Harry's POV

"What is the point of going out for a beer if you can't actually drink any beer?" Mason asks for the zillionth time.

"Fuck, I just can't. Let's move on, shall we?"

"Someone needs to get laid." I just stare at him. Suddenly his face scrunches up and he shakes his head. "No, nevermind. You don't."

It is a little strange that I hang out with Savannah's brother so casually now. He really hated me when they were in high school. It's not strange to be friends with him, just the concept of it is a little surprising I guess. He seems to be okay with me now; really pretty much right after Savannah and I came to New York he seemed to be okay with everything. He was probably the most excited of anyone when we found out we were going to have Sophie.

"Do you think you'll marry my sister?"

I practically choke on my coke and set my glass back down, coughing a few times. "What?"

He shrugs. "I'm just curious. I mean, you guys probably aren't going to want to be with anyone else, right?"

"We got back together about five minutes ago," I remind him. It's not as if I haven't thought about it, but we've only been back together a few weeks and Savannah is pissed at me at the moment. So I'm not really thinking about marriage.

"But you love her."

"Well...yeah."

"So you want to marry her?"

I rub my hand over my face to try to rid myself of my discomfort. "I...where is this coming from?"

"Well I-" He stops and shakes his head, bringing his beer to his lips. "Never mind."

I stare at him for a moment, narrowed eyes trying to figure out what the hell he brought that up for. He's literally never asked me that, and now we're back together for a month and suddenly I'm supposed to get married? Why is he thinking about that...

"Fuck, you're proposing to Kylie, aren't you?" I say suddenly. I smack my hand on the bar top and he smiles like a fucking idiot.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about it."

"Thinking about it or you have the ring and you're trying to figure out when to do it?"

He laughs. "Yeah, I have a ring."

"Holy shit." I clap him on the back and he laughs again. "Congratulations, mate. That's a big deal."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I'm getting nervous just talking about it."

"How are you going to ask her?"

He shrugs. "Not sure yet. "

"Well, don't do something stupid."

"Wow, thanks for that brilliant advice."

I laugh and shake my head a little. Mason getting married...makes me feel fucking old, let me tell you. Yeah. Having a daughter doesn't, but my girlfriend's brother getting married makes me feel old. That makes sense.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you but I don't want to talk about it anymore. I do want to know why Sav is so pissed at you."

"So it was obvious."

He scoffs. "Yeah, Sav's not exactly good at pretending not to be angry."

"Yeah, that's true."

"So what'd you do?"

"Why do you assume that I did something?"

"Because it's always our fault and I have a genetic obligation to be on her side."

I laugh. Fair enough, I guess. I didn't really actively do anything...she just knows that I'm lying to her. I meant to hide those pain killers somewhere, but I just didn't think of it. The bruise was a little harder to cover up...she's not an idiot and I didn't think my lie would fool her, but I can't tell her the truth. I'm in too deep now to get out just like that, and if she new I would lose her and Sophie. That can't happen.

"She thinks I'm lying to her," I say finally. "She won't let it go."

"What are you lying about?"

"You know that genetic thing you were just talking about? That means I can't trust you."

He laughs and nods. "Yeah, true. Where is this Niall person, anyway?"

---

"Like I said the last four times, I'm good." I try to shove the girl away from me as politely as I can, but she's terribly persistent.

"But you're so adorable, and your accent is so hot," she slurs, trying to reach up to my hair. My hand wraps around her wrist while it's still in the air and I put it back against her side.

"I'm not sure how else to say this nicely. Leave me alone."

She sticks her lip out in a pout that reminds me of the fake cry my two year old does, and suddenly I want to just scream at her. This isn't sexy and it's not a good way to try to get men. It's pathetic and annoying and she needs to get her shit together, but before I can say any of that she's turning around and going back to her friends, a little less bubbly than when she walked up to me.

When I walk back over to the boys Niall has a girl next to him and Mason looks a little bored. I am too, honestly. Being in bars like this isn't exactly enjoyable when the girl you love is at home with your daughter and you can't even have a beer to relax. It is nice to do something social, but I would rather be with them.

"I think I'm going to head out," I tell the two of them, yelling over the music. Mason immediately stands up.

"I'm coming with you."

"Bye Niall." He waves me off dismissively and I just laugh and shake my head, following Mason to the front door. When we step out into the streets of New York I realize it's a little cooler than I'd thought, the September air much crisper than the sticky warmth I'd gotten used to over the summer.

"I don't remember what it's like to go out and be single," Mason says, laughing. He doesn't sound bitter at all, and I'm glad we have this in common. "I miss my girl more when I do that shit."

"Yeah," I agree absentmindedly. I can picture Savannah cuddled up in her bed, one of my t-shirts on her body and the TV still flickering as she sleeps soundly. Sophie will probably crawl in there at one point, both of my girls safe and warm and happy. It makes me want to run back there.

"Styles!"

The hairs on my arms raise instantly at the voice, and before I can tell Mason to keep walking he's already turning around to see who it is. So instead, that's what I do. I keep walking at the same pace, as if nothing had happened.

"Gone deaf, Styles?"

I take a deep breath and stop walking, maintaing a relaxed but tall posture and keeping my facial expression bored. Mason shoves his hands in his pockets and I can already tell that he's nervous.

"What?" I ask simply. They both laugh.

"Heading home so early?"

"It's not really my scene, Jace."

He nods. "Sure. Got a wife at home or something?"

