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Renleigh Kensington

Working on a broken heart was something I didn't experience up until recently. It was weird. It wasn't undoable but it was definitely challenging. Especially when I had to type a full on word document out and the type of fonts had 'Styles' written under them and there was nothing I could have done to make it go away.

It was there.

Staring me in the face.

Like payback.

I didn't know what for because as far as I was aware, I didn't do anything to get a payback but this was life. And shit happens in life. Usually at the most unpredictable time. It kind of creeps up on your back then stabs something in it which you later find out to be a knife. That only happens if you manage to pull it out but then that means you start bleeding. And when you start bleeding, there is not much that can make it stop.

At least, I thought that until Zayn decided to drown me in alcohol and pretty much give me a poisoning from it. Wine didn't taste the same after a whole day of drinking nothing but that and I never thought I would say this, but I was craving some white by the end of the night. He also tried to get me to go out clubbing with him but I never felt comfortable doing that. I haven't been to a club for some fun since I left university and, in all honesty, I didn't miss the tiny atmosphere with the sweaty bodies, wandering and unwanted hands, drugs and spilled, sticky beverages on the floor or other surfaces. I was just fine getting pissed at home.

A person who shall not be named was one topic I did not allow to wander towards. Zayn, like the best friend he was, understood that it was a touchy subject and laid off of it. I appreciated that because I didn't want to talk about the person who shall not be named.

Yes, that became his name. If he ever needed to be mentioned in a sentence for some weird reason, that was the way to go.

"I was thinking and I came to the conclusion that we should go on a holiday," he mentioned as he made himself comfortable on my bed. He spent the last two days at my place when his was perfectly fine. He said he had no work to do, his girlfriend was busy with work in London and I was his only friend. The last one was obviously a lie but I didn't fight him on it. That did some good for my ego.

"A person who shall not be named always used to want to take me on holidays so I don't think that's a good idea."

"You say that to everything I tell you," he groaned. I watched him reach for a pillow and he pushed it in his face. I smirked and walked over to him quietly then pushed down on it. "Hey!" he mumbled under the cushion and I let go to give him some air. "You are some kind of fucking serial killer, aren't you?"

"Oh, no. Did you see the body in the bath tub before I had the chance to move it?" I pretended to be shocked, both of my hands in front of my mouth.

"Yeah... had to move it myself, mate," he nodded with his lips pressed into a thin line. "But anyways. I was also thinking—and I was thinking hard—and I thought, wow. Renleigh does not have a single tattoo on her body."

"No."

"Why?" he pouted.

"I'm not getting a random tattoo with you. Not my first one, anyway."

"Why?" he rolled his eyes with a certain distaste to his voice.

"They're meant to have a meaning, don't they?" I asked. The words felt familiar on my tongue and they made the hairs on my arms stand up. The voice of the person who shall not be named, ran through me once then twice before I could focus on Zayn again.

"Do they fuck?" he scoffed. "Please. Let's just get one."

"What would we even get?"

"I don't know... like, two dots or something? One for you and one for me," he shrugged.

"That's a life time commitment, you know that, right?" I asked. "If we fall out, I'm gonna have something on my body that reminds me of you forever."

"Who said we're gonna fall out?"

"I said 'if', pay attention."

"Well, there is no need for that. You love me too much to want to live your life without me," he told me and I couldn't fight him on it. He was my first real friend in what felt like forever and I really didn't want to lose him. Not when I already lost someone who I didn't imagine would ever willingly leave my life. "Also, I trust my man over here—he gave me some of my favourite inks and he always gives me discounts. When I tell him this is your first, I bet he'll be kind enough to comsider it a gift."

"You only want to do this because you won't have to pay," I squinted my eyes.

"I never said that."

"I can read between the lines."

"I-," he started then closed his mouth. "I don't have a comeback for that. But that just means I have the extra time to get us an appointment."

"Don't," I warned as he unlocked his phone and I saw his fingers begin to type.

"Too late," he chuckled evilly and then he glanced up at me, his phone turned towards me with his texts open and sent to his tattoo guy. "Now we wait."

"I never despised someone so much."

"Did you forget about your ex?" he asked.

"Which one?" I asked back cheekily.

