Secrets / Black & White / Playing for Keeps

The next few days were spent moving her things into Tony’s flat. Tony was working, there was no word from Harry and Julian had also gone missing too. It was quiet. Almost too quiet. Apart from a couple of promising leads, she did not have a job lined up. A little knot of concern tightened in her stomach at the thought of not being able to support herself, but she knew she still had her savings to back her up for the time being. Despite everything that had happened between them, Louis Tomlinson had paid her handsomely for the work she had done on his apartment and that alone was enough to keep her head above water until the next job came along.

Lara was sorting through her clothes, when she heard the front door click open.

“I’m in here!” She called. Footsteps sounded and then seemed to stop outside the door, so Lara hung a couple of dresses in the wardrobe before heading to the living room. The sight of an unfamiliar blonde woman standing there caused her to freeze in her tracks. The woman looked as surprised as she did and they stood for a few moments looking at each other.

“Hello.” She said icily. “I’m Susan.”

Tony’s wife now studied her closely, waiting for her to respond, her green eyes curious. She looked so put together, in her matching outfit and shoes and straight blonde hair, that Lara could not even meet her eyes.

“I’m Lara.” She said finally.

“And you’re…” Susan trailed off looked around the apartment as though she were trying to figure out why Lara was there alone.

“I-I had some things to do… Tony gave me a key…” Lara stuttered. She did not know if Susan knew that she had just moved in and although she was wondering why Susan had her own key too, she was too scared to ask.

“Oh.” Susan said flatly.

The front door opened and Tony suddenly appeared with his son, the smile on his face disappearing upon seeing Susan and Lara facing off.

“Hi.” He said, setting Jake on the floor. He turned to Susan as the little boy raced toward his mother, giving her a big hug. “I thought I told you I would drop Jake off at your house.”

“You told me you were going to return him at 3… it’s 4 now, so I assumed you forgot. You weren’t answering your phone.” Susan replied.Even though her tone was polite, there was a definite edge to her voice.

“I didn’t take my phone.” Tony responded patiently.

“Well maybe you should.”

Lara awkwardly stood there for a moment listening to the arguing before she moved toward the front door. Tony and Susan’s heads snapped toward her and she smiled apologetically.

“I have an appointment this afternoon, so I-I better get going.”

She looked down at her ripped jeans and sneakers and knew that it was obvious she was lying, but she could not help but want to escape this uncomfortable scene.

“Oh okay.” Tony said as though he understood. “I’ll see you this evening.”

“Yep… see you later.” Lara quickly gathered her hoodie and handbag and shut the door behind her. The loud arguing began almost instantaneously and she could not help but place her ear against the door.

“So you’re living with her now?” Lara heard Susan incredulously say.

“She just moved in Susan, so yes… I guess I am.”

“She’s just a kid Tony. What are you doing living with a kid?” Susan shot back.

“She’s not a kid… and I’m not in the mood to argue about it.”

It was fascinating to hear someone arguing about her, but odd at the same time and just as she had decided she had heard enough and was about to really leave, the next sentence caused her to freeze once again.

“She dated Harry Styles for God’s sake! And she looks like she’s barely out of high school. What does she do for a living again?”

The mention of Harry’s name was enough to make her heart beat rapidly.

“Lara’s an interior decorator.” Tony said calmly.

“Yeah right… and how does a girl like that get any worthwhile jobs? You don’t think it has anything to do with the fact that she was screwing Harry Styles, do you?”

Hot tears pricked her eyes as a soft sob escaped her lips. It had always been a sticking point for her, always lingering just below the surface, especially when people regarded her with a knowing expression. She had always tried to return the expression with a brave smile, but it had been exhausting. Always questioning her self-worth, always second guessing other people’s intentions. Not knowing if she was good enough for anything or anyone. And then there had been Harry.

“Go back to school.” Harry had urged her. “Get your diploma first.”

“I’m getting jobs Harry.” These conversations had really annoyed her. They were annoying when she had been as high as a kite and they were annoying now when she was stone cold sober. “You can’t buy the experience I’m getting!”

