Chapter 40

So hopefully this isn't much of a disappointment, unlike the last chapter? I kind of enjoyed writing this chapter lolll. So hope you enjoy reading it as well! xx

Picture on the side of Selena Gomez who plays Carly McKinley. OH MY GOD ISN'T SHE SO GORGOUES UGH

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Carly’s POV:

            Harry had been in the most crankiest and angry mood since the concert. He would just sit around and be moody, and if he ever talked, all that would come out of his mouth would be snarky remarks. Whatever he read that night must have really pissed him off. It seems like almost anything these days could set him off into a yelling fest. And no one really needs the British Hulk to emerge. This only happened one other time before, which was with Kate.

            Oh, shit.                                                          

            Was that what this was about? Was Kate texting him again? And if she was, what was she saying? Does she want to get back together with him? And what is Harry saying? Is he even replying to her?

            Okay, Carly, calm down. Should I ask him about it? Maybe I shouldn’t ask. Last time I had asked him about it, he snapped angrily at me. And I really don’t want to start a fight with him again. I’ll leave him to it, and when he wants to tell me, he will. Hopefully, he’ll tell me soon. I just don’t want him hiding anything from me. I just don’t know what to do. If I ask, I might come off as a nosey girlfriend. And if I don’t, then I might seem like a the girlfriend that doesn’t care a bit about her boyfriend.

            I am so lost.

            We were currently in Adelaide, Austrailia, and it was September 23rd. And it has been four months since Harry and I have been together. I was at this cute little cafe here, while the boys were back in their hotel. As I drank my coffee, I was looking outside the window while I sat by myself. Suddenly, someone appeared in front of me and asked, “Is this seat taken?”

            I look up at the person and see a boy around my age. He has icy blue eyes and dark brown hair, swept over to the left. He’s attractive, that’s for sure, but I’m most definitely not interested. “Um, no. Go ahead,” I say awkwardly, forcing a smile.

            The guy grins and takes the seat across from me. “I’m Jeremy,” he introduces.

            “Carly,” I reply, sipping my coffee. I was wearing my sunglasses, so he couldn’t really recognize me.

            “So what’s a pretty girl like you doing here by yourself?” he smirks. Ew no.

            “I’m waiting for my boyfriend,” I lie, hoping he’d take the hint that I really don’t want to talk to him.

            Jeremy continues to smirk and not move. “Mind if I wait with you?”

            “Um, okay,” I answer uncomfortably.

            He grins and looks out the window, and I subtly take my phone out of  my pocket. Glancing up to see what the guy is doing, which is staring out the window, I create a new text.

To: Harry(;

Creepy guy not leaving me alone at Bedrock Cafe. Help? xx

            I bite my bottom lip as I send the text. Hopefully Harry sees it and comes. I know we’re not really talking, but I’m just hoping he makes his way over. Sticking my phone back in it’s pocket, I pick up my drink and take a sip from it.

            “So why are you really here by yourself?” Jeremy asks.

            I look at him. “I needed some time to myself,” I answer.

            “Boyfriend problems?” Jeremy smirks, sipping his own drink.

            I glare at him, though he probably can’t tell through my Gucci sunglasses. “No,” I snap. “And that’s none of your business anyway.”

            “Gosh, just asking,” he chuckles, seeming amused.

            I roll my eyes, silently hoping Harry arrives soon. I then hear the door’s bells jingle, and I turn to see who it is. To my utter pleasure, I saw that it was Harry. I send him a small smile and he walks over, smiling as well. “Hey, babe,” he says, bending down and kissing my cheek. I was kind of taken aback by his good and cheery mood, but didn’t question it. Mostly because of this jerk sitting across from me.

            “So this is your boyfriend, huh?” Jeremy smirks, looking up at Harry.

            “I am,” Harry says. “And now if you’ll excuse us, we have to go,” he says, pulling my hand up.

            I grab my drink and bag and without saying anything to Jeremy, we leave. Harry’s hand grips mine tightly as he leads me to the Lexus we had rented while we stayed here. I get into the passengers seat while he gets in the drivers. I jump in surprise when Harry slams the door loudly, causing me to look at him.

            “Harry?” I ask, my eyes slightly wide.

            “Who was that?” Harry asks as he turns to face me. I see his bright green eyes darken with anger as he looks at me.

            “I don’t know,” I answer, a bit timidly. He was honestly scaring me right now.

            “I don’t want to see you with any other guy ever again, okay?” he snaps.

            My eyes widen. “Harry!” I exclaim. “You can’t tell me who I can or can’t be with. And besides, the guy was a creep.”

            Harry’s jaw clenched as he started up the car, but didn’t move. He takes a deep breath before closing his eyes. He opens them again and looks at me, this time his expression was softened. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Carly.” His expression then turned info one of pain, and I sighed.

            “You didn’t scare me, Harry,” I lie. Truth is, he did scare me a bit, but I don’t want to tell him that. It will just hurt him more.           

