One Chance: a Ted Sweeran fanfic

Ch 22

Taylor's POV

I was on the plane before anyone knew I was gone. It had never felt right leaving London at a time such as this, and I knew now that I had to go back. Whoever's games these were, they were winning, but I was scared to fight back.

I had scheduled to see Harry the next day at two in the afternoon. I had told the prison that I was Cara so I would be allowed to actually be next to him as immediate family. I don't know why I had done that, there were probably great consequences for stealing someone's identity while visiting a jail, but in these past few months impulsive behavior had become like second nature to me. I guess the thought of seeing him through a pane of glass, so close but utterly unreachable, had been too much for me, so I had lied. 

I still hadn't figured out what to tell Ed. I still hadn't called him, he was probably worried out of his mind. I just was so scared of how he would react to me going specifically against what he told me to do, but I was a grown woman now, and I could make my own decisions.

I nervously pulled at my skirt while watching the world go by below me. That's the thing I loved about plane rides: it put everything in perspective. Everything just seemed so small and insignificant from above: all those worries and fears I had seemed to be nothing under these grand hosts of constellations.

We landed in London at around twelve, two hours before I would get to see Harry. I knew I was exhausted from all the travel, but there was no way I would have time to take a nap, so I decided to stop at one of my favorite cafés before visiting.

I ordered a cup of tea and tried pouring myself into a special first edition copy of Great Expectations. The main character, Pip, had spent his whole life trying to become something he wasn't for someone who didn't even love him, and that was how I felt for most of my life. I had always tried living up to everyone's expectations, and took so many risks to fall in love with people who didn't return their affections. That was till I met Ed.

Ed was so different from all the other guys I had dated: he was sensitive, didn't care about what others thought of his appearance, and his lyrics, oh gosh, he was a songwriter from heaven. He was the one who gave me the confidence to keep putting myself out there even though I knew I would be hurt. He was the reason I kept living, and now I was betraying him.

Plop. The teardrop splattered over the page as once again I found myself in tears. I quickly slammed the book shut and dried my eyes; I certainly couldn't visit Harry looking like the mess I was, I had to pull it together and be strong if I wanted answers.

I took a minicab over to the jail, and as I stepped out of the cab I realized just how unprepared I was to see him. Every particle of my body screamed at me to run, to put as much distance from me and the jail as possible, and yet my legs stayed firmly rooted on the spot. I had come all this way and hurt so many people to get to this point that I couldn't turn back now. I couldn't have betrayed Ed's trust for nothing.

So that's why at quarter to twelve I stepped inside those barbed wire gates, gave the security guard a fake idea stating that I was in fact Cara Styles, and went through a metal detector in order to see Harry. The guard ushered me back to the visiting room for immediate family and gave me a few rules and told me I had twenty minutes. When he asked if I understood, I nodded, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was already wondering how Harry would react to me being there. But it was too late to turn back now.

He unlocked the door, which opened with a loud click, and I was ushered in.

I gasped. There he was, the same Harry I had always known, but at the same time I could tell he wasn't. He didn't even bother looking up as I sat next to him, and I was scared what jail had done to him.

"Harry," I whispered, trying desperately to reach him.

He slowly looked up, his eyes filled with confusion. "Um...Taylor?"

"No honey, it's Cara, did you already forgetyour wife locked upin these walls?" I asked loudly, then whispering, apologized, "I'm sorry, I just couldn't talk to you through a pane of glass," I put his hand in mine, "I just need some answers."

"Does Ed know you're here?" he asked, his eyes piercing through mine. I could barely meet them, they were so of pain and fear, but most of all defeat. I could tell that he had given up, which scared me the most. His eyes has dark circles around them, and he was a lot paler then he had been before he had been locked up. He no longer had that kind of cute cockiness or humorous smile that had made millions of girls fall in love with him. I could barely stand seeing him this way.

"No," I admitted, "but he's been acting really weird lately, and it began when he visited you a few days ago, do you have any idea why?"

"Look, all I said was that things were getting really dangerous and it might have been better to back down."

"What do you mean?"

His shoulders slumped in defeat as he explained, "Just look at me Taylor, someone went out of their way to make me seem really guilty for attempting to murder my best mate. They were willing to kill Ed to get what they wanted-"

"But how did they try to murder him? It was all an accident-and my fault."

Harry looked nervously over at the guards, then turned to me, "Cara," he said loud enough for them to hear, then lowering his voice said, "Listen, I think the guards are suspitious of us."

"Why would they be?" I asked, very alarmed.

"Because...well when a wife hasn't seen her husband in awhile, she would normally kiss him," he explained bashfully, his face turning red.

"Oh, well, um, okay," I whispered, reminding myself that I had to get some answers, no matter what the cost. "I have missed you so much!" I nearly shouted, then I put my hand in his mess of curls and kissed him.

I'd like to say that it was awkward, or that I didn't like it for Ed's sake, but I would be lying. His warm lips up against mine made me feel safe, and I was transported back to when we had dated: long nights watching chick flicks and scary movies, dinners at favorite restraunts, and amazing time spent together. I was at peace and thoroughly enjoying myself.

But then I opened my eyes, and it was over. He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "Sorry, now where were we?"

"Um, I think I was telling you that no one could have tried to murder him because it was my accident that caused it."

"Right, but Taylor, you don't know everything that happened," he took a deep breath before continuing on. "The police, when they showed me the footage that was "evidence" against me, it showed someone...pushing Ed in front of the car."

I tried processing the information. I hated to say this, but in some twisted way I felt relieved. After all, I had thought all this time that it had been all my fault that Ed had had his accident, but now I knew it wasn't. Unfortunately, Harry was being framed for this while the real crimminal was still out there, so this nightmare was still far from being over.

"Do you have any idea who could have done this to you? Anyone who would want to get even?" I asked.

"Well, actually, there is-" he was cut off before he could say. A prison guard came from behind and roughly yanked Harry from his seat, causing him to groan in pain.

"Hey! Be careful with him! Why are you doing this?" I asked, thoroughly angry.

"Because," the big black guard answered, roughly holding Harry with his hands behind his back, "your time is up," he firmly told me in a no-nonsense tone.

"No, that's impossible, it's only been ten minutes!"

"Well why don't you take that up with the warden, Mrs. Sheeran," he replied, his face seeming to say 'gotcha'.

I was about to march out of the room, but the other two officers blocked my path.

"Where do you think you're going?" A lanky guard with a nose too big for his face asked.

"Yes, you're coming with us," the other one (who looked like the donuts movie cops loved to eat) ordered, grabbing my arm, "Do you know that identity theft is a federal crime and is punishable by law?"

And just like that, my world fell apart.