The Story of Us (Book 1 of "The Story of Us" Series) [Completed]

Chapter 21 - I Was Wrong

[Harley]

On the biggest night of my career, I also got engaged. I couldn't believe that Ashton asked me to marry him, to spend the rest of my life with him. The sad thing is I didn't even question my answer. I said 'yes' with no hesitation because I loved him. I think if I was being honest with myself, I fell in love with him my first day on the set when we shot our first scene in the movie.

Funny thing is, by the time we announced our engagement after some speculation when my tour started back up, our movie was coming out. The directors, producers and movie company loved that we were together then and loved that we were engaged even more.

While the movie did okay at the box office, my and Ashton's relationship was moving along great. We hadn't started planning the wedding because we still wanted to wait. He had two movies lined up to film and I was getting ready to do my first European shows. We wanted to wait until he finished the two movies so that we could take time off to enjoy it. You know, get married, go on the honeymoon and move in together.

I'm not going to lie... I couldn't stop staring at my engagement ring. There was a part of me that thought when I finally had an engagement ring, it would be from Nick. Those days were over and I tried my best to not even think about him. I had finally started to move on and according from what I was hearing, Nick and Paris were doing just fine.

And to be honest, I didn't really care.

I was engaged and in love. My album was still doing awesome and I was winning awards left and right. I was having the time of my life and Nick Carter was the least of my worries.

[/Harley]

[July 2004]

Nick sat in the corner of his bedroom in the dark. He hadn't left his house in two days. Paparazzi were camped out in front of his house and he didn't want to be seen. After having a huge fight with Paris and practically breaking up, he got a call from his manager saying that Paris had been spotted with bruises all over her body. She was telling people that Nick had done it and he abused her, which is why they broke up.

That led to the paparazzi.

The guys were worried about him. Kevin had took him out to eat but the paparazzi followed them, yelling obscene things at Nick. Now, according to the gossip sites and his management, it was about to be all over the magazines.

He needed out of the house because it reminded him of Paris, but he couldn't leave. He couldn't face the photographers outside. He couldn't do it. He would never abuse a girl. Paris was doing what everybody had warned him about... spinning their breakup to make her look good and him look bad.

His parents warned him, Kevin definitely warned him, Brian, AJ, Howie, Harley... Harley warned him. She was probably laughing at him now.

He heard his cell phone ring and he looked to see that it was Brian.

"Yeah?" Nick muttered, answering his phone.

"Nick, I booked you a flight to Atlanta that leaves in two hours. Pack some stuff and a taxi is on the way to your house right now. I want you to come out here," Brian said as Nick didn't say anything. "Nick, you need to get out of L.A. right now. It's not the place you need to be. You can't sit in your house all day, scared to go out."

"You sure?" Nick asked.

"I'm sure, buddy," Brian said as Nick cracked a smile. "Now pack your shit and get on the plane."

Harley sat on the sofa in her living room, eating M&M's and watching television. Ashton was busy in Canada filming a movie and she was leaving for Europe in four days to do ten sold-out shows overseas. She was nervous about performing in Europe, but was excited. She'd never done it before. She thought about surprising Ashton in Canada but he was busy filming 18 hours a day. Plus, she just wanted to relax at home. Her father was coming for a visit the next day and they had planned on taking a day trip to the mountains.

Since her mother's death, she had tried her best to spend more time with her Dad since he was alone now in Alabama and she thought he appreciated it. He had grown to like Ashton more than he did to begin with and they would go out hunting or fishing together whenever they had the chance.

She smiled, hearing Ashton's ringtone on her cell phone and reached over and grabbed it off the coffee table. "Hiii," she smiled, answering the phone.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Ashton said as Harley leaned back into the sofa. "Watching television?"

"You know it," she said. "Taking a break?"

"Yeah, so I heard some news," he said as Harley stopped smiling. He sounded serious for a change. "Have you heard the news about Nick?" This couldn't be good if Ashton was calling her about her ex-boyfriend.

"No, what news?"

"Paris is on the cover of a magazine that's coming out tomorrow saying that Nick abused her," Ashton said as Harley's face went blank. "They broke up and apparently he beat her up she's saying."

"Seriously?" Harley asked.

"That's what everybody is saying. I figured you hadn't heard so I wanted to let you know," he said, hearing silence on the line. "You okay, Harley?"

"I'm fine," she said, laughing slightly. "I know he would never do that, but payback is a bitch."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, well, I need to get back to work," he said as she smiled. "I'll call you back later, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too," Harley said, smiling as she closed her phone. She stared at her phone and sat it back down on the table beside the sofa. She looked down at her ring, playing with it on her finger and moved her eyes up to her charm bracelet. She always wore it, not just because of Nick, but because of her mother's charm that she had given her.

She couldn't believe that Paris was accusing Nick of abuse. The thought alone made her want to laugh. There was no way Nick would ever abuse someone. Sure, that one time he had gotten a little rough at the VMA after party but she knew he was on something that night. It wasn't Nick, not the real Nick.

