Fishing For A Dream [Book Three]

Chapter 41 (i) - Guilty Party

Double update! - This got a little long but I didn't want to leave a gap, so I split it into two parts.

I quickly got dressed and wrapped my hair up in a towel so it wouldn't drip water onto my clothes. I was stalling. I had no idea who was out there with Harry - I'd forgotten to ask in my panicked realisation that months of speculation were about to come to an end - and my mind raced with all of the worst possibilities of what I was about to hear.

With my hand on the chrome door handle, I took a few deep breaths, and went to face the music.

"Joel?" I said, vocalising my surprise before I could stop myself. "I'm sorry! I just... I wasn't expecting you to be here. Hello, are you okay?"

Thankfully Joel smiled, and his expression indicated he wasn't offended. "I'm fine. I'm sorry for interrupting your morning, but we thought we should let you know as soon as possible."

Harry looked incredibly uncomfortable when I glanced at him, his arms folded across his chest, and his jaw tensed. "We?"

His reply was clipped, barely concealing his eye-roll at having to speak to him, "Will."

Frowning, I was starting to get a little confused about what was happening. Why was Joel in my hotel room looking like he'd rather be anywhere else, what did Will have to do with it all, and how did any of it have any relation to mine and Harry's relationship going public?!

I felt like I was standing on the precipice of an enormous cliff, moments away from jumping into the stormy sea below. Knowing the truth was always going to be better, and I honestly did want to know who it was, but as the faces of my friends and loved ones flashed through my mind's eye, I was petrified it was going to be someone I trusted completely - scared of hearing a name and it meaning I could no longer have that person in my life.

"Okay, can someone explain to me what's going on?"

Joel sighed, heavily, glancing at the door like he was hoping someone would come and save him from the terrible task of not only being in the same hotel room as Harry and I but from also having to break some awful news to me. I sympathised with him, or rather I would have sympathised if I hadn't been confused and increasingly irritated out of fear.

"Fuck," he said suddenly, letting out a short, nervous laugh. "I don't know how to tell you this, Lilly, but... but it was Vicky. Vicky and Mia went to the press. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry they did that to you."

"What?" I paused, scoffing incredulously, trying desperately to process what he'd just told me. Looking at Harry, he nodded. "That... That's... That's bullshit. How do you know it was them?"

The room felt like it was beginning to spin, and I groped around behind me for the arm of the sofa so I could lean against it. My mind was racing with a million thoughts, and not a single one was coherent.