Songs for this chapter: Loveless - Said The Whale | (How could I love you less, now that I know you more.)
Strong - One Direction 
Roger Rabbit - Sleeping With Sirens

| fifty |

She sat on her bed with her warm phone pressed tightly against her ear. The steady rhythm of his breathing has become entrancing. She waits patiently for him to continue, but the nerves grow with each passing minute. The simple sentence of “she cheated on him” kept replaying over and over in her mind. It stung her heart. But at the same time, it made everything else become increasingly clearer. 

“My parents were in love.” He begins. Her breath catches in her throat as she waits for him to continue. “At least I thought they were.” He pauses once more. She hates that they are on the phone. She wishes they were talking face to face. Her fingers itched to hold his tight as he talks about his past. “Fuck. I was a kid. I was a damn kid who thought his parents were the fucking reincarnation of Wally and June Cleaver.” He lets out a sinister laugh. 

“When I found out that my mom was leaving us, I was angry. She was supposed to stay. Your parents aren’t supposed to break up. Sure I had friends who’s parents weren’t together, but my parents weren’t supposed to divorce. But my mother... she was fucking selfish.” The anger in his voice began to grow and Ava hated their distance even more. (Granted, he was only a few minutes away). “She didn’t think about my dad, she didn’t think about her ten year old kid. No. She was thinking about her fucking self and this bastard she was fucking.” 

“I’m sorry, Harry.” Ava says softly. “No kid deserves that.” 

“No, they don’t.” He takes a deep breath. “I was pissed. I was fucking pissed.” The volume of his voice lowers, his breathing becoming rigid.

“Do you know who he was?” 

“Some guy she worked with. I don’t know how long they were having the affair for, but it was clearly long enough for her to drop her family for the bastard.” 

“I’m so, so, so sorry Harry.” 

“Don’t. You don’t need to be sorry.”  

Her heart broke with each word that he spoke. It was hard for her to imagine a young, curly haired ten year watch his own mother walk out on him. It pained to think about his usual bright green eyes darkened by the mishaps and mistakes of his own mother. The more that he spoke about the relationship that he no longer had with his mother left her wondering how he now saw his step-mother. 

“What about your step-mom?” She asks softly. 

Silence. “She’s alright.” He answers shortly after. “I don’t know. I don’t really talk to her.” 

“I can understand that. You don’t really have the best experience with moms.” 

“If my dad is happy, that’s what matters to me.” His voice picks up at the mention of his father. Ava couldn’t help but wonder about his relationship with him. Did they get along? Were they forced to since his mother left? 

“Do you talk to your dad still?” 

A short laugh comes from the other line, “Yeah. I love that old man.” She could picture his smile as he speaks. “When she left, we grew closer. He was my rock. And I think I was his too. We didn’t have much of a choice but to lean one the other. He was thrown into being a single dad.” Harry releases a sarcastic chuckle, “It didn’t really help that I kinda went off the deep end one I hit high school. We didn’t get along to much during that.” 

“Did he like Delaine?” 

“God no. He fucking hated her. Kept saying that she was a bad influence on me.” He pauses. “When she died and I went depressed, he hated her even more.” 

The mention of Delaine brought a wave of anger and jealousy across her body. She hated her. She still hated everything that she did to him. No matter how many times she keeps telling herself that she was dead and that he loved her not Delaine, she still felt a wave of hatred for her. 

“Can I ask you one more thing?” She asks timidly. 

“Might as well,” He chuckles. 

“Do you trust me?” 

-

Harry takes a moment to process her question. He knew in his heart, in the depths of his soul, that he trusted her. He trusted her more than he could even process. It flowed through his blood, into his veins. 

“Yes.” He answers her simply. 

“Do you trust that I would never cheat on you? That I would never leave you?” 

Her words resonate within him. It brought up all of the reasons he was against relationships in the first place. He knew that the impact that his mother had on him when he left was bigger than he could grasp. He knew that deep down he had trust issues, even if he would claim otherwise. He knew that no matter what - Ava pushed those issues down farther and farther down. A voice in the back of his mind would occasionally taunt him. It would yell that she was just like his mother and Delaine. That she was going to one day walk out or find someone better. It would through Mack in his face screaming that she would get tired of his baggage and move on. He was fighting the problems in his life. But that didn’t excuse the insecurity that he still harbored inside. 

