[outfits on IG: uniqueboys.ig]
Somehow, Alec was able to shut down the sexual assault scandal. No one ever spoke of it again. None of the names involved were released either. Everything was actually normal these past couple of days.
"I'm here!" Monique announces as she bursts into my room. She twirls around to show off her dress with her cap and gown over it. "Come on, we need to take pictures."
We head out to meet my dad and Alec out in the living room. They had their suits on nicely. My dad spots me and he becomes emotional.
"My little girl is all grown up." he breathes out then hugs me. "I'm proud of you, Rylee."
We take a bunch of pictures then made our way to the venue. It was very crowded, but we took even more pictures with the other girls. The parents watched us as if we were a comedy show.
"Hey, coach Styles!" Kourtney calls him and all of us turn to the direction she was waving at. "Come take some pictures with us."
Harry was talking to some other parents and drifts off to make his way over. Another nice suit fit his tall, lean body. He smiles at us then glances over at Alec.
"I can only take a few then I have to head in." he tells us then steps in between Kourtney and Monique. I stood on the other side of Monique and she pulls me close to her. "I'm proud of all of you." Harry says after the first picture was taken. He glances around and his eyes land on me. "You've all actually grew a lot more since I met you."
"You're going to mess up my makeup, coach." Abby says, carefully wiping under her eyes.
"Seriously," Monique fans her face with her hands. "I'm going to miss you all when I leave for Boston."
"You should've applied to Pennbrook like the rest of us." Kourtney looks past Harry with a tear sliding down her face. "Coach, look what you did! The ceremony hasn't even started."
Harry laughs, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he apologizes. "One more picture girls then we can take more after and you can cry as much as you want."
All of our parents snap pictures, so it was more than one. Harry departs from us and disappears in the crowd. Then we all go to the student entry, finding our lines. I was feeling very nervous because this was actually happening. Three years at this school and now I'm leaving it along with many memories.
The ceremony begins and we start walking to get seated as we practiced. The stands were filled up with people cheering as we came out. Throughout the many speeches and acknowledgements, Kourtney sat behind me and whispered in my ear. She pointed out Leslie who sat directly in front of me. I look over to the opposite side to see Monique about to fall asleep because no one she really talked to was on her side.
It finally came to the walking across the stage part. Everything happened so fast, but I was happy to have people here to cheer me on for that short moment. The ceremony comes to an end and it seemed as if it were more crowded than earlier. I couldn't even find Monique, but luckily Kourtney sat near me and I stayed by her side. Eventually, everyone finds everyone and more pictures were taken. With and without parents, group pictures and individual.
Next thing, Harry appears out of nowhere with a bright smile. He greets the parents again then takes more pictures with us. My dad steps up and asks only for me and Monique with Harry. Monique moves Kourtney out of the way and pulls on my arm to stand close to Harry on his other side. He flashes a smile at me then puts his arm around me. We smile for the picture and his hand slides up my back to my shoulder.
"Relax," he tells me, squeezing my shoulder.
"Okay, now the two girls only." dad gestures for Harry to go away.
Harry steps aside and Alec walks over to him. I watch the two get into a conversation, but it couldn't have been bad because they were both smiling. After all the shots, we go to a restaurant. The group was big because it was a mixture of Monique and Kourtney's family.
"Congrats grads!" my dad cheers.
-
Monique and I were in my room getting ready for the graduation after party. Alec stood by the door, talking to us the whole time. He was only really here to bother Monique which worked because she was getting real annoyed by him.
"Hey, I'm serious." Alec says and gets pushed by Monique when she exits to go to the bathroom. "Call me if you get wasted or dad if I don't pick up or if you don't want to be lectured by him, I could just–"
"You're not coming, Alec." I immediately turn down his suggestion. "You'll have your own fun when you graduate."
"It's not the same when you graduate from college." he groans. "I don't even think they'll have a party."
I stand up from my desk. "You're not going." I say then pushed past him. "Tonight is the only night I'll have freedom from you."
