as it is || harry styles au

ten

tw: mention of rape

i v o r y

     Don't ask me how Anne Styles and I ended up sitting on Mom's living room couch together because I wouldn't be able to tell you.

     All I remembered was that she was standing on Mom's porch when I got home from taking Jamie to school and somehow we ended up here. I was terrified and perhaps the paralytic effect of fear made me invite Anne inside as if we were old friends rather than being ex-almost-in-laws.

     "I...do you want some coffee or water?" I offered. "We don't have any tea." I was sure her habits hadn't changed in the past six years.

     "Water is fine, love."

     I tried not to openly gape at her, but I couldn't imagine this was going to be a pleasant conversation. Not if she was aware that I "cheated" on her son. 

So, why the hell was she being so nice?

     I came back into the living room with two glasses of water and immediately started chugging mine.

     "How's your son?"

     Here we go.

    I could handle three back-to-back hits of disappointment—Mom, Harry, and now Anne. I'd take it all and more for Jamie.

     "My s - J-Jaime. He's good." I willed a smile to my face so I didn't look as frightened as I felt.

     "Jamie...Styles Henderson, right?"

     My smile dropped.

     Fucking Alden.

     He hadn't told Harry, but he sure went running to his mother.

     I sat speechless, debating if I should just run out of the house. Me five seconds ago was all talk. Why did I have to sit back and let people walk all over me? Why was I allowing this? I didn't have to answer to anybody.

     I moved to stand. Maybe to escape. "Anne—"

     Her hand gripped onto mine tightly. "Love, you don't expect me to believe you cheated on him, do you?"

Woah.

     "I...I have a son. H-he's not Harry's."

     "I know he isn't." She set her glass of water down on the coffee table. "Ivy, I'm not here for an argument. I only want to talk. You were like a daughter to me." The space between my brows twitched. "You still are."

     "I appreciate you wanting to talk to me, but you don't have to...be nice, or anything. I know what I did was wrong, and I—"

     "What exactly did you do that was wrong?"

     The question wasn't an aggressive one, it was more so leading—like I was talking towards a trap that I knew was coming up but couldn't figure out for the life of me what it looked like.

     "I completely dropped the life I had here. I stopped talking to everybody I knew and loved apart from my mom. I stopped talking to Zuri and her family. I ignored calls from you and your sons. I up and left Harry and the future we wanted together. I'd say that's definitely a start to what I did wrong."

     "I would say the only thing you did wrong was exactly that, love."

     It wasn't nearly the truth.