If It's What You Want A Harry Styles Fanfiction || h. s.

Chapter 53

Even through the haze of the medication she'd been given, Ashley immediately noticed the tension between Harry and her aunt.

"Good morning, Harry."

"Hello," he said tersely.

"How is she?"

"Finally resting."

"What did the doctor say?"

"She's really ill."

"Aunt Margarite," Ashley called out softly.

"Yes, dear." Margarite walked over to the bedside and took Ashley's hand in hers. "Hello. How are you?"

"Okay at the moment," she whispered. "What's going on with you and Harry?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do. Something's wrong. Tell me what's wrong."

Margarite looked over at Harry who walked to the other side of the bed.

"Sweetheart, it's nothing. You need to rest. No worries."

"You are both lying to me," said Ashley as she began to cry.

"Ashley, shhshh," said Margarite. "The last thing you need is to be upset. Everything is okay."

Ashley looked over at Harry and reached for his hand. He patted her hand but did not take it in his.

"Harry?"

"You need to sleep. Take advantage of the medication. Okay?"

"Tell me what's wrong," she said pleadingly.

Margarite looked at Harry intently. He nodded his head.

"Ashley, when Harry was getting something from your purse, your wallet fell open and your driver's license . . ."

"No . . . no," she said looking helplessly from one to the other. "No, Harry, no."

Her tears were breaking his heart. No matter what he thought, what he was feeling, he was wrong to do this to her when she was ill and helpless.

"Sweetheart, now is not the time to discuss this," he said taking her hand in his and kissing it. "You need to rest and get well. We'll talk then." He placed his lips against the back of her hand and pressed them against her skin for several seconds. "Have I told you lately how much I like you?"

"No," she said wiping at the tears.

"I like you very much."

"I like you too," she said closing her eyes.

Margarite pulled some tissues from the box and gently wiped away the tears that still rested on Ashley's long lashes and cheeks. "There, there." She leaned over and placed a kiss on Ashley's forehead. "Sweet girl."

She signaled to Harry to step out the room. He followed her into the hallway and out to a family room where they could talk without being overheard.

"Thank you. Ashley has always been exceptionally perceptive. She wouldn't have let the conversation go."

"I want you to tell me exactly who she is and why it's not commonly known."

"I will tell you only because of the extenuating circumstances and because I believe she very much needs you," said Margarite.

"Alright."

"Let's sit down," she said. "Ashley did not know her father. When Ashley was in her early teens, her mother was cut off from her trust fund. In desperation, she revealed that Bradley Erickson was Ashley's father. Do you know the name?"

"Erickson, as in aeronautics."

"Yes. Of course Ashley's mother's goal was to use Ashley to go after him for money. Attorneys battled for months before Bradley finally agreed to a paternity test after Ashley's mother threatened to go public. As it turns out, he was in fact Ashley's father. He wanted nothing to do with her, but agreed to pay a large sum in child support in exchange for silence."

"What is her status with her father now?" asked Harry.

"He's dead."

"That's sad, I guess."

"Perhaps. Anyway, Ashley's mother blew through most of the monthly support renting an expensive apartment, throwing parties, and buying drugs for she and her friends. Ashley would be shuttled off to us for days before her mother would show up and take her."

"Why couldn't she just stay with you?"

"My short answer is money and manipulation. Of course when Ashley turned 18, the money dried up. She was finally legal. The trust fund left by her grandfather gave her the independence she wanted. She was resistant to simply becoming part of mine and her uncle's life without being able to care for herself. She was intensely afraid of being viewed as a user or seen as taking advantage of people. Her mother was a master at using and taking advantage of anyone who might be a source of money or drugs."

"How did Ashley avoid becoming a drug addict herself?"

"I really don't know. She only said that she always knew she wanted something different for her life."

"I see."

"To continue, her father's attorney called several months later asking for a meeting. We insisted she take representation with her because she wouldn't allow either her uncle or I to go. She was told her father was dying from terminal cancer and wanted to meet her."

"Wait, I thought you said she didn't know him."

"Let me finish."

"Go on."

"She refused his request. Turns out he thought she must be quite like him to refuse a dying man one of his final requests. Having never married or fathered any other children, he left her the entirety of the Erickson fortune."

Margarite waited for that to sink in, for Harry to realize what this meant.

"She's an heiress proper," he said almost to himself.

"It haunts her Harry. She is terrified of being used for her money. She is torn. On the one hand, she has the security she never had growing up. On the other hand, she feels as if she can't trust anyone. Can you imagine what might happen if it were common knowledge that she is an Erickson?"

"She'd have people lined up at her door. She'd never know who was a true friend. But isn't that already a problem?"

"Not so much. Most of her friends are also trust fund babies."

"What about Steve?"

"He's a different story that I'd prefer not to get into at the moment."

"More secrets?"

"No, just complicated."

"What am I supposed to say, to think, to do now?"

"She needs you, Harry. You may feel that she hasn't been forthcoming with you. I want you to know she has been more open with you than anyone. I believe she would have told you as soon as she felt sure of you."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this. Will I constantly be waiting for another revelation? There's this sense of uncertainty that I didn't feel before. How can I ever be sure she's not keeping some secret?"

"She might say the same about you, but despite her experiences with celebrities, she began a relationship with you."

Harry looked at the floor, something he rarely did.

"I'm not going to try to convince you of anything. I can only ask you to show some compassion."

A nurse knocked and opened the door to tell them Ashley was asking for them.