The Wrong Woman

“What did Louis mean?” Maddie said quietly as she drove me home that night. Thanks to Louis, I was too drunk to drive. I had closed my eyes and my head was leaning on the car window, but I heard every word.

“Huh?” I mumbled, hoping she’d just let it go.

“Why did he say you had been chasing Felicity all night? Why would he say that?”

“What are you talking about?” I half slurred.

“Is it true?” Maddie continued. It kind of threw me that her voice was so soft and calm. She pulled into my street slowly before taxiing to a stop right in front of my apartment.

“So?” She turned to look at me and I had no choice but to open my eyes and look at her. “Is there something going on between you and Felicity?”

“Is there something going on between you and Louis?” I shot back.

“You didn’t answer my question Harry.” Maddie said. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing is going on. There’s nothing to say.” I said, crossing my arms.

Maddie considered my words and nodded slowly.

“I don’t know what I’d do if it was true, Harry.”

We stared at each other for a moment before I broke the silence by unclicking my seatbelt.

“Do you wanna come up?” I asked.

“I have to go.” She said and I couldn’t help but feel relieved. I was just wanted to crash in bed and stay there. I gave her a small smile before getting out of the car, but did not miss the look in her wide blue eyes. It was a thoughtful look and as I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, I realised that I had to stop being so careless. I had to make a choice. If I wanted to be with Felicity, I would have to bite the bullet and do something about it. But in what world could I be with Felicity?

If I wanted to be with Maddie, then I had to commit. I had been hot and cold since I had found out her real age. But it’s not as if I had broken up with her either.

A big reason for that was her father. He was my boss. He was also responsible for me being his little personal drug runner.

This was just getting too complicated for words. Right now the only thing I could do was fall into bed exhausted. I couldn’t think anymore.

X

I turned up to work the following week and just got on with my work, which was a little unlike me. Felicity and I had fallen into the habit of taking our tea breaks together, but on this particular day I barely looked at her. She wisely waited until Callie was out of the room before she confronted me.

“What’s wrong? You haven’t said a word since you came in.”

I glanced at the door and listened out for any footsteps before I spoke.

“I think they’re onto us.” I said quietly. “And I don’t trust Callie… I bet she tells Campbell everything that goes on in this office.”

“You’re not wrong there.” Felicity murmured before a look of concern crossed her face.

“What do you mean about them being on to us? Are you talking about the party?”

“Yes the party.” I said impatiently. “Didn’t you hear what Louis said… Maddie heard it and you can bet your sweet ass that Campbell heard it too.”

“So what are you we going to do?” Felicity asked.

“We need to stop.” I said.

We both stared at each other silently as the reality sank in.

“It kills me to say it Felicity.” I said.

“Does it?” She said softly.

“Yeah.”

“So this is it?” She said. “Are you going to stay with Maddie?”

“I don’t know.” I replied honestly. “I think I need to look for a new job…”

If I was going to break up with Maddie, then I sure as hell had to find a new job. But how was I going to get away? I didn’t have the chance to continue, when suddenly Campbell appeared at the door.

“Felicity.” He said sternly and we both looked up surprised. “They need help in Purchasing. That’s where you’ll be working for the rest of the week.”

“Purchasing?” Felicity asked dumbfounded.

“Go now.” Campbell said flatly. “Harry can take care of business here.”

Felicity did not even look at me. She picked up her handbag and hurried out of the office. I could not help but nervously bite my lip as I looked up at Campbell.

“I have a job for you, Harry.” He said. “I have a few deliveries for you to make.”

“Campbell-“

“One has to be made today. In fact, you can leave now. Callie can take over in here.”

“Does the Sheriff know?” I asked softly.

Campbell paused for a moment before narrowing his eyes at me.

“What did you say?” He asked.

“Does the Sheriff know?” I repeated. “Does he know what we’re doing?”

“Harry, just keep your mouth shut and you’ll be just fine.” Campbell said with a smirk.

X

After work I found myself seeking out Zayn and Niall, but after downing just one beer (and ignoring the text messages that had begun to come through) I could not help but answer the phone when it began to ring.

“It’s me.” Maddie said quietly. “Do you want to come over for dinner?”

I sighed loudly as Zayn threw a packet of cigarettes my way.

“What’s wrong?” Maddie asked suspiciously. “Where are you?”

“I’m at Zayn’s house.”

“Hey Maddie!” Zayn called out in a sing song voice.

“Are you coming or not?” Maddie asked, ignoring Zayn but sounding calmer now that she knew I really was at Zayn’s house.

“I guess so.” I said reluctantly. I was hungry and all Zayn was offering was cigarettes and alcohol. I bid goodbye to Niall and Zayn and headed straight to Maddie’s house. The first thing I noticed was Campbell’s car parked in the driveway, causing me to swear under my breath.

What the fuck was I doing here?

I cursed my way up to the front door and had second thoughts about even going inside, when the door suddenly swung open to reveal Maddie standing there with a little smile on her face.

