Empire // h.s. au

Waking Up

Samantha Anderson

I was a dirty, dirty cheater. These were the only words I could tell myself as I woke up in Harry Styles', my boss, bed. I loved Luke. I adored Luke. But Harry was different. Harry was new. He was sexy. He was powerful.

I never took myself to be someone who was attracted to power and beauty, but Harry was all that and then some. He was intense and mysterious and I found it so interesting. 

But then there was Luke. He was familiar and comfortable and things worked with him. He made sense. He was the sensible choice. The man you're supposed to marry. The man you would want to bring home to your parents. 

But Harry...Harry wasn't even still in the bed, I realized as I reached over to the other side of the bed and felt nothing. Just air.

I was just another fucking one night stand. 

And I've never felt so guilty or worthless in my life. I had actually thought something was developing. But here I was, alone in his God damn bed in his God damn house. 

Guilt ate me alive as I realized the consequences of my stupidity. 

Harry Styles had played me. And I had let him. 

I groaned and sat up, pulling the sheets around my naked body. I couldn't believe I had let it get to this. I had slept with my boss, knowing full well it would never be more than that. It had been just sex. And I was an idiot for thinking it could be any more. 

I stepped out of bed and dropped the sheet, pulling on the underwear and bra I had worn last night. It felt weird putting on my elaborate dress, but it was all I had. Harry was forcing me to do a damn walk of shame. In last night's dress and heels. I was one of the girls I judged, which made me a hypocritical bitch.

I walked outside of the room, not even bothering to make the bed or even close the door. I was annoyed with Harry and his absolute inconsiderateness, so I needed to get out of this forsaken apartment. 

As I walked, the wood made little creaking noises. In a way it was comforting, it was so quiet in the apartment that the little creaks made me feel like I was still alive and not in Hell. Finally, I reached the elevator.

After pressing the down button about a million times, I stepped into the elevator. I leaned against the stainless steel walls and sighed, resting my head.

What the hell was I doing with my life and how did I end up right here? What was I going to tell Luke? 

I reached into my phone and dialed the number of the one person that could possibly help me. 

~

"Where the hell have you been?" my wild, eccentric and too-beautiful for words best friend, Aria, said. 

She was the one person I could tell this too. She was the one person I could trust. 

"I know, I suck, but life has just been insane," I sighed, leaning back in the booth. We were at my favorite corner cafe in Manhattan. It was like my own personal "Central Perk". 

"No worries, Sammy, I'll get over it one day. Just tell me what's all been going on," she grinned, shrugging off her jacket. Aria was an artist, which we connected on as I was a designer. Aria had been my best friend since high school. And because of this, she even brought me clothes. Which I had already changed into. 

I was blessed to have this girl as my friend. 

"Okay, but, please don't judge me," I begged, taking a sip of the black coffee that sat in front of me. It warmed me as it went down my throat, comforting my guilty conscience just a bit. 

"Oh honey, you've probably heard me do a lot worse," Aria laughed, shaking her head. With that, I began the long story that sounded even worse out loud than it did in my head. 

Aria's face as I finished the story was simply priceless. And it also made me feel a lot worse than I already did. 

 "Your boss is Harry Styles?" I nodded my head. "And you slept with Harry Styles?!" 

I nodded my head once again, covering my face with my hands.

"Jesus Christ Sammy, where the hell have I been?" 

"How bad is it? How horrible am I?" I sighed, looking at Aria. "I haven't called or even texted Luke, Ar. I'm screwed. So beyond screwed." 

"Literally," she snorted, grinning in my direction. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. 

"This is serious. What the hell do I do? Luke is going to hate me. And did I mention Harry left me like a freaking one night stand? Am I that trashy?" I cried, looking at Aria. My conscience was aching. What I had done was unforgivable, and I knew that, but telling Luke was going to be just as painful. Yet, I knew I still needed to tell him everything. Even if I didn't want to . 

"You have to tell Luke, Sammy. I know it's going to suck, but I honestly believe he could get over it. This is Luke we're talking about, he's loved you since the second he met you, he's fought for you again and again. I don't think he'll give up on you. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but you guys can get through this," Aria said, grabbing my hand. "As long as you know it was a mistake." 

I knew she was right. But I wasn't sure I could admit it was a mistake. because I'm not so sure it was. 

~

When I got home, I expected the worse. Luke was going to be pissed and probably freak out at me. It was noon and he hadn't seen me since last night at 7. He was not going to be happy with me. At all.

I shrugged off the olive coat Aria had brought me, leaving me in a striped shirt that showed a large portion of my stomach. Luke wasn't home, which left me time to figure out how I was going to tell him I had slept with Harry.  

After a moment of consideration, I began to walk around the apartment, contemplating my entire existence. I did this when I was stressed. Tired. Worried.

Or guilty. 

What made this all so much worse was that Harry hadn't even stayed around. I'm not saying it was a mistake, because apart of me felt like it wasn't, but it hurt and made me feel like shit that he hadn't stayed. That he hadn't even attempted to talk about what happened. 

But this is Harry Styles we're talking about. Not some gentleman. 

However, I was really hoping maybe things would change for us. We actually talked last night. Like we had a real conversation. I honestly believed maybe we were going somewhere. Maybe he didn't hate me. Maybe he was getting over his wall he had up. 

But he wasn't. And that sucks. 

I continued to walk around the apartment, pacing and thinking. Completely unsure of what to do or say. 

That is, until there was a knock at the door. A loud, powerful knock that could only belong to one person. 

I strolled to the door, hesitant to even open the door. I took a deep breath and whipped it open. 

And there he was.

Harry Styles. 

Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! Just so you know...I'm leaving for a week next week Wednesday to the following Wednesday. So I won't write at all, so I'm hoping to do a few updates between now and then! Anywho, hope you enjoyed! Vote and stuff...ALSO if anyone is really with tech stuff...I was hoping someone would make a trailer? 

xx.