In My Arms

Three weeks later

People Magazine
Los Angeles—In what is by far the most heartbreaking news of the New Year, sources have confirmed the breakup of twenty-year-old Harry Styles and twenty-two-year old Elizabeth Richards. Richards’ agent, Brent Lowe, offered no official statement on the breakup, stating he doesn’t make comment on Richards’ personal life. Calls to Styles management were not returned.

‘Hazbeth’ started dating almost a year ago and were repeatedly showered with accolades of “cutest couple,” “couple of the year,” and the bizarre Kid’s Choice award for “best relationship.” Although the two were frequently plagued by rumors of cheating, sources close to the couple say there was never any infidelity and that they had a completely supportive relationship. The breakup comes a shock to many, as rumors had persisted that Styles was close to proposing to the Oscar winner—and current Oscar nominee—and the two had been living together for several months. Sources confirmed they did not spend the Christmas holiday or New Years together and media outlets have not photographed them together in nearly a month.

Styles reportedly is staying in their New York apartment, while Richards remains in Los Angeles. Later this month, Styles is scheduled to be Los Angeles, though sources state uncertainty if the two plan on seeing each other.

People was the first to report the heavy scrutiny on the paparazzi/media interpretation of ‘Hazbeth’ and the perpetuation of blatantly false claims of cheating and ongoing issues surrounding invasion of privacy. Fans, too, have contributed to the problem, sending tweets like, “Overdose and die” and “he deserves better.” Richards has since deactivated her Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Friends of the couple have stayed tight lipped on the breakup. However, Louis Tomlinson, did offer this Tweet:

Blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours shine any brighter.

We’re hoping the rumors are wrong, but for now, it looks like America’s sweetheart and Britain’s favorite boy-bander have gone their separate ways. We’ll miss you, Hazbeth.

####

Despite her better judgment, Elizabeth allowed Anna and Jen to talk her into attending the Golden Globes. She only agreed to going because she was nominated and, because, she knew Harry was in Los Angeles. There was no reason he’d show up at the Globes, so there was no chance she’d run into him. She’d gone to extreme lengths to avoid seeing him around town. Since the night of their fight, he hadn’t called or texted her once. She hadn’t contacted him either and, despite a growing problem that she’d discussed only with Niall and Anna, she had no desire to talk to him. He didn’t seem to care she’d walked out of his life. So, she might as well move on, too.

Stella had come through yet again and not only designed, but shipped, a perfect gown to her home. It was gold and turquoise, with an empire waist that criss-crossed as a halter neck bodice, complete with a cleavage bearing diamond shaped cutout. The bottom of the gown flowed out like a loose fitting Grecian gown. It was gorgeous and, with her hair piled up on her head and clipped in place with a gold and diamond barrette, she felt gorgeous. The feeling only went skin deep though; inside she felt empty. No matter how hard she tried to move on from Harry, the pain still throbbed like a fresh cut. She couldn’t shake him.

Tonight, though, she’d try. She and Anna were up for the same award—Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture—and she was bringing one of her childhood best friends, Dhani Harrison, as her date. Dhani was almost fourteen years older than her, but she’d harbored a crush on him from age five to age sixteen. His father, George Harrison, had taught him well—Dhani had always treated her like a princess and showered her with attention. She considered him to be more like the older brother she never had. One of the highlights of her career—possibly her life—was singing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with him and Sir Paul McCartney for George’s posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award, given by the Recording Academy at the previous year’s Grammys. Dhani was married and the media knew they were close friends. There shouldn’t be any bullshit tonight from the paparazzi. At least, there’d better not be. She’d fucking leave.

####

On the other side of Los Angeles, Harry was sitting underneath a blanket, idly scrolling through his Twitter feed. Louis, Perrie, Liam, and Zayn had commandeered the television in the grand room of the suite and had settled down with several large trays of sushi, canapés, and desserts to watch the Golden Globes. He glanced up from his perch on a chaise lounge and narrowed his eyes. “Do we have to watch this shit?”

“Yes.” Liam seemed to answer for everyone on the couch. “Like it or not, she’s still our friend. We want to see if she wins.”