“You know how I feel about school though… you know how I wish I had at least finished school before getting into all of this.”

“What difference would it make?” Lara had retorted. “You’re a pop star. You sing for a living.”

“Fuck Lara, you just don’t get it do you?” Harry said. He gestured to his surroundings and looked her dead in the eyes. “This isn’t real. This could all disappear. I’m not going to be a pop star forever. You’re not always gonna get the job just because of who I am.”

“Excuse me?” Lara cried.

“You heard me.” Harry mumbled, suddenly not meeting her hard gaze. “You think it’s easy… well it might be for now, but you’re gonna get further with an education than with me.”

Lara remembered how indignant she had felt as his words and how she had walked out of the apartment and not returned until later that night. She had crawled into the bed next to him, leaving a sizeable gap and they barely spoke to each other for a week after. It felt like a long time ago, but the same anger burned within her, only now the tears were flowing too.

She ended up on the street, wandering around aimlessly, feeling as though it was the same old scene all over again. Only this time it was not Harry who had upset her, it was Tony’s wife; and she did not know which felt worse.

Lara ended up near his apartment without even realising. Blinded by tears and ignoring the taxi driver’s curious looks, she quickly paid and walked one block over as she always did, always conscious that someone would catch her. She knocked on the door and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, knowing that the security camera was pointed right at her face.

“Lara?”

The mere sound of his voice unleashed a fresh flood of tears and she was relieved when the door suddenly opened.

“Lara, what’s wrong.” Louis said.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know where else to go.”

The realisation that this was very true hurt her as she was ushered inside. Louis led her to the couch and placed his arm around her.

“So what brings you here?” He asked gently.

“I… oh I don’t know… I guess I got upset.” Lara said, suddenly feeling silly even though she was still smarting from the comments she had heard.

“Harry?”

“No.” Lara could not help but smile. “Surprisingly no.”

She and Louis shared a quiet laugh.

“Then tell me.”

Lara was used to the wisecracking Louis, so she felt strangely comforted to hear his now serious voice.

“Lara?” Louis said expectantly.

“It’s the same old story… just when I think everything is going well it all just blows up in my face.” She said, trying to fight back the tears. “Remember that fight I had with Harry? The one about me going back to school?”

Louis nodded and Lara launched into the story of how she had just moved in with Tony and how his wife had barged in and the way she had spoken about her.

“That’s gotta hurt.” Louis said. “But you’ve got to stop listening to what other people have to say.”

“You must think I sound like an idiot.” Lara said burying her face in her hands.

“Nah… let’s just say I’ve had a lot of shit said about me over the years and I’ve just learned to ignore it. People are always gonna talk shit. That’s what people do.” He said. “And just look around… Harry Styles or no Harry Styles… you have done an awesome job on my home. Look around… I’ve kept it exactly the same as you left it. Didn’t change a thing.”

Lara smiled through her tears before frowning.

“You don’t believe it do you… you don’t think Harry thinks I used him.”

“You really think Harry believes that? Seriously?” Louis asked shaking his head. He sighed loudly and stood up. “I think you need a cup of tea. Sound okay?”

Lara nodded and smiled to herself. A year ago Louis would be pulling out a spliff or even a little coke to cheer her up. That was how they had developed their friendship which had always ventured onto dangerous territory as a result. Louis seemed to recognise the smile and returned it with a raise of his eyebrow. He disappeared into the kitchen and emerged a few minutes later with two mugs of steaming hot tea.

It felt nice to be with Louis again and not feel like she had to watch her back. He spoke about the projects he had on the side and how he was secretly glad Julian was threatening to put One Direction on hiatus, giving him time to focus on the work that was slowly becoming more important to him. He mentioned a few of the dates he had been on lately and Lara was so engrossed in his stories that she almost did not hear the doorbell ring.

Louis paused before making his way to the door. He turned to look at Lara before answering.

“Harry? Come on up.”

Notes

Hi everyone, here's another update- hoped you liked it!