A.

It was after dark by the time I made my way back to the outdoor venue, alone. I'd spent what felt like hours in search of Harry after I'd let him walk away from me.

I wasn't sure I'd even processed it yet - the whole situation that had gone down. Ken had crashed Celia's wedding - and her son had been there. Her son was real, and she'd brought him to the wedding in secret and stowed him in the back row. Had she just really wanted her newly-discovered son to be there without the complications of explaining it to the remainder of her family?

The picture still burned in my mind - Harry's face when he'd realised the very lie I'd been keeping from him - the way his hardened expression had fallen into one of hurt and betrayal, as he tore his eyes from me and stormed away. He'd struggled to even face me, as I desperately begged him to do so - and nothing would describe the way his eyes had met mine - the indescribable pain, and anger his irises possessed.

"Ana!" Liam's voice broke me from my thoughts, as he thundered towards me, "oh my God, are you okay? Where's Harry, he-"

"Is Celia okay?" I asked quietly and Liam frowned.

"Um.. yes, she's okay. A bit shaken, but - okay.. her and Ben are gonna head down to the courthouse tomorrow," he sighed, before asking me again, "are you okay?"

I began to nod my head, before slowly beginning to shake it. I wasn't okay, and I couldn't seem to hide it, "I don't know where Harry is.. he left, and, uh- I'm-" I didn't realise I was crying until Liam's face softened, and his arms were pulling me into a tight hug.

"Oh, Ana," he murmured, stroking my hair as I cried into his shoulder, an overwhelming amount of sobs arising in my throat as I couldn't bring myself to speak. All I could do was wind my arms tightly around Liam's neck and cry, desperately and pathetically. "I know this isn't your fault, Ana - Celia told me everything.. you only lied to protect her."

"I still had the choice whether to tell him or not," I sniffed weakly, "Harry is right - him and I are supposed to be a team, and I turned my back on him.." I broke down.

"No, no, you didn't," Liam hushed me, rubbing my back, "Harry will come around, and you can tell him the truth, and-"

"No," I whimpered, "I-I can't do that to Celia.. it isn't her fault. I lied to Harry, and that was my choice."

"Ana," Liam sighed, "you can't blame yourself for everything that goes wrong in this family."

"But this I can," I shook my head, "I broke Harry's trust, and that's something I'm gonna have to deal with.."

"Don't be an idiot, Ana," Liam rolled his eyes, though I knew that was merely his way of trying to prompt me, "we go back to Seattle tomorrow and we graduate in a couple days.. he'll be back after he cools off, and you can figure this out."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then snapped it shut again, choosing simply to nod my head.

"Ana!" another voice came towards us, and I groaned internally, simply wanting to be alone right now.

"Hey, Gemma," I shot a weak smile in her direction as she rushed towards me, throwing her arms around me.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, and I frowned.

"You're asking if I'm okay?" I asked in disbelief as I widened my eyes at her. Gemma had just found out she had an older brother, yet she was checking on me?

"Of course!" she frowned in return, "why wouldn't I?"

"Because, you-"

"Oh, I'm choosing not to think about that right now. That is a horrible reality I am not ready to face," she exhaled, shaking her head, "Mason fled and I don't know when we'll see him again.. but in all seriousness, are you okay?"

"I will be," I nodded slowly, "have you seen Harry?"

"No, I called him a couple of times, but - no answer," she sighed, chewing on her lip where her red lipstick from earlier on had more or less faded completely.

"Me too," I pressed my lips into a fine line and grabbed my phone from the small bag I was carrying - no new messages or missed calls from Harry.

I composed what must've been my fifteenth text to him, this one as desperate as the last as I more or less begged him for some kind of response.

"Hey," Liam's hand rested on my shoulder, and he spoke cautiously, "I think we should probably head back to the flat, yeah? We have a long flight tomorrow."

"But.." I trailed off, "what if Harry comes back here tonight? And I won't be here, I-"

"Ana," Liam sighed sadly, nudging my arm gently, "he won't be back here tonight. If he's anywhere.. it'll be the flat, I presume."

"Okay," I nodded, letting him pull me away and towards the car, a knot of self pity and guilt tying in my stomach. I felt awful, and that was an understatement. I felt like everything that could've gone wrong had gone wrong. I had lied to my boyfriend when I knew I shouldn't have - I kept from him something that would genuinely affect his life, forever. And as somebody who planned to be in his life forever, that risk was one I shouldn't have taken.

The car ride back to the apartment was quiet, but it was deafening. Liam would try and start a conversation every so often, but I struggled to respond - a silence falling between us one more only to be filled by the soft blare of the radio.

"Comfortable silence is so overrated, right, Ana?" Liam shot me a sympathetic smile as he referred to the painfully awkward car ride that should've been nothing of the sort. I nodded as he pushed the car into park and we both got out, heading into the apartment building.

