Deep [Niall Horan]

Chapter Thirty-Four

"I know," Taylor says, "and I thought it was going to end, but I didn't expect that to happen."

"Expect what to happen?!"

"I can't tell you. I'm so sorry, but they made me promise not to tell."

"You have to. I keep thinking the worst is going to happen. You have to tell me I'm going to be okay."

Taylor sighs.

"You're going to be okay," she says.

"Thank you. I can trust you, right?" I say.

Taylor doesn't say anything for several seconds.

"Yes, but you shouldn't trust everyone."

"When are we going back?"

"I don't know," she says, "I don't know if I want to."

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I'm walking with Taylor as we explore a small shopping mall located in the city.

"Who even lives here?"

"Only the extremely wealthy have homes here. This little city was created as a getaway for the world's richest to come to in order to just relax and disappear from the business of the real world."

"Do normal people know this place exists?"

"Yes, but only a select few are able to fly up here."

"Oh, okay, interesting," I respond.

We continue shopping. I don't buy anything, but I accompany Taylor as she buys several items from Prada, Fendi, and Alexander McQueen. With the amount of money she spent in a few hours, I would be financially comfortable for the rest of my life.

"What is it like for you? Living the high life..." I say.

"I love the good champagne and private planes," she laughs.

"Sounds nice," I say.

"But sometimes I do miss my family and friends..." she says, her voice changing into a serious tone.

I completely forgot. Everyone on campus talks about her and how she dated Harry, cheated on him, and he made her "disappear" and Harry has a court date coming up dealing with the case.

 "So what happened?" I say, "between you and Harry."

"All those rumors are false. I did date Harry, but I did not cheat on him. He does not have a court case in the near future. This is what happened. My life wasn't good at the time, I was failing my classes, I was in massive debt, and I was a disappointment to my family. I decided I wanted to leave and Harry gave me the opportunity to. He promised me unlimited riches if I would disappear to Canada and live in his and Niall's mansion. He would take care of everything else and make sure no one would find out. Sometimes I regret leaving Chicago."

"Why do you regret it?"

"When Harry or Niall isn't up here, I'm all alone."

"But there are plenty of people up here you could spend time with," I say.

"Everyone knows each other up here and they all think I'm a whore, so no one talks to me. You're the first person besides Harry or Niall that I've had a conversation with in a long time."

Taylor blinks back tears as we sit at a table in the food court of the mall.

"Why don't you just go back home?"

"It doesn't work like that."

"But can't you decide not to press charges against Harry because you're an adult?"

"That's not it. Harry would get mad."

"So?"

"I don't know if you've seen Harry when he's mad, but when he's mad, he's MAD. He doesn't just hold a grudge. He's out for blood."

I gulp and stare into Taylor's eyes.

"Is that not a risk you're willing to take to go back home?"

"I mean," she says, "Harry has a lot of connections. He could destroy me with no consequences."

"Have you tried talking to him about it? That maybe you want to go back home?"

"No, because he'll freak out and think that I'm tired of him, which I'm not, and he will lose his shit."

"What about me? Can I go home?" I say.

"Not yet. Not until you're done with the reason you're here."

"You should leave with me. We could go home together. You could start over."

"I wish I could, Emily. I really wish I could."

"What's stopping us from leaving now? You have a credit card with your name on it. Why can't we just go to the airport and buy two plane tickets back home?"

"There's not an airport here. People fly in on their private jets."

"Oh. Um," I say, "well is there any way we could get out of here?"

"Well..." she says, but her voice trails off.

"What?"

"We could maybe find a pilot in town that could fly us back to Chicago. I know where the pilots hang out."

"So what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

"It's not that easy Emily. How do we hide it from Niall and Harry?"

"We just don't tell them?"

"I don't know. I'm so scared," Taylor says.

Taylor looks around the food court for several seconds, then she looks back at me and whispers.

"Let's do it."

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What do you think is going to happen next?