"You're still not mad at me for the Harry thing, are you?" he rolls his eyes, following me to the kitchen. "It's for the best and he knows it too."
"You control him like he's your puppet." I tell him. "You saw him at graduation. He looked at you as if he needs permission."
"Because he knows I can bring that scandal back." Alec says nonchalantly then shrugs.
"How did you even shut it down in the first place?" I ask, turning to him from the fridge.
"Monique, can you hurry up!" Alec avoids my question.
Monique rushes out, pulling a jacket on. "How do I look?"
"You look the same as always." Alec shrugs, taking the drink I just poured. I was going to say something, but he speaks more. "You could've chosen a shirt that revealed more," Alec gestures her breasts and I swat his arm. "I'm kidding," he rubs his arm. "You both look good. When are you leaving?"
"We should head out now because we promised Kourtney we'd help set up." Monique says, looking at the time. "Did she send you the address?"
I nod, finishing the new cup of juice I poured. We leave the building and took an uber to the house. Kourtney had an airbnb and her sister helped get some drinks in. The music was already playing when we got to the house, but it was empty because it was still early. A few of the volleyball girls had arrived already to help set up as well.
"Okay, everyone gets a shot." Kourtney announces, pouring the liquor in small plastic cups. "To the class of 2017!" she cheers and we down the shots.
We get our drinks before everyone starts arriving. People came as the night went on. Monique separated from me and I step out back, sitting with Kourtney. They were smoking and passed around the roll. A guy tries to hand it to me, but I decline. Kourtney gladly takes it and blows out a big puff.
"I didn't know you smoked." I laugh.
"I take a break from it for volleyball season." she tells me then laughs. "It's great, Rylee."
The group of smokers continue on with passing it around. My drink runs low and I go back inside for a refill. Kourtney follows me and serves the both of us a couple shots. We stand in the kitchen and start talking around random stuff. I was getting louder which meant the alcohol was hitting me. I sit on the counter and Monique walks in with Quinn.
"Rylee, she wants to train with us." Monique says over the music. She steps closer and I could see her red eyes. "Did you hear me?"
I nod, sipping my drink. "Quinn is already on the varsity team." I point out then Quinn steps forward.
"I want to work hard for the team captain position." she tells me. "And what's better than getting trained by the two captains themselves."
"That's a perfect plan!" Kourtney says loudly, pulling Quinn into a hug. "You would make a great team captain."
Quinn looks up at me while Kourtney pinches her cheeks. "So can I join the training?"
"I'll have to talk to coach Styles about it." I tell her, finishing the last drop of my drink. "I ran out!" I pout, showing my empty cup.
Monique grabs a new beer bottle, pouring it in my cup. She gets herself a beer and starts chugging it. She steps closer and pulls me into a hug.
"I'm going to miss my baby Rylee!" she cries out. "We were all supposed to stay together."
"You're the one who chose a school in Boston." Kourtney says, nudging her. "Rylee, how could you let her do that?"
"It's a good school." I tell her. "I'm just going to be supportive of her like she was supportive when she thought I was going to move to California."
"Yeah, she was going across the country." Monique points out. "I'll be like– seven hours away?" she frowns and thinks about it then she pouts. "I should've chosen Pennbrook, but this was the only way to get away from my parents."
"Monique, it's okay." I wrap my arms around her. "Daily calls, weekend visits and we do get breaks."
"Hey, we'll throw you a kickass going away party." Kourtney promises to comfort her. "It'll be better than this."
"I love you guys." she says, pulling Kourtney into the hug. "Come here Quinn!" she shouts and I watch Quinn awkwardly join the hug.
I start laughing, downing the drink I had. We move to the living room and talk more. Then Leslie comes walking in with someone from the baseball team. We watch them walk by and start laughing more when they leave the room. I look at the time then leave the two girls to go out front where it was more quiet. I sat on the bench and scrolled through my phone for Alec. I get distracted when the music blares through the open door.
"Hey Quinn!" I smile at her as she shuts the door behind her. "Leaving already?"
"Yeah, my parents keep texting me." she sighs. "Aren't you going to head out?"
