Afraid to Fall- H.S.

Chapter Forty Two-Distraction

Hey, so you guys deserve a reason to know why I haven't been posting. My boyfriend and I broke up, so that's a part of the reason. This chapter also had some serious planning and rewriting in it because it's such a crucial part in this story. Anyway, thank you so much for your patience and understanding!

***Harry's POV***

I feel my chest drop as I see Avery walk out of the hotel. I can't believe I just lost her. I lost the person who makes my world so much better each day. I feel my heart shatter as I stare at the closed door that she just walked out of. I turn my body and see Kendall looking at me, I can't read her gaze, but for some reason she has a hopeful glare right now. I turn my back to her and start walking to the elevator, trying to process everything that just happened. "Harry," Her voice pulls me out of my thoughts. "What about today?" Her voice is piercing, and I turn to look at her.

"I don't want to deal with this right now," I mumble as I turn and walk into the elevator. I look at her annoyed expression as the elevator closes. I run a hand through my hair. Kendall and I have been forced to make public appearances. We developed a friendship kind of relationship, and that's it. The door opens revealing the top floor of the hotel.

I see Louis standing in the hallway, a pissed off expression of his face. His head snaps up towards me, and he marches towards me. He points a finger at my chest accusingly, "You and I have to talk," The authority in his voice shows, and I want to curse myself. I nod my head and open my hotel room. We both step in, and he automatically turns to me. "What the hell were you thinking?" He barks at me, anger showing in his face. "Hey idiot, you just got rid of the best thing that ever happened to you!" I look at the floor, my hands glued to my sides. "That airhead's manipulating you! Why can't you see that? She wants to date you whether you like it or not, and she somehow convinced you to dump Avery!" He takes a quick breath. "She's making you think Avery's manipulating you, but in reality she is!"

It all clicks all of a sudden. All of the words that slipped from her mouth were just to draw me farther away from Avery. She's not trying to be friendly. She's trying to flirt and make Avery seem bad. Whenever I told her that what I was doing was just for management and that I was loyal towards Avery, she did seem off after that. Why was I so stupid? I groan, and Louis raises a brow. "Finally clicking for you?" He rolls his eyes. "Kendall was just trying to date you the whole time, and even Avery could see it." He shakes his head,"You need to go talk to Avery." A pit forms in my stomach.

"She probably doesn't want to talk to me. It's not like I blame her either. I screwed up. I was so stupid." I run a hand through my hair, frustrated. "What am I supposed to do?" I look pleadingly at Louis who just shakes his head.

"Wait a week and talk to her," He sighs. "How. The. Actual. Fuck. Did she get you to leave her?"

I sigh as I look at Louis. I know all the boys were close with her, and they're gonna give me shit for what I've done, but I deserve every bit of it. Kendall reminded me a lot how I could be doing better. I always defended Avery, but she would never give up. I should've listened to Avery. What the hell was I thinking? I thought Kendall was genuine with her words, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

When we last fought, I remember Kendall's words replaying in my mind. I remember seeing Avery so hurt, and it broke my heart seeing her so fragile and upset. I explain Avery's scars to Louis, and he nods his head.

He stays silent afterwards, but finally shakes his head. "Yes, I know I screwe-"

He cuts me off, "Yes you did screw up. God, Harry! Do you think you yelling at her was what she needed at that moment?" He yells at me, and I look at floor again. He's right. She needed me to be understanding, not yell at her. She didn't need me to make her feel ashamed of what she did. "It's a fucking mental illness, Harry! It's not like she can help it in the first place!" I nod my head, ashamed.