Detached [h.s au]

Chapter 45: Revelation

Elizabeth's POV

I try to control my rising temper as Harry and I drive down an empty road. The conversation with my father was the last straw. Without any warning, I exit the main highway, following the unfamiliar dirt road into the thin woods and emerging into a clearing. I stop the car abruptly, unbuckling my seatbelt. I don't wait for Harry's reaction and open the door, almost jumping out of the car. My feet hastily carry me away from him, my body almost shaking from anger.

"Beth, what the hell are you doing?" I hear him yell behind me.

I look at him over my shoulder. "You're going to tell me everything, Harry."

"Beth, calm down and--"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I snap. "I'm done with this shit."

I turn, my breathing raged. I feel his hand grab my forearm, spinning me around to face him. I yank my arm from his grip harshly, glaring at him. "If you're planning on using some of your tricks to get my mind off this, you won't succeed. I've been lied to for so long and I have to be tortured to actually find out what's wrong with me, what everyone wants from me!" I throw my arms up in the air. "I've had enough, Harry. You never tell me anything and you don't let Zayn tell me the truth either, and that stops today. I don't want to be with someone who constantly expects me to listen to him and never ask questions, no matter if my life is on the line. I'm not some toy, Harry, you can't control me." When I end my speech, Harry's eyes are widened, his posture tense. His face is the picture of anxiousness and fear and I almost feel bad for him. Almost.

"You think I want to control you?" He says after what it feels like an eternity. "Please, don't think that, I would never...no, that was never my intention," he gulps, his eyes panicked. "Control is the last thing I want, I only want to protect you, protect me from...I want to protect us from control, you don't understand."

My hearts falls in my chest when I see how his emotional state shifted drastically. My arms are itching to wrap around his neck, my fingers long to run through his hair and my lips only want to taste his. But I mustn't give in, I have to stay collected if I want to find out the truth.

"If you don't tell me everything right now, I swear I will turn and leave with my father. I don't care about the plan, I don't care about Gerald, I don't care about anything," I look him in the eye, trying very hard to keep a straight face when I see how affected he seems to be. "If you care about me, even the slightest bit, you will talk to me, Harry." 

Harry casts his gaze down, his shoulders slumping. I wait for him to talk, to say anything, but he never does. Defeated, I walk past him, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. I don't know whether to cry because of Daniel, because of everything that has happened in the past few days or because Harry seems like he really doesn't care about me at all. 

"Wait," he says and I immediately turn, hope slowly rising from within me. "I'll tell you the truth. My truth."

"No more secrets?" 

"No more secrets," he nods, extending his hand. "I promise."

I feel a sense of relief as I walk back to him, tentatively putting my hand in his. We walk toward the part of the forest with less dirt, lowering ourselves down. I lean against the tree, sitting cross-legged across from Harry, who is sitting with his legs sprawled, picking on the grass strings while supporting his torso with one arm.

"I was sixteen when I met Zayn, Liam, and Louis. My life was in its downward spiral and I was ruining myself with every chance I got, and there was nothing I could do about it. Everything changed when they came along, but I couldn't accept the truth at first. Since you talked to that dipshit of your brother, I'm sure you know about my drug abuse issues," he looks me in the eye and I nod. "You see, I've been controlled my whole life and..." he sighs, looking away.