The way that I been holding on too tight
With nothing in between

Lara’s mouth dropped open as Julian stepped aside to let another person come into view.

“B-Ben what are you doing here?” Lara stammered.

“I’ve come to take you home.” Ben said. There was a strange calmness about him that scared Lara more than his violent outbursts.

“I don’t want to go home.” Lara shook her head, her fingers unconsciously digging into the couch she was sitting on. Her eyes darted toward the nearest door as Ben advanced toward her.

“You can’t stay here.” He told her.

“Harry said I could.”

“Well Harry’s not here anymore. So you’re coming with me.” Ben bent down to grab her wrist.

“No!” Lara cried pulling away.

Ben’s phone suddenly rang and he reluctantly answered, stepping to the other side of the room to speak.

“Don’t make this harder than it should be.”
Julian spoke up.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” Lara shot back.

“Because this is a business, sweetheart and we don’t need your services anymore.” Julian replied evenly. “So just cut your losses and go.”

He eyed her with an obvious disapproval.

“Ben tells me you’ve been living together all this time. Don’t know what’s going on between you, but leave Harry out of it. Ben’s taking you home now.”

A sense of panic rose within Lara and without thinking she shot up off the couch and ran for the door. She wrenched the doorknob open and fled down the hall, without looking over her shoulder. Lara shoved past the doorman and out on the street, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

I’m not going back.

The four words spurred her on and she ran until she was breathless and unable to take another step. She scrounged around in her pockets and came up with enough loose change to use a public pay phone.

“Can you please pick me up? I’ve got nowhere else to go.”

Half an hour later, James pulled up to the curb and Lara gratefully scrambled into the front seat.

“Thank you.”

James regarded her flustered face, her unkempt hair and casual attire.

“Lara what happened?” He asked.

“I just ran…” She said before dissolving into tears.

“Hey.” James looked slightly taken back as he patted her on the back. “Take a deep breath.”

Lara let out a shaky breath before speaking again.

“I was at Harry’s house-“

“What did he do?” James instantly asked.

“He’s not there… Harry’s in Australia…” Lara sniffled. “He let me stay at his house… but his manager came over to kick him out.”

“What gives him the right to do that?” James exclaimed. “You should have told him to fuck off.”

“He brought Ben with him.”

“Oh.”

Lara wiped her tears with the back of her hand before accepting a Kleenex from James.

“I had to leave…”

“I understand… I understand.” James said. He took a deep breath and sighed before pulling out into the traffic. They drove along in silence until they reached a red light. “You’re coming home with me, okay?”

Lara nodded vacantly, remembering Harry telling her the same words. She looked down at her casual outfit of sweatpants and sneakers. She had nothing. No phone, no wallet, no key. She had fled on the spur of the moment and did not have time to even grab anything before she left. The bulk of her things were still at Ben’s apartment, but her essentials were at Harry’s place.

“My stuff.” She mumbled.

“What stuff?” James asked.

“My wallet… phone…” Lara trailed off. How could she get in touch with Harry now? Her mind raced with thoughts that she couldn’t quite shape into a resolution to her problems.

“When does Harry get back?”

“Tomorrow… but then he’s leaving for Paris or somewhere… I can’t remember.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll go anyway. Do you know any of his friends?”

“No.” Lara replied and paused before she began to think aloud. “Well except for that guy who lives in Chelsea… but I don’t even know his name. I’d sometimes meet Harry at his apartment. There’s also Eleanor. I think she lives some of the time with Louis.”

“Well that’s our back up plan.” James said. “You’re welcome to stay with me, but my apartment is the size of a shoe box.”

He smiled at the sight of Lara’s smile before he continued.

“But I also have to warn you that I live with two other people in this shoe box. And to be honest with you, I don’t think they’d be a good influence on you at the moment.”

“Why?” Lara asked curiously.

“Let’s just say they’re into stuff they shouldn’t
be into. Just like you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that Lara.”

She snuck a look at James as he spoke, and could see him staring straight ahead with a frown as he manoeuvred through the London traffic.

“But maybe that’s a conversation for later.”

Lara let out a little sigh of relief as they drove the rest of the way home in silence.

X

After a restless night of tossing and turning in James bed, whilst he graciously slept on the couch, Lara awkwardly stood around the kitchen as James made breakfast for her and his flatmates. Jenny and David seemed nice and even Lara found herself smiling as they exchanged some light hearted banter. Despite this Lara kept an eye on the clock. She knew Harry returned that morning, and her thoughts were focussed on their reunion.

By lunchtime Lara was eager to get going. Especially before James decided to start lecturing about her choice of lifestyle.

“Lucky my Dad has let me borrow his car.” James said. “I’ll drive you there okay?”

Lara didn’t even bother to argue, as she scraped her hair back into a ponytail. She stared at her makeup free reflection for a few moments before following James out the door.

The traffic was horrendous and Lara found herself shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She remembered Harry had told her he’d be home by 11am. It was 1pm now, so surely he would be home now.

James miraculously managed to find a parking spot not far from Harry’s apartment building.

“I’m not going until I know you’re okay.” He told her with a reassuring smile.

“As long as Harry’s here, it should be fine.” Lara replied. She returned the smile before stepping out of the car. Lara headed up the steps and into the foyer where she was met by the familiar doorman. She smiled as usual and continued to walk as per her usual routine in the building, but he quickly strode toward her.

