Figuring Out Emma (Harry Styles)

Chapter 22: Are You Ready

I opened my mouth to say something but I didn't. I couldn't. I was too baffled by her statement. She's purposely been avoiding me. That I already knew, but she's actually owning up to it. What ever reason she believes she has must be a bigger reason than I might have tried to come up with for her on my own.

I shook my head, never looking away from her sad blue eyes.

"I'm not leaving Emma. I'm not letting you go through this alone."

"I have been for the past year. I'm fine on my own," she refused.

"No you aren't. You say you are, but you're really not," I challenged, taking a step closer to her.

"What makes you think that I'm not, Harry? You barely know me!"

"Because you never let anyone in! You're worse than Natalie was! You keep everything bottled up until you explode."

"So? It's better that way. That way you can't get hurt and neither can I," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I don't think either of us had realized that Natalie had walked out of the room. We were too caught up in our argument.

"But I end up hurt anyways, because I want to be by your side and you keep pushing me away."

"I have my reasons to do so, Harry."

"So what are your reasons? Why can't you give in and let me be there for you?" I nearly begged her to tell me.

"Because if I let you into my life the same thing could happen to you that happened to my dad."

"I doubt it," I told her.

"But I don't and I never will. Vick is more powerful than you think," she said, her voice growing softer with every word.

"Vick, who the bloody hell is Vick?" I asked, never once having heard her mention anyone by that name.

"He's the guy who murdered my father," she sighed, looking down at her hands. "Look Harry, I need to get going and it really would be best if you just stayed here, or went back home to London. Vick already knows that you were apart of my life, if he finds out that you still are it isn't going to end well for either of us."

"I don't care, Emma. I am going with, because whether you choose to accept it or not, you need somebody to be there for you," I told her so she would know there was no way she could get me to stay home.

"I know I do," she whispered, her gaze falling to the tiled floor.

"Then let me be there for you," I asked her, walking up to her and taking her hands in mine. When she didn't answer right away I let go of one of her hands and lifted her chin up with my thumb and forefinger. Her gaze was set on anything but me.

"Emma," I breathed out her name, my voice full of the raw emotions that I had kept to myself up until now.

Her gaze immediately made its way towards me, searching my expression so she could understand what I'm silently trying to tell her.

"Let me be there for you," I repeated.

"Okay," she agreed after a full minute of silence.

Her eye lids fluttered shut as she took in a deep breath and carefully took a step away from me. "Let's go, or we'll be late."

Emma

I clung onto Harry's arm as we climbed up the stairs to the Los Angeles City Hall building. It can go without saying that I am a complete mess inside of my head. On the outside I'm calm and seemingly collected, just like Carmichael wants me to be.