SAY SOMETHING
Chapter 7
Annie’s POV
I turned away from Harry, Carlton, and the rest of the boys and bolted up the stairs to my studio. As soon as the door to the second floor clicked behind me, I let my tears fall even more easily. Small whimpers escaped my mouth as I walked over to the section of my studio with my numerous assortments of paints. I didn’t know what I was going to paint, but I just had the urge to disappear so no one could see my pain on my face…but in my painting.
I continued to let out small whimpers as I saw through my blurred vision that my paintbrushes hadn’t been cleaned the day before. I stumbled over to the sink and began to rinse them. I stopped the action when pain welled in my heart and churned my stomach. I squinted my eyes shut as I tried desperately to contain the pain that was itching to come free. I gave in and threw my paintbrushes into the sink as I let out a small scream. I latched onto the edge of the sink and squeezed it until my knuckles turned white. I just wanted all of this to go away.
I collapsed onto the floor as I finally let my sobs escape my mouth. I brought my knees to my chest and I buried my face in my hands. All of a sudden, I heard the stairwell door click open and I lifted my head immediately to see the intruder. When my eyes met a concerned emerald stare, I thought I was going to explode. I tried desperately to get into a standing position so that I wouldn’t seem as broken to him as I actually was, though I knew I wore my pain on my face.
I wanted him gone. This was my private area that I went when I needed to be alone. I never let anyone spend more than enough time to walk up the stairs to my apartment. “Leave!” I wailed. “Just got away!” More tears streamed down my cheeks as my heart slammed painfully against my chest. I saw the concern and pain in his eyes and in his face.
“Annie.” He said and his voice cracked. Tears finally started to spill out of his eyes and I hated myself for being relieved and almost happy that he potentially felt the same pain that I did. But it wasn’t enough.
“Harry, can’t you see what you’ve done to me?!” I pounded my fist on his chest when he was standing inches away from me. “Can’t you see,“ I paused as I tried to catch my breath, “that I can’t—I just—“ but I couldn’t finish my sentence. I let out more sobs as even more tears streamed down my cheeks. My knees gave out again and I collapsed into a sitting position on the floor again.
“Annie.” He whispered and I hated that I still loved the way his accent decorated the sound of my name. I hated that his voice, now deeper and raspier, still gave me chills and made me long for him. He snaked his hand onto the back of my neck and I shoved it off immediately. “Annie!” He said more sternly but I still adored the way it sounded.
“Stop saying my name!” I yelled. “You’re only making this worse.” I felt him flinch beside me at my words and another guilty wave of satisfaction washed over me.
All of a sudden his strong arms pulled me into a hug as he positioned himself to sit on the floor beside me. I was immediately engulfed in his cologne and it surprised me that he still wore the same one as when I met him. More sobs escaped my mouth as my incredible past washed through my mind again. I nuzzled my face into his chest as I tried to breathe in as much as his scent as possible and calm my sobs and tears.
“I’ve missed you Annie.” He whispered and my heart melted. As of now I realized that that’s all I really wanted. I just wanted to know that he still held a spot for me in his heart; that he hadn’t completely forgotten about me like he hinted in the countless interviews about dating and girlfriends. In this moment, sitting on my studio floor in Harry’s arms, I opened myself up to him for the first time in years… but that moment didn’t last for very long.
I heard a phone begin to ring, but it wasn’t mine…it was Harry’s. At first he didn’t move to answer it; he just stayed there holding me with his thumb moving in circles on my wrist. However, he must’ve known the ringtone because he let out a small, annoyed grunt as he extended his leg to fish it out of his pocket.
“H—Hello?” H croaked. Was he nervous to speak to this person? Perhaps he is right to be scared because the person on the other line is yelling with such volume that even I can hear him and Harry’s phone wasn’t on speaker.
As soon as the caller started belting, Harry flinched the phone away from his ear and then slowly brought it back. “Harry! Where the hell are you! I told you the specific amount of time you had to do what ever the hell you wanted as long as you were back on time! Now. I’ve got 4 of the 5 boys of One Direction here ready to do the interview with One Direction. Guess what Harry? I need every member here or it’s not One Direction!” The last statement was threaded with incredible rage.