            Harry sighs. “I know you well enough to know that you’re lying, Carly,” he shakes his head.

            “I-I know,” I mutter in defeat. “But what’s wrong, Harry? You seem so angry and upset. Is everything okay?”

            Harry just sighs, looking down. “No, it’s not.”

            We were still in the car, not moving. He didn’t even start up the engine yet, and we were sitting in the car in the parking lot, having a conversation that may end up going no where.

            I bite my bottom lip, and suddenly blurt out, “Is it Kate?”

            Harry’s head snaps towards me so fast it might have caused him a whiplash. His curly hair flopped on the top of his head and his green eyes widened drastically. “What?” he exclaims. “No, it’s not. It has nothing to do with her.”

            “Oh,” is all I could say when I lean back in my chair. I don’t know if I should be relieved that it has nothing to do with Kate, or worried if it’s something worse. “Then what?”

            Harry all of a sudden starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot. “I’ll tell you later, okay?”

            I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t tell me now. But I didn’t say anything because he said he would tell me later. I trust him, and if he said that he will tell me later, then he will. I shouldn’t push on the subject, I guess. Maybe it’s something really personal?

            The car ride to the hotel was silent, except for the hum of the car and the sound of car honks from the outside. I stared out the window as Harry drove, my chin esting on the palm of my hand. I closed my tightly and let out a small, staggered breath. I couldn’t even turn and look at Harry. I was adraid if I even glanced at him, I would blurt out questions. Right now, I just need to stay quiet.

Harry’s POV:

            My teeth knawed at my bottom lip as my hands clenched the steering wheel tightly, turning my knuckles white, and drove to the hotel. I hate lying to Carly and I hate hiding things from her. But this one thing I’m gonna make sure that I tell her – I have no intention of hiding it from her. I told the boys what had happened, and they all comforted me and told me everything will be okay. I’m gonna tell Carly tonight about the text I had recieved about the other night. It was from my mum, so it wasn’t anything like that.

            I don’t blame Carly for thinking that Kate had some involvement in my change of behavior and mood. After last time, it’s obvious why Carly would think that. Speaking of Carly, I didn’t miss the amount of jealousy that sprouted within me when I saw her with that guy at the cafe. Never in my life have I felt so protective over a girl, until Carly came along. The guy was looking at her like a guy would when he fancies a girl or thinks that she’s hot. I know for a fact that Carly is not only hot, but downright gorgeous. And that she’s taken by me. So I was more that willing to let the guy know that Carly is mine.

            My heart suddenly clenched when I remembered the frightened look on Carly’s face when I was practically yelling at her. I was upset and got jealous, and I snapped at her. I didn’t mean to; it just happened. I glanced at Carly and saw that she had falled asleep, her head leaning against the cool window, and her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful and almost angel-like; the way her white skin glowed and her dark wavy hair surrounded her, her pink lips looking so plump and kissable. I smiled at the sight of her. It’s scary how just looking at Carly or thinking about her automatically brings a smile on my face. If only she knew the effect she has on me.

            I finally pulled up to the hotel and parked the car. Killing the car’s engine, I take off my seatbelt and get out of the car. Walking around, I opened Carly’s door and bent over her body and unbuckled her seatbelt, retracting it. I then gently placed my arms under her body, and carefully picked her up, making sure I didn’t bump myself or her with anything. Once I stood straight with a sleeping Carly in my arms, I used my leg to shut the car door. Still having the keys in my hand, I pressed the button to lock the car and walked towards the entrance.

            Making my way through the lobby and up the elevator, I finally reached our floor and walked down the hallway to the Presidential Suite, where we all were staying. Knocking on the door, I waited until Niall swung the door open. He saw me carrying Carly and smiled, opening the door wider to let me in. I thanked him silently and walked towards Carly and I’s shared room. I placed her gently on the bed, pulling the duvet over her body, before bending down and softly kissing her forehead. I smiled slightly and walked back out, closing the door. I reached the kitchen, where I saw all of the boys sitting at the kitchen table with bags of Nando’s scattered around. I sighed and sat in between Louis and Zayn, propping my elbows on the table and putting my head in my hands.

            “Everything okay, mate?” Louis asks me. All of the lads continued eating, but looked at me for an answer.

            I sigh and turn my head up so that my chin was resting on the palm of my hands and let out another sigh. “No,” I mumble. “I snapped at Carly... Again,” I say shamefully.

            The boys give me sympathetic looks and Liam shakes his head. “Mate, you gotta stop doing that,” he says. “I know you’re upset about what happened, but you can’t take your frustration out on Carly.”

            “Did you even tell her about it?” Zayn asks from next to me.

            I shake my head. “No,” I sigh. “She thought it had something to do with Kate,” I add on.

            “Can you blame her?” Niall asks, chewing on a mouthful of chicken. “You got so pissed when Kate had texted you, and took your anger out on Carly by yelling at her. You’re doing the exact same thing now, so yeah, she’s gonna think it has something to do with Kate.”

