Trigger Warning - Please be advised this chapter contains themes of sexual assault and depression which may be triggering to some.

Thalia
"Shit." I cursed loudly as I ran into the back of a chair in our London flat. I had been so preoccupied by my phone buzzing that I had forgotten to turn on the lights. I managed to make my way through to the obstacle-like apartment free of anymore blows before finally collapsing against the kitchen counter. A loud buzz on the laminate top caused me to flinch.

I stared down at my phone rereading the words on the screen over again as if this time they would finally decide to sink in. Anxiety gripped my stomach as a cold fear like I'd never before experienced grew throughout my body.

From Mae My Lover: I just can't take this shit anymore. I can't take the pain. I just want it all to stop.

With shaking fingers I fumbled around on the small keyboard before sending my reply. Maeve had been sending texts like this for the past hour. Well, for the past three days actually. Each cryptic, threatening message had crippled me and my ability to function. And I would be paralyzed until I knew she was safe again.

I jumped as the vibrations from the phone shook my hand.

From Mae My Lover: just promise not to be mad

Shit. Fuck. No. I hit call the second I finished reading the message. She was going to try to do something stupid. Something dangerous. Why, oh why had I ever let my mom talk me into leaving her? My best friend. My sister. She was alone and scared. She was hurting and she needed me.

"Mae!" I cried as soon as the line clicked.

"I'm sorry," Maeve croaked. Tears burned my eyes as a lump grew in my throat. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. She needed me to be strong for her.

"What's going on hun? Are you okay?" I asked in what I hoped was a calming manor.

"No," she sniffed.

"Have you done anything?"

"No, but I came close."

I let out a silent sob and slumped against the counter as pain and relief flooded my body; relief that she hadn't done anything, pain that she wanted to. "Babe we talked about this. It won't help. You can't do it again."

"I know I just..." She sniffed loudly and I bit down on my hand to keep myself from bursting into tears as she continued, "I just don't know what to do anymore."

"You do know Maeve. You have to keep going. I know it's hard babe but you just-" my voice cracked as I gripped the phone tighter, wanting nothing more than to reach through and pull her into a hug. "You can't give up. I won't let you give up on me Mae. Because I love you. Hugh, Jasper, Elaine, Kenzie...we all love you Mae. You know that right?"

"Yeah."

"And you're going to get through this," I continued, abandoning all attempt at hiding the quiver in my voice. "You're going to get through this because you are the strongest, smartest, funniest, and most amazing person I know."

I could hear Maeve let out a quiet sob on the other end of the line and I prayed to God someone would find her soon.

"It's dark and scary and I know it would be the easiest thing in the world to give up right now but-" I was now full on crying and after a sharp intake of breath continued, "but you have to fight Mae. Please. Just please promise you'll try?"

"I'll try," she sniffed.

"Okay. Is there anyone home with you?" I asked tentatively.

"Miss Irene. She just knocked on the door."

"Why don't you let her in?" I suggested, wiping my eyes with my sleeve and feeling braver. "I bet you can convince her to make you some of her famous chocolate chip pancakes. Yeah?"

"Okay."

"Okay." I waited until I heard the door click and my mothers' voice break through on the other line before saying my goodbyes to Maeve. The moment I ended the call a weight seemed to have been lifted off my shoulders.

She was safe for the night.

I slid down the kitchen cabinet I had been leaning against, my body exhausted from all the stress it had been under the past two weeks. I leaned my head back, letting my eyes flutter closed. I hadn't even bothered turning on the lights when I got home from studio and now sat in the stillness of the dark. I was back at the old flat in London, not wanting to be left by myself after what had happened. But even living with my sisters had left me with moments of quiet. At times like these when they were out at school, work, or practice the deafening silence that seemed to suddenly surround my life grew to overwhelming decibels.

