Suzan's Friday nights used to look a lot different than that. Most of the time, she would go out partying, or at least hang out with her friends. But that had changed quite a while ago. One month, approximately.
When her parents came home that night, Suzan didnʼt tell them anything about the decision she and Harry made. She just patiently waited for them to get a call from Harry's parents so they could find out that way, because, at that point, she really didn't feel like telling them.
Weirdly enough, they received no call and nobody mentioned anything about it. Suzan supposed they'd just postponed it for the day after, so she didn't stress it that much.
It was soon time for her to go to bed, but that night was nothing like her typical Friday night. It didn't look anything like her nights before the pregnancy or after. Because, when she climbed up to her room, there was an unexpected guest.
"Finally," she heard Jason's voice in the darkness of her room, "took you long enough."
Her room, despite being on the second floor of the house, wasn't that high up and one —in that case, Jason— could easily sneak in by climbing. And he had done it many times before.
When Suzan saw him, her first reaction was to start backing up towards the door to make a run for it. But she didn't have the time to do that, not before Jason pulled out his pocket knife.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he mumbled in a hoarse voice.
He sounded sore, as if he had the worst cold in history, worse the last time Suzan saw him, which was only a few hours ago. And she didnʼt know how that was possible.
"Get out of my room," she spoke.
"Yeah, we both will," he spoke as he opened her window, his knife still pointed at her.
Her window was facing the backyard of the house, where the pool was, and nobody ever went back there until the summer, so nobody saw a tall ladder stacked against the wall.
"You better follow me quietly or both you and your baby get it," he threatened her.
"You can't be serious, Jason…"
"Come on, you're wasting my time!" he growled and pointed the knife closer to her.
Suzan's body trembled as she did as told. Once again, there she was, unable to fight him back. God knew what he had in mind, what he wanted to do to her or if she would survive him.
He had changed a lot ever since they broke up. He was never an angel, but, especially ever since the breakup it was like he was going downhill. He was constantly in trouble with police and his alcohol and drug abuse had doubled. And that was probably the reason he looked and sounded so different.
Suzan climbed down the stairs taking deep breaths, trying to reassure herself that it would be okay and that she would make it out alright, but she couldn't really be convinced. She wanted to cry, but she didnʼt want to give him that satisfaction.
She followed him quietly to Angelo's car that was parked closely, and he had her sit in the backseat. Terence or Angelo weren't there, and Jason drove to his house. She said nothing, she was too afraid of what he might do to her. And if she was one percent scared the previous times she had seen him, well, now she was a hundred percent scared.
Again, her heartbeat was unstable. She felt like she was about to have an anxiety attack, she was helpless in the hands of Jason, who had grown up to become a criminal. She knew it couldn't get any worse than that. And she was scared of it.
He took her home with him. And he did unspeakable things to her that night. It was all too much for the heart of a sixteen year-old to bear. And it would be a miracle if her baby had survived all of that, because Suzan barely did.
It was dawn when Jason finally passed out from drinking. Suzan assumed nobody was looking for her, because it was night and she was supposed to be in her room, sleeping. Her body ached and her face was bruised as she tried to get up as quietly as she could. She had seen Jason put her phone in his pocket, so she tried to reach for it without him waking, because, if he did, it was game over for her.
She quietly opened it, but didn't know what to do with it. Sure, she needed to call the police, but how come she couldn't bring herself to do it? Something was stopping her, and she had no idea what that was.
She looked at him. He looked so pale, so tired, so fatigue, he could easily pass for dead. No matter what he had done to her, Suzan almost felt sorry for him. If he kept this up he was for sure going to kill himself. Suzan knew none of that was her responsibility and that a psychopath like him should be locked away, but she just couldn't do it. Even after all the things he had done, Suzan knew him well enough to know that, deep inside, he was still the same scared twelve year-old boy who had just lost his family and was trying to figure out what to do to survive on his own.
When she opened her phone, she saw that she had five missed calls from Harry, but she didnʼt understand why. After their last interaction, she had no idea what he'd possibly want to say to her.
Instead of calling the police, she called Harry. She couldn't leave, as the door and the windows were locked, so she needed help. And her brain was too blurry to think about calling anybody else. She saw Harry's name on the missed calls, so that was who he called. He was too scared to think clearly. Scared that Jason might wake up any second.
Harry picked up after quite a few rings and, from the sound of his voice, he was asleep.
"Hello?"
"Harry, it's Suzan," she spoke quietly, her voice cracking from crying.
"Where have you been, Suzan?" he asked her, now completely awake.
"Iʼm in Jason's house, I need help…" she spoke, but that exact second was when she heard a groan from the other room. Jason was awake.
