PIPER’S P.O.V.

That Wednesday, I sat nervously in the waiting room of Dr. Edward’s office. My legs were crossed, but they shook, bouncing up and down rapidly. Finally, I heard the clicking of her heels on the tile, coming around the corner.

“Piper! So good to see you, dear. Come on in.”

I walked in and found my usual spot on the couch, right in front of where she typically sat. She walked in and grabbed her water bottle, taking a long swig before sitting down in her large chair, tucking her short red hair behind her ears.

“So, tell me, what’s been going on? Talk to me about whatever you want.”

She took out her pen and notepad, which didn’t intimidate me anymore. I would be intrigued to see what she already had written down about me, but that wouldn’t be best.

“Well, I have a boyfriend.”

She nodded and grinned, seeing some progress compared to my previous visits.

“Tell me about him!”

“Well, it’s Harry Styles, you know- from One Direction.”

She smiled again, somewhat knowingly. I had a feeling she already knew I was dating Harry, but she wanted to hear everything from me. I remembered that about her.

“He’s a great guy, and really the first person I’ve really opened up to about Matthew. I can actually
get his name out now without panicking, and that’s only been since Harry came around.” I felt like I was on a roll. I enjoyed talking about Harry when I knew that everything was confidential and I had nothing to worry about. “He comes to see me whenever he can, and takes great care of me. He’s wonderful, really. His friend, Liam, and Riley even hit it off, which is nice. Harry has a daughter, Andrea. She’s about 3, and he loves her so much. He’s actually dealing with a custody battle and he’s very upset about it, but he asked me to go with him to England for the court date. I’m actually nervous to meet a toddler.”

I laughed anxiously and looked around the room. I didn’t want to bring up James without getting
through the good part of my life; Harry.

“He must really care about you to bring you for such an important occasion.”

“You know, I’ve questioned his love for me lately, but I’m starting to really see the depth of it. He
doesn’t have to do all of this for me.”

“What do you mean by all of this?”

I sighed deeply and decided to get it over with.

“I guess, that’s the real reason I’m here. Soon after Harry and I got serious, I made some new
friends on campus. One of them, James, and I got close and started hanging out frequently. Harry really didn’t like it and even when they met, I saw them fighting. I pretended not to, but I saw it. I
should have seen that as a warning, but I was stupid.”

I paused and glanced up at Dr. Edwards, who was scrawling notes into the paper frantically. When her eyes met mine, she grinned comfortingly and I felt safe enough to continue.

“Last week, James came over to study. It was the night before me and Riley were going to see the boys in California.” I stopped and cleared my throat, hoping to refrain from tears for the time being. “We started drinking and, at some point, he went to fetch me a glass of wine, and he slipped something in it. I slowly felt way too drunk and the last thing I remember is him kissing my neck and me not having the ability to move, or speak.”

My eyes started to water and I reached for a tissue from her coffee table and dab under my eyes lightly. I wasn’t as upset about it all as I was before, but I still couldn’t stand the affect it had on me and Harry’s relationship. She looks at me and waits for me to gather myself.

“I flew to California and acted as though nothing happened. Harry found out almost as soon as we got there and immediately took me to the hospital.”

“That was very smart of him. I imagine they did an exam and found bruising and such.”

“Yes, I wasn’t there very long. Harry flew back here with me the next day and took me to the police station right away. Who other than James’ father was the detective on my case, but I found out that James had a history with this sort of thing, and I trusted his dad even more, knowing that he was aware of the seriousness.”

“That’s good. I’m sure it was rough telling him what his son did.”

“Yeah, it was. Anyway, that night, Harry slipped out and, let’s just say, did some serious damage
to James. He ended up in a coma and now there is a possibility of Harry dealing with those charges. He told the police that he couldn’t remember who beat him up, but he requested to speak to Harry. He revealed that he knew it was him and remembered it all. He threatened to ruin him if I didn’t drop the charges, and honestly, the other night, I almost did.”

“Piper, that would have been very unwise. He’s a danger to a lot of young girls-”

I didn’t want to be rude, but I couldn’t take that speech again.

