Chapter 95 : "Misunderstanding"

T A T E

My mouth just kept opening when I see Harry standing right out used my doorstep. Right when I saw him, I quickly asked myself what he was doing here and why at this time when Zayn is inside my home. He wore a plain white shirt paired with his usual black tight pants and that pair of his brown boots with his brows creasing at the center of his forehead as he looks at me.

"H-Harry...." I softly mutter his name.

But he's looking at me impassively.

"W-what are you doing here?" I ask.

"I didn't want to come but I know I'm only kidding myself, I wanted to see you so bad again." Harry answers weakly.

Harry's green eyes darken as he pulled his head up and travelled his eyes to Zayn who was standing few inches away from me. I don't think they've patched things up between them about the fact that Zayn left the band thing. Now that Harry caught him being here, it's going to be so much worst than I thought it would be.

"What's Zayn doing here?" Harry ask with a deeper voice.

"Harry... I..." I muffled.

Harry walks inside my apartment and walked towards where Zayn was standing. I don't want them to fight inside my house and I don't want them to fight because of me or because Harry's just blindingly filled with jealousy right now. I shut the door behind me right away while I watch Harry's tension growing the longer that he stares at Zayn. I hurriedly ran towards them and noticed that Harry's looking at Zayn angrily but Zayn just looks calm as if he didn't care.

"What's he doing here?" Harry asks me again.

"I can explain." I answer.

He chuckles under his throat. "Wow. This is some fancy dinner huh? This is what you've been busy lately." Harry glares at the table.

"Some pasta. Bottle of wine. Some salad. Where's the candles? It'll be more romantic if there were candles." Harry spat.

I exhale nervously.

"This isn't what it looks like." My voice cracks as my tears keep growing from behind my eyelids.

Harry turned his head to me. "I think this is exactly what it fucking looks like!"

I whimper inwardly and grew more tensed when Harry raised his voice at me. Liam told me when Harry's mad his voice grows even deeper and Harry has never yelled at my face. He might be so mad because I left him and he's so jealous over Zayn because he's here inside my home.

"I haven't seen you for so long and now that I do, I see you with Zayn." Harry laughs dryly.

"I came all the way here in New York just to talk things out with you for the last time. I turned my back against my own promise to myself of not going to see you anymore when you're back here but I couldn't help. The minute I saw your post on Instagram, I quickly wanted to come back here because of you." He adds.

Harry continues to laugh humorlessly. "Well it seems like you're already very busy letting other men into your life!" He exclaims.

"I said I can explain!" I raised my voice at him.

He scoffs. "Explain what Tate? The fuck, you left me! You broke up with me for some lame reason and now I see you with him?!"

"You don't know what's happening Harry so don't say things like that to her and don't act like you know things that's going on." Zayn butts in.

"Oh and you know what's been happening around Zayn? Really now?" Harry spat at him.

"At least I know what's the truth." Zayn spat back.

"Screw you!" Harry spat.

"Zayn." I held onto his wrist. "Don't make things even worse than it looks like now."

Zayn looks away but I felt Harry's penetrating stare shot at me. He hates me now, for sure. He hates me so much more now than the last time I saw him. Him witnessing Zayn inside my apartment and inviting him over for dinner will totally flip Harry's mind. This wasn't the way how I wanted things to be like. I didn't even know Harry was around New York and that he was coming over. But now, he hates Zayn even worst for leaving the band. He might have gotten even more mad at him for being here and I just can't destroy what they have because of me.

Why is it always because of me? I thought inwardly as I choke a sob.

"Harry listen to me please." I say as I reach for Harry's hand but he flicks me off.

I exhale heavily. "Zayn's out of this. Please don't be mad at him." I speak.

Harry chuckles under his throat. "I've had enough of everything that's happened. I tried to chase you for the last time so we could work things out and be together despite all that's happened to us, but this is all I get?" His voice is deeper than a while ago.

"Harry please don't--"

"You cheated on me." Harry cuts me off.

I shake my head vigorously. "I didn't." I muffled.

"You fucking did, Tate! You were only lying to me this whole time because you wanted to be with Zayn. You're nothing like Anastasia." He answers like a raging roar.