She sighed, seeing a re-run of "Grey's Anatomy" come on. Patrick Dempsey would surely take her mind off of Nick's situation. She had loved him since she watched him in "Can't Buy Me Love" as a little girl.

She jumped, hearing her door bell. She moved the blanket out of her lap and stood up, tucking her hair behind her ears. She walked up to the door, looking out of it, hoping to see her father. He had been known to show up early if he was too bored. It had to be her father.

"Daddy?" Harley asked, unlocking the door. She opened it up and stuck her head outside. Her house was gated. Someone had to know the security code to get in.

Then she looked down beside the door to see someone sitting there with a baseball cap low on their head. Then she saw the tattoo on the person's leg, realizing it was Nick sitting there, his knees up in the air.

"Nick, what are you doing here?" Harley asked as he looked up at her. His eyes were red and swollen and she knew he had been crying. He didn't say anything and looked away. "Nick," she said, squatting down to his eye level. "What are you doing here?"

"Brian told me to come visit him, but I couldn't pass the exit to your house without coming here," he whispered as she took his arm, pulling him up off the ground. She practically pushed him into the house and shut the door behind him. "Have you heard?" he asked as Harley reached for her cardigan to cover up since she was in a tank top and shorts.

"Ashton just called me to tell me," she said as he looked around, noticing that she had changed the decorations in her house a little.

"You know I didn't do it, right?" he asked, looking at her. Harley just crossed her arms over chest. "Please, Harley, tell me you know that."

"You did bruise my arm at that party..."

"I was high," he said as she nodded. "You know I would have never done that on purpose." She could tell he was starting to get upset. His breathing became heavy and she finally took a deep breath herself. "Harley..."

"Nick, I know you didn't," she finally said as he cracked a smile. "I warned you..."

"I know..."

"But you're stupid, Nick and you don't listen to when people warn you," she said as he looked away. "You have to figure things out on your own and I hope you figured it out."

"Yeah, I figured out that I.... I made a mistake," he blurted out. Harley glared at him as he looked back at her. "I'd been questioning it since the Grammy's, you know, wondering if I had made a mistake with leaving you..."

"You might want to go ahead and go to Brian's," Harley said interrupting Nick as he put his hands over his face. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to this, Nick."

"I listened to the album, Harley. All of it," he said as she looked away. "I read the thank you notes. I heard every song."

"Nick..."

"I never stopped loving you," he said, moving his hands to stare at her. "I didn't breakup with you because I stopped loving you."

"Then why? You wanted to fuck Paris, right?"

"You really want to know why?"

"Sure, a year later, Nick, tell me the truth," she said, trying not to get upset. "Why did you breakup with me?"

"Your lyric book fell off the bed and it opened to your wedding plans for us," he said as she glared at him. "It was right after your Mom and... I was scared and I met Paris after moving to L.A. and it seemed right."

"Get out," she said, pointing at the door. "You got fucking scared after everything we had been through and you ran to Paris fucking Hilton, Nick. Get out of my house. Get off my property and go to Brian's house."

"Harley," he said as he started walking up to her. She backed away from him and she could see his face getting red from frustration. She was starting to get upset herself. "I made a mistake and I'm so sorry..."

"You know what," Harley said, walking over to her door and opened it. "If you had came to me even a month after breaking up with me, I would have taken you back in a heartbeat but now? You can go fuck yourself."

"Harley..."

"Nick! I'm engaged!" she yelled, practically stomping her feet on the floor. "I actually love Ashton and we're getting married. That's what I've wanted since I was a little girl was to fall in love and get married and you knew that, Nick. We talked about all of that stuff. That's why I wrote down those plans so that when you finally grew the balls one day to ask me, I would have them."

"I thought you wanted to get married then..."

"Well, I never want to marry you now," she said pointing at the door. "Please go..."

"Harley, please, just..." he said as she looked away, staring at the doorway.

"Nick, I'm sorry she fucked you over but you made your choice," she said as he walked slowly to the door, staring at her. "Just go."

"I'm sorry," he said before finally walking through the doorway. Harley watched him as he walked off her front porch and she slowly shut the door, locking it. She looked out the peephole, watching Nick as he got into his rental car and cranked it up. She saw him sitting there, staring at the house before slowly pulling out of the gate.

She leaned her head against the door and started crying. She couldn't fight the tears back anymore. Her phone went off with Ashton's ringtone and it startled her. She couldn't talk to him right now. There was no way she could explain why she was this upset.

Harley backed away from the door and walked over to the phone, picking it up. He had left her a voicemail.

She sat back down on the sofa, logging into her voice mail and smiled hearing his voice.

Hey baby, I walked back to the set and realized that I might have sounded like an ass calling you to tell you what was happening with your ex-boyfriend. I didn't mean it to sound that way, I promise. I just didn't want you to see it on television or online or anything. I'm heading back to work now but I will call you back later and remember, I love you. Have fun watching 'Grey's Anatomy.'

Harley smiled, closing her cell phone. She had made the right decision throwing Nick out. She knew that, he definitely knew it was the right decision. She just couldn't understand why it felt like her heart was breaking again.