Gotta Be You.

Tanner sighed, turning over in the bed and rubbing her hand over her face. Since the night before, Tanner couldn’t bring herself to stop crying. With the way Harry reacted, she couldn’t tell if he was upset or humiliated.

“Tanner.” Eleanor slid into the bed next to her and rested her hand on Tanner’s, smiling at her sympathetically. Tanner threw her back the smile, chuckling silently to herself.

“It’s like when we were together all over again.” Tanner sat up, brushing her hands through her hair and turning to look at the girl who was still lying in the bed. “I think I’m going to talk to him.” Tanner pushed herself out of the bed, straightening out her shirt before leaving the hotel room and walking to the one just down the hall.

She stood there, hand lifted into a fist as she stared down the wooden door in front of her. She fell back against the opposite wall and picked nervously at her fingers.

“Come on, Tanner.” She whispered to herself, gathering the strength to step forward and knock three times.

“Go away.” Harry called from inside. Tanner pressed her forehead to the door, closing her eyes and sighing.

“Harry.” She said. Her voice, along with every part of her body, was shaking. “Can we talk?”

From the other side of the door, quite a bit of shuffling was heard before the door popped open, revealing a severely sleep-deprived Harry. His hair was a mess, his skin was pale and his usual gorgeous eyes were dark and sullen. He looked her up and down before sighing and pushing the door farther open to allow the girl inside.

After settling down inside, Tanner took the time to glance around the room. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, empty bottles of all types of alcohol covered every inch of every counter. Harry sat across the room, pushing his hands through his hair and not even glancing up to Tanner.

“I don’t, I don’t know what to say.” Tanner sputtered out, crossing her arms over her chest. She stepped forward before rethinking it and going back to her original spot. “I just, I don’t know.”

“Good. You shouldn’t know what to say.” Harry spat, standing up and glaring over at Tanner who averted her eyes away from him. “Tanner.” Harry sighed, resting his hand on the back of his neck. Tanner shivered; hearing the way her name dripped from his lips like honey always did that to her. “You fucked me up.” He laughed sarcastically. “I just need to know why you left. We were happy, weren’t we?” Harry shoved his hands into his pockets, looking up at Tanner like a lost puppy.

“Yeah, we were.” She replied. This time actually taking the step forward, she reached out and just barely brushed her fingers over his arm.

“Then why?” He yelled, pulling away and beginning to pace around the room, hands balled into tight fists. “Why did you have to go?”

“I was scared.” She whispered.

“Why didn’t you just talk to me? I could’ve helped you.” Suddenly, Harry was holding onto Tanner’s arms, staring deep into her watery eyes.

“You don’t understand, Harry. You were the reason that I was scared. You and the band and the girls and just everything.” Tanner pressed her hands to Harry’s chest and pushed him away. “You were gone all the time and when you were home, you never actually came home. It was like there was someone else on the side and I just couldn’t handle that.”

“You thought I was cheating on you?” Harry asked, turning to face the now crying girl. Grabbing her face, Harry pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes. “I never, ever cheated on you. You were everything I wanted, everything I needed.”

“I have to go.” Tanner whispered, pulling out of Harry’s grip and leaving the hotel. She had to leave before she did something that could get her in serious trouble with her boyfriend.