"Had some emotional baggage but I cut it off, starting with you and every single thing you said to me"
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Trigger warning: mentions of sexual assault to minors. (Not in detail)
Amelie
"A divorce is easy, it might take a while, but with a bit of money, we could speed up the process" Georgie speaks, her eyes darting around the screen of her laptop, frantically researching for my benefit.
"And a restraining order?" I ask hopefully. Leo has a temporary restraining order placed on Milo and I, though I'm sure it'll only be a matter of weeks before that gets lifted.
She thinks for a moment, her fingers tapping something into the laptop, before she hums. "Yeah, considering everything, you'll be able to get one, again, it costs, and you'll need to find a lawyer for it all, I can see if I can contact some people, but it'll go through court, so you'll have to attend a hearing" she explains. Just the sheer mention of this is already causing me a headache.
"When I got a divorce from Joey, it took nearly a year to fully go though, but for your case, it might be different, they might do it quicker if it's a domestic violence case, but I don't know, I'll find you a lawyer, alright? We'll get it sorted" she tells me, her eyes finally rip away from the screen and look into my own, a lot of pity across her face.
"It's just- it's a lot" I decide on. It's a lot to think about. Of course, I was going to go through with it, but all the information Georgie had piled onto me in the past hour felt incredibly overwhelming.
It was going to be an long and gruelling process, but if it meant I didn't have to see Leo ever again, and I was no longer legally attached to him, then I would do anything.
I was desperate to change Milo's name, to finally take the Gibson out of his name and place West there instead. Again, it would be a process, but it isn't impossible.
One day, once all of the legal parts have gone though and been accepted, Leo will be out of our lives for good. And life will never be better.
"It's stressful, I won't lie to you, but it's worth it" she nods, shutting her laptop screen.
Of course, the outcome would be so worth it. The day Leo is removed from my life, will be a very beautiful day. It was on the horizon, it just needed some determination to get there.
"There she is!" I hear Harry coo, to no one else but Milo, who sits on his hip. "There's your mumma." It doesn't take Milo two seconds to reach out for me and lightly whine, desperate to be in my hold after his nap.
Harry's face slightly falls, as if he's just remembered something very important. He keeps hold of Milo, and he turns to stone. His expression alone, could induce me into a panic attack.
"Uh, Amelie, I actually need to speak to you" he says seriously.
Georgie looks between us, confusion, very clearly on her face. "I'll take him" she says slowly, silently trying to figure out what was going on.
If only I knew.
Harry passes Milo down to Georgie, he's whining, but that's not unusual for him. And then Harry's leading me out the room, pulling me into the corridor, my heart in my throat the whole time.
"What's going on?" I worry.
He lets out a puff of air, his warm hand caressing my cheek. "Oh- mon amour" he breathes, pulling my frail body into a hug.
We were playing in France tonight. So today's phrase was in French.
"Harry, you're scaring me" I tell him, looking up at him with big eyes, just like Milo does.
"You left your phone in my dressing room" he starts. My heart rate slows down at that, knowing the worst it could be is Leo somehow managing to phone me. "Kay Gibson phoned you" he announces.
The air leaves my lungs. My heart feels the punch of a simple sentence, the hit leaving a bruise.
"I'm assuming that's someone from Leo's family" he says, he's not an idiot, he knows what's going on, or what's about to happen.
Kay was Leo's mum, Kadey Gibson, the woman herself, the woman who birthed that monster. The woman who doesn't see anything wrong with the way her son treats me. The woman who never listened to my cries for help.
She sits in the same category as Leo.
"His mum." My breath gets caught in my throat. Her phone call was expected, yet, so unexpected. I wasn't thinking she'd phone me whilst I'm in France, in Paris, in the city of love.
"Do you know what she wants?" He asks, cocking his head to the side.
I suspect she wants to interrogate me about her sons dealings with the police, and eventually pin the blame down to me.
Because of course, her son could do no wrong. He's perfect. He's so perfect that he ran from the police. He's so perfect that he put his own son into a freezing bath, sending him into hyperthermic shock, minutes away from his heart giving out completely. But he's perfect. Clearly.
"She probably just wants to know what's going on- I don't know, there's a slim chance of her apologising." The chance of her actually apologising for her sons actions, were close to nothing. She wouldn't dare apologise for anything.
"Are you going to phone her back?" He wonders, his hand lightly squeezing my shoulder, a strange sense of comfort washes over me, at the simplest of touches. He has that affect of me.
I used to crave attention and comfort from Leo, it's often why I'd never fight back when he would undress me, because at least then, I was getting a fraction of his time.
"I guess I should, it could be important- she might be ill, or hopefully dying" I whisper the last words, rolling my eyes at the thought of having to speak to my mother in law.