"What the— I'm calling the police!" he spoke, and Suzan could hear some kind of noise as if he was getting up from bed.
"No, Harry, don't, he'll kill me!"
"Suzan, I—"
"Don't call the police!"
And with that, the phone call ended.
It was true that, from the moment Harry had left Suzan's house there was a storm in his head, thinking about all that happened and what he had said to her. And if he was honest, he thought that, maybe he had actually overreacted, maybe they needed to think about it again and not call everything off.
He was calling her over and over again to confront her about it and she wasn't answering. Even though he was a bit worried, he supposed maybe she had gone to bed early. But when he received the call from her, it completely unsettled him. He was thinking of the worst and worrying about what could happen to her and his baby.
He knew he needed to call the police, but what Suzan told him was stopping him. What if Jason actually killed her if the police arrived? No, he couldnʼt risk it.
He decided he had to go there by himself and see what he could do about it. Never could he have ever imagined that it would come to this and that he would worry about Suzan this much. And, for some reason, this time he wasn't just worrying about the baby only. It was her too, he was worried for her. The thought of losing her somehow was not sticking well.
He was ready in just about a few minutes. Wearing his heart out on his sleeve, he started heading to Jason's house. He knew where it was, but he had no idea how he knew it. But that didn't matter at that point.
When he got there, the door was slightly open. It was like a scene from a horror movie, but he wasn't about to chicken out. He was doing this for his baby, and for Suzan. He slowly pushed the door open as he got in.
"Well, Styles," he heard a hoarse voice from his right. Jason was next to the door and closed it behind Harry. "I've been waiting for you…"
"Where is Suzan?" Harry demanded.
Jason was taller and broader than Harry. Obviously, he was stronger too, and he could beat him up in a second. But Harry knew he needed to be brave.
"She's locked in the bathroom, relax," Jason said as if it was the most normal thing.
The house was not big at all, and it looked pretty neglected. It was dirty, there was dust, empty beer cans and clothes scattered everywhere, and there was a weird smell. Harry didnʼt know how, but he recognized it was weed.
"Look, lad, we don't need to do this the hard way, just let her go and we can all live our lives," he spoke.
Jason sneared at him. "So you knock up my girlfriend and then think I'll just let it go like that? Nah, it doesn't work that way, man."
He was coughing between his talking, like he was about to die or something. And he looked sick, so much to the point that Harry was even wondering how he could still be standing up. But Jason's health was the last thing he cared about at that point.
"She's not your girlfriend," Harry replied.
But now, Jason's reply was not one with words. Instead, it was his fist against Harry's face. With a strong punch right to the jaw and cheek, Harry stumbled back.
Violence was not Harry's thing, and he believed in being kind to everyone. But now? Everything was at stake, he had to fight back. He grabbed the first thing he could see, which, in that case, was an empty beer bottle, and smashed it against Jason's head.
Despite his build, it wasn't hard to take Jason down, and that was because of that mysterious health condition. When he fell down, Harry rushed to the first door he saw, hoping to find the bathroom and let Suzan out. When he found it, he couldnʼt believe what he saw. The girl was bruised all over, her face was bleeding and she was crying on the floor. Her clothes were somewhat torn, and she looked terrified.
"Hey, it's okay, I'm here," he kneeled down in front of her, touching her hand softly.
When Suzan heard his voice, she immediately felt safer somehow. She threw herself in his arms, hugging him tightly as her tears were running.
Harry hugged her back tightly as he helped her stand up. "Come on, we need to get out of here."
When they walked out of the bathroom, they saw Jason on the floor, trying to stand up, with a cut near his eye, bleeding, because of the bottle Harry had smashed against his head.
Holding each other's hand with determination, Suzan and Harry made a run for the door, but Jason managed to catch Suzan before they were out.
"Let her go!" yelled Harry.
"Like hell I will!"
Suzan looked at Jason. That was her final shot, the final beat. She needed to be brave and face him for once. And that didn't have to be violence.
"Jason, listen to me," she told him, "you need to let me go! We two could have never worked out! You can find someone else and live your life, but if you don't want to do that, at least let me live mine! I have moved on, so should you! You don't love me, Jason, and, if you did, you would leave me alone!"
Those were the most honest words she recalled herself telling to Jason. The first time she talked to him so honestly. And she saw something change, a different spark in his eyes. For the first time ever, it looked as if he understood what she was saying.
He let go of her harshly as he looked the other way. He took out a cigarette from his pocket (definitely not a normal one, probably had weed in it) and lit it. "Get the fuck out of here."
She was all Jason had left. He was alone in the world, he was the only one he had brought herself to live. And maybe she was right. If he loved her, he needed to let her go. He didnʼt care if they'd call the police at that point.