“I sometimes think my baggage will be too much for you. That you will get tired of it all and walk away.” 

She kept quiet on the other line. Her breathing steady causing his heart to beat faster. “Sometimes,” her voice spoke softly, “Sometimes baggage isn’t meant to be held on to.” She pauses once more. “Let go of your baggage and let me carry it for you.” 

His subconscious screams inside of him. She is just saying that. She doesn’t mean it. She’ll get tired of it all. She’ll get tired of your walls and your lack of communication. But he pushed those thoughts down and locked it away. 

“Take it.” He speaks slowly. “Because I can’t do this alone.” 

“I will always be here Harry. I love you. And as much as I know that I will be there for you, I know that you will be there for me. We are a team.” She speaks with authority. With each words that comes through the line screams loud and clear to him. He knows that they were in this for the long run. That no matter what issue or complication that they face in their lives, that they would not face it alone. 

“I love you, baby.” 

He could hear her smile while the sweet sounds of her light laughter fills his ears. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” She giggles. 

A yawn escapes his lips. His eyes begin to droop with a heaviness. He reaches for his watch that sits on his nightstand reading the time. It was already past one.

“Baby,” His voice is dangerously low. Sleep engulfing him slowly. “I need to go to bed before I fall asleep on the phone.” 

“Okay.” She giggles once again. “Oh! I didn’t realize how late it is.” A smile grows on his lips as he listens to her shuffle about on the other line. “Can I see you tomorrow?” She asks. 

“What kind of question is that?” He chuckles, “It’s a must that I see you tomorrow.” 

“Alright. Goodnight Harry.” 

“Goodnight Ave.”

“Oh!” She speaks loudly before he hangs up, “Thank you.” 

“For what?” 

“For telling me. It means a lot to me.” 

He smiles once again. “Thank you for listening.” 

“Always.” 

“I love you.”

“I love you. Goodnight Harry.” 

“Night.” He presses the end button and sits his phone back down on top of his desk. He suddenly sits up. “Shit!” He says aloud. He quickly picks his phone back up and presses call. 

“Harry?” She answers. 

“Yeah, sorry! I forgot to tell you something.” He speaks quickly. 

“What is it?” She laughs. 

“Your dad. He is coming to the office tomorrow.”

She lets out another giggle. His eyebrows push together confused as to why she could be laughing. “I know, Harry. You already told me.” 

He mentally slaps himself at his forgetfulness. “Right. I knew that. Okay. Well then. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” She laughs and hangs up the phone. 

- 

His foot taps nervously against his desk. His eyes frequently look at his watch. The time seemed to be moving by slowly. It was already noon. He knew that in a short amount of time Flint would be here. Harry wanted to talk to him before Ava came. As much as he hated the idea of them speaking, he needed to tell him that she was coming. 

Outside of his office, two voices could be heard. It was clear to him that one of the voices was Adam. The other had not been, making it obvious to him that it had to be Flint Hastings. He quickly gets out of his chair and walks over to his door. He opens it up and is faced with the two men. 

“Harry. Hello!” Adam greets him. His eyes widen slightly as he looks at Harry’s face. His eyebrows are glaring towards Flint. He is looking him up and down while his hands begin to twitch. “Flint, this is Harry Styles the author from last weekend’s launch party.” 

“Ah right! Hello again Harry.” Flint gives him a small smile as he reaches his hand out towards him. Harry stares at it contemplating his next move. He knew that if he ignored it he would be rude and would be given a long talking to from Adam later on. However he knew that if he did shake his hand, he would be tempted to squeeze it a bit too hard. He chose the latter.

“Flint,” he says as he shakes his hand. He squeeze it hard as they shake. His eyes squint, giving him a subtle glare. 

“Is there something we can help you with?” Adam asks hoping to cut the tension that has grown rapidly in the small room. 

