I shut my front door behind me and threw my keys across the counter. Grabbing a water bottle out of my fridge, I slowly made my way to my bedroom, needing to get to my computer so I could answer questions that were surely flooding Harry's twitter because of the album and tour announcement.
"Hello," a disembodied voice suddenly sounded, and I jumped, whiring around. I was about to go all kung-fu ninja master on the intruder when I saw Niall step out of the shadows.
"Jesus, I . . . what the hell, Niall?" I stuttered, placing my hand over my heart, trying to slow it down.
"Well, I needed to talk to you, but I didn't think you'd take me up on an offer for coffee after the way I treated you," Niall smiled sheepishly. I frowned.
"Why do you want to talk?" I asked.
"Please come be my manager again," Niall blurted out. "The new guy . . . he sucks! He doesn't know anything about me, or how I work, or how we should promote things, or anything! He just . . . he doesn't get me and I hate him and he's a stuck-up asshole who doesn't know shit about how to manage a celebrity. And I'm so sorry about how we treated you that day. That was a total dick move, I should've told you about it before you just showed up and he was there. You were just so busy with Harry and all your other clients and I thought--"
I cut him off by tackling him in a hug, my heart swelling and a huge smile on my face. "It's okay, Niall. I'll be your manager again."
"Wait, really?" Niall asked in disbelief, wrapping his arms around me. I pulled away and nodded, grinning.
"Yeah. And I'll be able to focus more on you again because I . . . well, I think I'm gonna drop Harry."
"What? Why? I thought he was paying you really well!" Niall asked, furrowing his eyebrows and crossing his arms over his chest.
I sighed. "He was, but we, uh, we just didn't get along too well."
Niall narrowed his eyes. "You fell for him, didn't you?"
I bit my lip and toyed with my necklace. Finally, my words came tumbling out, and I told Niall everything. He listened quietly, his frown slowly deepening as my story went on.
Once I was finished, Niall muttered, "That goddamned, dick-head, ass-lamp mother--"
"Niall," I scolded, snorting slightly at his colorful language.
"I'm sorry, but that guy deserves a pole shoved up his--"
Niall was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Frowning slightly, I padded over to the door and opened it up.
"Ohmygod, Harry!" I gasped. Harry slumped against the doorframe, his breaths coming in short, powerful gasps. His curls were plastered to his forehead, his chest heaving. Bruises bloomed all over his bare arms and peeked out of his t-shirt on to his shoulder. His head hung down as if he could barely support the weight of it, but he managed to glance up at me so that I could see the bruises and gashes that lined his face. "What happened to you?"
"Jackson," Harry rasped out, coughing. "He's coming."
"I don't think we should be doing this," Niall grumbled from the front seat of my car as he drove. I sat in the back with Harry, trying to clean up his wounds as much as possible.
I sighed. "Ni, I don't really care how much your or I despise this bastard, he's still a human being and we can't let him just die."
"Why not?" Niall muttered under his breath, but his foot stayed on the gas pedal.
I turned my attention back to Harry. "Why were you with Jackson?" I demanded bluntly.
"The guy beat me up. I had to get back at him," Harry shrugged, making himself wince.
I rolled my eyes. "I really don't understand how you and your ego fit in the same room together."
"Ash, how do I get to the hospital from here?" Niall asked. I was about to speak up, but Harry cut me off.
"What? No! We have to go to the police," Harry said, glancing between me and Niall.
"Uh . . . why?" I asked, confused.
"We gotta turn Jackson in!" Harry stated as if it were obvious.
It dawned on me what he was trying to do. "No. We're going to the hospital."
Harry shook his head. "Police."
"Shut it, dickweed. I'm listening to Ash," Niall said.
"No. You have to go to the police!" Harry insisted.
"Don't you dare listen to him, Ni. Just go to the hospital."
"Wait, but don't you want to turn Jackson in, Ash? I mean, he made your life a living hell," Niall reasoned.
