Rachel's P.O.V.

"So...?" I trailed off, my eyebrows raised as I watched Harry's pacing. I was sitting down in Harry's apartment sipping at the cup of tea Harry had made me, ignoring the heat.

He stopped suddenly, his green eyes meeting mine. When he continued to say nothing I groaned.

"Oh c'mon Haz, you're starting to worry me," I was only half teasing. At this he sat down in front of me, his expression turning from stormy to concerned.

"Rach.. I hate to tell you this, I do, I just didn't want you to find out some other way and it wouldn't be fair to not tell you," he began.

I nodded, willing him to continue.

"I don't want to ruin your holiday, I just can't stand the idea of you staying in the room with him, not after what he's done," he continued.

At this, I froze, glancing back at his hand which he had cleaned.

"Harry, who's blood was on your hand?" I asked quietly, despite the fact that I was quiet sure of the answer.

"Irwin's," his voice was low.

"Why Harry? What the hell happened?!" I tried to keep my voice calm, but so far the whole situation was extremely confusing.

"Rachel, Ashton's cheating on you," he spoke the sentence quietly, softly, without dropping my gaze.

There was a few seconds of silence, while I let his words sink in before I shook my head rapidly.

"He wouldn't do that," my voice came out surprisingly stable, despite the fact that I felt suddenly uneasy.

When Harry didn't reply, I got suddenly angry.

"Harry, he wouldn't do that!" I repeated louder, putting down my cup of tea.

"The little pricks been sleeping with Delia for god knows how long now!" He countered harshly.

He sighed then, his expression softening. "I walked in on them together, Rach, I mean I didn't exactly ask but it didn't look like it was a one off.. I'm so sorry," he took my hand as he finished.

I flinched away from his touch, standing abruptly.

"Rachel-"

"Harry just don't! I-I need to see Ashton," I interrupted him as I headed for the door.

He he called out my name once more but I ignored him, continuing away from him and towards my own room.

It it couldn't possibly be true could it? Ashton wouldn't have cheated. Not after what had happened with Louis. He knew how badly I had taken it, he was there to help me move on from it.

And Delia wouldn't sleep with my boyfriend. I mean, sure, we had gotten off to a rocky start, and she had kissed Ashton at s party once, but once she had started dating Harry we had become good friends. She wouldn't do this to me, neither of them would.

But why would Harry lie? What possible reason would he have for hurting me unnecessarily?

My head was spinning and I entered mine and Ashton's bedroom. Ashton was sitting on the bed, holding an ice pack to his face. When he removed it, I could see he was sporting a swollen eye, a cracked lip and a bloody nose.

He met my eye and neither of us said anything for a long minute. Eventually I broke the silence.

"I just spoke to Harry," I informed him.

Again, silence.

"Tell me he's wrong Ash, tell me he somehow misunderstood," I planned on saying the words harshly, but they came out as more of a plea.

It was then that he tore his eyes away from mine, instead looking at the floor.

"I'm so sorry," he spoke the words quietly, barely above a whisper, but I heard them.

I gasped at the confirmation, my eyes widening in horror.

"How long?" I whispered. When he stayed silent, I repeated the question louder, angrier.

"A while," was his mumbled response. "But Rachel, please, you have to understand, I never meant to hurt you," he continued, trying to explain himself.

At this point I wasn't listening to him anymore, I was gathering my things from the room and shoving them into my suitcase as quickly as possible.

"Delia isn't - With her it's not - Rachel, I love you," His words made me flinch.

"Don't!" I demanded, unable to stop the crack in my voice. My eyes were glistening with unshed tears and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold them back.

"Don't ever say that again Ashton. You don't love me, you can't. You don't hurt the people you love, not like this," I could feel the traitorous tears trailing down my face as I zipped my suitcase shut. I didn't want to cry, not in front of him.

"Rachel, you have to believe me, I-" Ashton's voice was pleading as he grabbed hold of my arm in a vain attempt to get me to listen.

"Don't touch me!" I wrenched my arm out of his grip.

"I'm going to see if I can book another room, if not I'll stay with Harry. I don't want to see you again, Ashton. You or your girlfriend," I rubbed away the tears fiercely, determined not to lose face.

"Rachel.." Ashton's voice sounded scared and broken but I couldn't find it in me to care.

"Goodbye Ashton," I muttered coldly, walking out of the room dragging my suitcase behind me.

Notes