Sails and Styles (Completed)

Chapter 33

I don't allow myself to turn on my phone until I get back to my parent's place. When I do, I'm overwhelmed with how many notifications there are. Harry has phoned me 56 times since yesterday. Most of those seem to be from before he left London. He has also sent me a large number of texts. Part of me wants to delete them all and move on with my life. The other part of me wants to call him immediately and tell him to get here as fast as he can. I pick the middle ground and decide to just read them.

Because of the nature of texts I see the last one he sent first. It says simply, "I love you. Call me. Please."

I scroll back through the others and read another.

Harry: I'm in Vancouver until you tell me to leave. Please talk to me. Don't push me away.

I keep scrolling until I get to a longer one.

Harry: I just left your house. I wish I could say all this in person. I know I screwed up. The woman you saw was an ex-girlfriend and yes she lived there but I didn't. I was in Los Angeles and she needed a place to stay. Then I met you. She thought I would come back to London and get back together with her but I told her no. I told her about you. I told her about how much I love you. She didn't take it well. She trashed the house and refused to leave. My manager and lawyer had to step in. That's the truth Maggie.

Was he being honest? Was that really all of it? Why didn't he just tell me that? Why all the secrets? I think back to how his mom had thought he was coming to Vancouver for work. That whole conversation felt off at the time and even with this new information it still feels off. Why would he turn his phone off and go AWOL if they weren't together anymore?

I need answers if I'm ever going to get closure. I call Harry. He answers on the first ring.

"Maggie?"

"I think we need to talk," I say firmly, trying not to let the sound of his voice affect me.

"I do too. When?"

"Come to my parent's place tonight at 8."

"Okay," he says, sounding saddened by my serious tone.

"I'll see you then."

"Maggie?"

I pause from hanging up but don't say anything. Waiting.

"I love you."

"Bye Harry," and I hang up.

I suck in a breath of air that I desperately need at this moment. Hearing him say those words felt so good and so awful at the same time. How could everything change so quickly between us? One minute I'm about to unpack my clothes to move in with him and the next minute I'm getting on a plane to fly away from him.   It's my mistake. I only knew him for a couple weeks and I fell for him.

And I love him. I've never felt so safe and supported by anyone in my life. That might be the reason why this hurts so much. I trusted him. I believed him when he told me that what we had was different. That he'd never loved someone before. He's made me feel foolish.

The afternoon goes by slowly and then it's almost eight o'clock. I've put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and cleaned up after I made myself dinner. I'm sitting on the couch strumming away on a guitar I grabbed from the music room when I see my security system has been triggered. I stand up to check the cameras, assuming Harry must be early. I look at the feed and notice it's not the front gate that was triggered but a back motion-sensor camera. Strange. I rewind the feed and watch and see the camera feed go black and then back to normal. Must have been an animal.

Before I sit back down I see a cab pull up out front of the gates and I see Harry climb out. I press the open button on the gate and he looks up as he is about to press the intercom. I watch on the video feed as he starts the walk up the driveway to the front door. I stop watching the cameras and take a deep breath before walking to the front door to open it for him.