Ours [harry styles] ✓

Shredded Paper and Shredded Hope

*MARNIE'S POV*  ENGLAND 

Even with the article shredded and now digested in the stomach of our vacuum cleaner, the fact that the world had started paying attention to Harry and Nola's relationship made my insides churn. My worst nightmare had become reality and there was nothing I could do about it. Elenore had tried to comfort me with the fact that aside from the photo, the press didn't know anything else about Nola. They didn't know her name, where she lived or really even what her connection was with Harry. For all they knew she was just another crew member's child like Lux. But that wasn't the point. They still knew.

The story had made it online as well as on the front page of the paper, but without any other leads it had quickly become old news. Just a rumour started by a journalist with nothing better to report. I knew that we'd gotten off lightly when it could have been so much worse, but that didn't excuse Harry from being so careless and irresponsible. Sooner or later he was going to have to understand that it was more than just his offspring total that was required to change.

He'd called only hours after I'd kicked him out and had tried to make amends for the second time that day. I'd ignored his pleading apologies and put him on speaker phone to Nola instead, allowing her to babble and squeal away to her heart's content while he repeatedly asked her if he could speak to 'Mummy'. I just wasn't interested. It was too much to deal with in such a short space of time. 

He was in Paris now on the European leg of their tour, probably pissed and prancing around the Eiffel Tower. I knew that I should have allowed him to at least try and fix the situation before he'd flown out of the country, but part of me took great comfort in knowing that he wasn't only down the road anymore and we would have some distance between us. I'd already decided that I wouldn't be taking part in his phone calls either. Nola would be the only one to speak to him. After all, she was the sole reason he was calling anyway. I was only angry because he'd put her privacy in jeopardy, because he'd let her down, because he was gradually proving that he wasn't good for her. It had nothing to do with me. Of course it didn't. 

*HARRY'S POV*  PARIS

"Please cheer up, mon ami." Louis sighed, collapsing down beside me in our shared hotel room. "Or at least pretend you're excité about Europe, oui?"

Even Louis' poor attempt at the French language - paired up with an even worse French accent - wasn't enough to put a smile on my face. All I could think about was how Marnie had kicked me out of her flat and then ignored me on the phone. It was almost as if she didn't even want an apology. I just didn't understand.

Of course I took full responsibility for the fact that if I had been at the party then no-one could have gotten hold of my phone and the photos of Nola and I, but it wasn't my fault that it had been leaked to the press. I hadn't physically sold them to the newspaper or emailed them to the Daily Mail. I didn't even remember not having my phone on me, but perhaps that was the problem. Perhaps this really was all my fault after all.

"It's not totally your fault, you know?" Louis said suddenly as if he'd read my mind. "But I can understand why she's so angry with you. It hardly helps that you were already grovelling for forgiveness about la fête d'anniversaire."

I snapped my eyes up to his face. "Please stop with the French crap." 

"Sorry, I was just seeing what I could remember." He rolled his eyes." But anyway, like I was saying, you have to put yourself in Marnie's shoes."

"This conversation is giving me déjà vu." I groaned pathetically, burying my face in my hands.

"Now who's speaking French?" Louis muttered. "But yes, we did have a very similar conversation only days ago." 

"Basically I'm in the worst dad in the world, right?" I wasn't a hundred percent sure that I actually wanted him to answer. Louis sighed again and put his arm around my shoulders.

"No, that's not true." We sat in silence for a while, listening to the fans screaming in the streets below. I knew it wasn't fair on them if I went on stage in this funk. Somehow they were all able to sense when we weren't ourselves. 

"What the fuck do I do, Louis?" I snapped.

The minute the words left my mouth my mobile began to ring and Marnie's name flashed up. Louis and I glanced at each other momentarily before I snatched the phone from the bedside table and slammed it against my ear. Maybe she'd finally come around and was willing to talk? 

"Hello?" I said breathlessly. Louis hovered awkwardly in front of me, his eyes wide and twinkling. 

"Dada!" Nola squealed into the phone.

As one part of me came alive, another died. 

I allowed my eyes to meet Louis' now sympathetic expression and I knew that he understood. 

It wasn't the voice I'd been hoping for.