"Amelie!" Harry looks at me in shock, humour in his voice. I'm glad he's finding this funny. "She's your mother in law! You can't say that" he laughs.
"You didn't hear anything" I tell him with a smirk. "I best phone the wicked witch back." And with that, my cheeky smirk has fallen. That spark of happiness has gone. And I have to fulfil my daughter in law duties.
It's only when I turn around to walk to his dressing room, that I realise, he wasn't following, in fact, he was walking in the opposite direction.
"Harry" I call out, he stops in his tracks, turning back to me. "Come with me" I blurt out, not at all thinking about what I was saying.
He probably thought I wanted space, but the one thing I want right now, is to feel his comfort, to feel his warmth, and to be with him.
"Are you sure?" He asks. My tone probably didn't sound very convincing, but it was the nerves from phoning Kay rather than the uneasiness of having Harry present for the phone call.
"Of course I'm sure, I'm going to need someone to witness this." The phone call wasn't likely to be easy. Nothing is ever easy with the Gibson's. It's like they purposely enjoy watching others feel uncomfortable.
Though, technically they're the closest thing I have to family at the moment, I would never class them as family. They visit us often, but each time, it's only to insult my parenting, take a jab at my appearance, comment on how much Milo eats and rave about what an amazing and attentive dad Leo is.
I do everything for Milo, I always have. From waking up in the middle of the night, to making sure he's fed, buying him clothes and nappies, putting his nursery together, taking him out, giving him baths, playing with him. And yet Leo was the one who got all the credit. Leo was the oh-so-perfect father.
Whilst I was the train wreck.
I was the "did you leave the baby with Leo again, whilst you do your hair?" I was the "you know he's your son too, it's time you step up."
I had decided there was nothing more infuriating than the Gibson's.
They truly were the devils. And I'll forever apologise to Milo, for creating him as half a Gibson. The sooner I can get that god awful name out of his title, the sooner I can rest.
I grip onto Harry's bicep as the phone starts to ring, my heart hammering with every tone. Silently praying she doesn't answer.
My heart feels like it's leaving my chest when I finally hear her "hello?" through the speaker.
My body freezes, completely unsure of what to do now. I didn't think this far ahead.
"Amelie?" She asks.
I turn to face Harry, he has an encouraging smile on his face, he gives me a little nod, finally making me come to my senses.
"Uh-yeah hi" I squeak, too afraid to speak up.
"It was you wasn't it?" Her voice comes out harsh, it reminds me of being in school and getting told off by the headmistress.
It's no surprise that she's blaming me for something, before even uttering a 'how are you' or a 'how's Milo'.
"What?" I'm not entirely sure what she's talking about. Though, she's probably blaming me for getting Leo locked away.
It was a long time coming.
"Don't play dumb Amelie. I bet you're loving the pay out from it."
Harry's head snaps towards the phone when he hears that comment come out of her mouth. His brows furrowing.
"Kay, I'm not sure what you're talking about" I try to say my words as confidently as possible.
"If you didn't do it, then who did?" She sneers. I'm aware she's just a mother wanting answers, though her tone is anything but nice.
"I didn't do anything" I tell her as a matter of fact.
"Well then why has my sons life been aired to the media, it's come from a close source, you're the only person who I can think of who would do such a thing." The air leaves my lungs, the snake around my neck pulling tighter and tighter as she speaks.
I look at Harry in alarm, like a deer caught in headlights. My rational mind has been knocked out of me, and the only thing I can do is purely panic.
I don't care what's been said about Leo. I don't care how many truths have been uncovered on the internet. As long as my life wasn't written about and frenzied over. As long as Milo and I weren't thrown into the light, ready to be picked at, ready to be the centre of attention for when the story gets twisted and we're the ones at fault.
I can't have that.
I can't live like that.
"I-I'll phone- phone you- bye" I stutter, my mouth not quite able to speak the words clearly and coherently.
"Hey mom amour, mumma, look at me" Harry's voice pulls me from the darkness, I finally snap my eyes onto his face, and he's looking nothing but worried.
"I-I don't- I can't- Milo." Nothing is quite making sense. I can't comprehend it. The thought of my whole life, everything I've been through, being published in an article, for millions to read, for millions to judge, has my stomach aching.
"A, we don't know what it says yet, let's just breathe, take a breath with me." He holds both my hands, lifting them when we breathe in and lowering them as we breathe out.
"Do you want to read it?" He asks gently, once I finally calm down.
I don't want to read it, I don't want it to become real, I don't want to see how they've shared my life with those who shouldn't know. But if I don't read it, I'll never know what was said. I'll never know how much was shared.