I pulled my knees to my chest and, in the still of the night, finally allowed myself to cry properly.
Two weeks ago Maeve had been sexually assaulted at a bar near our flat. She and a few of our Uni friends had been out celebrating the end of the semester with a round of drinks. Someone must have slipped something in her drink for two hours later the guys had found her lying in the alleyway at two in the morning, her panties missing. Maeve took it hard. Anyone would. Within days she had morphed into this depressed creature that hardly moved from her bed.

Then, last week I had come back from studio to find Maeve had locked herself in the bathroom. No one else had been home and it took me five agonizingly long minutes to pry the door open. That night she had been admitted to hospital under suicide watch. Two days later my sisters and I had managed to shove Maeve and half of her belongings into the car and set off back to Birmingham. Being back home had been good for Maeve and, after a long conversation with my mother and aunt, she had decided to take off the rest of term for her health.

And now here I was a week later, sitting on my kitchen floor having just survived a panic attack over one of the most important people in my life. I knew I couldn't take these calls much longer, but what choice did I really have?

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

I almost let out another sob, but on seeing the name my heart seemed to swell rather than shatter. I wiped my eyes one final time before taking a deep breath and clicking 'accept'.

"Hi Harry."

"Tootles!" I smiled, a movement which felt strange after going so many days without it.

No, I hadn't told Harry about Maeve, her situation...any of it. I mean how could I? Harry had called mere hours after I found out. I mean, I hadn't even been able to process what had really happened I was still so numb. And if I couldn't process it I sure as hell wouldn't be able to relate it to another human being.

The next call I had received from Harry lasted 32 seconds, enough time for him to sing his hello, wallow in how much he missed me, and beg me to wish him luck before he ran onstage. Sure, I had tried to call him. But the problem with Harry was that he never really answered. I left a few vague messages letting him know how stressed, nervous and scared I was. But since I had never given him any specifics he had assumed my stress was caused from school, my nervousness from my upcoming presentation, and my worry for our relationship. And while I had considered just texting him, my fingers ghosting over my keys, I knew that was no way to find out.

But the longer I didn't say anything, the more I questioned if I should say anything at all. Harry had been my only escape from the situation. The only moment where, for a few short minutes, I was able to feel normal again. And then it got to the point where I just couldn't let Harry know. He had been so stressed after all, what with tour, traveling, and the media.

But if I was being honest with myself, the real reason I hadn't told Harry was because I didn't want to add Maeve's latest troubles to the long list of issues my family already had.

"Thal?"

"What? Sorry, I'm just a little distracted," I said quickly.

He chuckled lightly, a sound which set off butterflies in my stomach. "S'alright, I just asked about your day."

"Oh! My day?" I bit my lip nervously. "Not the most exciting. Just locked myself in studio for a few hours."

"Well I hope you remembered to eat something," he joked. I frowned realizing that I hadn't eaten anything all day, my nerves effectively curbing my appetite. "What are you working on now?"
"Oh, just the pieces for the gallery showing..."

"Still? Two weeks ago you said you were adding finishing touches."

"Well I had to add to all of them so it took longer than expected..."

"Thal?"

"Mm?"

"You okay?"

I closed my eyes, the familiar crumbling feeling having kicked in immediately as if it had been waiting for him to ask. "I'm fi-I'm okay Harry."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Cause you know you can talk to me Thal."

I let my head fall back against the cabinets with a loud thunk. He says that, but does he really mean it?

"I miss you," Harry whispered when I hadn't responded.

"I miss you too Harry," I said into the darkness, wishing more than anything that it was his beautiful face I was looking at instead of the oven. "When are you coming home again?"

"One month."

I groaned into the phone, earning a quiet chuckle from him.

"I know babe. Think you can hang in there for me?"

"Barely."

"Atta girl." I could almost see that perfect little smirk, his lips turned up in the crooked, little mischievous smile. "And hey, if things get real bad...you can always come and visit me. We have have a few days coming up where we're free...

I but my lip. "I wish...but there's too much going on at the moment here-"

"Thalia," he wined. "Please don't do this to me again."