“Paul—“ Harry took his other hand from around my shoulder and pushed his hair on top of his head before he left his hand covering his eyes like he was trying to hide. I knew Paul. Paul was the tour manager for 1D. I loved Paul. He was like anyone’s dad on the road, but knew when to be serious and this was one of those times.
“Don’t give me any petty excuse Harry! Get you ass over here!” Paul yelled.
“Paul—“ Harry paused and removed his hand from his face and glanced at me and then glanced away. “Paul, I—I’m with Annie.” He finished and I was surprised when I realized that Harry’s tone was almost happy. Paul must have been stunned into silence because I could no longer hear his raging voice. “Yeah, Annie Richards.” He mumbled and looked down at the tiled floor of my studio. “Thanks Paul. I really appreciate it.” He said and hit the “End” button on his iPhone. When he had finally returned his phone to his pocket he took a deep breath, fluffed his curls again, and then looked at me with a small smile. “Hi Annie.” He whispered.
“Hi?” I asked and raised my eyebrow at him. I was glad that I had finally contained my breakdown.
“What?” He whispered though I knew he already knew the answer.
I cleared my throat as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands and dried my tear stained cheeks. “C’mon Harry,” I looked into his piercing emerald eyes for the first time without flinching. “You can’t possibly expect me to welcome you back into my life with open arms and pretend like everything is okay.”
“Annie I—“ He started but I cut him off.
“—Do you have any idea how much you hurt me? And how hard the past couple years have been for me?” I asked and I saw him flinch.
He didn’t look at me what he spoke. “Annie, don’t pretend like you were the only one hurt in this situation.” He mumbled and he looked at the tile on the floor again. I felt my eyes widen and my heart stop for a second. Did he really just say that… He glanced at my facial expression and he rolled his eyes. “Oh c’mon Annie!” He looked at me again, “You don’t think I was hurt by what happened? You were everything to me and then all of a sudden you were just gone and out of my life.”
“Don’t you dare pretend that this was my fault Harry.” I said through gritted teeth as yet again, more tears started to spill down my cheeks. “Guess what?” I said and he looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “I was completely out of your life so all you had to do was forget about it and move on which clearly wasn’t that difficult to do.” I said and I cut him off when he began to protest, “But you don’t have any idea how hard it was for me. You never had to see me again Harry. No one brought me up in a normal conversation. You didn’t hear my voice on the radio; you didn’t see me on magazine covers and Pepsi commercials. You didn’t have to overhear countless conversations about how similar I am to a God when you’re walking to the grocery store.” More tears slid down my cheeks as I said this and his face relaxed and I saw the sympathy he had for me and it was a massive relief.
“In a normal breakup you would burn the photos you had of the two of you eat a gallon of ice cream and try to avoid the person as much as possible but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t burn the pictures of us, because they were the only things I had in the world to remind me of the life I used to live.”
“Annie, there’s not a lot I can say for that besides I’m so sorry.” He croaked and his emerald gaze made my heart melt for the hundredth time in my life. “But what I can say is that… it wasn’t easy getting over you.”
“Taylor Swift would disagree.” I mumbled.
“Annie, just because I happen to have an abnormal job doesn’t mean I don’t utilize the concept of a rebound relationship.” He said simply and I looked at him quickly when he said that. “Have you—“ But I knew where he was going.
“—I’m in a relationship with someone right now.” I said and he flinched for a second and then looked down. Not going to lie….I was a little happy that he seemed disappointed.
“So you like him?” He asked without looking at me.
“I—“ I started but then I remembered yesterday. “No…No I’m not sure I do anymore. He was kind of an ass hole last night.” I said and he chuckled beside me.
He lifted his gaze and scanned my studio. He looked at me and smiled and I actually allowed myself to smile back at him. He stood up and extended his hand to help me up which I took gratefully.
“So what is this place?” He asked as he scanned the room again.
“This is my private studio.” I said as I also looked around the large room. When he didn’t answer I looked at him and was surprised to see him staring at me. “What?” I laughed.
“I’m really proud of you Annie.”
I turned away from Harry, Carlton, and the rest of the boys and bolted up the stairs to my studio. As soon as the door to the second floor clicked behind me, I let my tears fall even more easily. Small whimpers escaped my mouth as I walked over to the section of my studio with my numerous assortments of paints. I didn’t know what I was going to paint, but I just had the urge to disappear so no one could see my pain on my face…but in my painting.