"You don't know what's happening Harry! You don't know the things I sacrificed because of the people around you! You can't simply compare me to her because I'm nothing like her!" I scream.

"Bullshit!" Harry yells back and I began to fear him now he's mad and he's jealous.

I remember Zayn mentioning to me that he never wanna see Harry getting jealous. He's never been this mad when we were together and I am beginning to frighten him and what he can possibly do. Harry's overly jealous right now that he caught Zayn inside my apartment and he's also possibly mad at me because of what I did to him in the past months. I just wanted things to smooth sail today and ask for Zayn's advise.

Why does it have to be like this?

"You ask me to trust you? Again?" Harry asks me. "Well, how 'bout this you've been lying the entire time that we were together! You actually broke up with me because you accepted the money from the management!"

"What?!" I gaped.

I see Zayn's eyes dilating to what Harry said. And I was even more shocked myself of how terrible people they are. I can't even believe they're turning the story around to fool Harry.

"I never accepted that!" I yelled as I curled my fists into a ball. "And how did you know they went over to see me?"

He scoffs. "So they did. It was true. You didn't even tell me they came to see you. When was it, huh? When did you accept their money so you could stay away from me? When?!"

Zayn gently pushes Harry's chest away from me with his hand. "Hey, don't you dare yell at her."

Harry pushes him back. "Stay the fuck out of this! Like how you left the band!"

Zayn sighs heavily. "Put aside the things that happened between us, because Tate had nothing to do with me leaving the band. It's our shit."

But Harry's looking at Zayn intensively and I have never seen Harry this mad.

"Don't get all mad at her because she left you. She had a reason. She saved your fucking ass!" Zayn raises his voice at him too.

"Zayn..." I muffled.

Harry's head moves back to me. "I don't care about anything you say. You're a liar. Just like her." He glares at me.

I whimper inwardly. I was twice as hurt when Harry called me a liar. If only he knows the truth. I know I need to let him hear my side of the story where the management missed to mention it to him.

"Now tell me Tate... When?" Harry's eyes are now filled with tears. I can even see his ear getting red. He must be that angry now.

I breathe in and out deeply. "That same day we met your family in London. Mrs. Summers came over the hotel while you were having meeting with the management."

"What?" Harry seemed surprise. Of course he didn't know.

But I can't believe the management had lied to Harry about this. I can't believe they actually told him that I accepted money just to stay away from him but I never even received any dime coming from that management. I can't believe they'd go this low to protect Harry.

"You didn't know what kind of things she said to me that day and how she wanted me out of our life. You didn't know how she made me feel so small about myself because you're a famous man and I'm just nothing. You didn't know how she told me that I should let you go because we weren't meant to be together and that you weren't meant to be with me." My voice cracks as I sniffle.

I exhale and wiped my tears. "She offered me money and I completely didn't accept it. I didn't let you know about that because I wanted to protect you from them." My lips tremble.

"Tate..." Harry calls out softly.

"Harry they wanted me out of your life. They were threatening me about your future and I was too scared that you might destroy your own future because of me. I don't want that." I shake my head vigorously as I kept wiping my tears.

I whimper. "They were willing to do everything they can just so they can let me stay out of your life. She said that if I stayed, they will do everything they can just to separate us and I was a coward because I let them affect me."

"I was a coward because I left you and I didn't fight for you. I was seeing you willing to give up everything for me but singing is your passion. I couldn't let you lose everything you worked so hard on for years." I speak to him as I try not to cry anymore but I'm failing.

I take a deep breath in and wiped my tears with my thumbs. "All those things that she said to me made sense. I didn't want the people to hate you because you chose me. Or worst, I didn't want you to hate me because you chose to be with me instead of being with them."

I cried quietly as more of my tears blurring my vision as I covered my eyes with my curled fists and whimper heavily. "I thought about your family, the boys, and your fans. If you chose me over your fame, what will that leave me? They will hate me for the rest of their lives because you chose to be with me."

"Tate.." Harry croaks while he reaches for my hand. He pulls my fists off from my eyes and wiped my tears from my cheeks.

He exhales. "After all these months why didn't you tell me about that? Why did you waited for us to end?"

"Because if I told you about it right away, you might get so mad and you might do reckless things against the management that you might regret. I didn't want you to do wrong things just because you're mad." I answer him.

