Two Way Street

I slammed the door behind me probably harder than necessary. I rummaged in my purse to grab my phone but it wasn’t in there. I’d have to go back inside. I turned on my heel and opened the door, brushing right past all the boys. I grabbed my phone off the counter. “Now I’m really leaving.”

Harry laughed, “Okay. Will you be home for lunch?”

“I think so.”

He smiled, “Good deal.”

I waved goodbye at him before I closed the door a little more gently. I heard the other boys holler goodbye at me, but I didn’t pay any attention to them. I didn’t want to be around them at the moment.

I walked down the street, humming softly to myself. One of the songs that Harry played for me last night before I feel asleep. It was a lovely song, I couldn’t tell you the name of it, but it was a good song. Catchy and easy to sing, anyway. I walked into the hotel front, slinging my purse onto the counter before hopping over it and landing smoothly on the other side of the counter. I stashed my pursed underneath the counter and pulled out the book I stowed on the tiny shelf.

Work went slowly, slower than usual, but that was okay. I didn’t really want to converse with anyone, save maybe Harry. Harry seemed to be the only one on my side. Niall and Zayn still hung with Liam which meant they must have believed him and let him talk to Louis about my sleeping with Harry. I wanted to be alone. I couldn’t handle talking to any of them.

What had I done to deserve this sort of treatment? Maybe it was payback for me changing my ways and being nice. Perhaps it was just karma getting back at me for all the wrong I’d done to people.



Two hours before my shift was over, the doors jingled and I plastered on that smile. “Hi, welcome to Sleep Tight Bed and Breakfast. What can I do for you?”

I looked up from my book, frowned, and continued to read.

“Hey, Mara. Brought you coffee,” Louis said, setting a coffee in front of me. It was a vanilla latte, as always. But I didn’t want it from him. I didn’t want anything from except an apology for being a dickwad to me.

He was silent for a few minutes, obviously waiting for my response and I thought he knew better than to talk to me when I was angry. I ignored until I got my apology.

“Listen, I’m not going to apologize for last night. I admit, maybe my presentation was a little bit....eh...harsh, but I’m not apologizing for it. You should have told me that you were sleeping with Harry, Mar. It’s what friends do,” Louis rested his hands palm down on the counter, nudging my coffee towards me.

I sighed. I would talk to Louis, but not Liam. I wasn’t talking to him anymore. “You know what friends do, Louis? Friends confirm stuff like that before they assume the worst. I’m not sleeping with Harry. You can consider this friendship over unless you apologize.”

“I’m not apologizing, Mara. But I don’t want this friendship to end. You mean too much to me,” Louis took a step walk.

I heard Liam take a deep breath, “Listen up, Mara. I don’t care if you’re mad at me, but you can’t be mad at Louis. He didn’t do anything.”

The door opened and I saw Harry with a grey beanie covering up his curls, “I knew you were going to come. I’m hear to provide Mara back up.”

I stood up and hugged him over the counter. “I’ll be home in two hours, Harry.”

He nodded, “I wanted to keep you company. We’ll go out for lunch after this, okay?”

I nodded and sat back down on the stool, “Sounds good to me.”

“So, what do you two want?”

“For Mara to talk to me again,” Louis answered.

“For Mara to talk to him again,” was Liam’s answer.

Harry cleared his throat, “Louis, apologize to Mara for being a dick. Liam, just go away. Mara thought you were friends after you went to the coffee shop with her. She says that she was wrong to be friends with you if you were just going to lie about her anyway.”

“Why are you playing mediator? You’re the reason this whole thing is even happening. It’s not my fault you can’t control yourself, Harry. It’s not my fault,” Liam held up his hands.

I sighed, “Everyone stop. Okay? Harry, I appreciate you trying to help. Louis, I tried explaining this to you last night. Harry and I are friends. That means there is no relationship between is except friendship. I stayed at his house because I didn’t want to go to my apartment. Not because I was sleeping with Harry, okay? If you think I would sleep with him, then you don’t know me well at all.”

Louis nodded but didn’t say anything.

“And until you apologize to me for being so rude, then we’re not considered friends.”

His jaw dropped but he nodded, “I’m sorry, Mar. I just...overreacted a bit. I never meant to question you that way.”

“It’s okay. Just don’t let it happen again, okay?” He nodded and I turned toward Liam. “As for, Mr. Payne. There is no excuse for the way you acted. I told you I was moving in with Harry because I was being evicted, not because we’re shagging, got it? The fact that you accused me of that to Louis, who you know tends to be dramatic, was even worse. There is no way that we can be friends anymore.”

Liam shrugged, “I did nothing wrong. I was just looking at the facts that I noticed. I can’t help the fact that you sent the wrong signals to me.”

“Go away before I do something violent,” I hissed.

“Fine by me,” Liam turned and walked away.

Louis frowned, “Mara, that’s not fair.”

“You too, Tomlinson. I don’t want to deal with you right now if you’re going to lecture me on the etiquette of forgiveness,” I cracked open my book, signaling their dismissal.

He left quietly and Harry turned toward me. “Very well handled, Mar-bear.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty sure I have no self control anymore. I used everything I had not to hit Liam in the face with a pen.”

He grinned, “That would have been funny. Anyway, why don’t you try get off early and we can go get Chinese? We can go back home and watch movies and eat at the couch.”

I nodded, “That would be amazing. Thanks a bunch, Harry. For everything.”