Strict | H.S.

Chapter 23.

[Ava]

The next morning Mom came home and she was furious. I heard her yelling at Harry from my bedroom and it frightened me. I ran into the living room to defend him.

"Mom, stop! He's a good babysitter!" I pleaded, stepping in the middle of them. He put his hand on my shoulder, and then he stepped in front of me.

"It's okay, Ava," Harry replied, "If she wants me to leave, I will."

"But she's treating you bad!" I yelled, standing behind him as he stood between Mom and me.

"I have a right to be mad!" Mom screamed, glaring daggers at me. "Ava Marie! You almost got arrested!"

"It would've been my fault, Mom!"

"Ladies, let's settle down," Harry said, kindly. But Mom kept yelling.

"He was supposed to watch your every move!"

"That's impossible to do!" I countered, "He did watch me closely!"

"Not closely enough!" Mom screamed.

"F*** you!" I screamed back at her. As soon as that vile word left my mouth, I instantly regretted it. I never cursed especially not at my mother.

That made her stop screaming. The room went silent and she looked disgusted in me. Harry's face looked just as shocked too.

"Ava!" Harry scolded.

Mom looked at him. "I won't fire you if you punish her for me."

Uh no. Oh no!

"Ava, get over here," Harry snapped.

My whole body began shaking. "I-I shouldn't h-have s-said it!" I pleaded, begging him with my horrified brown eyes not to punish me.

"I don't want to hear another word," Harry seethed rage. "Come. Here. Now."

I swallowed hard. "H-harry..."

He pointed at me and then pointed at the spot in front of him with an angry look on his face. Trembling, I slowly stepped forward. I was scared to obey, but I was even more scared to disobey his commands.

I wanted to shrivel up and disappear as I stood in front of a mad Harry. There was no one to run to for comfort. I wished Louis was here. I felt comfortable with him.

"Ava..." he began speaking.

"I-I m-made a m-mistake," I cried, looking up at him through my tears.

"Ava, hush. Listen." Harry replied, strictly, his finger against his lips for a second.

"Y-yes, Sir-r." I squeaked.

He reached for my hand. "Angel, you know better. That's a bad word."

I nodded, thankful his tone softened.

"I know you're upset, but you can't say that word to your Mum," Harry continued.

"I-I'm sorry," I cried.

Harry shook his head. "No, don't say you're sorry to me. You need to apologize to your Mum."

I looked at Mom. She still appeared mad, her hands on her hips. "Mom, I-I'm s-sorry," I stammered.

She sighed and looked at Harry. "Can you spank her or something like that?"

Oh no! Please don't.

"She doesn't need it, Madame," Harry replied, his hand lightly rubbing my back. "What she needs is someone who understands her."

"Well, I disagree, Mr. Styles." Mom snapped, pointing her finger at me. "Ava needs to stop misbehaving and understand me!"

"Well, I agree with you, Madame. But you both need to understand each other. Talk to each other. Listen. Not yell." Harry said.

Mom shook her head. "Get out!"

Harry nodded and turned on his heel to exit the front door. I lunged forward, grabbing his arm to stop him. "Harryy!" I screamed, "I need you! Please don't go!"

"Ava, settle down. Respect your Mum and you know how to find me," Harry said.

Then, he was gone.

"Go to your room," Mom snapped.

I didn't fight her this time. I ran to my room and locked the door. I wanted to be alone.

My phone buzzed.

Excitedly, thinking it was Harry, I quickly looked at the screen. My smile vanished, it wasn't him.

Jane: Do u want to come to Billy's party tonight? 🍷🍷🍷
Ava: Yes.
Jane: Great! I'll drop by at 10 🤠🍷
Ava: Ok, but don't make noise. I'm not telling my mom about the party.
Jane: Well, duhh. LoL sneak out ur window.
Ava: Ok.

In my stomach, I felt like this was a bad idea, but I pushed my feelings aside. This is what I needed. A party would be fun.

I couldn't help but think that Harry would me disappointed in me. But he's not here. I'll be fine. It will be fun like the pool party, but I won't do anything stupid this time.

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To be continued...
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Love, L xx