I continued to let out small whimpers as I saw through my blurred vision that my paintbrushes hadn’t been cleaned the day before. I stumbled over to the sink and began to rinse them. I stopped the action when pain welled in my heart and churned my stomach. I squinted my eyes shut as I tried desperately to contain the pain that was itching to come free. I gave in and threw my paintbrushes into the sink as I let out a small scream. I latched onto the edge of the sink and squeezed it until my knuckles turned white. I just wanted all of this to go away.
I collapsed onto the floor as I finally let my sobs escape my mouth. I brought my knees to my chest and I buried my face in my hands. All of a sudden, I heard the stairwell door click open and I lifted my head immediately to see the intruder. When my eyes met a concerned emerald stare, I thought I was going to explode. I tried desperately to get into a standing position so that I wouldn’t seem as broken to him as I actually was, though I knew I wore my pain on my face.
I wanted him gone. This was my private area that I went when I needed to be alone. I never let anyone spend more than enough time to walk up the stairs to my apartment. “Leave!” I wailed. “Just got away!” More tears streamed down my cheeks as my heart slammed painfully against my chest. I saw the concern and pain in his eyes and in his face.
“Annie.” He said and his voice cracked. Tears finally started to spill out of his eyes and I hated myself for being relieved and almost happy that he potentially felt the same pain that I did. But it wasn’t enough.
“Harry, can’t you see what you’ve done to me?!” I pounded my fist on his chest when he was standing inches away from me. “Can’t you see,“ I paused as I tried to catch my breath, “that I can’t—I just—“ but I couldn’t finish my sentence. I let out more sobs as even more tears streamed down my cheeks. My knees gave out again and I collapsed into a sitting position on the floor again.
“Annie.” He whispered and I hated that I still loved the way his accent decorated the sound of my name. I hated that his voice, now deeper and raspier, still gave me chills and made me long for him. He snaked his hand onto the back of my neck and I shoved it off immediately. “Annie!” He said more sternly but I still adored the way it sounded.
“Stop saying my name!” I yelled. “You’re only making this worse.” I felt him flinch beside me at my words and another guilty wave of satisfaction washed over me.
All of a sudden his strong arms pulled me into a hug as he positioned himself to sit on the floor beside me. I was immediately engulfed in his cologne and it surprised me that he still wore the same one as when I met him. More sobs escaped my mouth as my incredible past washed through my mind again. I nuzzled my face into his chest as I tried to breathe in as much as his scent as possible and calm my sobs and tears.
“I’ve missed you Annie.” He whispered and my heart melted. As of now I realized that that’s all I really wanted. I just wanted to know that he still held a spot for me in his heart; that he hadn’t completely forgotten about me like he hinted in the countless interviews about dating and girlfriends. In this moment, sitting on my studio floor in Harry’s arms, I opened myself up to him for the first time in years… but that moment didn’t last for very long.
I heard a phone begin to ring, but it wasn’t mine…it was Harry’s. At first he didn’t move to answer it; he just stayed there holding me with his thumb moving in circles on my wrist. However, he must’ve known the ringtone because he let out a small, annoyed grunt as he extended his leg to fish it out of his pocket.
“H—Hello?” H croaked. Was he nervous to speak to this person? Perhaps he is right to be scared because the person on the other line is yelling with such volume that even I can hear him and Harry’s phone wasn’t on speaker.
As soon as the caller started belting, Harry flinched the phone away from his ear and then slowly brought it back. “Harry! Where the hell are you! I told you the specific amount of time you had to do what ever the hell you wanted as long as you were back on time! Now. I’ve got 4 of the 5 boys of One Direction here ready to do the interview with One Direction. Guess what Harry? I need every member here or it’s not One Direction!” The last statement was threaded with incredible rage.
“Paul—“ Harry took his other hand from around my shoulder and pushed his hair on top of his head before he left his hand covering his eyes like he was trying to hide. I knew Paul. Paul was the tour manager for 1D. I loved Paul. He was like anyone’s dad on the road, but knew when to be serious and this was one of those times.
“Don’t give me any petty excuse Harry! Get you ass over here!” Paul yelled.