Instantly my hands ball into fists. "Do you need something?"

He shrugs. "Just looking for some fun. I lost a lot of money because of you, you know."

Fuck. I know exactly what he wants and my entire body tenses up, muscles ready to move. "Then maybe you should bet smarter next time."

"Bet? What's he talking about?" Mason asks. I don't look at him, focused on glaring at Jace who is about to make my life a hell of a lot more difficult.

"Let's get this over with," I say quietly.

---

Savannah's POV

A loud noise wakes me up, my head slamming against the headboard. A few curse words are muttered as I slide out of bed, slowly walking to my door to try to hear something else. I hear two voices, men's voices, and when I open the door more I realize one of them belongs to my brother.

I swing the door open and head to Sophie's room first to see if she woke up. She's still asleep, so I pull the door shut completely and walk out to the main area, where the boys should be. I find them in the kitchen, digging through the freezer.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask, letting the door swing shut.

"Jeez, put some clothes on," Mason says, rolling his eyes. I have a shirt on, that's enough. He can't see anything.

"There's a child sleeping here, so I'd like to know why you two think you can come home and-"

"It was an accident," Harry cuts in. He pulls a pack of frozen peas out of the freezer and squeezes them so they break apart. "Sorry. We didn't mean to wake you."

When I see that it's only just after midnight, I want to ask why they're home so early. But then Mason puts his hand under the tap and I realize his knuckles are bleeding. Harry holds the peas against his face, next to but a little below his eye, his lip cut open and bleeding along with his knuckles.

"What the hell happened to you two?" I ask, stepping over to Harry.

"We're fine," he says quietly. I lift my hand to his and lower the frozen food from his skin. There's already a small bump, a little discolouration. Someone hit him. And he obviously hit them back, because when I take both of his hands and turn them over to inspect his knuckles they're almost all cut open and bleeding. The fact that neither of them are explaining makes me really angry.

"The other guys are worse, Harry's 'friends'," Mason says happily. When I turn to look him over he doesn't appear to have any injuries. "Harry fights like a professional."

Harry pins him with a glare so harsh I almost cower from it. His eyes are hooded and something about him looks...dangerous. That's not something I'm used to with him.

"Just saying," Mase mutters. He walks out of the kitchen and I wait until I hear his bedroom door shut until I look back up at Harry. He doesn't say anything, stepping to the sink and running his hands under the cold water. Red runs from his hands, making my stomach flip. Someone hurt Harry, and that makes me want to hunt down and kill that someone.

"Harry, talk to me," I plead. My voice comes out weaker than I'd hoped, and instead of expressing anger it just comes out sad.

"It was just a bar fight, not that big a deal."

"You're going to have a black eye so yeah, it is sort of a big deal. Who did you fight? Why are you having bar brawls, you have a daughter at home."

"Stop doing that!" he exclaims, turning and pinning me with a glare. "Stop using her to make me feel guilty! It's not fair, Savannah. You know I'd never do anything to hurt her, that little girl means everything to me."

"Don't yell at me." This time my voice is angry, and Harry takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose and once again showing me his split knuckles that have finally stopped bleeding. "Mason said you know these people, Harry, called them your friends. Who do you know that would do this to you?"

"I need you to trust me," he says gently. He holds his arm open for me and I don't hide my reluctance. "Savannah."

I keep my arms crossed in front of my chest as I let him pull me against him, his arms around me and his cheek against my head. He's hiding something, that much is obvious, but the possibilities of what it could be are swirling around in my head, each one worse than the last. The last thing I want is to lose Harry, but I have a daughter to think about. If Harry is getting attacked, what's to stop them from targeting Sophie?

"I need to know what's going on," I say quietly. He sighs.

"Please, just trust me."

"How am I supposed to trust you when you're obviously keeping things from me?"

"It's just better for everyone if you don't know."

Irritation forces me away from him again as I frustratedly push my fingers through my hair. None of this makes any sense. Harry wouldn't jeopardize everything we have for one secret, would he? And if he would, what the hell kind of secret is it that is worth losing everything?

"I can't be with someone who isn't honest with me," I say finally. "So either you tell me what's going on or-"

"Don't finish that sentence," he says. "You don't want to do that."

"You're right, Harry. I really don't want to, but I don't know what else to do! How are we supposed to be in a relationship that has so many secrets?" I ask, putting my hands in the air. They fall with a slap to my sides and my body slumps in defeat. "I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

"That's not true," he says, stepping closer to me again. He cups the side of my face in his large hand. "I'm still the same person."

"Please just tell me," I whisper. "I love you, Harry. You're getting hurt and I..I can't...it breaks my heart-"

"Shh." He pulls me against him again and I desperately fist his shirt in my hands. The insatiable need I have for this man isn't something that's just going to go away, and with all these secrets it looks like it may go unfulfilled. But I don't have to make any decisions tonight, do I?

"I'm getting out," he whispers, so quiet I almost don't hear it. "It'll be over soon, and then I'll tell you. But I can't...I just can't right now."

Nothing about this makes sense, and the more I think about it the more it scares the hell out of me. At this point I have no idea what to do. I'd like to think I'm strong enough to leave Harry if I needed to, if I needed to get Sophie away from here. But when it comes down to it, I'm not sure if I really could. That's how much I love him, and that scares me. A lot.

Notes

sooooo any guesses at what harrys been doin? crazy mofo

so yeah. thats all really :P let me know what you think!!