*Harry’s POV*

Reagan walked out of the office an hour later with an uneasy smile on her face while tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. When she got in front of me, she wiped the palms of her hands on the front of her jeans making my eyebrow quirk as I wondered what was bothering her. Before I was given the chance to ask, she leaned over me, running my hand through my hair as she kissed my forehead.

“Lets go.”

“How did your session go?” I asked as I stood, walking next to her. I even noticed that I had to pick up speed a bit to keep up with her.

“It was fine. Do you want to go somewhere? I want to go somewhere. I don’t feel like going home.”

I grab the back of Reagan’s shirt to slow her down and when she looks at me that same uneasy grin is on her face. I mimic the look causing her to laugh and give me a real smile before exhaling a deep breath and slowing to walk at her normal pace.

“What happened in there?”

“Something that I don’t really want to face. Something that we need to talk about but not necessarily right now. Look, lets go get something to eat we can catch a late brunch and I need to unwind. We can talk about it then.”

I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at her and feelings of concern started to take hold. The words ‘we need to talk’ have never sit well with me, but I highly doubt they mean what they usually would in any other circumstance. We do need to talk. I definitely have to something that I need to bring to her attention, but I wouldn’t have used those words to say it.

I open the car door for Reagan before walking to the passengers side of the car and I realize how calm I’m handling the way that she just brushed me off. Usually I would demand that she told me right now and maybe would have even went back inside to see what input the “doctor” had in whatever is going through Reagan’s mind right now, but I remain calm, despite how much I want to force it out of her and hope that this works out in my benefit in the end.

We take the same way back that we used to get here, but instead of going to her house she stops at a restaurant not too far down the block from her house.

“We can consider this official date number three.”

Reagan speaks as we’re seated at a booth set for two at some kind of Mexican cuisine place. It’s not crowded here and my only guess as to why is because its still kind of early in the day. The place is nothing to really make a fuss about, I’m sure that I could have paid more money to go somewhere nicer than here as a matter of fact,, but it is...intimate? For the lack of better word.

“So what did you want to talk about? I I have something that I wanted to tell you too…” I trail off of my words and run my hands through my hair as glasses raises her eyebrows and takes a deep breath as if she’s trying to figure out what she has to say to me. Just as she begins to open her mouth a waiter appears.
“Of fucking course.”

I speak harshly before sitting back into the booth and crossing my arms, feeling my annoyance take hold. Every Time something important needs to be said, there’s always someone there as if on cue, ready to interrupt us. Reagan glances at me across the table before she grins at the waiter and orders a margarita with two shots of tequila in it. My eyes widen before I look at my watch. It’s only eleven, but I don’t say anything. She’s grown and can do as she pleases without my input, but not quite without the state of California’s.

When she’s asked for ID she shows it to him and he nods. He asks me for ID as well and when I take it out he glances at it then back at Reagan before he hands it back to me and walks away. I pull my lip between my teeth and smirk at her slightly amused before she explains herself.

“What? Me and Channel always used to come here before we went to school. We had fake ID’s then, but since my birthday is at the end of the year I don’t need it. They only ever check the year and I’m kind of a regular you get a pass. Are you not going to order anything?”

“I’m not in the mood. What did you need to talk about?”

Reagan sips the complementary water and picks up a lemon wedge before she squeezes a bit of it into her glass. I try to wait patiently, but its running thin. Today has been one of the best between us so far and I would hate to ruin it. Regan puts the lemon back down on the small plate it came on before she licks the juice that began to run down her finger, momentarily distracting me.

“Reagan!”

“Okay! I don’t think I’m ready…”

My eyebrows instantly knot in confusion. I think I know what she means but I refuse to believe it.

“Ready for?”

“To go back.”

She nearly whispers it as she begins to tear a piece of napkin and drop the tiny crumbs of it on the table and I bite my tongue as the waiter brings her the huge glass of Americanized margarita. Before he walks away I order a drink myself. I’m not sure what it is, but it has enough alcohol in it to get me through this conversation.

“What were you going to say?”

“That doesn’t matter now honestly. Why do feel that way, that you’re not ready?” I try to bite back how anxious I feel when I talk to her, but no doubt it still show through.

“We would be apart again–”

“I know and I don’t want that.”

“What do you think is going to happen then Reagan? I can’t stay here. I leave tomorrow.”

Reagan moves her untouched drink to the side as mine comes to the table, but as soon as it’s put down I take a sip.
“When did you plan on telling me that you leave tomorrow?” I can see the panic in Reagan’s expression and it almost matches mine.

“I told you yesterday that I leave soon–”

“Soon? Soon can be I’m leaving three days from now. Soon is not specific enough. Why do you feel the need to hold things like this back from me?”