“Actually, yeah there is. Flint could I talk to you for a second?” Adam looks at him and gives him a warning glare. “I wanted to ask you something about my book.” He quickly lies. 

“Sure.” He answers warily.

“Come in.” Harry says whilst moving to the side giving him room to walk in. “It wont take too long Adam.”

He looks at Harry for a moment before he gives him a quick nod. “Sure thing. You can just come to my office afterwards, Flint. And we’ll get the signing  done.”

“Alright,” he answers. Flint steps into the office and Harry shuts the door behind him. He stands there for a moment processing what he was about to say. He could feel his heart begin to beat rapidly as he stares at the man that hurt Ava. He could feel his jaw clench and his fists tighten. He would love to knock his skull in at this moment but knew that he would be kicked out without a second thought. He didn’t want to risk his book deal and knowing if he did anything to mess that up he would soon to regret it. He also didn’t want to hurt Ava. 

Her tearstained face flashes in his mind, and he does everything that he can to push his rising anger back down. Calm down, his subconscious scolds him. 

“Take a seat.” Harry keeps his voice calm as he walks over to his chair. Flint takes a seat in front of him. He folds his hands in his lap and looks up at him. He gives Harry a small smile and taps his foot. 

“What was it that about your book that you wanted to talk about?” 

“This actually has nothing to do with my book. This has everything to do with your daughter, Ava.” 

Flint’s eyes shift up quickly, a look of surprise flashing behind them. He furrows his eyebrows as he studies Harry. “You were with her on friday. That’s right.” He speaks quietly. “How do you know my little Ave?”

“Don’t call her that. She’s Ava to you.” He seethes, his words coming out harsh. “She’s my girlfriend.” 

“Your girlfriend?”

“Yup.” Harry stares at him. His eyebrows and forehead furrow and his lips purse. “Now I’m going to make this fast and you better listen up.” He didn’t bother to wait for Flint to say anything. He knew that he needed to speak quick before he lost any of the low amount of patience that still lingered. 

“I don’t know why you and her mom lied to her. I don’t know what you did and quiet frankly I could get a shit about it. What I do give a shit about is Ava. Seeing you broke her. She cried all night and all weekend. But for god-known reason she wants to see you today and talk to you. So you better not say anything that will hurt her because so help me god, I will not think twice before I kick your face in. I don’t give a fuck who you are. You are Ava’s father, a shit father might I add. But she wants to talk to you. So this is just a heads up to get your shit together when you see her and talk to her. Got it?” Harry’s breath became increasingly rigid with each word that he spoke. His eyes glared down at Ava’s father who sat quietly in his chair. 

He took a deep breath and looked up at Harry. He face was rid of emotion. “I see that you care about her. I get that you want to protect her, and as a dad that’s all I could ask for. I know that I wasn’t here for her and I am sorry to her and to you for that. But I do not appreciate you threatening me.”

“I said this before and I will say this again: I don’t give a fuck what you think. I love Ava and I am going to protect her. Father or not.” 

Flint nods once more before he stands up. He gives Harry one more look before he walks out the door, not saying anything else. 

-

The time seemed to flow by after his talk to Flint Hastings. He was still worked up after their chat. His phone began to buzz. A smile creeps to his lips as he looks at the photo of a laughing Ava. 

“Baby,” he breathes into the phone. 

“Hi! I’m almost there.” 

“Okay. Text me when you are and I’ll meet you outside. I don’t want you talking to Mack.” Ava sighs on the other line. 

“Haz, I told you. You don’t need to worry about him.” He smiles at the nickname she calls him. 

“I don’t care baby. I see how he looks at you and I would rather not smash his face in.” Once again, he hears her sigh on the other line. 

“I’ll be there in five,” is all she says before the line goes dead. 

Five minutes go by and still no text from Ava. He rolls his eyes, She is probably downstairs, talking to that fuck-face. Harry thinks to himself. He gets up and grabs his phone before exiting his office and making his way down to the lobby. 