"Uh- yeah." My hands fumble with my phone, shakily typing in Leo's name into Google.
Results come up instantly, recent news articles flood the web. The first article that come up, has Leo, Milo and I plastered up next to the heading. Milo's face not even blurred.
LEO GIBSON FACES JAIL TIME AFTER SLEEPING WITH UNDERAGE GIRLS
The title shocks me, and all the anxiety washes out of my body, knowing that this is unlikely to even mention my name. The headline wasn't centred around me or Milo.
I take a breath and click on the link, waiting for my fate.
"I'm right here" Harry reminds me, his hand finds its way to my knee, his thumb gently brushing over it.
Singer and songwriter, Leo Gibson, jailed after a close source had shared highly confidential information to our reporters.
The source shares that the international pop star, approached her whilst she was out with friends for a birthday meal, "he came over to our table, offered to pay for our meals and sat himself down between my group of friends."
"It was my friends sixteenth birthday, I had only just turned sixteen myself, and he seemed to take an interest in me, he was very touchy, and hands on, he seemed drunk but I think he was aware of his actions."
The source reveals that Mr Gibson eventually took her back to his two million pound mansion in Harrow, which he shared with his wife, Amelie West.
Though the activities were consented by our source, Gibson knew he was in the wrong, as he then paid out a hefty £10,500 for the source to stay quiet and stay out of his life.
The source says "I was sixteen, I was still a baby, he was twenty eight at the time. It shouldn't have happened."
Since our source came out of the shadows, yet another girl came forward to share her experiences with Mr Gibson.
Rosie Cooper, now twenty, from Kensington, shared "I was at a club with my friends, two years ago, it was just a normal weekend out in the town, Leo came along, paid for my friends drinks, we were all pretty drunk, but he started to get closer to me, he was grabbing my breasts, kissing my neck, I kept telling him to stop but he wouldn't. He put his hand up my dress, and that's when my friend told him to stop and shouted at him, he paid me £8,000 to keep my mouth shut."
Freya Greener also came forward and told our reporters "a few weeks ago, Leo was stumbling through central London, it was late and it was dark. I was just trying to get the tube home after spending the evening at my cousins house. He approached me and told me he didn't know where he was going. He asked me to show him the way home and I said I couldn't do that. He didn't like my answer and started to tug at my shorts, I kept telling him I was only fourteen but he just smiled and carried on. I was scared and he wouldn't stop until I gave him my phone number, I eventually gave in and just ran for my life."
Details of his sentence are yet to be shared with the public, though, we're aware his wife, Amelie West, is no longer living in their family home. She recently left with her son, Milo Rex, to tour with Harry Styles, leaving Gibson to his own devices.
Sources have not yet heard of the pair filing for a divorce, although, it's likely to be on the horizon
More on this story to come.
I only notice I'm crying when Harry's thumb gently wipes a tear away from my cheek. I tear my eyes away from my phone, a look of sadness on Harry's face.
"He's fucking disgusting Harry" I cry, but this time, I'm not crying for myself. I'm crying for those girls. And the hundreds of others who have yet to speak the truth.
Those girls were so young.
Just babies when his malicious hands touched their innocent bodies.
"I know, I know he is, and I'm trying not to shout because I know it's not your fault- but it really fucking angers me Amelie" he states quickly, trying his hardest to keep his emotions at bay.
"I'm glad your life wasn't publicised though. I know what these girls went through is- it's unthinkable, but I'm so glad you're life is still private" he adds on.
He has tears in his own eyes now, the emotions fighting too hard to be kept inside. He's devastated. He wasn't expecting that either.
"I need to contact Leo" I decide strongly. I need to tell him how much of a monster he is.
He is the home wrecker.
He is ruining lives, and I think he needs to know that.
"Like- phone him?" Harry asks, completely confused.
I didn't want to physically talk to Leo, the sound of his voice would only panic me further, making me forget everything I had planned to say. I didn't want to be held back by the sound of his voice.
"No, no, maybe like- a letter? Is that weird?" I chance. I had been mentally writing a letter to my husband for days, going into great depth of how miserable he made my life. Though, I had never put pen to paper.
He hums and cocks his head to the side. "It's not weird mon amour. If that's what you want to do, then do it, if you think it's going to give you closure, do it."
My heart flutters as he uses that dangerous phrase. I think hearing it in French is my favourite so far. It does funny things to my stomach.
"Here" Harry says, disconnecting his hand from mine, and reaching for his laptop. "Type something up."
I wasn't aware that he meant type it up right now. It was just a suggestion I had, I didn't intend to act on it so soon.
"Oh, no- no, Georgie has Milo, I need to get him- he'll be hungry" I try to make up excuses. I hadn't prepared myself to write a letter to him, right now.