I'd be lying to say a small flicker of hope didn't ignite in the pit of my stomach as Liam shoved the key into the apartment door - the small fragment within me that thought we would open the door and find Harry sitting inside on the couch, or making a cup of tea in the kitchen or curled up under the covers of his bed as his music blared through the apartment.

But the lights were off and all was quiet. I said a quick goodnight to Liam, and slipped into Harry's bedroom, shutting the door behind me. Empty.

I wandered over to our suitcases on the floor, zipping mine up as it remained more or less packed, before glancing at Harry's. The flight was tomorrow, he would need to pack tonight anyways. I glanced back over to his clothes assorted all over the room, quickly collecting them and folding them neatly, packing them into his case and zipping it - just in case he was back late and wouldn't have time to pack for tomorrow.

I began to think I should get some sleep before tomorrow, that maybe I'd wake up and he'd be back here. Instead I found myself perched on the window sill, the darkened city view dimly lit by street lamps.

I glanced back over to the bed, poorly-made this morning by Harry. I brought my knees to my chest, letting out a sigh.

There was no way I'd be sleeping tonight.

-

H.

I filled my glass again, taking a long sip and exhaling in relief.

"So," I flopped down into the brown leather arm chair, "how do you even afford a flat this nice, Marvin?"

"Mason," he corrected me for what felt like the millionth time, as I shrugged, waving my hand dismissively.

"You say potato, I say-"

"We pronounce it the same way, actually," he quipped, and I rolled my eyes, taking another swig of whiskey as my brother narrowed his eyes at me, "should you be drinking so much?"

"I happen to be great at handling my drink, mate," I slurred matter-of-factly, "I must get it from our daddy," I roared with laughter, while Mason shook his head.

"He's okay, sometimes, you know," he said quietly, and I squinted.

"Okay, let me clear something up - you've known him for what? A couple of years? I spent my whole childhood with the bastard, and I have the scars and cig burns to prove it," I spoke with a chuckle, and Mason's face fell.

"He struggles with 'is drink, mate," I couldn't help but notice his accent was far thicker than my own, and I frowned.

"S'no excuse to abuse your child," I scowled, and Mason sighed.

It was now I realised I wasn't even sure how I'd arrived at Mason's flat. Well - I knew how I'd gotten here, of course. While I stumbled through the fields I didn't recognise, eventually running into a practical mirror image of myself, figuring he'd had the same idea I had.

I was on my third or fourth drink now, rocking back into his arm chair as he sat on a pristine couch across from me in his overly-expensive flat.

"How did Mum find you?" I asked, "I didn't even know you ever existed - let alone the fact you were supposedly dead, and then alive, and suddenly I have a brother, I-" I cut myself off, clearly rambling again.

"Dad- Ken found me," he cleared his throat, "well, I found him. He paid a nurse off to tell Celia I was dead, because he didn't want me.. I stayed with a family I can barely remember the name of, and then I was put into foster care at the age of four.. I snooped through some records at the care home and found the name of my dad, and I started looking when I was eighteen.. and now I'm twenty-four now."

"Bet you wish you'd never found us now, eh?" I laughed humourlessly, draining my glass as he narrowed his eyes.

"I've never had a family, Harry - I won't take advantage of whatever I've found now and push it away," I knew that comment was directed at me, and I scoffed - but I dismissed it.

I only shrugged, and he pursed his lips before speaking again.

"Who was that girl chasing after you?" he asked nosily, and I groaned internally.

"Does it matter?" I snapped.

"Yup," he leant back into his chair, "spill, baby brother."

"Okay, no - that is not happening, ever," I grimaced, and he chuckled.

"Fair enough - but who was she?"

"My girlfriend, Ana," I told him, and he nodded.

"Long-term?"

"I plan for us to be."

"Then why were you so mad at her?" he frowned.

I exhaled deeply, "she knew about you and didn't tell me, even when I gave her the chance."

"So? Get over it."

"Fuck off, I barely know you," I chided, "who are you to tell me to get over it?"

I found myself getting along with him a lot better than I could've expected. He differed from me in a lot of ways, but he was slightly more bearable than the rest of my family I'd come to know.

"I lost a girlfriend once - should've gotten over stuff with a lot less fuss," he said, and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"That's different. Nobody's losing anybody, I just can't see her at the moment."

"So you're not gonna talk to our mum, or your girlfriend, 'cause you were kept in the dark? There's obviously more to it than you're letting them explain."

"I don't need an explanation. I need her to be on my side," I frowned, wondering why I was even telling him this, "her and I are supposed to be a team."

"And Mum?"

"I'll talk to her when I feel like it," I shrugged as if it were obvious, and Mason narrowed his eyes.

"Now that's just an arsey-move."

"I'm an arse, it's pretty self explanatory," I countered, glancing at the time on my watch.

The flight was due to leave in eleven hours, and though I tried to push the thoughts out of my head - I couldn't help but wonder how Ana would react when she saw that I wasn't going home.