            “I know that, Niall,” I reply sharply. “I was just making sure with Paul that everything was set and if we were able to go.”

            Louis rolls his eyes. “That was already settled two days ago, Haz,” he pointed out.

            I sigh. “I know,” I say. “I’m just so caught up in it.”

            Zayn pats my back. “Don’t worry, mate. Gemma will be fine.”

***************

            It was half an hour later, and Carly was already awake from her nap. She was in the room watching TV, I think, and I was on my way over to tell her what really happened. Walking in, I saw that she was sitting on the bed and watching reruns of the Fresh Prince. Closing the door behind me, I walk over to her, shoving my hands in the back of my jeans pockets. “Hey,” I say quietly.

            Carly looks at me and slightly smiles. “Hey,” she replies. At least she’s not mad.

            “Uh, can I talk to you?” I ask slowly, biting the inside of my bottom lip.

            Carly nods and puts the TV on mute. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

            I sigh and sit down on the bed, facing her. “I know I owe you an explanation, and I’m here to give you that,” I tell her.

            She slightly smiles. “An explanation would be nice,” she says, and I nod.

            “That night at the concert in LA, I got a text from my mum,” I begin to explain. “She wanted to tell me that my older sister, Gemma, had been in a horrible car accident.” I notice Carly’s eyes widen in shock as I swallow a lump in my throat. “She was on her way back home from Uni, when some guy ran a red light and crashed right into her car. It was pretty bad; her car totalled and since the car hit from her side, she got hit pretty hard.” I clench my jaw as I continue, and Carly looks at me with a pained expression. “When I saw that text, I felt so angry and frustrated and worried. I was angry at the bastard who ran the red light, frustrated that I have to be on the other side of the world when this happened, and I’m worried sick about my sister.”    

            I could feel tears prickle my eyes as I continued, and then I felt Carly’s small hands envelope my own big ones. “Gemma’s in a coma,” I croack. “Her head’s banged up and they don’t know when she’s gonna wake up.”

            “Harry,” Carly says, squeezing my hands. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

            I looked up at her face and saw the upsetting, worried expression her face held. “It’s fine, Carls,” I say. “You didn’t know.”

            Carly shook her head. “That’s not the point,” she says. “I was so damn worried that you being so frustrated had something to do with Kate, that I didn’t think it was anything else. That was so selfish of me. I’m so sorry.”

            I crack a smile through my tears. Carly’s hair was parted to one side as it all fell over her left shoulder, leaving her right shoulder bare, especially since she was wearing a tank top. I brought my right hand up and placed it on the part of her body where her neck and her shoulder meet. “Don’t be sorry,” I tell her, my warm hand touching her cold skin. “You didn’t know, and I don’t blame you for thinking that.”

            Carly bites her bottom pink lip softly, letting out a sigh. “I’m still sorry, though,” she says. “Gemma is gonna be okay, alright? Don’t worry.”          

            I smile slightly and nod. “Yeah,” I sigh. “But we’re still going.”

            Carly frowns, confused. “Going where? And what do you mean by ‘we’?”

            “We, as in you and I, are going to Holmes Chapel tomorrow. So I suggest you start packing,” I explain to her, my usual smirk making it’s way back on my face.

            Carly’s eyes widen in surprise. “Harry, I understand that you wanna see your family and sister, but why are you taking me? And what about the tour?”

            “One, I’m taking you because you’re my girlfriend, I want you to meet my family, and I love you. And two, the tour isn’t a problem. I talked to Paul and he said that we can have a week off. The boys are using it to go back to their own home town as well,” I smirk, proud of my well thought-out plan.

            “B-But I can’t meet your family,” Carly stutters, looking extremely nervous. “At least not yet.”

            I raise my eyebrows. “We’ve been dating for a couple of months, Carly. So why not?” I question.

            “Because!” Carly exclaims, and I raise both of my eyebrows again, telling her to continue, but she just sighs. “I mean... You need to go by yourself. Spend some time with your family. I’m gonna be intruding.”

            I roll my eyes. “You’re not gonna be intruding, Carls,” I tell her. “I already told my mum and Robin that I’m bringing you, and they’re more than excited to meet you.”

            Carly sighs, defeated. “I hate you,” she mumbles.

            My hand, which is still in between her neck and shoulder, pulls down Carly so her face is right in front of mine. I peck her softly on her pink lips and smirk. “You love me,” I say cheekily.

            Carly chuckles. “I guess I do,” she shrugs. She then thinks for a moment and then looks at me. “Have you noticed we always have these ‘deep conversations’ in our hotel rooms?”

            I look at her and then chuckle. “You’re right,” I say. “Though, the room can be used for other things as well,” I wink.

            Her eyes widen as she stares at me. “Harry Edward Styles!” she exclaims.

            I laugh. “Kidding, kidding,” I sit up. “Now go pack. Our flight leaves tomorrow at ten.”

            Carly rolls her eyes and gets off the bed. “Aye, aye, Captain.”