"I'm sorry Harry. I swear I'd come if it wasn't serious but-"

"You're work is not life or death Thal, you can afford to take a weekend off."

I gulped. My work my not be life or death, but Maeve's situation was and if I was going anywhere, it would be to see her. "I can't-"

"For fuck's sake Thal stop hiding behind your work. We both know you're too good of an artist and too OCD for your work to be anything but done by now. So just please tell me the real reason why you won't come visit."

I gripped the phone tightly, feeling the plastic bite into my skin as I tried to fight off fresh tears. "Well maybe you'd know of you actually answer your phone for once."

"That's not fair. You know I don't have a lot of time on the road."

"And what? I have all the time in the world?" I cried, my voice rising way beyond a normal pitch. "Believe it or not Harry I have my own life and my own set of problems."

"Problems like keeping your first?" He hissed.

"Well you wouldn't know seeing as you never care to ask," I snapped. I was angry, I was hurt, and I was unfairly releasing all the pent up emotion from the past week on Harry. I knew this, and yet did nothing to stop it.

"Calm down," he ordered. "I'm trying to ask you now and you're biting my head off!"

"Because you're getting angry at me!"

"What the hell Thal? Just tell me what's the matter!"

But I was so angry right now the only thing I wanted to tell him was to go fuck hims-

"Fine." Harry's bitter voice cut through my thoughts like knife. "You know what? Forget I even asked."

And with that he was gone, leaving me along in the darkness once more. I threw my phone against the cabinet, the impact sent it flying across the room and surely created yet another crack. I flung my arms around my knees once more and broke into even harder sobs then I imagined possible.

"Thalia?"

"AH!" I flinched so violently that I smacked my head against the counter, sending a sharp pain to my already throbbing head.

Mackenzie let out a small laugh at my reaction before flicking on the lights. Then, seeing my face she realized what had happened and was by my side in an instant. Her arms wrapped around me protectively as she held me close, attempting to keep me from falling apart. I calmed some as she began gently rubbing my back, cooing softly into my ear the same way I would when she had a panic attack. We sat like this for what felt like hours before Kenzie finally decided to speak.

"Harry?" She whispered. I wiped my eyes and pulled myself from her cocoon. With a sigh I gave a small nod in response to her question.

"Thalia, you need to tell him. You two can't keep fighting like this," Kenzie whispered, her head resting against my shoulder. I ran my fingers through her long blond hair, gently massaging her scalp liked I used to when we were kids.

"I don't know how," I admitted. My voice was hallow after having cried so much and I quickly cleared my throat before continuing. "Besides, Maeve asked us not to tell."

"I hardly think she'd be mad if you told Harry."

"Have you told Niall?" I shot back.

Mackenzie look up at me carefully, her eyes flitting back and fourth between mine. "No."

I nodded firmly and we went back to silence. However, according to the microwave clock this only lasted two minutes before she tried again.

"It could help though. He could help."

I frowned at this. "But should he? Kenz, he would drop everything to come back and help me, help us get trough this. We both know he would. But he can't just drop his entire career-his entire life because I'm having a bad day."

"This is more than a bad day Thal," Kenzie gently reminded me.

"He doesn't need anymore stress in his life."

"He deserves to know! You're worth more than a few sleepless nights to him! He loves you! You can't keep shutting him out like this."

Mackenzie's voice echoed throughout the empty apartment before they both fell into more silence.
"I think I'm just scared he'll wake up one day and realize what a mess I am."

I felt her wrap a hand around my shoulders as she pulled me into another tight hug. "A beautiful mess."

I let out a weak laugh and she burst into giggles. Then her face turned serious, her smirk slipping into a small sincere smile. "Don't worry Thal, it's Harry. He'll understand."


***

Harry
"I don't understand."

"What?”

“She’s gone Val!” I practically yelled into the phone as I tore out of Thalia’s Uni parking lot.