"Oh Tate... You're so selfless." He cups my cheeks and rubs his hand on my face. "You always thought about me even when you know it's going to hurt you so bad."

"Because I love you." I admitted and it almost made me cry when I said those words to him.

"I'm still in love with you." I added.

"Come here." Harry instructs.

Harry weakly smiled before he pulled me in and kissed my forehead. But then he releases me right away and I watch him as he looks over at Zayn again.

"Harry... I can explain things why Zayn is here. Please don't be mad at him." I tell him.

I watch as Harry sigh but he seemed like he didn't hear me. "You..." He calls out to Zayn but he's just looking back impassively at Harry.

"I don't really trust you when it comes to the women that I love. First Anastasia and now Tate." Harry looks at Zayn eagerly.

My eyes widened when Harry mentioned Anastasia. Zayn and Anastasia? What's going on? They already had a fight even before Zayn left the band? Even before me? I worriedly stared back at Zayn but he just glares at me tentatively.

"Can't you get your own women without stealing every woman that I love?" Harry pushes Zayn but Zayn didn't budge at all.

"Harry.." Zayn calls out softly. "I know I tried to steal Anastasia from you and I know I was so wrong for doing that."

Harry snickers.

"That's why I'm helping you and Tate work things out again. I know I've failed to be a great friend to you yet you're still so forgiving after what happened to you, me and Anastasia." He adds and Zayn almost sounded like crying.

He takes a deep breath in. "I know I left the band and it even made you more mad at me but I couldn't take all the lying anymore Harry. I just couldn't lie to the people anymore. There's too much of that that goes with the management and I wanna be free from those chains."

Zayn shakes his head. "We're famous but they're pulling us down. When was the last time you've been happy before you met Tate? When was the last time you did what you wanted to do without being told?"

Harry glares at me and just remained quiet.

"Never, right? Because the management always tells us what to do even though we don't wanna do it." Zayn adds.

"So what are you doing here?" Harry asks.

Zayn exhales while he holds the back of his neck. "I wanna make it up to you because of the things that I've done to you and Anastasia. I wanted to help Tate in return to pay back all the things I did."

Harry scoffs. "Help? Help with what? Set dinner inside her apartment?!"

"No. Harry listen." I butted in. "Even way before, Zayn's been helping me. He helped me escape from the paps when I was on the street. And I didn't tell you about it because Zayn told me not to. He said he wasn't ready to face you."

He looks at me with furrowing brows.

"He's been helping me Harry." I insisted. "And that's just about it. Last night I was so drunk and so high that some men already took advantage of me that I didn't even know what I was already doing but Zayn was there. He helped me and put those men to jail."

Harry glares at Zayn then he stared back at me seriously. "You got drunk and high last night? Tate!" He exclaims loud.

I sigh. "I know. I did something reckless. But I didn't know that they placed some pill into my drink. I was so drunk because I was so pissed at myself and at you for not hitting me up!"

"If Zayn wasn't in the same club you'd probably be nowhere to be found right now!" Harry raises his voice at me.

"That's why I asked him over for dinner. That's what this all was for. And then you came all the way here misunderstanding everything." I say.

He sighs. "I'm sorry. I was just so mad and even madder when I saw him here." Harry answers.

He looks at me, "Come here."

He pulled me in unexpectedly and wrapped his long arms around my tiny body. I felt him rubbing his hand all over my spine repeatedly while he kept kissing my temple. I dumped my cheek against his chest and just held onto him. I really missed Harry. I missed having him around. I missed how I could freely hug him whenever I want to. I miss him. I really really miss Harry Styles.

"I'm sorry. I should've asked you about what the management told me. I'm sorry for believing them when I know you couldn't do it." Harry whispers to my ear before kissing my hair.

I pulled my head up to him and just smiled with tears in my eyes. "You don't have to apologize. I'm the one who should do that."

"No. We broke up because of the management but it's okay now. I'm under Jeff Azoff's care. I can freely do what I want." He tells me.

I tiptoed and smacked his lips. "I love you. And this time I'm not letting you go." I tugged him closer and wrapped my arms around him even tighter, making him chuckle.

"I love you." Harry kisses the top of my head.

We're okay but he's still mad at Zayn.