Written

Chapter 35

HAYLEY

   I allow myself a few more minutes of moping before I cut it off. Time to be professional. It is barely noon now, so I run myself a hot shower. An hour later I am not only presentable, I look refreshed. Liam comes knocking on my door at 1:30, and I amused to find that he has somehow assigned himself to be my Harry guard. He intends to stay between us whenever I need him to and alert me to when he is coming. I smirk. We would never divide them and make them choose sides, but Liam would clearly be on mine. Actually, come to think of it, they all probably would be.

   I have thought a lot about Harry's statement as he left my room earlier, saying that he was going to remind me of why I love him. Stupid boy. I don't need to be reminded. He took me over so quickly, he is still in every thought I have. Truth is, I love him. And I will for an indeterminate amount of time. It scares me that I cannot foresee a time when I won't love him.

   Liam and I leave the room together and convene with the group at the elevator, earning a jealous glare from Harry. Childishly I step a little closer to Liam. I shouldn't challenge Harry like that, but come on. He kissed someone else in front of me. Surely I've earned some games.

   My tactic is to act normal. There was a time when Harry and I were completely normal around this crowd, despite our relationship. Now, we return to that same state of normalcy for the opposite reason. We barely speak to each other and Harry spends a lot of time on his own, pouting. I am rubbing it in, a little, I admit it. I laugh loudly and make grand gestures, putting on a show that masks what emotions lie underneath.

   It is a relief when it is show time and I don't have to be in the same room as Harry anymore. Liam gives me an encouraging pat on the shoulder as he gets up to leave. Everyone vacates the room except for me, and momentarily I enjoy the silence. Pathetically, it takes no more than a minute for me to get lonely. I think of someone to call. I check my watch, it's already too late to call Ryan or Gail. And then... I don't really have anyone else. The thought strikes me hard and out of nowhere, but it is true. Very few people have meant something worthwhile to me. Two of them are my family, two of them are colleagues almost twice my age, one of them is my boss, and five of them are on stage. In that subcategory, one of them on stage just broke my heart.

   So I sit in silence for a little while longer, wallowing in my pathetic life. Great. Then the door opens a girl enters. She looks a little older than me, she is pretty and tall. She looks a little familiar, then when she pulls her hair away from her face, her resemblance to Harry is striking.

   "Hi," she says in a soft, kind, accented voice. "You must be Hayley?" I nod. She comes to sit on the couch next to me. "I'm Gemma," she holds out her hand. "I've heard a lot about you." Her tone suggests that she's heard more than just my personality. I only nod.

   "It's nice to meet you," I say, releasing her hand. She laughs a little breathily.

   "So my brother got to you, huh?" She asks. I don't know how to respond and I don't want to trigger her protective instincts.

   "I guess he did, yeah," I say, looking away.

   "Listen, Hayley," Gemma scoots closer to me and it's rather intimidating the way her eyes never leave mine. I've known her for less than a minute and I already know that she is a badass. I like her even more when she speaks again. "Harry is an idiot," she says. I crack a smile. "You probably know that better than anyone right now," she smiles back. "But he's my brother, and I love him. And I'm not going to lie to you, girl-to-girl...he asked me to talk to you." She sounds exasperated.

   "You don't have to," I laugh. I start to feel more comfortable around her and I relax.

   "I want to, though," she says. "Hayley, Harry told me what happened. Everything. He takes full responsibility for it, and that may not mean much to you, but I've known him his whole life. He never takes responsibility for things, that boy will blame anyone and everyone but himself. That being said, I totally think you should stand your ground. For a little while at least. He has to know that you won't be so forgiving every time he messes up. But in the long run- and forgive me if I'm overstepping a boundary here- but in the long run, I'm asking you to give my brother a second chance. I know that you don't know me at all, but I think it speaks for itself that I honestly flew across the country just to talk to you, because I've never heard Harry so upset. He called me last night."