I had arrived in London three hours ago after taking the weekend off from tour. The boys had been furious with me but after my fight with Thalia yesterday, it seemed the only way we would be able to fix the mess going on between us face to face. I had been so nervous to see Thalia again and had stepped in my flat with shaking hands and a tight throat, barely able to call out her name. Though it wouldn’t have matted much anyway.

The house had been completely deserted. All lights, electronics, and appliances had been shut off, every curtain drawn and every door locked. The silence of the space was became deafening as I wandered aimlessly throughout the house, half expecting her to jump out and scare me at any moment.

But the panic didn’t begin to set in until I had entered the master bedroom to find it completely uninhabited. The room had undergone a deep clean leaving no trace of Thalia’s usual wrappers, clothing, or art supplies. And, although Thalia did sometimes go on random cleaning sprees, this looked more like Sofia the housemaid’s work than her own. This meant that Thalia hadn’t been in the house for over five days, maybe even longer than that. I had immediately ran over to the closet, flinging the door open with such force that it smacked loudly against the wall. The hope of finding a hiding Thalia with playful eyes and mischievous smile was demolished on finding nothing but empty hangers staring back at me.

In one last desperate attempt I had pulled open the nearest drawer and let out a sigh of relief when I found Thalia’s clothes with still there, jumbled together as if she had just rummaged through them in search of her favorite jumper. I calmed a bit on the realization that she hadn’t left me forever.
After calling her, and being sent straight to voicemail, I had headed straight to her studio. I had learned enough about Thalia to know that when she felt threatened, emotionally or physically, her immediate instinct was to run. And her usual hiding place was her studio in Uni where she could safely escape inside one of her drawings.

But Thalia had not been in her studio. So here I was speeding along the deserted highway in one last desperate attempt to find my girlfriend, ranting all the while about it to my new confidant Val.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Val asked, her voice calling my attention back to the task in front of me.

“I mean she cleared out of my flat that’s what.” I was seething. How could Thalia do this to me? After everything she was just going to shut me out?

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find her.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“No, but her sisters will,” I replied stubbornly. “I just don’t get it. She gets worked up about something and instead of talking it out she just bottles it all up until she either explodes or runs away! It's not healthy!"

"I thought you were going to have this conversation with her?" Val asked, her tone judging. "Instead you're ranting to me for the sixth time in two weeks."

"I know," I sighed, flicking in my turn signal and pulling off the main road. "I just wish she'd talk to me you know?"

"You said it yourself, she's a private person," Val stated unhelpfully.

"Too private," I mumbled. "You know I used to think it was cool that she like, didn't gossip and wasn't always wining about something or another. But now, sometimes I wish she would...just so I'd know what the hell she was thinking."

"You should be telling her this Harry. Not me."

"I'm working on it."

"That's what you said last week!" Val laughed, before growing serious and adding, “remember what you're going to say?"

"Yep."

"That you love her but things need to change? That you need to know she loves you too? That you need more from her than just a few assorted texts? And-"

"And that she needs to be more open with me," I finished. Val and I had been over this a thousand times yet for some reason the words still felt foreign to my lips.

"Good boy," she cooed. "Now, got get em' tiger! And don't you dare back down!"

"Thanks Val,” I chuckled, pulling to a stop in front of Thalia’s old apartment building.

"Anytime babe. Let me know how it ends! Muah!" She made a loud kissing sound into the phone before hanging up, leaving me with the deadpan tone for company.

I had met Val at a friend's birthday bash a little over a month ago. Thalia and I had gotten in a fight that day about her coming to see me. She had said no of course. So, naturally, I rebelled by getting piss drunk. So drunk that I nearly hooked up with Val. But after a long conversation, which mainly consisted of me spilling my heart out on the edge of a hotel bed, she had become quite a good friend. In fact, it was she who had talked me into coming back to London to try to patch things up with Thalia.