“Paul—“ Harry paused and removed his hand from his face and glanced at me and then glanced away. “Paul, I—I’m with Annie.” He finished and I was surprised when I realized that Harry’s tone was almost happy. Paul must have been stunned into silence because I could no longer hear his raging voice. “Yeah, Annie Richards.” He mumbled and looked down at the tiled floor of my studio. “Thanks Paul. I really appreciate it.” He said and hit the “End” button on his iPhone. When he had finally returned his phone to his pocket he took a deep breath, fluffed his curls again, and then looked at me with a small smile. “Hi Annie.” He whispered.
“Hi?” I asked and raised my eyebrow at him. I was glad that I had finally contained my breakdown.
“What?” He whispered though I knew he already knew the answer.
I cleared my throat as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands and dried my tear stained cheeks. “C’mon Harry,” I looked into his piercing emerald eyes for the first time without flinching. “You can’t possibly expect me to welcome you back into my life with open arms and pretend like everything is okay.”
“Annie I—“ He started but I cut him off.
“—Do you have any idea how much you hurt me? And how hard the past couple years have been for me?” I asked and I saw him flinch.
He didn’t look at me what he spoke. “Annie, don’t pretend like you were the only one hurt in this situation.” He mumbled and he looked at the tile on the floor again. I felt my eyes widen and my heart stop for a second. Did he really just say that… He glanced at my facial expression and he rolled his eyes. “Oh c’mon Annie!” He looked at me again, “You don’t think I was hurt by what happened? You were everything to me and then all of a sudden you were just gone and out of my life.”
“Don’t you dare pretend that this was my fault Harry.” I said through gritted teeth as yet again, more tears started to spill down my cheeks. “Guess what?” I said and he looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “I was completely out of your life so all you had to do was forget about it and move on which clearly wasn’t that difficult to do.” I said and I cut him off when he began to protest, “But you don’t have any idea how hard it was for me. You never had to see me again Harry. No one brought me up in a normal conversation. You didn’t hear my voice on the radio; you didn’t see me on magazine covers and Pepsi commercials. You didn’t have to overhear countless conversations about how similar I am to a God when you’re walking to the grocery store.” More tears slid down my cheeks as I said this and his face relaxed and I saw the sympathy he had for me and it was a massive relief.
“In a normal breakup you would burn the photos you had of the two of you eat a gallon of ice cream and try to avoid the person as much as possible but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t burn the pictures of us, because they were the only things I had in the world to remind me of the life I used to live.”
“Annie, there’s not a lot I can say for that besides I’m so sorry.” He croaked and his emerald gaze made my heart melt for the hundredth time in my life. “But what I can say is that… it wasn’t easy getting over you.”
“Taylor Swift would disagree.” I mumbled.
“Annie, just because I happen to have an abnormal job doesn’t mean I don’t utilize the concept of a rebound relationship.” He said simply and I looked at him quickly when he said that. “Have you—“ But I knew where he was going.
“—I’m in a relationship with someone right now.” I said and he flinched for a second and then looked down. Not going to lie….I was a little happy that he seemed disappointed.
“So you like him?” He asked without looking at me.
“I—“ I started but then I remembered yesterday. “No…No I’m not sure I do anymore. He was kind of an ass hole last night.” I said and he chuckled beside me.
He lifted his gaze and scanned my studio. He looked at me and smiled and I actually allowed myself to smile back at him. He stood up and extended his hand to help me up which I took gratefully.
“So what is this place?” He asked as he scanned the room again.
“This is my private studio.” I said as I also looked around the large room. When he didn’t answer I looked at him and was surprised to see him staring at me. “What?” I laughed.
“I’m really proud of you Annie.”
Notes
Hey guys!!! :) I've LOVEDDDD reading your guys' comments! They make my day every single time I read them. <3
I also need to thank you guys because, believe it or not, Half a Heart is on the 2nd page of the popular section again which is CRAZY to me because the last update was to tell you about Say Something. You guys mean the world to me so thank you so so much for your never ending support <3
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Questions
What is going to happen between Harry and Annie now?
What will happen when Annie's current boyfriend Peter finds out about their reunion
What will Peter do when he finds out that Annie dated the one and only Harry Styles and never told him?
Inspirational Quote: "Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome." <3
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~JoseyWhite
This is amazing omg
11/6/16