Gardens Of Eden (A Harry Styles Story)

6: Responsibilities

"Oh, and by the way..." Ours eyes met as he slid into view, and I saw in full detail his tanned face, pink lips and sharp jaw. "My name is Harry."

The car door slammed as it pulled away from the curb, and I was left standing there, mystified by what had all just happened. A light came on behind me and I realized someone was awake. I prayed it was Rhea. As I approached the door, it opened, and much to my dismay I saw Lacey in a night shirt with her arms folded across her chest.

"Do you have any idea what time it is." She asked rhetorically. "I refuse to believe you were babysitting til this hour. Look at your eyes, you looks positively stoned." I ducked my head, kicking off my shoes as I entered the house.

"I'll be speaking to the Warden about this." She threatened. I didn't have it in me to care.

"Okay. Night." And with that, I left her huffing at the door.

*

It was nearly 4pm the next day when I finally got the nerve to call the number on the card. I'd battled my internal self for hours, creating every possible reason not to go, and in the end I decided it was an opportunity to make money that I shouldn't pass up. I really didn't know if I wanted to see Harry again though. He was smart, quick and, though I hated to say it, out of my league. I didn't want to be around people who thought they were better than me. What did they know?
This whole night was likely to be a huge disaster for me, but I found myself dialling the number anyways.

It rang once.
Twice.

"Styles residence, who am I speaking with?" It wasn't him. Relief flooded through me.

"This is Eve... Uhm, I was told to call. About helping with the event tonight." My voice sounded weak, so I cleared my throat. "Who do I speak with?" There was a long pause and I couldn't hear anything. For a moment I thought they'd hung up.

"A car will pick you up at 4:30. Wear black." The line went dead. A car will pick me up? What is this, lifestyles of the rich and famous? At least I had black, that would be easy.

"Who were you talking too?" Lacey came out of nowhere, glaring down at me beside the phone.

"Just, got hired for some work tonight." I said with surprising honesty. "I swear." The look on her face told me she wouldn't believe a word I said.

"Nice try, but you're not going anywhere. Dunville will be here soon, she has some things to discuss with you." Lacey grabbed me by the elbow, pinching hard to force me in the direction of the stairs.

"Wait in your room. We'll let you know when it's time."

Fuck that.

I went upstairs as ordered but it wasn't to wait for my consequences. How dumb was she? I changed into a black tank top and jeans. It wasn't fancy, but I hoped it would work. Piling my personal items into my backpack, the only thing I couldn't find was- aha, headphones. I tugged the cord, pulling it free and dumping everything from my night stand onto the ground. I sighed and bent over to clean it up. As I picked up the last book lying open face on the ground, I saw the ring, shining on the dirty floor.

Quickly I snatched it up, the only piece of my Mother I had left, clutching it in my fist. Slowly, I opened my hand, the ring was really old, with a heavy green gem in the center and sparkly diamonds all around it. When I was younger I liked to pretend it was real, imagining my Mother wearing it to her fancy parties with my Father. Of course, there was no way that could be true. It would've paid for much, much more than they'd had if it was real. But price didn't matter, it was a gift, and I wouldn't allow anyone to know it existed.