"I'm going to tell my brother to come in like an hour." I tell her. "Hey, my brother can drive you home if you want." I offer and she laughs, sitting next to me on the bench. "If he comes now then I'll accept your offer."
"Just tell your parents you'll be another hour." I nudge her. "I mean, if you want."
"No, I'm good." she laughs. We sit in silence for a few moments then I remembered what I was going to do. "Rylee, I'd like to thank you for letting me train with you." she distracts me again. "I didn't get to thank you earlier."
"Oh no problem." I flash a small smile. "Oh wait, I hadn't talked to coach yet." I gasp, lifting my phone up and it dials his number.
"Are you calling him now?" her eyes widen. "Do you know what time it is?"
"It's okay," I assure her then his voicemail comes on. "He ignored my call." I groan, calling him again. I start sending him multiple texts when he doesn't answer again then Quinn puts her hand over the screen.
"You don't have to talk to him right this second." she says, looking embarrassed. "There's always tomorrow or other days."
"I fly out tomorrow." I lean over to whisper for some reason. "I won't come back until mid July."
My phone starts ringing, making us both jump. I look at the blurry screen, only seeing the 'H' in his name. I quickly answer, putting the phone to my ear and spoke as if I hadn't been the one calling him first.
"You said it was important." he says roughly through the phone.
I hear Josie's little cry and my mind went somewhere else. "Aw, Josie's awake? Tell her I'm so sorry for waking her up."
"Rylee," Harry says my name, but I ignore it.
"Oh no, is Caroline awake too?" I whisper through the phone. "Does she know you're on the phone with me?"
"Rylee!" Harry snaps softly. "What is it that you need?"
"Sorry," I apologize with a pout even though he couldn't see me.
"This is why I didn't want to pick up." he says and I could hear the annoyance in his voice. "I knew you'd be drunk from the after party. You talk way too much when you've been drinking."
"I do not." I slur out. "And I did call for something important."
I look at Quinn and smile. Then I feel my stomach churn and I toss my phone in her lap. I stumble over to the edge of the porch and I puke over the bushes.
"Rylee, we should get you home now." Quinn rushes up to me and rubs my back. She had my phone in her other hand and I could hear Harry. I point at it and she puts it to her ear. "Hello, coach?" she spoke softly then she tells him what had just happened.
I take the phone from her. "Quinn wants to train with us this summer. She-" I was interrupted when I throw up more. "God, all my insides are coming out." I whine.
"How much have you had to drink?" he asks. "You've never been sick like this before."
"I don't know," I cry out softly, staying bent over the edge. "I-I had a lot, but that's not what we were talking about."
"Rylee, hang up and call your brother." he orders.
"No, we were talking about Quinn."
Harry sighs frustratingly. "Give Quinn the phone and I'll talk to her."
I hand her the phone and she just puts it to her ear then hangs up within seconds.
"Wait what?" I frown. "There's no way he talked to you that fast."
"He told me to call your brother." she says, scrolling through my phone. After a lot of tries and being sent to voicemail, we call Harry again. She puts it on speaker and he picks up with an attitude, thinking it was me. "Sorry coach, it's Quinn."
"What happened?"
"Her brother isn't picking up."
"That asshole probably went out himself because I didn't let him come to this party." I roll my eyes sitting on the ground, but Quinn picks me up to sit me back on the bench. "I am not going to call my dad."
"Quinn, what's the address?" Harry asks.
I gasp, leaning toward the phone. "That's breaking the rules."
"What rules?" Quinn frowns.
Harry interrupts by asking for the address again. He instructs Quinn on what to do. She leaves me with the phone to go get Monique. I lay down on the bench, muttering in the phone.
"I hate how distant you were today." I say, getting upset. "I know you had to, but it makes me feel like I'm not wanted. Shit, what am I saying?" I stare blankly at the house across the street.
Harry stays quiet on the other side while I kept talking. He made little noises so that I would know he was still there. Quinn makes it back out, letting us know that Monique will stay with Kourtney. Quinn takes the phone from me and that's when Harry starts talking again. The two talk about me and my state then move on to Quinn joining the summer program. My eyes fall close from their talking.