"Mon amour" he says, fingers creeping towards my own. "If you don't do it now, you know you never will" he speaks the truth, that I refuse to admit.
"But-"
"Hey, mon amour, what's got you so worked up?" He stops me from going off on a tangent.
I just wasn't expecting it so soon.
"I'm scared" I say in a quiet voice, too scared to even say the words too loudly.
"I know, darling, but I think once you get this out of your system you'll feel so much better." I know he's right. He knows he's right. He's always right.
He always knows what to say. He always has the right words at hand.
"You don't even need to start with dear Leo, just write" he tells me, pushing the laptop into my arms.
Once my fingers find the keyboard, they seem to hit a million miles an hour. They type and type and they never stop spilling out the words I've always wanted to say.
You're the reason my family won't talk to me. You're the reason they refuse to acknowledge they even have a daughter. If you could've just acted like a doting fiancé for two hours, maybe, just maybe, they'd still be in my life. If you didn't punch my brother in the face on our wedding day, then maybe Milo would have a nanny and grandad who are there for him. Because I know your parents certainly aren't his grandparents.
I told you on New Year's Eve that I was in labour, I told you that I was having contractions. I told you that I needed help. I told you it didn't feel right. You told me I was being dramatic. That I just had a tummy ache and some paracetamol would fix it. You locked me in the bathroom Leo. You trapped me in there whilst I gave birth to my son, alone. I kept telling you to phone an ambulance, I told you it felt like I was dying. You said there wasn't any ambulances out on New Year's Day.
You left me bleeding in the bathroom. You didn't even hold Milo. You didn't wrap him up or wash the blood away. You just left him there, whilst I was bleeding out. You're fucking sick. What kind of person leaves their wife bleeding. It was only when I fainted that you finally decided to act on it.
I woke up alone in the hospital. You had gone back out drinking.
You threw my phone at Milo's head when he was just two months old. It cut his head open. I had to take him to the hospital and lie for you. I had to tell them that he had head butted the table. Because what kind of father does that?
You pushed me down the stairs just days after I gave birth, you said if I was looking where I was going then I wouldn't have fell. But you pushed me Leo. We were arguing and you pushed me.
You smashed a vase at my feet, sending tiny shards into my skin. You never apologised. You said it was my fault.
None of this is my fault Leo.
You're fucked in the head.
You're disgusting.
You put Milo in a freezing bath. I had a doctor actually tell me that I was lucky he was still alive after that. You had put him in so much danger that he nearly died.
Leaving him to choke on his own sick is just the cherry on top of this messy life. You left your child unattended. Alone in the house. He could've died Leo. Cassius and Maggie got there just in time.
You left my son, unwell, gasping for life, whilst you went out and fucked another one of your little girls.
I hate you.
I hate everything about you.
I hate your eyes, I hate your stupid permed hair, I hate how fucking huge you think you are.
I hate how you think girls will just drop at your feet. I hate how everything is always about you.
I hate your smile and your stupid music. I hate how you used to undress me. I hate how Milo was conceived. I hate our house and every single memory of you.
You've ruined my life, and so many other girls lives.
There aren't words for people like you.
You've ruined everything. And I hope you pay for the rest of your lives for everything you've put us through.
You could never keep me safe. You could never show me love.
And I hate you with everything I am.
I'm sobbing by the time I type the last sentence, desperately trying to drag air into my lungs, my mind won't stop. It won't stop spiralling about every single thing also has ever done.
"Mumma" Harry comforts, finally taking the laptop away from my shaky hands. His body is close to mine, making sure I can feel his warmth. "I've got you, take a breath, mon amour."
"I-I hate-hate him" I heave out, clutching at my chest.
Harry's hands gently comb through my hair, the feeling of his hands somewhat keep the screams at bay.
"I know A, but he's gone, he's gone and he's not coming back" he hushes.
"Come here" he whispers, pressing a kiss to my soaking cheek. My sadness now taints his lips.
I'm a walking tragedy at this point. Though, surely I'm able to experience a moment of calm throughout the chaos.
Harry's lips repeatedly kiss my skin. Non verbally reassuring me that everything is going to be okay. Even if it isn't okay now, it will be.
There will be a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not sure when, but with Harry and Milo by my side, I will find a way out of the darkness.
For Milo. This is all for Milo.
He deserves the very best, and if I'm able to pull us out of this messy life, I can finally provide that for him.
Leo's gone. He isn't coming back. He didn't going to jump out at me and torture us one last time.
He's gone. For good this time.
"He's not going to hurt you again."
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Authors note: I'm completely in love with this chapter. Hamelie have my whole heart!
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