as it is || harry styles au

two

tw: mention of sexual assault/rape

i v o r y

     A long time had passed since I'd last seen Will Styles. Six years ago, he was a scrawny, awkward sixteen year-old who had a teeny-tiny crush on his older brother's girlfriend. He always asked Harry about me and would blush any time I talked to him. Now the red tinge in his cheeks was from anger.

     "Jamie-bug! You've gotten so big!" Mom had quickly shaken out of her state of shock at our early arrival and caught Jamie in her arms as he ran up to greet his grandmother. "Gigi!"

     I was able to drag my attention away from Will to smile fondly at their reunion. Mom hadn't been able to visit Boston since last Christmas which was nearly ten months ago. Jamie had grown what seemed like a handful of inches since then.

    She caught my eyes and nodded her head towards the kitchen doors, motioning for me to follow. I spared a glance back to Will, finding his eyes were still glued on me, full of questions.

Seeing as everyone in the diner had gotten more than enough information from this little reunion to start a flurry of rumors and gossip to spread far and wide, I made my escape.

     In the back, Mom got a basket of fries from one of the cooks and gave it to Jamie to nibble on in the office while she pulled me towards the walk-in fridge and freezer.

     "Will saw me. Why didn't you tell me he was here?"

     "You're an hour early, sweetheart." She grabbed hold of my shoulders, pulling me into her embrace. While it felt so nice to hug my mom again, I couldn't get him out of my head.

     Was he going to tell Harry? Of course he was. Unless he already knew about Jamie?

     No, of course not. My mom would never tell a soul.

     "He hates me."

     "Ivory James, get those thoughts out of your head right now. No one hates you. You're probably not William's favorite person in the world, but that boy does not hate you."

     I exhaled, giving myself a moment to let the rest of the self-pity drain out of my body. I was twenty-four years old, not eighteen. I had a son to worry about and a mother who needed a break from her long, grueling days at the diner. Those were my priorities in coming back to Camden. Yes, I would have to face the music soon enough with my ex-boyfriend, but afterwards, I would move forward with my life—making it easier for Jamie and Mom.

     "How was the drive? When does the rental need to go back? Once lunch dies down, I can follow you over to the rental place."

     "I was gonna take it back tomorrow morning and grabbing an Uber home. I need to head over to the school and get Jamie all signed up."

     Mom held my face in her hands and brushed a thumb over my cheek. She was worried about me, I could tell that plain as day. "Okay, just let me know where you need me when you need me, and I'll be there."

     "Thanks, Mom. I think I got it all handled though."

     "You're not alone anymore, Ives."