crumble | h.s

part forty one

Harry Styles

I dropped Lydia off at our apartment, and then went down to the office to work on some paperwork.

I sat with my elbows perched on the arms of my leather chair, with my fingers intertwined together under my chin. I sat and stared at the piles of letters and papers in front of me.

I was procrastinating even touching these papers. I would fiddle with random things on my desk, or throw and catch objects in the air, anything to avoid doing the work I came down here to do.

There was one positive thing to all these letters. Not one of them would be from The Phantoms threatening us again.

Their surrender was one of the best things to happen for us. I wasn't living with the constant worry that someone would hurt Lydia. I could go out in public with her now, and hold her hand. I probably wouldn't have even asked her to be my girlfriend if the Phantoms were still after us, because that would give them even more reason to use her to get me.

I couldn't believe she was my girlfriend now. The girl I met in an alley one fateful night was now all mine. We've been on such an intense journey together and it's only been a couple of months. She's seen my highs and my lows, which are two things that anybody rarely gets to see.

I never thought that I would develop such a deep connection with this girl, but I did and I wouldn't change it for the world.

A sudden knock on my office door pulls me away from my distracted thoughts.

"Come in." I rock back and forth in my chair.

The door opens and I sit up slightly when I see who walks through the door.

Liam.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he questions while walking in and shutting the door behind him. His face and his voice were low.

"Well you're here." I shrug. He nods and plops down on the black leather sofa on the opposite side of my office. He rubs his temples and fishes into the inside of his jacket, then pulls out two cigarettes.

He looks at me, asking with his eyes if I want one of the smokes, to which I respond by holding my hand out ready to catch it.

I receive the stick in my hand and pull a lighter out from my desk drawer as he pulls one out of his pocket.

I light the cigarette and place it between my lips, inhaling the tobacco filled smoke into my lungs.

I look over at Liam, who was staring down at the ground, letting smoke trail from his lips and into his nose.

"What did you need to talk about? I have a lot of shit to do." I say with the cigarette hanging from my lips. I knew exactly what he wanted to talk to me about, but I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I fucked up, Styles." Liam says, running his hands through his hair.

I sit back in my chair and take the smoke between my forefinger and thumb and pull it away from my lips as I inhale its contents. I sit and wait for him to keep on speaking.

"Eliza's pregnant."

I widen my eyes at the fact that he said it so quickly and so bluntly, but I mostly keep my face blank and stone cold.

"I know." I say, blowing smoke out of my parted lips.

"You knew?" he furrows his brows and looks up at me.

"I was with Lydia when Eliza told her." I take another puff from my cigarette.

"Well what do I do?" he asks me with his arms open and his cigarette between his pointer and middle finger in his right hand.