- 

The Californian heat beats down onto the city. The sky is blue, the clouds sparse. Ava tugs at her coral loose top and double checks hair. A flurry of butterflies and nerves are raging at the pit of her stomach. She can feel her heart palpitating inside of her. Her hands are sweating. She feels sick. She feels anxious. She feels nervous. Just inside these doors stood the man she thought to be dead. The man that she had believed her whole life to have lost the battle to cancer. 

She took another deep breath and walked inside of the building. She looked around the lobby and remembered that she was supposed to text Harry. As she takes out her phone a voice calls out for her. She looks up and sat at the front desk was Mack. Oh no, she thought to herself. 

She walks up to him with a small smile on her face. “Hey,” she says to him. He has a huge grin and is standing up to walk over to her. He embraces her in a bone crushing hug. “This is a surprise! What brings you around? To see me, I hope.” He winks and nudges her. 

A wave of guilt rushes through her. She awkwardly laughs and looks around the room. She mentally slaps herself for not texting Harry. She had been avoiding Mack the past week. He  had been consistent in texting her, but she hadn’t been returning them. All she could think about was Harry and how he would react if he knew that she was talking to him. 

“Uh,” She looks around nervously as she bites her cheek. “I’m actually here to see someone else.” 

Mack’s once excited eyes shift down. “Oh, right. Of course you’re not here to see me.” He laughs awkwardly and shifts side to side. “You’re okay though? I miss you.” He reaches out and places his hand gently on her arm. He softly rubs it with his thumb. She looks at his hand and awkwardly shifts.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“You left the party quick. It must have been hard to see your dad.”

“Yeah it was. But Harry was there for me.”

Mack’s demeanour shifts slightly. “You never mentioned Harry before.” His voice isn’t as friendly as it was before. She looks up at him questionably. 

“Right, we dated back in Vancouver.”

“He’s an idiot for letting you go,” He says as he brings his other hand up to her other arm and holds her there. Ava uncomfortably looks around and avoids his glare. She feels stuck under his glance. 

“Well it wasn’t him who broke us up back then.” She defends. 

“Really?” Mack smirks. He leans down slightly. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are, Ava? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the party. You looked gorgeous that night. And I hated to see you so heartbroken that night.” He shifts closer to her but she tries to step back. “I’ve been wanting to see you since then. You never responded to my texts.” His voice is low, his breath hot against her lips. 

“I’ve been busy. With Harry actually.” She speaks up. 

“Oh?” He smirks once again. 

“Yeah, we’re actually back together. So if you could please let go of me that would be great.” She says forcefully. Mack lets go of her arm and lifts it up to her cheek. 

“Now why would I do that?” He smirks, “I like you Ava. I think you should leave your boyfriend. You obviously didn’t work before. I don’t think it will again.” 

Ava looks at him. Her eyes glaring into his. She raises her hand and slaps him. “How dare you say that to me.” He backs away quickly while clutching his cheek. “That was absolutely inappropriate of you. I thought we were friends. Clearly I didn’t make it clear to you that I wasn’t interested. I wasn’t then and I am sure as hell not now. So if you could please back off from me that would be great, asshole.” Her voice is venomous. She glares at him and turns towards the elevator. 

She stops in her tracks and looks at the one man she was hoping to not see at this moment. His eyes are dark and arms crossed. 

“Harry,” She whispers. He looks at her with a big smirk. He walks over and grabs her  body close to his. He kisses her deeply; tongues battling for dominance. He pulls away and smirks once again. Her breathing is heavy, her eyes wide. 

“I was going to beat the shit out of you for hitting on my girl.” He growls to Mack. “But clearly my beautiful girlfriend already did that for me.” He smirks once again and walks towards the elevator, holding Ava's body tightly against his own. 

- 

A/N: Phewf. Harry didn’t walk away but saw Ava stand up for their relationship. Fact- It’s one of my pet peeves when the character walks away and doesn’t stay for the whole thing. Ha!  I also love that Ava can stand up for herself. 

Fun Fact: I usually update at 1AM. Talk about insomnia. 

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Love you all. Jenn x