"Funny how you want me to think you despise the person who shall not be named."

"Why is that funny?"

"Because you can't even bare to hear his name without feeling pain. Pain from him breaking up with you over something you still haven't told me."

"Well, that's because he gave me a shit excuse and I don't believe he called it quits because of that," I admitted the first thing about the breakup since it happened. Like I said, we did not talk about it.

"Tell me more."

"He told me the distance was too much but only after a whole year of us being apart. That's proper fishy to me because from what I know, the first six months are always the hardest and we managed to get through them just fine," I told him, slightly pissed off as the topic came up again and now I had to talk about it instead of just thinking about it. Zayn listened carefully and quietly which I appreciated. "Even before I took this deal, I made sure he was fine with us being apart for so long. I told him I might be the reason why we won't talk but I feel like I did really well. And then he comes at me with this excuse? The distance is too much and so he doesn't want to be with me anymore?"

"That sounds like bullshit," he said and I hummed. "I saw the way he was with you, I saw the way you were with him. He came out to see you so much last year and there was not one thing that could have indicated he wanted to break things off with you. I reckon there is more to it."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," I said. "I mean, there has to be something else, right?"

"Alright, what could there be?" he tried to brainstorm ideas to help me clear my mind. "He was obviously really in love with you so this couldn't have been something he willingly wanted to do. Which makes me believe that he was either bribed or threatened."

"And since the person who shall not be named cannot be bought," I looked at him. "He was threatened."

"He was threatened," he said at the same time.

"Who could threaten him?" I mumbled.

"You always said Mrs Styles had it out for you," he gave me the first person. "She is his mother, the one person in the world who thinks their child deserves the best. She never liked you and wanted you away from him so she had motive."

"Amelia also knows the person who shall not be named's siblings mean the absolute world to him so if she forbidden him from ever seeing them whilst being with me, that would be her leverage over him."

"And with you two not being able to see each other every day and be around the other, it would have given her time to come up with the idea as well as perhaps weaken the person who shall not be named's mind and potentially give in, thinking that one way or another you two will end it, regardless of whether he has to end it or you will or you just stop talking from one day to another."

"Motive, leverage and time. She had it all to orchestrate this and knowing how manipulative and controlling she can be, she could have possibly succeeded at keeping her son away from me," I concluded.

"Okay. Amelia Styles. Suspect one," he mumbled as he typed it down on his phone. I rolled my eyes and I chuckled and he flipped me off. "Who else could have threatened him?"

"I was going to say April, one of his closest friends because she didn't like me at first but then she apologised to me at his birthday party a couple of years back," I told him because I didn't remember ever telling him that we made up.

"Yeah, you told me that night, I think," he chuckled. "But yeah, okay. Still a potential suspect."

"Right then. She, um, she had it out for me because she thought I would steal the person who shall not be named from her and their other friends."

"That can be considered a motive," he nodded and he got comfortable on my bed as he pushed another pillow behind his back. "They have known each other for longer than you and the person who sha-Ren. This is too annoying. Can I just call him something else for short?"

"TPWSNBN?"

"Too long."

"Dickhead?"

"That is literally one letter longer than the abbreviation of the first name we called him."

"Fuck, I don't know."

"I'll call him... by his last name. You didn't mention I couldn't do that," a loophole. Of course, he found it. "So, they have known each other for longer than you and Styles have which means there is a possibility that he trusts her more than you."

"I'm not sure if that's relevant to the case because he stood up for me against her before. I don't think April would have that much power over him when it comes to me."

"Unless she realised, she is in love with him and wants him all to herself and therefore threatened you all whilst threating him. What if she said she would do something to you, something bad, if he wouldn't get with her so he did what he thought was best and pushed you away from him?" he gave me a far-fetched theory and it made me laugh out loud. Zayn kicked my leg to stop me from mocking him but he was too amusing. "I'm fucking scratching her as a suspect altogether."

"N-no," I grabbed his shin as I laid on my side and tried to stop my laughter. "Please. M'sorry," I chuckled and eventually got softer. "M'sorry, babe. I didn't-you just. Nevermind."

"We only have one person so far. And I can't lie, I don't think it's mummy Styles," he carried on with out theories.