“I know, I know. I realize that. I just didn’t want Harry to resent me. I already can’t have sex with him and I know it’s going to make things really rough, especially because our relationship started based on sex alone. I just- what can I do?”

“Well, you’re starting off right, Piper. I’m so so sorry about this, and I will be here to help you through this. Talking to someone about it is crucial. Now, I can better help you. You also need to come to terms with it, which it seems like you have started to do. You don’t need to think about it all the time, but look at it as a terrible time that you have lived through. Focus on the positive. Remember how much Harry loves you and repeatedly tell yourself that he would never hurt you when you start to get physical. If you talk to him about it, he can help as well. Have him talk you through it. We can even have a couple session, if you are both up to it. Put your thoughts on Harry and not just sex. The hardest part will take some time. You have to forgive James.”

“Forgive him? Why? How?”

I was confused; why should I forgive a perverted criminal for hurting me physically?

“It’s very important. Remember what I told you when Matthew died; Continually feeling anger toward his murderer will never get you past the situation. Do you think about that man anymore?”

“No, I used to, but I just put him out of my mind now. There’s no point in being angry at him.”

“Exactly, and I know that while you deal with this case, it will be hard to accomplish forgiving

James, seeing him often. Just remember how mentally unstable he is. He has problems, Piper. Think about him as a victim of his own mind. It’s no excuse for what he did to you, but you have to blame his actions on his past, which I’m assuming is the cause for his perverted viewpoints. Am I correct?”

“Yes, his older step-sister took advantage of him often when he was very young.”

“So, you see. He never got over that, and it turned into a very big problem that he may never completely overcome. He has a sickness that will ruin his life. He will never be happy with a sexual partner if he doesn’t get adequate help, which may not exist at this point.”
She was right. I couldn’t think highly of James and I never would, but he obviously had a lifetime of pain ahead of him. He had to be hurting on the inside, being such a despicable person.

“It’ll take a while, but I see what you’re saying.”

“Also, remember that trying with Harry won’t hurt. Don’t push your limits, but try something new each time until you feel comfortable. Really talk to him about how you feel when it scares you so he can understand and guide you through it.”

We talked some more about my family and I told her about Cory cutting again. She suggested that he saw her and I let her know I was working on it. I told her about the media blowing things up and she sympathized, ensuring me that it would pass, but that we would discuss it more during my next visit, which she suggested to be the next week.


HARRY’S P.O.V.

Wednesday was the first morning I had to sleep since the week before. It felt nice and I slept a long while. When we were done with soundcheck and hanging out backstage, my phone rang and I answered it hastily, leaving the room the other lads occupied.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Harry. I just left my therapist’s office.”

“Oh?”

“It really helped. I’m shocked, but I finally feel like I can get through this.”

“That’s wonderful, love. What did she say?”

“Well, she gave some suggestions. I’m really going to need your help though. We have to talk
about it so that you can talk me through sex for now. It won’t last forever. Just until I can feel safe and comfortable again.”

I grinned at her enthusiastic speech. She sounded like she was trying to convince me of something, but I would do anything to make her happy, even if it meant never sleeping with her again. Okay, maybe that was a bit far.

“Piper, we’ll try whatever we have to. I just want you to be happy.”

“She mentioned a couples session, but I think we should try to work on it, just me and you, first.”

“That’s fine. If we need to, I’m totally up for it. Piper, I love you. This is going to work out, so you just tell me what I need to do.”

I heard the door open behind me and Niall was standing there. I pulled the phone away from my ear as he spoke.

“Sorry, but we have to start getting ready.”

I nodded and grinned, returning to the phone.

“Sorry, I-“

“I heard Niall. No worries; I just wanted to share my optimism.”

“Well, I’m loving it! I love you, Piper.”

“I love you, too, Harry. Good luck out there. Think of me!”

“Always.”

Notes

Hello, everyone :) PLEASE COMMENT. I would love it if even half of my subscribers would comment! <3

How will Dr. Edwards' advice help Piper and Harry? Will Piper be able to forgive James? How will their trip to London go? If you had any advice for Piper, what would it be?