“Miss?” He said.

“Yes?” Lara turned to look at him. They had barely interacted since the day she had met Harry, apart from the odd hello and understanding smile. There were times he didn’t even bother buzzing upstairs to clear whether it was okay for her to go up. But as she looked at him now, she detected a faint apologetic look in his eyes.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you go up.” He said.

“Why not?” Lara asked confused.

“I’ve been told that you are no longer allowed to enter the building.” He said.

“But I’m here to see Harry. I know he wants to see me.”

“Well you’re going to have to contact him another way. My orders are to not let you through that front door, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Whose orders?” Lara suddenly asked.

“I’m not allowed to say.”

“Can you at least buzz Harry and let him know I’m here.” Lara pleaded.

“No, I can’t.” He lightly placed his hand on her elbow and began to guide her out.

“My stuff is up there.” Lara said on the verge of tears. “At least let me get my stuff.”

“Please just leave.” He said stiffly.

He briskly led her to the entrance and she reluctantly stepped out into the bright sunlight. She helplessly looked back at the doorman who eyed her with pity.

“I’m sorry.” He said. “I’m just following orders.”

Lara listlessly made her way back to the car where James waited patiently.

“Everything okay?” He asked before he regarded her closely. “What happened?”

“I wasn’t allowed into the building.” She said.

“What? Harry didn’t want to see you?”

“He wouldn’t even let Harry know I was here.”

“What the fuck?” James retorted.

“Julian’s probably behind the whole thing.” Lara said. She tried to hold back the tears but they began to fall anyway. She had been effectively cut off, and it left her with the very distinct feeling that she was stranded. Unless she could somehow contact Harry, the only other solution was to return to Ben.

“Okay, so they won’t let you in. There’s got to be another way to contact him.” James’ voice broke into her thoughts.

“Louis.” She said. “Can you please take me to his house?”

James gripped the steering wheel.

“Okay, show me the way.”

X

Lara found herself taking a deep breath as she approached Louis’ front gate. The high walls afforded him a lot of privacy, and she was aware of the small camera that was trained on her as she waited for his voice to greet her through the intercom. A few moments passed before the sound of Eleanor’s voice floated in the air.

“Lara.”

Her tone was flat and not the usual welcoming greeting that Lara was used to.

“Can I come in?” Lara asked.

There was a long pause before Lara heard the loud buzz and she was allowed to push through the gate and make her way to the front door. Lara smoothed down her sweat pants, suddenly self-conscious about the way she looked.

The door swung open to reveal Eleanor, dressed to perfection as usual. She wore whitewashed jeans with a crisp white blouse, her long hair in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder.

“Lara.” Eleanor repeated flatly, her face totally devoid of emotion.

Lara had read rumours that Louis and Eleanor had broken up a while ago, but they had been unfounded. At the time Lara had mused whether she was partly the reason for the breakdown of their relationship and judging from the icy look she was now receiving, she wondered if the rumours were true.

“Sorry to bother you,” Lara said awkwardly. “But I just wanted to know if Louis was here.”

Eleanor wordlessly opened the door wider and motioned for her to enter.

“I’m trying to get in touch with Harry.” Lara explained as she walked in.

“So then why don’t you just contact Harry?” Eleanor asked with a slight edge to her voice.

“I’m having a little trouble with tracking him down.” Lara mumbled. Eleanor arched an eyebrow at her before her attention shifted to the other side of the room. Lara looked over to see Louis enter the room. He looked as dishevelled as she did, after his long airplane trip home, his face scruffy with stubble, his hair falling in his eyes. He wore a pair of sweatpants the same shade as the ones Lara was wearing, which she would have found funny if she didn’t feel so uncomfortable.

“Lara.” Louis said but unlike Eleanor, his tone was full of curiosity and a touch of surprise.

“Hi.” Lara said and could not help but recall their last conversation in her head. It was after the disastrous threesome night and Louis had asked her to come to his house.

Lara cleared her throat, nervously aware of Eleanor’s presence. She hovered in the background with an expectant look on her face.

“I need to call Harry.” Lara told Louis.

“Yeah? So call him.” Louis said, casting a brief glance at Eleanor. “He was waiting to hear from you the last couple of days.”

“I-I haven’t got my phone.” Lara said. “Look, it’s a long story, but I don’t have my phone or my wallet. It’s at Harry’s house.”

“So why don’t you go and get them?” Eleanor suddenly asked. Louis and Lara looked over to see her peering back at them with a hurt look on her face.

“It’s a long story.” Lara said. “I just need you to let me use your phone to call him. Please.”

“Louis, just give her the number.” Eleanor said tightly before walking off in a huff.

Louis grabbed his phone and wordlessly handed it to Lara. Their eyes connected for a moment and Lara smiled at him gratefully. She scrolled down the list to find Harry’s name and quickly pressed the dial button. She could hear Eleanor murmur to Louis despite the loud ringing in her ear.

“Is this an excuse for her to see you?”

Lara looked up at Louis to see him staring at her with sad blue eyes. She turned her back just as the sound of Harry’s voice came over the phone.

“Lou, what’s up?”

“Harry, it’s me.”

There was a long pause which Lara did not even dare to break. The sound of Harry’s icy tone was enough to make her blood run cold.

“What the fuck do you want?”

Notes

Thoughts? :)