Break the Unbreakable

Chapter Forty Four

I wandered down the stairs of my house, stressing about what Janet could possibly be scheming up to get Harry back.

Revenge is awful, I've realized. It's never going to be okay. It may seem right in the moment, but doing a bad deed will always come back and bite you in the arse. It's karma.

And to be honest, Janet had been hurt so she wanted to hurt Harry right back - and I got that. But, me - I had no reason in hell to do what I did.

And now I'm just waiting for my karma because I know it's coming.

My doorbell rang and I went to go answer it. I knew it was going to be Harry. We were going to rehearse again for the gala this weekend, and I couldn't wait.

"Hi babe," he greeted when I opened the door.

I leaned in to give him a quick kiss, and then stepped aside to let him in the house.

"Hi Harry," I answered. "Come on in."

We walked down to my living room, where the piano was situated.

"Blake," he said, once we sat down. "I want this relationship to be completely open and honest."

I felt my stomach twist. He knows, doesn't he?

"Okay..." I responded.

"So, what I'm about to tell you is going to be hard, and you're not going to want to hear it. But, I have to say it. And if that changes the way you look at me, then I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?"

"I want to tell you my side of the whole Janet story," he explained.

"Oh," I said, sighing with relief. "Okay, yeah. I want to hear it. I want to hear your side - but the honest and truthful one, okay? I know how much you hurt Janet."

"I know I did. And yes, I promise to be completely brutal about myself."

I took in a deep breath.

"Go for it," I said, softly.

"Okay," he started. "Well, one day, a buddy of mine asked me who I would date or just want to have one night with but couldn't because it would ruin my reputation."

"Okay..."

"And I said Janet," he clarified.

"Why would she ruin your reputation?"

"Because the guys make fun of how uptight she is. How prude she can be."

"That's terrible," I said. "Just because a girl won't have sex with you right away doesn't make her a prude!"

"Blake," Harry said in a calm voice.

"Sorry - go on."

"So then he, and some other friends, bet me money for this car that I had been dying to buy to see if I could date her. He said that if I got with her, no one would judge, because it would all be for this bet. It was all a game."

Him and his games...

"So, I took it on," he said. "And I started to date Janet. She was resistant at first, yeah, but I could tell by talking to her, I could tell how sweet she was. I could tell how innocent she was. And her innocence actually intrigued me."

"So, what does this mean?"

"That I eventually stopped pretending that I liked her for money. I actually did like her. I liked the fact that she remembered what my middle name was or that I don't like onions or how my favourite colour was orange."

I don't know if I wanted to hear him talk like this about another girl. It was hard, but at the same time...it was refreshing to know that the bet wasn't on his mind during the time he was dating her. That he did have a heart.

"And you could tell that she couldn't believe I wanted her enough to stop sleeping with other girls," he said. "But, I lied about that. I was sleeping with other girls."

"Why? If you liked her, why did you keep sleeping with other people?"

"Because my friends were pressuring me to maintain my image! I didn't want them to think I had actually become whipped!"

"Harry, that's an awful excuse."

"I know," he said. "I know that. And deep down, I knew that. But I didn't think I was supposed to let a relationship like that change me. That I just couldn't see myself tied to one girl, even though I would find myself liking it."

"You needed stability, Harry. You need it."

"And I broke her heart. Yes, I did. I was awful to her, and I deserve whatever bad thing is coming my way for what I did. But, I just want you to know - that what I did to Janet won't happen to you."

"How do I know?" I wondered. "How do I know that you won't get scared and run away? That you won't revert back to your old ways?"

"The fact that you don't want to believe that I've changed makes me all the more driven to show you that I did!"

"Did you really?"

"I did," he said firmly. "Blake, you're the first girl who has called me out on my shit. Who has showed me that it's okay - change is okay. Being a player won't last forever."

"I never thought I'd be the girl to change Harry Styles," I said, looking down at my hands.

I felt guilty because this all started on a web of lies.

"Why's that?"

"Because I thought someone really crazy and extraordinary and strong and courageous would -"

"You are all of those things. You're the strongest person I know -"

"Harry, stop." I couldn't take it. The guilt of the assignment was weighing down on me.

If I just told him, it would all be out in the open.

"Why?" he wondered, looking at me.

I was going to do it. I was going to tell him about the assignment. I felt tears brimming my eyes because I knew how much pain this was going to cause. How much this was going to hurt.

"What is it Blake?" he asked, cupping my face.

I swallowed the lump inside my throat.

"Sorry, I just - I get really self-conscious. And I just feel bad about Niall," I made up.

I chickened out. I couldn't do it. I couldn't face the fact that I was going to crush this good person he was becoming.

"Don't worry. Things will work out," he promised.

I allowed him to kiss me on the forehead and pull me close, but inside, my heart was breaking. This were tumbling down.

This was not going to end well.