Suzan was so shocked by his sudden change of mind that, for a moment, she stood there looking at him. She couldn't believe he had actually given in. But she didn't have time to process all that, because Harry dragged her out of there before Jason could regret his choice. And that last image Suzan saw of him, smoking weed on his couch, surrounded by alcohol. Leading himself to his own death. She felt sorry for him, he had ruined his own life and there was no way out of it. But she needed to leave him to it, because he had already ruined her life enough.
Nothing was mentioned about the police. They both felt sorry for Jason. They pitied him.
Harry noticed Suzan couldnʼt really walk straight, so he picked her up in his arms. She nuzzled close to him, she was still pretty shaken from the whole experience, and Harry understood that.
"Your lip… it's swollen," she noticed.
"Hey, don't mind that, alright? You're in much worse condition."
They went to his house. Everyone was still asleep (it was very early in the morning), and the two went quietly to his room. He brought her ice and a wet cloth to help her tend her injuries. He even gave her some of his clothes so she could change out of the ripped ones she had on. And then, he laid down on the bed with her, hugging her, helping her relax and understand that she wasn't alone anymore, she had him. She was laying on her side, her back facing him, and he was holding her warmly from behind, his face pressed against her neck.
"You know, I thought I was gonna lose you… and I got scared…" he mumbled.
Suzan placed her hand on top of his, that was on her belly. "Why? I thought you didn't want to keep up this thing with me…"
"I thought so too, but… I was wrong…"
Suzan turned around to look at him. That experience made Harry look clearer. He realized that, after all, he had actually gotten used to her and he didn't want to get back to his life without her. Sure, they had gone through ups and downs, but what was stopping them from forgetting all that?
And Suzan agreed with it. She understood that he actually cared about her. Instead of leaving her to handle Jason by herself, he came for her, he came to help her. He took care of her and was there for her, to help her relax. She would never forget this.
And, in that moment, their eyes met with a newfound clarity, as all that realization came around. What they had mistaken for hatred was, in truth, a profound yearning that had manifested itself through a veil of pride and misunderstanding. In each other's arms, they found solace and a sense of belonging that they had never experienced before.
They laid there, entwined and vulnerable, their individual flaws blending into a tapestry of imperfection, but it was within those flaws that they discovered their shared strength. In the dance of forgiveness and acceptance, they realized that love, in all its intricate and unpredictable forms, had triumphed over the animosity that once clouded their hearts. Yes, it could very well be love. But they were yet to know that for sure.
"Look, Suzan… we've been through our ups and downs, and in the past we've said things that… we didn't mean, but… if you want to, we can forget about everything and start over…" Harry said.
That was an entirely new thing to him. It felt weird for him confessing all that to Suzan, but there was nothing else to lose. They would never get rid of each other, having a kid, so why not take advantage of it?
"I want that…" she mumbled looking into his eyes, as the blue sky met the green ocean.
"We can be together. And… we can get married, like our parents want…" he flashed her a beautiful smile, revealing his dimples.
Suzan turned her whole body toward him, wrapping her arms around him. "That sounds perfect," she smiled back.
Harry gently pressed his palm on her cheek, careful not to hurt her. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, but it was nothing like before, because there were a whole bunch of new feelings there. It was like the first time all over again, they were starting all over. A new start, new lives they were going to share.
"Harry…" she spoke quietly, "I think the baby…"
That was a whole other thing, and she was worried about that. After everything she went through with Jason, she was worried that maybe her baby wouldn't have survived.
"Hey, don't say it…" he replied, "We'll go to the doctor. Together. Okay? And in that impossible scenario, well, we'll see what to do…"
Suzan nodded, then nuzzled her face in his chest. He hugged her closer and caressed her hair softly. She was tired and in need of sleep, even though it only lasted for a couple of hours. Because then, she had to sneak back to her house so nobody would find out she was gone all night. She covered her bruises with makeup and made sure nobody could tell a thing.
She spoke with her mom about getting her an appointment with doctor Jekings, and she agreed, although asked her why, since it wasn't time to get another ultrasound yet, but she made her understand why without telling her the actual reason.
Harry and Suzan did speak about it a bit, and, though they were both scared that their fear might be true, they agreed to stay together even if it was.
But they didn't have to, because, Mr. Jekings —being this good of a friend to Mrs. Ellis— managed to squeeze his schedule a bit and saw Suzan the same day, and it was all good news; their baby was healthy. A week ago, they would have no idea how to react, but now, they were happy and couldn't be more relieved. They had come to accept and love their situation.
