WRONG // (Harry Styles)

t h i r t y s e v e n

CHAPTER 37

Harry's point of view

*4 hours earlier*

I try my best to focus on whats in front of me, but the room keeps spinning. I'm at a bar, I know that much. And I'm drunk. Really fucking drunk.

With every glimmer of light I see, I'm reminded by the spark in her eyes. The subtle innocence, the fierce willpower.

Her way of loving me made feel something I've never found before. Euphoria spread around my body every time she looked at me. Her perfect smile, her perfectly sculpted body, her beautiful soul. I felt so lucky to be able to look upon her every day. Hear her laugh, touch her skin, feel her lips against mine...

And it was all ripped away in a flash when she found out about me. Ever since we met, my biggest fear was for her to see the bad I already saw in myself. And then she did.

I didn't really think about it when I sent in the photo. I walked in on Niall practically embracing her, and I couldn't think clearly. I had just payed off the photographer to not leak the photo, to prevent Claire from getting hurt. But when I saw them together, every inch of my body was dedicated to get her away from him.

If he wasn't so fucking persistent... If he just backed off when he saw the photo. But he already knew about me and Claire, and he still went after her. Years of friendship disintegrated in that exact moment, when I realized he tried to make something happen with her.

I look around in the crowded bar, my failing vision keeping me from thinking clearly. I see a silhouette of a girl walking towards me, her long brown locks capturing my attention. She's wearing a purple dress, much like the one I gave to Claire.

She sits down beside me, crossing her legs. My blurry vision isn't enough to determine her facial features, but it looks like her. She says something, and reaches out her hand to me.

I don't know why... Maybe it is the relentless feeling of worthlessness, the gnawing guilt, feeling unloved... But I take her hand, and she leads me into the bathroom.

•

I stumble into the cab, mumbling my address to the driver and I realize how badly I fucked up. Claire's expression when she found out about the photo, is something I never want to witness again. It makes me sick just to think about it. And now... The first thing I did when she left was to seek comfort and pleasure in someone else.

I've always put my own needs before hers. Well, the need for her. I sent in the photo to show Niall and everyone else that she... belonged to me. Then, when Louis was in surgery, I ripped her away when she found comfort in Niall. I had things still going with my ex-girlfriend. And 24 hours after breaking her heart, I was hooking up with another girl.

I wanted her to only have me.

But then she finally saw me for what I was, and left. Just like I thought she would. It's amazing to me that she didn't leave sooner.

I get back to my house, and I throw some dollar bills to the front seat and stumble out of the car. I make it to the kitchen without passing out, and I see the liquor cabinet over the beside the fridge. I know I've had way too much. But not enough to kill the never-ending regret of ever hurting Claire.

I grab a bottle of whiskey, and head for the bed. I look her up to see if she has been papped somewhere outside of Niall's house. A few photos appear on the screen. She is walking into a restaurant with Niall and... Liam? I didn't even know he got back from England. I stare at the photo, with no trace of a smile on her face.