“I don’t! I ‘ve told you everything. I could only get three days. I was going to ask you tonight to come back with me. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, but it doesn’t matter now. What did she say to you?”
Reagan crosses her arms after she runs her hand over her face and adjusts her pony tail. The look of panic is still in her eyes and becomes more evident as she blinks away what seems to be tears.

“She didn’t say anything to make me feel that way. She asked me and that’s the answer I gave her.”

“Reagan, that doesn’t answer my question–”

“I’m still scared! I still see him sometimes. If I have a dream or think about it too long, it won’t go away. It will never go away and working there again, in the same building that he used to be will only make it worse.”

I take a deep breath finally gaining some type of understanding. If I was her I wouldn’t want to be anywhere that twat has been either, but we were both a bigger mess when we were so far apart from each other. I calm my annoyance with her before a grab her hand from across the table in mine.

“You never have to see him again, Reagan. And no, you won’t forget what you remember of what happened, but I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you and we can always talk about it if it’ll help you. You’ve come so far and you only have a little bit more to do with Dr. Koch right?” Reagan’s eyes were glued on our hands but she nodded her head in response to me. “I would never force you to do anything, but I would hate to see you stop what you love to do, because of that tosser. I will never let anyone hurt you ever again. The decision is still yours to make and I won’t ask you again or try and sway your answer, but whatever you choose, I still have to leave tomorrow.”

Reagan begins to sip her drink and finishes it before she asks for the check. The rest of the conversation that we have is harmless, and we even share laughs back and forth, but in the back of my mind is tension at the chance that she might choose to stay home longer. All of me wants to tell her that she’s being stubborn and silly, that I don’t think that I could physically handle her being away from me again, that we won’t last if she doesn’t come back, but I know that would only be my selfish mind and I continue to bite my tongue, knowing if I don’t push her she’ll make the right choice on her own.

Something about LA has made me soft and caused me to think about my words before I say them and I’m pretty damn sure that ‘something’ comes in the form of a five foot six inch female with hazel eyes that stun me and glasses that help to frame their beauty.

---

*Reagan’s POV*

By the time that we get back to my house I can still feel the effects from the alcohol coursing through my veins. It was still relatively early and I hadn’t eaten much to anything, but I was happy for the buzz. I wouldn’t deal with all of my problems this way, but my fuzzy mind sure as hell made it seem like it wasn’t a big issue to deal with at the moment. I promised Harry to let him know my decision by morning and though I could see his jaw clench creating a sharper line than what was already prominent, he remained in a pleasant spirit.

When we got out of the car and the sun beamed against my skin, I looked over to Harry. I could see the sweat on his brow right by where his hairline started as well as the way that his hair stuck to his forehead due to the heat. He walked behind me as we entered the house through the garage, but before we could get too far in I lead him towards the door to the backyard.

“Lets relax today. Like really relax for a little bit and forget everything that worries us.”

“What are you suggesting?” Harry keeps his eyes on me, resting his forehead against and though his tone doesn’t suggest his forlorn mood, I can see it behind his eyes that are so great at hiding emotion from everyone but me.

I grin at him, hoping to gain a spark and be forgiven for my constant fear, and though he returns the light gesture his eyes remain solemn.

“Lets get in the pool.” I clear my throat before I give his lips a kiss and I can feel him chuckle against my own as his hands land on my waist.

“I didn’t bring trunks. You get in and I’ll watch you. I have to call Dr. Baker anyway. Do you have your laptop?”

I pout before I lean into him again.

“It’s no fun to just have you watch. I have shorts that you can wear and I’ll grab you the laptop while you change.”

Harry’s nose scrunched, but a glimmer of amusement returned to his eyes as he looked at me.

“I’m not wearing a pair of your shorts.”

“Come on, we haven’t done anything fun since you got here and they’re like unisex workout shorts anyway.”

“If I don’t like them can I swim naked?” Harry grinned cheekily as the thought turned into a daydream and I slowly nodded my head in agreement, because who would say no to that?

“Fine glasses.”

I grinned in excitement before I lead him back into the house grabbing my swim suit and the shorts that he would wear before looking for my laptop. It wasn’t in its normal spot under my bed and oddly enough neither was the cord. I furrowed my brow in confusion before I sat up from my place in front of my bed, tossing Harry his ‘swim trunks’
and then handing him my iPad instead.

“My laptop must be in the kitchen or maybe even the livingroom, but this should do right?” H. nods his head at me and then frowns at the shorts that I gave him.

“I won’t even be able to fit these properly. And why do they have to be yellow?”

“They’re too big on me so they should be fine on you. Besides, part of me is hoping that they will be too small. I wouldn’t mind a naked Harry Styles in my swimming pool.” H. rolls his eyes and grins good naturedly before pushing me out of the room so that he can change and make his call to Dr. Baker, but when I reach the kitchen and the living room, my laptop is nowhere to be found.