"You're really telling me that you're gonna side with him on this one?" I asked skeptically.
"I . . . no," Niall admitted, and stayed on the road headed towards the hospital.
"Ash, this guy's gotta get arrested!" Harry argued.
"Harry, you went after him. You literally have no grounds to get him arrested," I countered.
"Yeah, except for the grounds that he beat me and you up several times, and that he raped you," Harry stared at me.
Niall slammed on the brakes, throwing me and Harry forward. "HE WHAT?!"
"Thanks a lot, Harry," I muttered, rubbing my head where I hit it on the passenger seat in front of me.
Harry shrugged. "Not my fault."
Niall whirled around in his seat, his foot still on the brake as cars honked and swerved around us. "You never told me he raped you!"
"Yeah, well, I'm telling you now. Talk and drive," I gestured hurriedly. Reluctantly, Niall turned back around and joined the traffic.
"Jesus, Ash. Don't you think that's something you should've told me?" Niall said, scrunching his eyebrows and glancing in the rearview at me.
"I don't like telling people," I protested.
"Oh, but you didn't mind telling shit-face over here?"
"Hey!" Harry said, offended.
"Can we please talk about this later?" I pleaded. "We need to get him to the hospital."
"Oh, hell no. We are going straight to the police," Niall snapped.
"Yeah!" Harry cheered.
"Ni, I swear to god, if you go to the police, I will cut off your balls in the middle of the night," I threatened.
"Shut up, Ash. We're going to the cops," he said.
Harry nodded, and reached his hand forward to Niall. "Yeah,high-five!"
As Niall approached a red light, he spun around in his seat and glared at Harry, pointing his finger at him menacingly. "You. I'm not done with you. I'm half-tempted to just go to the hospital just so I don't have to agree with you and admit that you might have a puny brain in that thick skull of yours."
Harry shrank back, withdrawing his hand. "Alright, no high-five. Got it."
"I'm not saying anything to the police," I said stubbornly.
"What? Ash, why? This is your chance to finally get rid of this terror!" Harry said.
"Oh, you're one to talk!" I snapped.
"At least I never hit you," he reasoned. I slapped his arm, and started trying to hit him harder in the stomach despite his protests. I didn't care that he was already battered up, it made me feel better.
"Yeah, but physical bruises heal, Harry! What you did to me was so much worse than what Jackson ever did!"
"Oh really? So buying you presents and giving you compliments and writing you songs is so much worse than raping you! That makes so much sense!" Harry yelled, trying to block my hits.
"At least Jackson never lied to me!" I screamed. "He did a lot to me, but he never lied! Everything you ever did for me was one big, fat, goddamn lie!"
"Oh, so you think Jackson really loved you?!" Harry shouted.
"Shut up!" Niall interjected before I could answer. "Both of you, before I turn this car around, you hear me?"
I stopped hitting Harry, and turned around to stare out the window, my arms crossed across my chest.
"Why are you so afraid to go to the cops?" Harry murmured.
"Why are you so afraid of commitment?" I snapped back.
"I said, shut up!" Niall scolded. "We're going to the police office, and I don't want to hear another peep out of either of you for the rest of the ride, especially you, douche-face."
I threw my arms up in protest, and Harry silently cheered. Suddenly, he winced. "Actually, can we go to the hospital?"
Niall shook his head. "Nope. I'd rather see you die than have Ash have to live another day with Jackson not locked up for the rest of his miserable life. Now, next person who talks gets knocked out for the rest of the rode, got it?"
I sighed and leaned my head agianst the back of the chair. Harry slightly nudged me, but I ignored him. Finally he whispered, "Ash, look."
I opened one eye and saw that he was pointing out my car window, his eyes wide. Frowning, I turned to see what he was looking at. I suddenly gasped, and I felt my face pale.
The car next to us was a huge, black S.U.V. In the driver's seat? The one and only Jackson Reyner, his glare directed right at us.
"I told you he was coming," Harry muttered to me.