Broken Things

Chapter 28

HPOV:

"What the hell, Liam?"

He put his phone in his back pocket and the look on his face made me concerned. Why had Stevie called him? I checked my phone to see if she had tried at all but there was nothing.

"What's going on, Liam?" Zayn asked. Liam's face was dark with worry. Something bad came from the phone call and I immediately thought the worst.

"Is it Stevie? Is she okay?"

"Stevie's fine, Harry." He looked down and traced the wood grain on the table with the tip of his finger. He hadn't realized that we were still waiting the answer to Zayn's question. When he looked up at us, some of the worry had left his face and gave a slight smile.

"It's fine, guys. She was just asking if Zayn still wanted to look through her art. She said she was going through them now." 

He had to be joking, Zayn and I looked at each other. We both knew he was lying but Zayn played it off anyway.

"Sure, I do," he said with a shrug.

"Right well I need to go. Mum's visiting tomorrow and she'll be expecting the place to be clean," he said, pulling on his jacket. I stayed silent with my brow furrowed. Something wasn't adding up. Why wouldn't she just send me a text? Because she was still mad, sure, but still. Even if that was the case, why didn't she text Zayn? She had all of their numbers. They had given them to her the night of the hotel in case there was another emergency. 

Whatever the actual reason was, it had affected Liam and I watched his face darken with thought as he left the pub. I took the last sip of my drink and then ran a hand through my hair. I looked over at Zayn, who was now typing out a text on his phone. 

"What was that about?"

He shrugged, "Don't know. I wouldn't worry too much about it though."

Even though I knew Zayn wasn't one to worry, I was still confused about his reaction. One minute, we were carrying on over a few drinks and the next, tension had filled the atmosphere. I tried not to focus too much on it. After all, he did say Stevie was alright. 

"I'm going to head back to the house," Zayn said as he stood from the table, "you good?"

"Yeah, I'll probably have one more then head back."

"Right." He put money on the table and left. I pulled out my phone again and began to text Stevie. I knew it was violating her space but it would be nice to hear from her. It had been nearly three weeks.

| What's going on? Are you okay? |

I hesitated before I sent it. I figured it was harmless enough. When I sent the message, I put my phone on the table and waited. 

It was getting late and I had gone through two more pints before my phone finally alerted me. My palms were already sweating when I picked it up from the table. A flooding of relief came over me when the screen lit up with Stevie's name.

| I'm fine, Harry. |

That was it. That was the text I had waited for three hours to receive. The pit of my stomach began to fall until my phone went off again.

| Sorry for getting back so late. It's been a crazy day. I hope I'm not bothering you. |

I began to type out a reply but it wasn't enough. Instead, I deleted the message and hit the 'call' button. My heart pounded with every ring and I thought I was going to bite through my lip. The line went live.

"Harry?"

God, I missed her. Just the sound of her voice began to fill the emptiness that had been threatening to take over for weeks, 

"Stevie, I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. I know you told me to leave you alone but I heard the phone call and I-".

"Harry, stop. Please, just stop." 

I looked down at the table and began to tear away at a nearby napkin. I crumpled it up and tossed it into my now empty glass as I heard her sigh,

"I'm okay, Harry. There was just something that I needed to speak with Liam about. I'm not in any danger or anything."

I nodded and tried to think of something else to say to keep her on the phone. I didn't know how long it was going to be before I talked with her again so I needed to make the most of it. 

"Uh, so, um, you got the tickets I sent, yeah?" I said low into the phone.

"Yes, I did."

"Oh, okay. Well I hope you can make it. I'd really like to see you there."

She was silent for a moment and I thought I had taken a step too far. I mean, I had already called her so whatever boundaries that had been set were already crossed. 

"I know. I haven't decided yet." Her voice sounded tired.

"I understand."

Silence filled the line again and I know this was the last chance I had to say what I needed to say. Oh, fuck it.

"Stevie, I..." but the words didn't come. Everything that I had been thinking about over the past weeks suddenly seemed irrelevant. I wanted to tell her how much I missed her and that I was miserable, but that's not what she wanted to hear. She didn't need that.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Nothing. I just hope you're doing well."

"Oh, um, you, too."

She then told me that she had to go and my heart sunk. I heard her say goodbye but before I could let her go, I let the words fall out.

"Stevie, wait, please." I put my money on the table and left the pub. I needed the fresh air to clear my head while I talked. 

"Stevie, I miss you and I'm so sorry. I fucked up but you have to know I didn't do it on purpose."

"Harry, I can't do this right now."

I ran a hand through my hair and I felt defeated. 

"But it's not because I don't want to, okay?" she continued, "Because I do. I just can't right now."

She was considering it. That was all I could ask for.

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. Don't be sorry." Her voice lightened, but only slightly.

"I have to go now. I love you, Harry."

I stopped, "What?"

"I said, I love you."

I knew what she had said but I needed to hear it again. I had missed those words and her voice and her. I was now the most relaxed I had been in weeks and all because I was able to hear those three words come from Stevie.

"I love you, too. So much."

"Okay, I really have to go now."

I told her goodbye but not before I made her say it again. I hung up and shoved my phone in my pocket. My step was lighter and a little more of the weight had lifted from my shoulders. When I reached Zayn's, he was asleep on the couch. I went to wake him so he could move to his bed but that would have taken more effort than I wanted to give. Zayn could sleep through the apocalypse if someone let him. Instead, I took the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over him. I flicked off the T.V. and then made my way to the guest room.

Once I got into bed, I realized that the pain had decreased from my chest. It would have been the first night in a while where I was quick to fall asleep.