No Control | Holding Me Ransom (Book 2)

27 - Said The Night Was Over

"Sorry," he mumbled after a moment, and released me from his hold so I could step back.

"It's OK," I said, because I didn't know what else to say.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked back the tears that were collecting behind my eyes. I sat back down on the edge of the bed and waited, looking at him, for him to continue.

"So I went to meet Jeff and all his friends at the bar, and we started drinking. It was still pretty early, but after everything that had happened, I just wanted to blot it all out. Louis, the baby, the band..." He trailed off, and was quiet for a moment. "There was no way Louis would be able to continue with One Direction while he was trying to be a dad," he explained. "No one had said it out loud, but we all knew we wouldn't be able to tour the next album, and that we would have to put everything on hold for a while, at least until he adjusted."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked gently. "I knew how worried you were about the band's popularity without Zayn. Why didn't you tell me about Louis' baby, and the impact it was going to have? I mean, obviously I couldn't have done anything about it, but you could have talked to me. I would have listened to you, and supported you. You wouldn't have had to deal with it alone."

"I know," he said miserably. "I don't know why I didn't tell you. After the row with Louis I suppose I just wanted to forget it all and stick my head in the sand. Talking about it all made it seem real, and I wasn't ready to face it, or to deal with it yet. I just wanted to pretend it wasn't happening. It's another one of my regrets." He sighed. "Anyway, all that, coupled with the lies I'd told you, and the row I'd just had with Nadine... I was stressed and upset. So we were all knocking the drinks back pretty fast. I'm not a huge fan of beer so I was on the spirits, and I hadn't had any dinner... I got drunk really quickly."

He ran his hand through his hair before clasping his hands together. The gesture was so painfully typical of Harry it made my heart hurt.

"I can't really remember timescales," he continued, "but at some point during the night I looked up towards the door and saw Nadine walking in with some friends. My heart sank. It couldn't have been a coincidence that she was there, because I'd told her where we would be. She sort of caught my eye as she walked in and gave me this little smile, and I knew immediately she was here to see me. I recognised some of her friends as they followed her in, and one of them...." he trailed off, looking nervously at me, and I gave a resigned nod. I knew it would only be a matter of time before she became part of this story. "...one of them was Sara," he said.

I said nothing. I felt only hatred towards the girl, and didn't see the point in letting my thoughts loose on the world again. Nothing good would come from any more horse analogies.

"They came over to say hi - Nadine and Sara," he clarified. "I already knew Sara anyway, from various functions I'd attended in the US, so we sort of said hi, how are you, et cetera. I was trying to talk to Jeff and his friends, but Nadine kept trying to get my attention, and she was starting to get on my nerves a bit. She kept reaching over to me, touching my hand, touching my arm, touching my leg. She was obviously flirting with me, and it was making me uncomfortable, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings. But I think Sara got onto it, so when I got up to go to the bathroom I think she convinced Nadine to leave us alone, and by the time I came back they were sitting in a booth with their friends."

He seemed to hesitate at this part, looking at me nervously again, and wiping his palms on his jeans. My stomach churned in response.

"I think that's when I called you. I remember feeling relieved that Nadine had finally left us alone, and I just wanted to hear your voice. I missed you so much. I just... I just wanted you."