Fine line (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter 22

It was a week after everything happened that the article broke. I had just gotten out of the shower, about to head to lunch with Liam when I saw it, and couldn't help myself.

I remember, vividly, the drop in my stomach as I read the words sprawled in the screen on my phone, the dread that planted itself within me. It was like being stabbed, impaled by a blade of unexplainable suffering. It was nothing I'd ever felt before, and trust me, I'd felt a lot.

"Ex member of boy band "One Direction" Louis Tomlinson and model, Eleanor Calder to marry in just two months time!"

I froze, stung by the the words, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. It was like taking a hot shower. The water stings, but somehow you can't pull your body away. You loathe the pain but something draws you to it, as if it's all you've ever known.

So I read on.

"A close source says invitations were sent out a few days ago, and we're expecting an extravagant, beautiful wedding. Friends of Louis, including Ex band members Niall Horgan, Liam Payne, and even Zayn Malik are expected as guests. Though the two seemed to have rekindled their friendship, one name seems to be missing from the buzz. Harry styles, breakout solo artist and ex member of one direction seems to be left out of the loop. Sources say the two seemed to have gotten closer and then drifted apart once more. There's no chatter about the reason the friendship died out again, but we can't help but wonder: were the rumors spread so long ago only rumors after all?"

I slammed my phone down and Liam jumped back in response, startled from his trance.

"What the fuck is he playing at," i growled, asking no one in particular.

"Harry just take a breath I'm sure-"

"You're sure what?" My words were laced with venom and I felt a ping of guilt in my heart as Liam's brows furrowed in confusion.

"My invitation got lost in the mail yeah?" I carried on. "Just a little delay there, do you think? Oh," I exclaimed, "do you reckon I'll get a plus one? Which are you choosing, the fish or the chicken?"

I slumped on to the couch, my body exasperated from all the emotion.

"I don't know what he's thinking Harry." Liam's voice was timid, calming, and my nerves began to loosen. "Have you tried calling him, texting him?"

I moved my fingertips to my temples, messaging them in desperation. I strained to reign in my emotion, to quiet the voice in my head that was screaming.

"And what would I say, Liam? 'I'm sorry I kissed you back?' Oh how about 'I'm sorry I thought - only for a split second - that you cared?'" My voice began to rap, draining out as the emotion within me delve forward "I'm sorry that I still feel what you never did? What you swore was a mistake? I'm fucking sorry that I thought you ever gave shit about me, that I thought you ever saw me as something more than a distraction - a phase , a passing in time!"

It was only then that I noticed the hot tears flooding from my eyes, swarming over my cheeks and leaking into my mouth as I screamed the words i'd kept in for so long. The salt of the sorrow I bled tasted like acid, burning my tongue with the rancid flavor of desperation and despair.

"Harry.."

Liam watched with wide eyes as I exploded in front of him, a grenade too long overdue. I didn't feel embarrassed. I didn't feel ashamed for what had taken over me. I felt avenged, unhinged.

It was a long time coming, yet every fiber of my being was unnerved, my veins shocked with anger and vulnerability.

"It's nothing," I forced out, my words rough around the edges.