crumble | h.s

part twenty four

Harry Styles 

"So when are you going to tell them?" Louis says smugly. I glare at him as he smirks. 

How the fuck did he find out.

"Tell us what?" Liam questions, arching his brow. 

I rub my temples with my hands, avoiding eye contact. My eyes pinch shut in anger and frustration. 

As much as I didn't want to tell them...I had too. They deserved to know. 

"Last night, while I was in the living room, Lydia came downstairs." I begin. 

The boys all look at me, giving me their undivided attention. 

"We got in a little bit of an argument and-"

"Did you guys have make-up sex?" Niall cuts me off. 

"No!" I object. His mouth curls into a smirk and he nods, allowing me to continue. 

I shake my head. "She saw an envelope on the table." I say, my voice becoming low. 

I was dreading the next sentence. 

"She saw The Kings' red circle." Liam and Niall's eyes widen. 

"She recognized it from the diner." I say quietly, but firmly. 

"Fuck, dude." Niall mutters. Liam stares at the counter with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. 

"So she knows about...us?" Liam finally speaks, looking at me. 

I nod and take my bottom lip between my teeth. 

"What happened after that?" Liam asks. 

I take a deep breath. "She ran out of the house but I caught up with her and got her to come back in. I told her everything this morning." I feel dread in my stomach as I relive everything that happened with Lydia. 

The kitchen falls silent for a couple moments. Everyone was processing this new obstacle we were being faced with. 

"What are we supposed to do with her?" Louis breaks the silent room with his voice. I look up at him and purse my lips to the side. 

"She can't go back. Not just because she knows about us but also because there are still people who want to hurt her." I say, fully meaning every word. 

"This is insane." Niall exclaims. 

I sigh, dipping my head down to look at my hands as I begin to obsessively play with my rings. I was seriously at a loss. I didn't want to have to keep Lydia here under these circumstances, but I felt like I had no other choice. 

"Does she know you killed her brother?" Louis asks, his voice was low and monotone.

I continue to stare down at my hands before shaking my head in response. 

"Shit." he curses. 

I run my hands through my curls as I sit there in stress. Lydia didn't deserve any of this. She didn't ask to be dragged into this mess but yet, here she was. I knew that she hated me now.

She told me herself. 

But I only wanted to protect her. I brought her to stay with us because I thought it would be best for her and her safety. Whoever broke into her home that one night was so close to getting whatever it is they wanted. If the guys and I hadn't of shown up at the time we did...who knows where she'd be right now. So, I tried to give her a small sense of security here...but it was all thrown away at the drop of a dime.