It becomes quiet for a long while then my skin jumps when I hear Harry's voice. I open my eyes to see him walking up to the house. Quinn goes to him and they glance back at me as they talked softly. Then Harry finally comes over to me and gets down to my level. He pushes my hair out of my face then wraps his arm around me to lift me up.
"Quinn, open the door." he tosses her his keys, trying to balance me. She races off and I can hear his car beep. "You're really going to get me in trouble." he whispers, staying behind me with his hands on my waist to make sure I didn't fall.
I stumble over to his car where Quinn waited. She had the passenger side open and the light of his car shined brightly. Harry helps me sit in the seat then reaches over to buckle the seat. My hand lands on his shoulder and I quickly look over to see Quinn watching us. She jumps in the back and Harry makes his way over to the drivers seat. We take Quinn home first because her house wasn't too far.
"I'm sorry, Harry." I apologize, resting my head on his shoulder. "You're always taking care of me and I know you don't want to."
"It's not that I don't want to, Rylee, it's just that I can't." he says, keeping his eyes on the road. "Thinking of Alec and knowing that he could make this whole scandal disappear so quickly, but bring it all back when he wants to– it's just scary."
"I still don't know how he did it." I mumble out. My body felt numb and my eyes kept closing. "I hate him for not understanding that we need each other."
"He's being reasonable." Harry shrugs. "He knows it wasn't fair that I cheated on Caroline. He wants me to be there for my family like he's there for you, so don't hate him."
"I mean, I don't hate him. I love him because he's my brother, but he still thinks you took advantage."
"I did take advantage." Harry says as we pull up to my building. "I took advantage of a young girl who liked me, I took advantage of your love and I took advantage of you that night. I am a horrible person and I don't understand why you still talk to me."
"Let's just get over that." I groan, unbuckling my seatbelt. "I'm completely over it and it's in the past for me. There's nothing we can do about it."
"I won't because if someone did that to Josie, I would be beyond raged." he says and the anger was seen in his expression. "I won't ever get over the fact I forced you-"
"Harry," I look up at him with my droopy eyes. "I told you I was tired that night, but I would've went on with it anyways because sex with you is so amazing." I close my eyes and smile at the thought. "Then it wasn't the usual sex which made me upset because it hurt for days after. I was very angry with you then and now I'm not because I'm over it. Can you please get over it as well and let's not talk about it ever again?"
We sit in the car for a few minutes and he stares at me.
"That's the plan anyways after the program." he says, stepping out of the car. "So it won't ever be brought up even though it'll never leave my thoughts."
He helps me out of the car and I keep arguing about it. He doesn't speak the entire time we made our way up to my apartement. He helps me to my room and I fall forward on the bed. He takes my shoes off then places the small trash bin by my side.
"Are you really going to follow through with what Alec is making you do?"
"At this very moment, no." he tells me, sitting by my legs. "But when you come back, it'll be nothing but professional. We will only talk about volleyball, there will be no private calls for random conversations, I won't be picking you up at three in the morning anymore-"
"Okay, I get it." I stop him. "Can I just say one more thing before you leave and this all changes?"
"What is it?" he sighs.
I reach for his hand and lightly squeeze it. "I will always love you."
The room becomes quiet and Harry pulls his hand away. He gets off the bed and pats my back. I hear him shuffle through my room then the door shuts.
"Harry?" I call him through the dark, but there was no sign of him in the room. Tears flood my eyes and hide my face in the pillow. "I love you, Harry."
Book completed: July 21, 2017 @ 7:00am
Sooooo I have been really busy with work and school stuff. That's why it's been taking me so long to update. Also, I'll be busy within the next few weeks bc they now decided to give me more hours and days of working🙄 buttttt the book is completed ahhhhh! Hope you enjoyeddd this last chapter😁 idk when I will update the next book, but I will be uploading a nonchapter so you can add the book to your library and be notified whenever I do update.