My voice was quieter now. I was finally chilling out.
“I would never write something like this. I’m not that terrible of a person.”
“If you didn’t write this, then who did?”
“Maybe Melissa?”
“No, she promised she wouldn’t.” Nothing was making sense. “You better not be lying to me,” I threaten. He holds his hands up in surrender.
“I’m not. I swear.” I look over his face, just to make sure. “It’s true that I would rather have you be my girlfriend instead of Harry’s, but I wouldn’t want you to move. I’m not a monster.”
I walk over and sit next to him, giving him a hug. “I’m so sorry,” I tell him. “For everything.”
“It’s not like you can change the past.”
“I know, but I’m sorry.”
He sighs and hugs me back. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t be sitting here feeling sorry for myself just because you love someone else.”
“I love you too,” I remind him. “Just in a different way. You still mean a lot to me, and if something were to happen to you I don’t know what I would do.”
“I know.”
“But if you didn’t write this, and Melissa didn’t write this, then who wrote it? The only other people who know are my mum and Gemma.”
“Maybe someone else found out,” he suggests. “The paparazzi can be sneaky, and judging by this photo I wouldn’t overlook the idea. Look at the quality. That’s got to be taken by a professional camera.”
He had a point. Looking closer it was a decent picture. Very clear and zoomed in. Like something you might find in a magazine.
“But why wouldn’t they just publish the news instead of trying to ruin our relationship?” I ask. It didn’t make sense. Don’t the paparazzi only care for money?
“Maybe someone else asked them to? People make deals with the paps all the time. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
I contemplated this for a few moments. Someone else must know and they have plans for sabotage. The only question is…who?
“I have to bring this up to Harry and Gemma. Maybe they can help us figure it out. Thanks for your help and….I’m sorry I accused you.”
“It’s okay,” he tells me. I give him another hug before grabbing the note with the picture and rushing out the door. On the ride home I tried to think of who could’ve done this. For some reason I feel like it should be blatantly obvious, but it’s just not coming to mind.
I parked the car in the driveway and hurried up the front steps. I didn’t even bother removing my shoes as I sprinted up the stairs to Harry’s room. He looked up from his phone seeming worried and concerned.
“Nicole,” he says. “Didn’t you say Melissa was supposed to move back home today?” he asks.
“Yeah?” I say, glancing at the clock. It was getting late.
“She’s still not here.”
That’s when it all clicked.
“Oh my god,” I mutter. “Oh my god I’m so stupid!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“She said she wouldn’t tell anyone and I believed her! She paid the paparazzi, Harry! Melissa is responsible for the picture!”
“Okay, now hold on. You talked to Liam right?”
“Yes!”
“Just because she hasn’t showed up yet doesn’t mean she’s plotting against us. Try to call her,” he suggests as I take out my phone.
I pull up her contact and press call, holding the phone to my ear. It rang two times before I received her voicemail. That meant my call was declined. I called again and the same thing happened.
“She’s not picking up,” I tell him. “I can’t believe she did this!”
That was a lie. It’s Melissa we’re talking about here. Of course I could believe she would backstab me. I don’t know why I ever trusted her in the first place.
“I’m going over there,” I declare. “If she’s not still staying with my mother then I’ll call you, but I have to confront her about this.” I walk back the way I came, storming out the front door to the car. I was back on the road in a matter of moments fired up with anger and ready to rip into my sister. She better be prepared for what’s coming.
~*~*~*~
I repeatedly knocked on the door waiting for someone to open it. When it finally did unlock, my mother stood in front of me.
“Nicole darling, how are you?” she asks with a weak smile.
“Not so good. Where’s Melissa?”
“She isn’t here.”
“Uh huh. Can I come in?” I ask, although her response didn’t really matter. I barged past her as she moved out of the way.
“You can search the house, but you won’t find anything. She left this morning and told me that you would probably show up later. She wanted me to give you this,” she says, handing me an envelope identical to the one Jamie received. I snatch it from her fingers and tear it open. Naturally the font and lettering of the note inside was the same too.
‘Don’t look for me or Jamie won’t be the only one to hear about your little scandal. ~M’
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was so frustrated and pissed off that she had somehow gained the power to control me like this. She could be bluffing, but I highly doubt it. She already sent the note to Jamie. If that’s not a hint that she’s serious then I don’t know what is.
I looked up to my concerned mother staring at me. I felt bad for being so hostile.
“Thank you,” I say, hugging her. “This helped a lot.”
With that I left. I didn’t want to go home, but I didn’t know where to go. So I drove. I just sped around town with no destination in mind. I needed to think and clear my head, but I couldn’t when so much was swarming my thoughts. When I checked my phone to find two texts from Anne, a text from Robin, a text from Gemma, and four texts from Harry I decided it was time to return. They clearly were concerned, and it’s not like I could stay out all night.
As soon as I stepped through the door I was bombarded with questions. Harry and Gemma were eager to know what happened, and Anne and Robin were interrogating me on where I had been for the past several hours.
“She’s gone,” is all I said. “Melissa ran away, and she left a note saying not to look for her or she’ll tell more people.”
No one really knew how to respond to this. Harry made an effort to comfort me, but I just walked past him up to my room. I lie down on my bed and hug a pillow to my chest. How do I always manage to fuck everything up?
AUTHORS NOTE
aww :c poor nicole. TOMORROW I'M UPDATING EVERYTHING! YES, EVERYTHING! All of my active stories will have a new chapter posted. So in the midst of yall playing with whatever you get for christmas, why dont you come on over to wattpad for a bit and read up on all your favorite books, eh? :D Yeah? Yeah. Sounds good. They're great time killers if you're bored at a family gathering or whatever yall do on christmas :3 IM SO EXCITED I JUST CANT WAIT. I hope you like this chapter and please let me know what you think! I love youuu<3 thanks for reading and HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUIS TOMLINSON! :* xx