|| Love to Hate Me ||

{Twenty-Six}

"Leave unsaid unspoken
Eyes wide shut unopened
You and me
Always between the lines
Between the lines."
-Between The Lines, Sara Bareilles
__________

Liana arrived back at the hotel. She was a little confused when discovering Harlan wasn't there. She thought maybe he ran out of cigarettes, or on a whim, decided to sightsee. The latter option seemed less likely, there wasn't much to really see in Louisville—it was just like all the other cities.

An hour passed and Liana decided to tell Mark and Kyle. They brushed it off, telling Liana not to worry and Harlan probably just needed some fresh air. But then there was Robbie.

Liana had been good at avoiding Robbie—there was tension between him and Harlan and since Liana was always with Harlan, it just made sense to keep her distance. She knew Robbie wouldn't know where Harlan went; they avoided each other like the plague, going out of their way to not have to converse.

Every text message and every phone call—nothing.

"Harlan... please answer the phone. You're starting to worry me. Just- tell me you're okay." Liana pleaded into the empty line. It was her second voicemail.

Every hour until four in the morning, Liana called Harlan to leave a voicemail, hoping that by some chance he'd answer.

"Harlan... please call me back. I love you and I'm really scared. I hope that you're just mad at me about something... I really hope you're okay. I know you're a big boy and you can take care of yourself but... this isn't like you. I love you... please, just come back." Liana spoke; her voice drenched in sleep.

Checkout was at 8am, and by the way things were looking there wasn't a chance in hell Liana was going to get four hours of sleep. She would be lying in bed, wondering where Harlan was.

The moment her eyes set comfortably behind her lids—seconds away from falling into a peaceful slumber, thoughts of Harlan lying between the legs of another woman flashed in her mind. She knew she had made a mistake trusting Harlan; she knew he was just going to hurt her. She wished she had just listened to Robbie.

She couldn't believe she had let Harlan manipulate her into this. She couldn't believe she had given herself to him in all the ways she possibly could. Being angry was easier than succumbing to her biggest fears—that something terrible had happened to Harlan. She had made the same mistake with Tommy, thinking he was fine when he had been anything but.

The thoughts kept her up all night.

Come time to checkout, Harlan was still nowhere to be found. She hadn't gotten much sleep; enough to function, but barely. She packed her bags and packed Harlan's as well. She didn't bother changing out of her pajamas—her hair pulled back in a messy bun with dark rings around her eyes from all the worrying.

She approached the front desk to checkout, only to be greeted by Mark and Kyle. Her brows furrowed questioningly. Mark and Kyle were typically the last ones to make it out of the hotel—they always overslept or spent too much time eating breakfast. They waited until the last minute to get in gear.

Kyle rubbed the nape of his neck, his eyes shifting nervously to Mark. It was clear he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. Seeing that they had been waiting on her made Liana question the time—perhaps she had lost track of it with all the thoughts of Harlan.

"What?... what's going on?" Liana asked, approaching the timid pair. She watched as they exchanged a troubled glance. It was clear that whatever they had to say wasn't good. "It's about Harlan, isn't it?"

"Harlan is fine. He's on the bus." Kyle spoke up.

Her blood ran cold, which was odd considering how much she wanted to kill him. She was angry and yet, relieved.

She started toward the door, only to have Mark race ahead. He placed his hands on her shoulders, pursing his lips in dismay. "Harlan's on the bus, he's fine, but..." Mark stopped, unable to say it.

"What? Just fucking tell me."

"He's not exactly the Harlan we've seen the past couple months. We just thought you should be prepared for it."

"What do you mean? What the fuck is he trying to say?" Liana was inpatient, her eyes shifting to Kyle in frustration.

"Harlan's drunk. He came in last night around four... he was wasted. He passed out in the bathroom in Mark's room, then woke up and... he's drunk again."

Liana's face fell before scrunching in defeat. Harlan was drunk. She left him alone for three hours and just like that, he resorted back to his old ways.

"I don't understand, you guys saw him before we left, he was fine!"

They exchanged another glance—one that said it wasn't their place to tell. "You should talk to Robbie. He may have said something to him." Mark admitted, pursing his lips.

"What did he say to him?" Liana's heart sped up; thumping against the inside of her chest.

"He may have told Harlan about some deal you made with your label. He thinks you're only with him to manipulate him into signing. He thinks you're using him." Kyle spoke.

Liana forgot she had even told Robbie about the verbal agreement with UpFront Records. She knew what it looked like—what Harlan had saw it as, but he was looking at it from the wrong point of view.

Liana shook her head—amazed that Robbie had gone to such lengths to destroy their relationship. "He's on the bus right now?" Liana asked. She had to talk to him—she had to set the facts straight. In only one night, Harlan had lost control. He was stupid—stupid for jumping to conclusions.

"Yeah, he's on the bus."

"That son of a bitch." Liana mumbled, storming past Mark and Kyle, making her way to the bus.