At first I had felt horrible about nearly cheating on Thalia. But mine and Val's relationship had developed because of something I was lacking from my relationship with Thalia: emotional support. Val was always right there, responding within seconds the moment I texted or called. She was easy to talk to and gave great advice in return.

So no, I hadn't told Thalia about Val. And, though I frequently told myself there was no harm in our friendship, I still prayed Thalia would never find out.

With a deep breath, I stepped out of the car and headed up the steps. The front door was open, having been busted by a drunk some years prior according to Thalia, and I easily made my way up the three flights of stairs. As I arrived in front of the door I ran my hands through my hair nervously before wrapping my knuckles on the heavy wood.

If Thalia had told her sisters everything that had unfolded between us in the past month, I doubted they would be willing to help me locate her. On the other hand, they might not even know she was missing. It didn’t take me long to learn that when Thalia felt threatened, either emotionally or physically, her immediate instinct was to run. Remove yourself from the situation and you remove yourself from the problem right?

“Who is it?” Elaine’s voice sang from the other side of the door.

“Harry.”

The lock clicked immediately and she all but threw open the door, her eyes wide. My immediate thought was that the girls had found out Thalia had disappeared again, that they had been searching to find her as well but had come up empty handed. That Thalia truly was missing.

So imagine how surprised I was to find her sitting on her couch, chatting with her sisters over a glass of wine.

"H-Harry," Thalia breathed, her eyes growing wide as she stared at me. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, rooted to the spot and completely entranced in the train wreck that was coming for her. But then, to everyone's surprise, she broke into a broad grin and leapt from her perch.

"W-what are you doing here?" She cried, flinging her arms around my neck. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her, lifting her off the floor so just the tips of her toes remained on the surface. It would have been perfect had it not been ruined by her lie.

"I missed you," I said, giving her one right squeeze before loosening my grip and allowing her to slide back down into hew own feet.

"I missed you too." Her large hazel eyes roamed my face and for a moment I forgot that I was here on a mission. I vaguely heard Kenzie call out my name, or Elaine offer me a glass of wine. But I ignored them, for at the moment Thalia was the only thing that seemed to matter.

“I'm surprised to find you here," I said in what I hoped was a polite manner. Her face fell as I continued, "You had me scared half to death. Checked all over the house before running over to your studio..."

"I'm sorry Harry," Thalia whispered. "I didn't think-"

"I thought you were working on your paintings this weekend?” I cut in.

"I-I am I just…” She made to step back but my hands gripped firmly to her waist, keeping her from escaping. “I’m just taking a break.”

I licked my lips and tried to think of the best way to handle the situation. Elaine and Mackenzie were still frozen in place, watching us intently.

"Fancy a bite to eat?" I asked.

"Okay." Her eyebrows knitted together ever so slightly as she tried to read my mood.

Thalia handed her glass to Elaine and grabbed her purse before following me out the door. We didn't say a word during the short walk to the car, and still nothing as I headed off to some unknown destination. Any confidence or remnants of Val's words seemed to vanish in her presence. Annoyance, love, anger, and longing all hit me like a brick wall on seeing her again.

Thalia had her long hair pulled back in a messy braid. She wore one of my old shirts and a pair of raggedy old jeans. She was humming lightly as she switched between radio stations until she found a song she liked. Then the threw her feet up on the dash, just like she had the first time I met her and all the times since. I felt weak as I watched her. How could she be so at peace when everything between us was so uncertain?

"HARRY!"

My eyes shot back to the road as I slammed on the breaks, stopping just before the oncoming intersection. I had been so distracted by Thalia I had nearly ran a red.

"You okay there Walt?" She laughed, somewhat uneasily.

"Sorry."

In the silence that followed I could feel her watching me intently, attempting to work out just what was wrong with me.

"Hey, what's going on?" She finally managed.

"I just...this wasn't exactly how I was expecting the night to go."

"I'm sorry Harry. If I had known you were coming home I would have gone ba-"

"You shouldn't have to pretend to like living there Thalia."