The next day, Suzan's friends all came to visit, and that was when the two of them would officially announce to them that they had decided to make peace and be together —plus a little something that nobody besides them and their parents knew so far.
"Oh, my God, guys, like, finally!" Lexi got all excited and started cheering when Harry and Suzan told them.
"This is awesome!" Bobby ginned.
"It will be the best for the baby, too!" Maryse then spoke.
Suzan and Harry were smiling as they were sitting next to each other on the couch, holding hands.
"Oh, guys! What do you think the baby's going to be?" asked Theodore.
For some reason, without saying any word, all heads automatically turned to Isaac. But he didn't care, he just shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. "Girl, I think."
"So, what, you guys are going to live together now?" Emily asked.
"Well, not now, but we will stay over at each other's house sometimes so we can get used to each other," Harry told them exactly what their parents had told them.
"Yeah, and, in a few months and all, Harry will move here for some time so Molly can help us with the baby until we get a hold of it ourselves," Suzan added, "and then we'll get a place of our own."
"And I will love to help you raise your sweet baby, Suzan, just like I helped raise you," Molly said in her caring, warm tone as she walked in the living room to bring drinks and snacks.
"I know, Molly, I'd be honored," the blonde smiled back.
Molly had always been her nanny too, other than just a housemaid, and Suzan loved her with all her heart. And having her helping with raising her own kid, Suzan couldnʼt be more thrilled.
"Oh, and, uh, one more thing guys," Harry looked at his friends, then looked at Suzan and gave her a knowing wink.
"Oh, right, you are all invited to our engagement party on Saturday!"
Everyone started cheering for them and congratulating them. They couldn't believe their friends were getting married. It didn't matter anymore that they were too young for this, because everyone was happy for them, and they were happy for themselves.
After that, they started talking about the X-Factor. The truth was, Suzan hadn't really paid that much attention so far to the fact that Harry loved singing or that he was in a band and all that. She didn't recall ever hearing him sing either! But still, she was proud that he was going to audition and try to follow his dream.
"What are you going to sing for your audition?" Theodore asked.
"I have no idea…" Harry laid back on the couch.
"Really? Your audition is coming up!" Emily spoke.
"I guess I'll have to figure that out…"
"Well, can you sing something now?" Suzan asked him.
Harry looked at her and blushed a little. "Now?"
"Yeah, I haven't heard you sing…"
"Alright," he gave in, "what do you want me to sing, love?"
Suzan thought for a second. "Can you sing 'Hey, soul sister'? It's my favorite song…" she rubbed circles with her thumb on his hand.
And so Harry sang it. And it was true, his voice really was beautiful, it gave her the chills. It gave a whole new dimension to her favorite song. She imagined that voice singing her baby to sleep every night, and she wanted that. No, she craved that.
When Harry finished singing their friends clapped for him, but Suzan didnʼt. Instead, she was looking in his eyes, she was enchanted. For the first time in forever, she actually felt happy.
"Wow, you… you have a beautiful voice," she spoke softly, a small smile.
"It's all yours," he replied.
"Now you know how it's like to be around you and Bobby, Emily," Lexi told Emily as a joke, but Emily didn't care about that, all she cared about was finally seeing her best friend happy after everything she had been through, because she deserved it.
"Now I know exactly what I'll sing for my audition, love," Harry whispered in Suzan's ear, this time making her blush.
It was a dream for her, her life was finally okay again. Of course, being pregnant at sixteen wasn't exactly the way she had imagined her life to be, but it seemed like it would work out after all. It had to. Because now, Harry was there.
A few hours later everyone, including Harry, had left and it was just Suzan and Emily. The two best friends really needed their time to talk alone, they always did. And Suzan told her everything that had happened with Jason, and Emily obviously got angry, saying that Suzan could have been killed and she should have talked to someone sooner. But Suzan apologized, saying that she was just too scared to talk.
But it was all over now. Somehow, they knew Jason wouldn't bother them anymore. He would let Suzan live her life.
"So, you know, Emily, I still need a Maid of Honor for my wedding…" Suzan smiled at her best friend once they were done talking about Jason.
The excitement was in Emily's eyes as she almost started screaming and hugged Suzan tightly.
"Oh, my God, Suzan!" the girl cheered.
Suzan chuckled a bit as she was hugging her friend. She loved seeing her happy like that and, frankly, she couldn't have imagined someone better to be her Maid of Honor. Sure, they were Maryse and Lexi (who would most definitely be bridesmaids), but to Suzan, Emily was irreplaceable.
She had missed those moments with her best friend. Just being happy and enjoying their lives. It had been at least a year since they were last happy like that, and Suzan knew everything would be alright.
𝓢𝓸 𝓵𝓮𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓻𝓾𝓷…