The flashes blind me completely as I try to balance on the cobblestone, my head pounding, and eyes straining against the bright lights.

All I can do is grip onto Harry's hand tighter as we make our way to his car. I have no idea what is happening; why these cameras are flashing and why they are shouting his name. I don't know why Harry apologized before leading me out into the masses, but I know this is the moment.

This is the domino effect that will cause everything to come crashing down around us.

"Mr. Styles, how do you feel about the allegations made against you? About the DA deciding to press charges?"

"Harry, are you still in contact with David McCain?"

"How can you live with yourself, Mr. Styles?"

The questions don't make any sense to me but Harry's grip grows tighter with each question hurled at him and I am beginning to feel the panic claw up my throat as the questions become more frequent, the flashes brighter, and the people more aggressive.

His car is just in sight and we are so close to it, but of all the questions in the crowd, only one can be overhead above the rest, only one has me wanting to hurl everything I just ate.

"Harry, are you responsible for the death of Leslie Solis?"

I don't even remember the rest of the walk to the car -it's as if I blocked out all of the chaos around me until the passenger door was closed and I was finally engulfed in silence.

Leslie Solis.

Why did that name sound familiar?

Harry climbs into the car and snaps his head towards me like he expects me to start bombarding him with questions and I should... I really should. But my throat is suddenly too dry and my head is pounding and the people have their cameras shoved up against the window and I think I'm going to be sick.

I keep my eyes on my lap because I really don't know where I can look as Harry revs the engine in warning and then speeds off into the night.

It's silent, so silent, that it's much too loud.

Harry keeps glancing over to me every few seconds as if to check if I'm still breathing and I can't even be sure that I am anymore. I don't know what's happening or why, but all I know is that even though Harry is sitting right next to me, I have never felt more distant.

Leslie Solis.

I am trying to make sense of the cameras and the questions and then his file in my mom's computer pops into my mind and oh god-

This is it.

This is the secret.

"Harry..." I don't even know what to say. Where do I even begin? How should I react to this?

"I'll explain everything, okay? I promise. I just... Let's just get to my place first, okay?"

I don't respond, mostly because I can't when my heart is beating this loud, and also because his hands are shaking on the wheel and his voice is garbled with panic and it's making the feeling in my stomach increase tenfold.

The car is filled with silence again and he reaches for my hand, but I pull it away almost instantly. I don't want him to touch me right now.

Not when I am left in the dark.

He pulls it back slowly and I can see his shoulders slump from my peripheral, but then his phone starts to ring between us and we both glance towards it at the same time.

Liam

I lunge for it.

Harry jolts in his seat when I grab the phone, looking back and forth between the street and me as if deciding if he would rather fight me for the phone or try not to kill us.

He chooses the latter.