"His other friends didn't have it out for me. His dad would most likely side with his mum if he had a problem with me so they go hand in hand," I said. "Wow, I never thought I would have to find suspects in order to figure out why I got dumped," I chuckled.

"You know, maybe you should ring him," he gave me the idea. One that I considered a couple of times then got rid of right away. "I know it's a pride thing and it would probably make you really angry—hearing him trying to explain the situation over a call as opposed to in person—but I really think that's your best option."

"Or I fly home and sort it out face to face."

"Yeah, you could do that, too," he nodded. "I personally would just text him but that's me."

"Trust me, I didn't forget the time you told me you dumped your ex over a text," I scoffed. He smirked and pretended to pick at his nails. "That was a dickhead move, you know."

"It got the job done, didn't it?" he asked.

"Still a dickhead move. Lowest of the low."

"Whatever," he mumbled. It wasn't my business but I loved lurking around his life. It was far more interesting than mine and it wasn't my fault that he didn't have a problem with sharing every itty-bitty detail about it with me.

"Bet you never heard from her again," I smirked.

"No," he answered. "See why one-night stands are so much better? They happen and then you have the chance to become friends with them later on."

"What can I say, I'm pretty amazing," I flattered myself and Zayn laughed at me right away as he didn't believe what I said. It was all banter between us, though. "Please. Try and tell me otherwise."

"I probably could."

"Hm."

"Okay I probably couldn't. I only ever really fucked around with you—well more than once, anyway. And yeah, you are the only one of my booty calls who I still talk to but that's because you have more power than any of the other ladies and you are able to give me opportunities that they cannot," he explained in great depth and I had to admit, I was quite impressed.

"You are right—I can give you opportunities no other person could. Our industries link and overlap in ways that no other does. I have to tell you, the way you sorted your cards are impressive. You know where to put what."

"Oh my god, can I tell you something?" he said suddenly and sounded kind of excited. "You can't hate me after it and you need to bare in mind that my intentions are pure now. Somewhat."

"There is not much you could say that would offend me. Trust when I say I have had a lot of people saying a lot of different things to me. A bribe here, a threat there."

"When we first hooked up, I was determined to get with you so I could get some information out of you, maybe a way in which I could have landed myself a nice contract with someone," the honesty in his voice was the same as always. It didn't surprise me that he had ulterior motives, everyone did. Unless you wanted to stay in the same little spot you are for the rest of your life, there are things that need to be done in order to move from there.

"That is nothing compared to people coming up to me at events and asking if I'm hiring because they think they will do a much better job at certain things than my already fully capable and skilled employees," I shared. "I mean, I appreciate the ambition and the confidence it takes people to walk up to me and ask for a job but also what do they expect? A new role to fill without me having seen their application or something?"

"That's a bit bold," he agreed. "Well, good thing I didn't ask you to hire me as your brand model or something," he joked although I did give that a thought on more than one occasion. Then I always put it off because of our history together. It wouldn't have felt right to hire him just because I knew him and although he is very talented at what he does, I was also aware of the fact that I wouldn't have hired him for that reason. But because he was someone close to me and I always wanted to make sure the people close to me got the best treatment and opportunities and had a great life.

"I'd say you are more than fine without my help," I hummed. "In pretty much every area."

Zayn squinted his eyes at me and I squinted my eyes back at him. I knew he knew what I meant by that and although it was a bit cheeky of me to ask, the wine made me do it.

"I thought you liked Charlotte."

"I do."

"So why the commentary?"

"Can I not ask if my best friend is getting well taken care of?" I raised my eyebrows in question.

"Fair enough."

"So?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" I pushed.

"Yes, I'm well taken care of," he gave in, fluttered as he had to tell me. It made me smirk. He turned to soft so quickly.

"Well, I'm glad," I said. "You deserve someone like her."

"Like her?"

"Someone who supports you and cares for you in every way possible. Being with a person whose schedule is as crazy as the person itself, takes a lot of patience and trust and she's got it all for you."

"I know," he said quietly. "I got lucky, didn't I?"

"I would say you hit the highest prize on the shelf."

"I did," he muttered to himself with a silly smile on his lips. "I bought a ring the other day."

"A ring or the ring?"