Harry looked back down at his phone. Maybe he’d just go to bed early; the Best Actress award wasn’t until nearly the end of the show. Inside, he desperately wanted her to win. She’d won a SAG award the week prior and he wanted to text her and congratulate her…but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Maybe she’d blocked his number on her phone; maybe she wouldn’t want to hear from him. He was so proud of her, though. The movie was phenomenal. She was phenomenal.

And then he heard her voice.

“Look how gorgeous she is!” Perrie breathed. “I bet Stella designed that, look at her. She looks like a goddess.”

Harry glanced up at the television. God, she did look beautiful. Her hair piled up on her head in glossy, swooping curls; her gorgeous smile. She’d once been his…and now…

A lump formed in his throat and he tried to tear his eyes from the screen, but he couldn’t stop looking at her. His fingers ached to touch her again, to hold her again. To know she loved him.

“Ryan Seacrest here with Best Actress nominee Elizabeth Richards. So, Liz, here you are, Keith Richards daughter, on the arm of George Harrison’s son, wearing a gown designed by Paul McCartney’s daughter. You’re basically representing some of the best of British rock ‘n roll in one, gorgeous ensemble.”

“I’ve had a crush on Dhani since I was five.” She looked so beautiful when she laughed. Tears pricked the backs of Harry’s eyes. That should be him with her, not someone else.

They were still talking onscreen. Seacrest asked, “So, who do you think is going to win tonight, you or Anna? You already snagged the SAG for this role and there’s talk about another date with Oscar. Dhani, feel free to chime in.”

Dhani held his hands up. “My vote is Bethie here.”

“Is Dhani Harrison the only person who calls you Bethie?” Seacrest asked, obviously reading her amused giggles.

“His dad used to call me Bethie, so yeah, only the Harrison men get away with it.” She laughed again and then pursed her lips together coyly. “As for predictions for tonight…I’m going to say…that...Eddie Redmayne is going to win everything tonight. Eddie is fantastic and I’m totally rooting for him.”

“Well, I’m rooting for you.” Seacrest gave her a side hug. “Beautiful and charming as always, Elizabeth Richards!”

Elizabeth smiled and waved at the screen. “Hi Mom! Miss you!”

“That dress looks amazing on her.” Perrie circled around the couch and offered the tray of canapés to Harry. “Come on love, chin up. You should call her.”

He shook his head, both to the food and her suggestion. He knew if he said anything, he’d be overwhelmed by the emotion bubbling at the surface and cry in front of everyone. Their relationship was over. It was the biggest mistake of his life—and there was nothing he could do to change it.

####

Elizabeth was only half listening to Matthew McConaughey announce the nominees for Best Actress. She smiled both before and after a clip of “Abducted” was played but, in general, she was just ready for the night to end. It was exhausting being polite and she was hungry. She was having a wonderful time—Dhani was a fantastic date and kept her laughing—but the monotony of sitting through awards and speeches was boring. It gave her too much time to think and too much time to dwell on what could have been. What should have been.

“And the winner for the Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture is,” Matthew opened the envelope and smiled broadly. “Elizabeth Richards.”

####

Harry’s eyes filled with tears as he watched Dhani and Anna throw their arms around her, nudging her away from the table and up to the stage. She had her hand clapped over her mouth and her cheeks were bright red; she was so damn beautiful. He was proud of her, so happy that she’d won yet another award. The film was amazing. He was her biggest fan, even now, and this was by far the best film she’d ever made. She deserved every single accolade she was getting. He’d missed out on both—and it was crushing.

Once onstage, she hugged McConaughey and accepted the award from him. The crowd chuckled and he adjusted the microphone for her, moving it down so that it better reached her. She laughed and pressed her palm to her forehead. “I took my shoes off literally fifteen minutes ago because my feet hurt so badly. Let’s address what everything in the room is thinking: I’m short. I know.”

Harry smiled through his tears. He could hear a waver in her voice, a tone of sadness that she was trying to smile through. Clenching his hands into fists, he stared at the television screen and clamped his teeth over his tongue until he tasted blood. He had to move on. She’d obviously moved on.

Louis sat beside him on the lounge and clapped his hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay, mate?”

Harry nodded. “She’s just so beautiful.”