Grabbing towels from the linen closet, I head outside and heat up the pool for Harry before he makes his way outside. I do a few short laps back and forth, before I notice him standing in the doorway in all of his glory, covering himself from the waist down with a towel that I brought out for us.

“How do they fit?”

“They fit.”

“How well?” I ask biting my bottom lip as I swim up to the side, trying not to laugh but at the same time in awe of Harry’s chest and the slight visibility of his abs under the natural light of the sun.

“Tight.”

“They can’t be any tighter than your jeans babe. Let me see.” Harry grins and flips me off before he tells me to close my eyes. I do as I’m asked and I can hear the towel fall to the grass, but before I can open my eyes to get a good look, Harry is in the water with me almost face to face, before I hold my breath and go beneath the chlorine treated water to get a better view.

When I emerge, Harry pulls me close to him before he licks his lips. A smirk engulfs his features causing one of his dimples to indent his cheek and my throat instantly goes dry due to the effect that he still has on me.

“Don’t do that again glasses, unless you’re prepared to do something else as well.” Harry kisses me briefly before pushing me backwards and splashing me in the face.

I laugh before swimming over to one of the floating chairs in the middle of the pool and trying to climb on with some sort of grace. When I make it on comfortably enough, my eyes wander until I find Harry again. He hasn’t moved from his spot near the pools edge and the solemn look in his eyes has returned as he stares blankly back at me. I try to coax him out of his mood again, but my buzz begins to wear off and make me once again aware as to why his mood is this way in the first place.

“Can you not swim?” I ask as I tilt my head to the side.

“Of course I can swim. Don’t ask silly questions Reagan.”

I put my hands up in defence as he crosses his arms, still looking intensely at me while he chews on his bottom lip and pouts.

“Then could you come over here?” I speak softly hoping to sooth the frown lines in his forehead before he makes his way over to me. He does so and hangs off of the end of my floating chair in a very Titanic esque manner before leaning his chin on his arms.

I run my hand through his hair which now reaches the top of his shoulders when wet and revel in the silky texture of it beneath my fingers before I break the comfortable silence that fell between us.

“Are you okay? Kind of quiet.” Harry pushed his head into my hand, urging me to continue before he replied.
“I’m fine. Relaxing and waiting for tomorrow morning…” I can tell that he wanted to say more, but for me he held his tongue on the subject like he said he would. I want to be able to give him a sure definite answer but I find myself torn once again between my head and my heart. I know that Harry would protect me and he’s done nothing but show that to me repeatedly, but at the same time, I have to be able to feel comfortable with myself. He won’t always be able to be around me. I feel like I’m not clear on what I want or I want two things at once that aren’t possible to obtain or fair to ask for.

“How did your online session go with Dr. Baker?”

“Fine. I told her I was coming home tomorrow. She bought the no service story.” Harry fell silent again and rested his head on the inflated lounger next to my thigh before his index finger began to trace back and forth over there leaving goosebumps and fire trails behind every soft stroke.

Harry eyed me before a devilish smirk crossed his lips again and he flipped me into the water with him and then dove under with me, grabbing me from sinking too far down. When we came up for air, Harry held me close to him pressing a light kiss to my jaw before speaking.

“I’ll always be here for you even if I’m the one who knocks you down. Come back with me...Please? I don't think I could physically take being away from you like that again.”

I wrapped my arms around Harry’s neck as he supported both of us, keeping us both above water and it was then that I knew my answer. We support each other and as nervous and anxious and overall afraid I am to go back to London, I know that it will be more bearable because I’d be there with Harry. Before I could give my answer, I could hear the door to my house slam. I looked down at Harry before letting him go and swimming to the pool steps to see the source of the problem. Harry climbed over the edge following closely even pushing me behind him, but when I saw my father’s things on the kitchen table I relaxed, grabbing Harry’s arm to let him know it was okay.

I know my dad would sometimes come home for lunch if he was too worked up about a case to stay in the office. I assumed today was one of those days until he called my name telling me to come into his room. I looked back at Harry before shrugging my shoulders and grabbing a new towel to cover my bikini and dry off a bit before I made my way to my dads home office, but as soon as I got in I froze. On his desk sat my laptop open and facing me with a still picture of a seventeen year old Harry in handcuffs on the screen.

Notes

Hi loves! UPDATE BECAUSE I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL DEARLY!! We're getting close to the end and it looks like some shit may be getting ready to hit the fan. What did you all think of this chapter? I didn't get many comments from the last one so I'm hoping to gain more from this one (PLEASE GUYS YOU KNOW I LIVE OFF OF YOUR COMMENTS!) What do you think Reagan's dad will do? And would you be angry at your dad if you were Rea? Please load me up with comments concerns anything if you're reading the story and still enjoying? And please vote and sub also because that also means the world to me. I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL TO DEATH~xX