"I do like living there! But only if you're there too!" She huffed. "You should understand that more than anyone."

I chewed on my lip as the light turned green. "I just wish you would have told me is all. You didn't have to hide it."

"I wasn't hiding it," she mumbled. "I just wasn't broadcasting it."

"Technicality!"

"Look, I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd get mad! Is that what you want to hear?"
"I wouldn't have gotten mad!"

"You're mad right now!" She cried.

"I'm not mad!" I growled. "I just...I just want you to talk to me Thalia. That's all I want."

Thalia turned to look out the window in a deliberate attempt to avoid my eye, her arms wrapping around her lets to create a shell.

"Thal, will you just tell me what's going on?"

"I'm fine I just-"

"You're not fine," I cut in harshly. "Why do you keep saying that when you're obviously anything but?"
She stared at me incredulously, completely surprised at my tone.

"Fine! You want to know what's wrong?" Thalia cried, removing her feat from the dash so she could sit up and yell properly. "How about the fact that my boyfriend only wants to talk to me at his own convenience? I've been trying to talk to you for weeks Harry and you've just continually shoved me aside or berated me with your own feelings instead of for once listening to mine. And I get that tour is rough, that you're stressed, overworked, and sleep deprived. I get that I'm your outlet. But for for fucks sake Harry what about me? How can I talk to you when try to guilt trip me into abandoning my responsibilities of family, school, and work to go on fucking holiday! And then hang up when the conversation doesn't go your way!"

I swung the car over to the side of the road and pulled to an abrupt stop before turning to face Thalia. She was panting as though she had just finished a marathon, her cheeks pink from anger. “I have asked you every single time we have talked to tell me what’s wrong. The problem is that you don’t fucking tell me so I don’t know how to help! Just talk to me and we can work this out-”

"Work what out? I thought we were fine up until last week! But now all of the sudden you won't talk to me? Harry I don't know what's happening! I can’t do this…not now.” Thalia yanked open the car door and practically fell out of the front seat in her attempt to escape.

“Thalia!” I jumped out of my own seat and ran around the car, catching her arm to keep her from running away from the problems for once.

“That is how I always feel Thalia! I would go a week with out hearing from you because you were always fucking busy or something more important came up!" I was yelling now. Every feeling I had bottled up for the past month was boiling over and Thalia was the collateral. "I have just as many feelings as you, the only difference is that I lay my feelings out there! When you continually push me aside I start to wonder if you even love me at all! I can't keep doing this Thal! I need more from you than a few texts a week and a handful of excuses. I thought we were past this!"

"Harry I have loved you since the charity football game a month after I met you! I just have a different way of showing it!" She was screaming now too. She ran her hand through her disheveled hair and choked back a sob. "This is me! This is who I am!”

“Thalia, I feel like I don't even know who that is!” I cried.

"What are you on about? You know exactly who I am Harry. I'm Paul's long lost daughter who has trust issues because of his failed marriage. I'm the OCD art student who spends more time sketching people than talking to them. And I'm the crazy girl who's trying to hold it all together for her ridiculously dysfunctional family and her pop star boyfriend who can't answer his damn phone!"

Thalia bit her lip in attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to escape. She ran a shaking hand trough her hair before turning to lean on a nearby bench for support, as if her legs would give out at any moment.

Never had I seen her this upset and frankly, it scared the shit out of me. She had always been the one to keep it together, the one others turned to for comfort in this type of situation. I found myself lost, nervously combing my hair or pulling on my lip, unsure what to do to help her.

"Thal," I managed. "I just...you keep so many secrets from me."

“Secrets?” She shrieked, causing me wot wince. "Is that what this is all about? I'm not some fucking mystery you can solve. I'm a person Harry."

But she was a mystery. When I met her I was blown away by her carefree, easy going attitude. But the more I learned about her and her past the more curious I became. And even after a year an a half I still felt like I don't understand her. Why would someone so light hearted refuse to trust? Why did she feel the need to protect everyone? Why does she keep herself so closed off from me even when I've done so much to try and get her to open up? Every time she let me in and divulged a secret I had thought it meant she loved me. But now that wasn’t enough. I wanted more.