She was holding the Golden Globe to her chest, staring out into the audience, rattling off thanks to Brent, the producers; the appropriate people she was supposed to thank during an awards ceremony. Her eyes shifted down to the ground and she stopped, her voice audibly cracking. “It’s been a, uh, rough several weeks and I just wanted to say, to my best friend: my beautiful, fellow nominee Anna, I can’t thank you enough for being there for me when I needed you. Your acting and your vivaciousness are always in inspiration to me and beating you is simultaneously the best and most heartbreaking thing about this business. To Dhani, Tom, Stella, Chris, Jen, Jo, Momma, Keith, and Uncle Paul—you know I love you all and you have made this last month so much easier.”

Her voice again broke and this time, she couldn’t hold back her tears. Pressing the back of her hand to her mouth, she stepped away from the microphone and took a deep breath before again speaking. “Thank you.”

Harry’s vision clouded with tears and he stared down at the floor. Seeing her cry because of him—because of the things he’d said—was enough to bring him to his knees. He’d broken her heart.

Louis squeezed his shoulder. “Harry, it’s okay—“

He jerked his arm away and stood from the couch. “I’m going to bed.”

He couldn’t watch anymore.

####

The after party was out of control. Elizabeth could almost—almost—consider it as the first good time she’d had in a month. She danced on a table top with Eddie Redmayne, she and Dhani stood in the middle of the dance floor, singing as loud as they could to Beatles music, and she danced with him, Anna, and Tom to more songs than she could remember. Anna’s boyfriend, Tom, paid the DJ two hundred dollars not to play any One Direction music. With Anna’s permission, Elizabeth kissed him.

Around one in the morning, Dhani pulled her aside. “I’ve got to run, love. Tonight has been amazing. You have no idea how proud I am of you, Bethie.”

She hugged him tightly, pressing her lips to his cheek. “Thank you for coming with me tonight, Dhani. You have no idea how much it meant to me.”

“You know I love you, right?” He kissed her cheek and then pulled her hand to his lips, kissing her palm. “Are you sure you don’t want a ride back to your house? It’s literally on my way home.”

“Tom and Anna are going to take me, but thank you.” She hugged him again. “Text me later though, okay? Let’s plan lunch or just sitting in your basement playing your dad’s guitars. I miss him.”

“I will, Bethie.” He held her tightly. “You take care of yourself, okay? Let me know if you need anything.”

After they said goodbye, she watched him disappear into the evening. Great, now she was the awkward third wheel with the very much in love Tom and Anna. Maybe she’d buy her Globe a drink.

“You’re a hard girl to get close to, you know that?”

She turned and smiled. “Chris, I’d have been your date but you said you weren’t coming.”

Chris Evans wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. “Last minute cancellation. How are you doing, gorgeous girl? When you win the Oscar, it’s going to be an Elizabeth Richards trifecta.”

“Hush.” She slipped her hand into his. “Tonight was hard. I don’t know why.”

He led her back to the party. “You’re going to be okay, Liz. You’re just about as strong as you are beautiful.”

Before she could respond, a vaguely familiar man walked up to them, slapping Chris on the shoulder. “So, the second her date splits you pounce on her? Dude.”

Chris chuckled. “Liz, do you know Dean Jameson? He’s a pain in the ass.”

Elizabeth extended her hand to him and smiled. “I know who you are but I don’t think we’ve met. You’re on that show…ah…with the motorcycles. Sorry, I don’t get to watch a lot of television so I’m sure I sound like a moron.”

“Just the fact that Elizabeth Richards got it right makes me happy.” He glanced at Chris. “So, this is your girl?”

“She used to be.”

“Then you’re a fucking idiot.” Dean cocked his head towards the front of the tent. “Want to check out my new ride? I have this super-hot Porsche 918 Spyder out there. Zero to 60 in 2.2 seconds.”

“Boys and their cars.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Go ahead, Chris, you go drool over his car instead of over me. Me and my Golden Globe—Golden Globe, gentlemen—will just go sit at the bar alone.”

“How about I give you a ride, gorgeous?” Dean cocked his eyebrow upwards. “It’s a classy car for a classy lady. Just a spin around the block, test out her speed.”

