adore you // [h.s]

8

TW; mentions of sexual assault

Audrey

I was all packed for Malibu. Malibu was a little over an hour drive from my house not including all the traffic we would get stuck in.

I brought my suitcase into the living room since Harry said he was about to pull in. I looked in the kitchen to see my mother, we had barely spoken since the other day. We weren't mad at each other, or at least I wasn't mad at her but I knew she would get upset because I hadn't decided to agree with her.

She always does.

And I know she just wants what is best for me. She's my mother, she will always want what's best for me but at some point I have to decide that for myself.

"I'm leaving." I announced as I walked into the kitchen.

"Have fun." She said, not even taking her eyes off her paperwork.

"I'm sorry about the other day." I moved closer to her. "I know you're just looking out for me, but it's not like that between Harry and I. I'll be okay if people snap pictures of us together, it's not a big deal."

"I haven't seen you this happy, this free, in years. I don't want you to get hurt again." She looked at me with tears in her eyes. I walked over to her, pulling her in for a hug. She rubbed my back. "I thought I was going to lose you last time you got hurt, and I can't lose you." She cried into my shoulder.

"I'm not going to get hurt." I reassured her, "I'm going to be okay." She nodded.

There was a knock at the door. She pulled away from. I watched her wipe her tears. I walked over to the door, looking over my shoulder at her before I let Harry in.

"Good evening, Ms. Taylor." He greeted my mother as soon as he walked into the house.

"Good evening darling." She walked over and hugged him. "You look nice." She complimented him.

My eyes looked over his outfit. He was dressed in a black shirt matching black pants as well as a plaid coat. The coat fell to his knees.

"Thank you." He looked over to me, "Ready?" I nodded as I went to grab my suitcase, but he stopped me. "I'll get it, love." I smiled at him as I handed the suitcase over to him.

"I'll be back in a week," I whispered to my mom as I pulled her in for a hug.

Harry and I walked out to the car, "I'll let you control the aux." He told me as he loaded my luggage into the backseat, "don't let me down."

I wanna be king in your story
I wanna know who you are
I want your heart to beat for me
Oh I
(Power Over Me - Dermot Kennedy)

"Not bad." He complimented my song. "I've listened to some of his music before."

**

Harry and I were both exhausted by the time we made it to Malibu. We talked each other's heads off the entire way here. He was so open with me about his life, and it was so amazing to feel this close to someone.

"Bad news," Mitch said as soon as we walked out onto the beach, "Jeff didn't know Audrey was coming, so he didn't know to get an extra room."

Harry looked over at me, "I'll just sleep on the couch, it's not a big deal." He smiled at Mitch. Mitch returned to the crowd.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch." I whispered to him as we slowly made our way over to the crowd, "You could just sleep with me, I wouldn't mind." Harry smiled at me.

"Are you sure, love?" I nodded at him. "What if I'm a terrible bed buddy?"

"I don't sleep much anyway." I shrugged as we gathered around the fire.

Time passed, Mitch kept telling stories to try and embarrass Harry. I could see how annoyed Harry was getting, but I knew he wouldn't tell Mitch. They were exactly like brothers. They picked on each other and they argued, but at the end of the day they had each other's backs. Harry deserved to be surrounded by amazing people, and the more time I spend with him I realize that he is.

I looked over to see Mitch with a blunt between his fingers, he nudged Jeff then passed it to him.

"I hope you don't mind," Mitch says referring to the blunt.

"No, I don't mind a bit." I watched Jeff take another hit off it. He noticed me watching him then he offered it to me, "Pass it over." I take it between my fingers taking a long drag. I relaxed back into the chair.

I hadn't smoked in a long time. Kai and I used to smoke a lot in high school, but then we just quit. He decided that drinking and smoking wasn't the path he wanted to take, so out of respect I stopped.

Harry watched me as I started to relax. I started to feel more and more comfortable around him and his friends. "Why haven't you smoked any, Styles?" I asked him as he chuckled.

"I think I'm going to let you enjoy yourself tonight." I smiled at him. "You deserve to have some fun every now and then." He just wanted to make sure I was safe, and I adored him for that.

**

Harry and I laid beside each other in complete silence, but I felt so comfortable. I couldn't tell if it was the weed or just his presence.

"Love," His sweet voice floated through the air, "are you awake?" I hummed as I rolled over onto my back. "Can I ask you something?" I hummed again. "What's your darkest secret?"

"Uhm," I thought to myself, "I don't know if I should say it." We both rolled over onto our sides so we were facing each other. "Mine's a bit much to handle." He furrowed his brows at me. "I'll tell you if you really want to know, but you have to promise not to judge me, not to tell anyone."

"I promise." He held up his pinky as did I, "If you don't want to tell me then I'm not going to make you. I just want to know you."

"A few years ago I was with this boy. We had been together for almost a year and he kept asking me for sex. I just didn't feel ready to be that open with him yet. Maybe it was wrong on my part, but I just felt like he didn't deserve to know me that way." He nodded. "We were at his house one night, and he got so angry with me because I didn't want to. He grabbed my wrists and held me down." I could feel myself tearing up.

"You don't have to finish," Harry said as he laid his hand on my cheek. He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Some days I can still feel his body on top of mine." I cried, "I felt so dirty for months after it happened. I felt like I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered. "Come here." He pulled my body over to his. He just held me. He ran his fingers through my hair. I felt safe in his arms.

**

Hey lovelies, I hope you're enjoying this book so far! I wanted to attach a picture of Harry's outfit that he wore to pick up Audrey. It's the same outfit from the Crosswalk Concert video that Harry done with James Corden.