Thalia's never given herself to me fully, completely. She was a closed off person and I knew that, yet I had still hoped with every fiber of my being that I could be the one she finally gave herself, every part of herself to. I stood there dumbstruck at this new revelation. Through the silence I could tell the two of us were thinking the same thing; would our love be enough to get us trough this? Because I had loved Thalia, I still did but…

"Thal," I eventually managed. “Thalia…"

“No Harry," she replied numbly. "Looks like I know you better than you know yourself...I was just the shiny new toy. Guess you’re moving on."

I stopped dead, my face draining of color. I instinctually looked back the car where my phone sat in the cup holder, quietly containing every secret text from Val. As I turned back to Thalia I saw that she had read my expressions like a book. She let out a hallow laugh that made my skin crawl.

"Well it looks like I'm not the only one keeping secrets,” She spat venomously. "You know I never pegged you for a cheater Harry."

Her words were like knifes, cutting deep into soul with every syllable. As she turned to leave I rose to her bait and retaliated, my anger giving way once more. "Well what did you think was going to happen if you kept shutting me out? Thalia...you won't let me love you.”

Thalia whipped back around, her mouth open in shock as she stared at me in astonishment.

“And just be clear,” I added, her attention fueling my anger and desperation. "I didn't cheat. We met at a party and started talking. That's it. I just needed someone to talk to since you went AWOL.”

Thalia glared at me with fire in her eyes. "Don't you fucking dare try to blame this on me. This is your fault just as much as mine. So stop trying to make me the bad guy just to rationalize your fuck ups.”

"So that's it then?" I cried, running my hands through my hair roughly. "We're just going to give up?”
“You gave up the moment you started talking to someone else."

"Thalia I-" but words failed me again. I reached out to take her hand, or make any sort of contact but she was retreating. I was loosing her and I didn't know how to stop it.

I watched in horror as those hazels eyes which had always been so bright and enlightened grew dull and void of emotion in the streetlight. Thalia was shutting down, turning off her emotions and building up her walls. And then, without a word, she turned and started walking down the street.

“W-wait…Thalia wait!” I called, my voice breaking as I wiped the tears from my eyes. “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here.” She had spoken so quietly I had almost missed it.

“Thal, let’s just...can we talk about this for a second?” But she didn’t stop walking and I began following her down the street like a hopeless puppy. “At least let me drop you off at your sisters-”

“No.”

“Thalia I’m not letting you walk-“

“Excuse me!” Thalia stopped walking so abruptly I almost ran into her. She turned around to face me once more, her lifeless eyes flickering to mine. “You don’t get to ‘let’ me do anything. You don’t get to worry about me, protect me or any of that bullshit. You lost that privilege."

"Thal-"

"No. I'm done Harry." As she turned to go I felt hot tears of anger and confusion break free and slide down my cheeks. She was running away. She was turning her back on us rather than sticking it out and trying to solve the problem.

“Thalia!” I cried, desperate now. But the effort was pointless for the darkness had already swallowed her up, leaving me standing there alone.

Notes

I really hope this chapter was easier to read that it was for me to write. Because I had an extremely hard time with it. It was such challenge to capture both Harry and Thalia's perspectives - especially Thal. This chapter was very personal to me and I just want you all to know that if you are struggling with anything or just want to talk - I am here for you. Message me anytime. Seriously. <3

And I knoooow that these past few chapters have been super depressing but hey...now you guys finally know the whole story of how Thalia and Harry broke up. It's important to understand where they're coming from and that even the best relationships go through some rough patches.

On that note - since I've been the worst human ever and have not been updating regularly...I will have a new chapter for you either tomorrow or Tuesday! I'm nearly done writing it already! I promise!

Ciao ciao my lovelies!