I felt horrible.
The wind blew in my face, throwing my hair out behind me. The harshness of it hurt, but it was a welcomed sort of pain. Slowly, though, Louis rolled up the window, and the loud sound that had been thrown around the car from it ceased, leaving us in complete and utter silence. I glanced at him, his blue eyes already on me before they returned to the road.
"What did Harry tell you?"
I had been expecting some sort of questioning as soon as Harry and I had returned downstairs and he had asked Louis to take me home, and especially after I'd blatantly refused a kiss from Harry.
"I want you to take her back to the house, Lou," Harry instructed as we approached the group. They all stood in a half-circle formation, taking in serious, rushed tones. They looked up upon our arrival, and I kept my eyes down, not too keen on seeing the looks they might give me.
They made no remarks, especially in front of Harry, but I knew that Louis had nodded in compliance when Harry's fingers gently grasped my chin and tilted my head up to look at him. His eyes were dark, clouded in some emotion that I couldn't decipher.
He didn't say a word as he leaned down, and I knew what he wanted. A kiss goodbye. As soon as I realized this, my head snapped to the side instinctively, and Harry's lips landed on my cheek.
I caught Zayn's gaze and he raised one eyebrow at me, but I averted my eyes downward as I felt Harry pull away. "I'll be home soon," he muttered a bit dejectedly. I didn't look up as I heard his feet slap against the rough floors, followed by a loud bang that signaled Harry had left the room.
"Come on," Louis sighed.
"Nothing," was my immediate reply. Louis scoffed.
"That's bullshit," he stated. A pause followed his words, and I knew that he was waiting for me to say what Harry had told me, but I was too caught up in my thoughts.
It's not my fucking fault that you're too messed up in the head to fuck anyone.
That was what had gotten me. I couldn't believe that Harry of all people would say something like that to me. He had crossed some invisible line. He had betrayed me, yes, but he had never said anything so--
"Alice?"
I sighed, staring down at my hands. "He just told me what happened... between him and Aspyn."
"Ah," Louis nodded. "How did you take it?"
I shrugged one shoulder. "I don't think that really matters. He was honest and he told me everything, but I don't think I care about Aspyn anymore. I care more about the fact that Harry would and could say such harsh things to me."
An uncomfortable silence ensued. "He snapped Alice," Louis muttered a bit defensively.
"I can't deal with that," I whispered back.
The rest of the ride was quiet. Louis didn't ask anymore questions, and I didn't spark any random conversations. Soon enough, the familiar gates of Harry's house could be seen. I was out of the car as quickly as I could be.
"Slow down there," Louis chuckled as I impatiently waited beside the door. I didn't reply as he unlocked it and I fled into the warm confines of the house. I was hoping that I could reach my room before Louis caught up to me, but it seemed that his longer legs proved to be advantageous to him in this situation.
"Alice, wait!" he called after me. I paused on the third step of the staircase, internally groaning at my inability to lock myself away. I turned slightly, watching as Louis entered the small space, his gaze finding mine.