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, why not?”

####

“Harry. Harry wake up.”

Harry rubbed his eyes and lifted his head up from underneath his pillow, squinting at the bright light shining in from the hallway. “Liam? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“You need to get up.” Liam put a hand on his shoulder. “There’s been an accident.”

Still groggy, he got up and followed Liam back into the grand room. He didn’t bother to put his shirt on and glanced from side to side, trying to figure out what time it was. “What kind of accident?”

The others were gathered in front of the television. Perrie had her face buried against Zayn’s chest and was sobbing, Sophia and Eleanor had their arms around each other, their faces streaked with tears. Niall and Louis were seated on the floor in front of the television, staring at him with red, tear filled eyes, their brows creased in mirrored expression of devastation. Nobody spoke.

Harry swallowed hard.

The television screen showed an overhead view of a nameless Los Angeles road, a mangled hulk of metal smashed around a tree and engulfed in flames. The reporter started speaking again, almost as if she’d been waiting for him to walk into the room. “Details are few and far between at this point, but from what we understand, the car was registered to television star Dean Jameson. Witnesses are saying the Porsche 918 Spyder swerved out of control when a car in front of him ran a red light. It flipped and smashed into the tree, reportedly bursting into flames just moments after impact. Although it’s not yet confirmed, sources are saying actress Elizabeth Richards was a passenger in the vehicle, as she was last seen heading to the parking lot with Jameson and actor Chris Evans.”

Harry stared at the screen. No. There was no way she was in that car.

The reporter’s voice continued, unabated. “Just to recap, a car belonging to actor Dean Jameson is still in flames in Los Angeles, just miles away from a glamorous after party he was seen leaving with Chris Evans and Elizabeth Richards. Speculation has it that Richards was a passenger in his car. There are no reports of survivors.”

Tears flooded Harry’s eyes and he stumbled backwards, shaking his head. “No. No, is this some kind of fucking joke?”

Liam put his hand on his arm. “Harry—“

“No.” He jerked away. Tears streamed down his cheeks but he made no effort to wipe them away. “She can’t be gone. She can’t have been in that car.”

He ran back to his room and yanked his phone off the charger, quickly pressing his finger to her name on his contacts list. It went straight to voicemail. He heard noise from the door;

Niall was standing just outside the room. “Anything?”

“It went to her voicemail.” Harry scrolled through his list of contacts and pushed his finger to Anna’s name. This had to all be a mistake.

Anna picked up after the first ring. She sounded like she was sobbing, “Harry? Harry is she with you?”

His heart plummeted in his chest. “I…uh…saw on the news. I thought maybe she was with you.”

She burst into hysterical tears, mumbling something that he couldn’t quite understand. There was a commotion on the phone and then a man spoke, somewhat calmly, “Hi, Harry? It’s Tom, ah, Hiddleston. Anna’s boyfriend? She’s not with you?”

“No, she’s not.” He choked back tears. “Did you call her agent? Or Keith? Did she even know this guy?”

“The police called Keith and her mom a little while ago; they’re waiting for….confirmation before they head to Los Angeles.” He hesitated. “Anna called Brent about ten minutes ago and he hasn’t seen her either. Her cell goes to voicemail.”

“What about Chris? Wasn’t she last with him?” He could hear the panic in his voice, growing rapidly stronger. “Did you try calling Chris?”

“We tried, but his phone goes to voicemail, too. They all left together. She said she was just going for a ride,” Tom’s voice broke; he cleared his throat, “and that she’d be back.”

Harry mumbled a thank you and hung up the phone. He stared at the screen, tears dripping down his face. If they hadn’t had the fight, he would have been at the ceremony with her. They’d still be together. She’s still be…

Niall had sunk down onto the floor in the hallway and was weeping, his hands pressed to his face. Harry stared at him. He felt empty. Numb. His brain focused on how easy it was to keep breathing, one breath in, one breath out; but how difficult it was to think logically. There was no way this could have happened. He couldn’t have lost her twice: once because he was an idiot and second, the permanent, scarring loss that would never change. No apology was going to change this. She was gone.

Notes

Comments are loved!!! Thoughts on the plot twist??