Secrets

“What if she doesn’t like me?” I whisper to Molly in a worried tone as the group of us walk up to her aunt’s door in Seattle. “Some people don’t like me.”

“Not my aunt,” she reassures me. “She’s going to love you. You’re very lovable.”

“Awww,” I coo dramatically, drawing her up against my side and planting a kiss on the top of her head.

“Alright, lovebirds,” Louis interrupts. “Let’s tone down the PDA for Molly’s aunt, yeah?”

“Jealous, Louis?” I joke.

All I get in response is a sassy eye roll as he brushes past me to knock on the door, since no one else is moving to do it.

A minute later, the door opens, and the woman who appears is not anything like I pictured. When I thought of Molly’s aunt, I thought of a woman in her mid-forties, tall, gorgeous.

I got the gorgeous part right, but that was mostly because her face was almost exactly like Molly’s. She has blonde hair and brown eyes, which are both different from Molly’s features, but the resemblance between them is startling.

“Oh my God,” Liam gasps as he looks between the two of them, his eyes finally staying on Molly’s aunt. “Are you sure you’re her aunt and not her sister or something?”

She laughs. “I’m pretty positive, thanks for asking. I’m just only eight years older than Molly. I was the accident child,” she explains before turning to Molly. “Now come here and give your aunt a hug. I’m not getting any younger.”

Molly complies without argument, and when they’re finished, her aunt immediately turns to Tori. “You, too! Come here.”

When the hug-fest is finished, Molly’s aunt straightens out her shirt and looks at the group of us. “Now, before I let you guys inside…” she turns back to Molly briefly, “which one’s the boyfriend I’ve been hearing so much about?”

Molly flushes as I step forward. “That would be me,” I respond with a sheepish smile.

She nods, but doesn’t say anything encouraging or discouraging. Which should be good, since it isn’t bad, but it isn’t good, since she didn’t say anything good. I can’t help but feel a little disheartened as I step into the house, my hands shoved way down into my pockets.

The inside of Molly’s aunt’s house is extremely put-together, while still looking young and fresh, like the woman herself. I glance around at everything, noticing how all the furniture and curtains match the walls and floor, while nothing looks too matchy.

“Alright, remind me,” Molly’s aunt says suddenly. “Who is everyone?”

Louis snickers and starts off by saying his name, and the rest of us boys go around the circle, saying our name. “And I’m Harry,” I finish, smiling and giving a little wave.

She nods. “I’m Marissa.”

“That’s a lovely name,” Louis sucks up. I almost expect him to start batting his eyelashes.

She smiles at him sweetly. “Hey, Harry, can I talk to you for a second?”

I bite the inside of my cheek for a second before answering, “Yeah, of course.”

I hear whispers and snickering behind me, which means that they’ve already begun speculating about what kind of trouble I’m going to get into.

Marissa looks at me with stern eyes that look older than her years. In that moment, she definitely doesn’t look younger than thirty. “Listen, Harry, you seem like a nice boy…” She hesitates, and although I want to take that pause to tell her that she can’t really have much of an opinion of me, since I’ve only been in her presence for about three minutes, but I hold my tongue. “But I’m warning you, if you ever hurt Molly, then I’m going to hunt you down and do unspeakable things to you.”

I almost want to laugh, but the fire in her eyes holds me back. “Yes, mum,” I reply respectfully. “I would never, ever hurt her. I know she’s been through a lot, and…”

“I’m not sure you have any idea,” Marissa interrupts. “You might know some of the story, but I’m willing to bet that you don’t know everything.”

The wheels in my head start turning rapidly, and I blink a couple of times to fight back my urge to burst open with questions. “My point is…” I stop to take a deep breath, “that I really care about her. And I’m not about to break her heart or walk away from her.”

This seems to make her relax and take to me all at once. “I’m glad to hear that, Harry. I’m going to hold you to your word.”

“As I’d expect you to,” I reply with a shrug. “And if I ever go back on my word, you have my permission to do those unspeakable things to me.”

“I won’t need your permission,” she snaps back immediately.

For a second, I stare at her, thinking that the friendly exchange has been shattered. But then she cracks a smile, and I can feel my insides relax immediately.

“By the way,” she adds as we walk back into the kitchen, “the first step is to shave off your hair. I know that’s special to you.”

My hand snaps to my head, patting down my curls, as if I’m afraid that just saying they could disappear will make them get up and run away.

Marissa laughs at the confirmation of how important my hair is to me, and I’m about to defend myself by bringing up Zayn and Louis’ hair routines, but I’m cut off by Marissa suggesting, “So how about all of us run to get something to eat before your show tonight?”

“Sounds perfect,” Niall agrees wholeheartedly. “My stomach’s just about to devour itself.”

“You know,” Liam turns to Marissa as he speaks, “you’re welcome to come to the concert tonight. Molly and Tori sit backstage and watch on a little monitor. It would be no problem for you to tag along, too.”

Marissa gives him a massive smile. “That’s so sweet of you. Thank you. I’d love to come.”