“Hi there.” I said lightly. She led me inside and I was relieved to find Campbell and Felicity were nowhere in sight. We hung out in the living room before Maddie dialled for a takeaway pizza. She stretched out on the sofa, her legs resting on my lap as she flicked through the movies on Netflix and for a fleeting moment I felt as though nothing had changed. Maddie was still my sweet, innocent girlfriend and we were just hanging out as usual, watching movies and waiting for our pizza to arrive.

“I’ll go and grab some plates.” Maddie smiled and I watched as she bounded down the hall and into the kitchen. It was hard not to smile too, but that quickly disappeared when Felicity appeared in the doorway. She stood there in a light nightie, her face devoid of makeup, worry etched on her face.

“Campbell has transferred me…I’m now in the Purchasing department.” She said tonelessly.

“That’s great!” I exclaimed. “That’s what you’ve always wanted… you worked so hard for this.”

“That’s not why Campbell sent me there. He did this because he wants to keep you away from me.”

I nervously glanced down the hall, hoping Maddie would not rush back and overhear this conversation.

“I don’t want it Harry.” She said softly.

Tears sprang to her eyes and it was hard not to react, but I remained still on the couch.

“Maybe it’s for the best.” I placated.

“Yes… maybe it is.” Campbell’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere and before I knew it, he appeared behind Felicity, who now turned in surprise.

“Maybe keeping you two apart is for the best.” He added.

Campbell frowned at her before taking her by the wrist.

“What are you doing?” He murmured.

“I was just talking to Harry.” Felicity replied. She winced as he practically dragged her away.

“What the hell are you wearing?” I could hear him chastise her.

I let out a long breath and seconds later Maddie appeared with not only the plates but also the pizzas. The doorbell must have rung, but I had been too preoccupied to even notice anything but Felicity’s helpless expression as she was led away. As I devoured the pizza, I could not help but recall Felicity’s pained expression. She had wanted that job in Purchasing long before I had arrived on the scene and now that Campbell was handing it to her on a platter, she was willing to let it go. Did her feelings for me run that deep? I didn’t have time to dwell on it as Maddie snuggled up next to me to watch the movie we had selected.

Halfway through the film, I reached for my Coke only to find the can was empty. I glanced at Maddie who was hanging off my arm, almost half asleep.

“You awake?” I said.

“Mmm.” She said, her eyes fluttering open.

“I’m just going to get a drink.” I told her.

“We’ve run out of Coke in the kitchen… go down in the basement.” She said.

I gently extricated me from her embrace and made my way down to the basement. I opened the fridge and took out a couple of Cokes when I heard the voice.

“Remember the last time we ended up down here?”

“Holy shit.” I said, almost dropping the drinks. I spun around to see Felicity in the corner next to the wine fridge. A cigarette hung from her lips and I could see an open bottle of wine next to her. I couldn’t help but recall how Maddie had laughingly told me that at times of stress Felicity liked to come down here and smoke and drink, away from prying eyes.

“Sorry.” She giggled.

“Felicity, what are you doing here?”

“I needed to get away from him.” She said, taking a swig from the bottle. “He won’t let me leave, so this is the next best thing.”

“Well, I better leave you to it then.” I said.

“Don’t go.” She pleaded. “Please stay… just for a little while.”

“How can I stay after what he said? He knows Felicity… he’s gotta know something’s up between us.”

“I said, just for a little while.” Felicity said. “You wanna join me?”

She held out her bottle and stumbled toward me. Her white nightie clung to her body, accentuating her curves and I could see why Campbell had been so pissed off with her. I could see the outline of her underwear and the way her round breasts strained against the sheer material. I shook my head in response but reached out to steady her.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“What do you think?” She retorted.

“Listen… you need to take the job. And I promise you, I’ll quit and you’ll never have to see me again.”

“I told you, that’s not what I want.” She said petulantly. “I don’t want to lose you Harry.”

“But we can’t keep doing this… they know about us. And if they don’t know already, then they know something is up. We can’t risk-“

“Let’s run away.” Felicity interjected, placing her hands on my chest and pulling me close.

“You know we can’t do that…”

“Why not?” She challenged. “We can just run away… they’ll never find us. And then we could be together…”

She closed the gap between us, her lips pressing against mine.

“Please.” She breathed. “We can do it… I know we can.”

“Felicity stop.” I said gently pushing her away. “Maddie’s waiting upstairs.”

“I know you don’t want to be with her.” She slurred. “I know you have feelings for me… I know it.”

“Look, you’re not thinking clearly." I said, but I could barely finish the sentence before I tasted the wine on her lips again. “You need to go upstairs and get some sleep. Everything will be better in the morning.”

She still clung to me, as our eyes met and I gave her a small smile. The door suddenly opened and Felicity and I simultaneously looked up to see Maddie looking down at us, a puzzled expression on her face.

“What are you guys doing down here?” She asked solemnly.

Notes