"The ring," he confirmed and I swear my whole face lit up at the sound of those words. Zayn really did love his girlfriend and she really did love him back and if two people deserved to be together then it was them two. They were perfect for each other.

"Shut the front door!" I slapped his shin and sat up in bed. "Can I see?"

"It's at my place and I didn't even dare take a photo of it in case she somehow sees it or something through iCloud storage or whatever the fuck. But yeah... I saw it a few weeks ago and then I walked past the shop almost every day and I stopped to look at it each time. Just had a feeling it might be the one."

"Aw, that's so amazing!" I said happily. "I really am happy for you, you know."

"Thank you," he smiled. "Speaking of rings and marriage, I believed Styles would pop the question any minute now... you two seemed to really hit it off and so he fact that he ended it, is shocking."

"Do you think he would have?" I asked back with an unsure tone. "Every time we spoke about wedding and marriage and stuff, I feel like I put it off which makes me think he just believed I wouldn't want it for us at all. So, I doubt he ever really thought of doing it for real. Which makes me think that if we're thinking too much into this and he was not threatened by anyone but it really was his decision, he could have just reached a point with me where he really didn't want to be with me."

"That's bullshit and you know it," he shut me down right away.

"No, listen. Him and I never wanted the same things. We never saw eye to eye. Even he mentioned from time to time how we always argue over everything. Maybe the April theory could be true. Maybe she was able to manipulate him with things like him and I not wanting the same thing whereas she would drop anything to give him whatever he wanted."

"So this is how insane I sounded when I came up with her being in love with him," he looked at me with a worried expression. I rolled my eyes then realised that I did sound insane. I made her sound obsessive and possessive and even I knew that she wasn't like that. "Look, I'm not sure if we're both just beating around the bush or if it's just me but there is one person in particular who could have and most likely have threatened Styles."

"Hold that thought," I muttered as my phone screen lit up and the face of my brother stared back at me. Zayn nodded and I accepted the call. "Hey, everything alright?"

"Hi, yeah," he replied. "I, um, I actually have some good news for you."

"Okay, tell me," I encouraged.

"I just got off the phone and I called you right away—they got him."

Pause.

"What?" I asked back.

"They got him," Brandon repeated. "Louis is going to jail for a long time."

"Are you serious?" I asked, my voice low and I barely wanted to believe the words I heard. It took them so fucking long to track him down.

"Dead. He said he wanted to speak to you but when he was told you are out of the country, he was disappointed."

"I can imagine," I snorted. "Well, thank you for letting me know. I assume I will be getting a call sometime soon from the police, too."

"I guess you will."

"Listen, I would love to chat some more but I actually need to talk to someone. Can I call you back later?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Great, talk to you later."

"Bye."

"What is it?" Zayn asked right away. I pushed my tongue behind my upper lip and ran it along my teeth as I found myself deep in thought. "Ren?"

"I didn't think he had it in him but I was wrong."

"Who, when and why?"

"Louis. I didn't think he had it in him to do one last job but he did. And I'm paying the consequences, clearly."

"So, we were beating around the bush before," he stated then asked, "He threatened Styles, didn't he?"

I looked at him in the eye and I knew that was enough to answer his question.

• • •

a.n.

ANNA OU

vvvv interesting theory that luv,, what do u think of it 😴

also u might hate me but i might not end up writing boxer harry. i know i hyped it a lot and at the time it felt like i could do it but somehow i lost all interest and 5 chapters into it i just couldn't do it. i'm not sure what it is. i love the idea behind it, the things i've had planned were interesting but i feel like i thought too much into it and i lost the spark.

no need to worry though, i have a completely new idea which i'm really excited about and i can't wait to get into it! it's a spy story, very technology heavy, futuristic stuff. i feel like i'm writing something for maze runner and divergent mixed and i love those films so much. by that i mainly mean the technology side and the feel of that as opposed to the actual storyline before anyone gets confused. i also pretty much have the whole story figured out so boxer harry is gonna have to wait i'm sorry 😳

it just doesn't feel right and i don't want to force it cos i'll hate it and it'll be a dead weight on me whenever it comes to writing it

i hope u understand and that the new story will be something u look out for as well! :)

xoxo