More Than This

Is That a Crime?

Harry and I sit by the kitchen counter, face to face, and I brace myself for the upcoming shitstorm that is "her".

"Alex," Harry sighs and pauses.

"Spare me the introduction, please, and just tell me what you need to tell me about her." I don't like bullshit.

Harry laughs and shakes his head. "You sound like you are conducting a meeting, boss." I roll my eyes in response. Yes. I'm a boss and conversations like this brings out the bitch in me.

"Harry..." I whine. I know he now knows I'm annoyed for real so he raises his hands as if to surrender.

"I met her during my stint in China, at the Victoria Secret show." He finally says something. But wait, weren't we still together then? "We were still together then," he affirms my suspicion. "But, nothing happened then. It was just the first time I met her. She was one of the image consultants of Victoria Secret. I was introduced pre-show then we met again in the after party." He explains.

"Well that's a surprise, she's not one of the models?" I scoff.

Harry shakes his head bowed down laughing. He gets the sarcasm but he chooses to not fire back because I'm already annoyed.

"Go on." I prod.

"Anyway, I met her again about months ago, in LA. She approached me in a party and we talked. I was a bit drunk. I was mad at you then, because you are completely and deliberately ignoring me and refusing to talk to me..." he scoffs.

"Don't make this about me Harry. " my tone a tad higher. How dare he set it up like I caused this to happen?

"No. Alex, please don't get mad." He reaches out for my hand which are on the counter. "I'm just providing context to the story."

"Ok," I say unconvincingly.

"So you know, I'm drunk, she was being extra nice, and one thing led to another." He looks away. I'm sure he's embarrassed to talk about this but him being all honest is what I asked for.

"A one night stand that became a relationship. Is that the synopsis of your story?" My brow is raised and I know I have my bitch face on.

Harry sighs loudly. "Yeah, I guess it's like that." He bows his head again.

I don't know what to say back. I don't even know what to feel at this point. I want to know more, that's for sure. I don't want a complicated life with Harry. I should know where I fit in.

"She was a lot like you. She was not jaded like the celebrities I dated, she was sweet and caring. I liked talking to her because she listens and calls my bs. But in a way I was really being unfair to her because I would think about you when we're together. But I never told her that." Harry's confession confuses me more.

I opened my mouth to say that nobody is like me, but I didn't continue.

"Our relationship wasn't that deep. We fooled around whenever there's time. I liked it because she's there, you know, she would make herself available for me." He says.

Like a knife, that pierced me. That was something we couldn't do for each other. I know I haven't been there for him, like he wasn't there for me whenever we wanted to. Our work pulled us apart.

I rest my head on my arms that is proped on the counter. I started to feel sad. I blame myself for what happened to us. I squint my eyes shut and bite my lips to stop myself from crying. My chest feels heavy.

"Baby, are you ok?" Harry gets up and stands behind me, holding me by my shoulders.

I get up and wipe my tears. "I'm ok." My voice is shaky.

"I'm sorry. We can talk later, if you want." Harry says.

I shake my head in response. "Please go ahead."

Harry sits beside me and puts his arm around me. Caressing my arm as if to confort me.

"Like I said, it was not that serious, at least to me it was not. But last month, on my way to London, I was surprised to see her at LAX. We were on the same flight to Heathrow. She told me she's visiting a friend in London. The next thing you know, she's at Chesire, meeting my family." He chuckles.

"You didn't plan it?" I'm skeptical. You just don't get one to accidentaly meet your family.

"Yeah, it was just random. Like coincidence. She then introduced herself as my girlfriend. I didn't want to embarrass her to my family so I just went along." He sounds amused. I'm not. "I thought I could just tell Mum later and explain."

Why am I annoyed with this girl? But I choose not to comment yet.

"And it got a bit weird. But I only realize that now." He sighs. He balls his fist like he's angry.

"What do you mean?" I'm crurious.

Harry turned me to face him. "She saw our family pictures displayed by the table. When she saw the twins, she asked who they were. Mum lied for me and said they are they are her grandkids from Robin's children."

"So what's weird about that?" I ask

"Remember the call I got yesterday?" I nod in agreement. "Anna had been calling me." So that's her name. "I told her days before that I will be busy and I can't take any calls. She insisted in seeing me, telling me she'd go wherever I am. But I refused. She tried calling me earlier, several times. But I didn't answer."

So this Anna is what? Being clingy? Is that a crime?

Harry looks worried though, like I can see he is not comfortable with this conversation. It must be because he does not know how he will break up with her, or maybe he is having second thoughts in staying with me.

"The last call was from Mum, the one I answered." Harry pauses and takes a deep breathe and exhales loudly. "Anna called her and threatened to expose me, about you and the twins, if I didn't call her back."

Shit just got real.