That Summer (One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter 15: Freaking Finally

After my tears had finally dried up I sat facing Liam across the kitchen table, a tissue in on hand and a mug of tea in the other. He hadn’t asked what was wrong yet, choosing instead to sit there and let his brown eyes ask the questions.

Right now they looked extremely concerned.

“I’ll be all right,” I sniffed loudly as I kept my attention focused on the rapidly cooling tea. “Eventually.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Liam’s voice was so gentle and caring that I almost broke down in tears again.

Instead I just shook my head. I didn’t want to say it out loud. That would make it too real.

“Are you running away?” Liam’s eyes flickered to the backpack on my shoulders.

“Yes,” I brought the mug to my lips and took a long sip so I couldn’t answer another question.

“All right.” Liam stood up, “I’ll walk with you to the train station then.”

“What?” I practically spit my tea all over the table. “You’re not going to try and stop me or anything?”

He looked confused, “Why would I stop you from going back home? That’s where you’re going right?”

I shrugged. I hadn’t really thought it out. I just wanted to get away. Going home would prompt a lot of questions from my mom and I wasn’t sure if I wanted that. Even she didn’t know how much Harry actually meant to me.

“Well you can stay here until you figure it out if you like. Or you can stay with Susan if you want to avoid them finding you.” I knew by them he meant Harry and I knew he saw the pain in my eyes when he said it.

“Yeah I’ll go to…”

My sentence was interrupted by a loud pounding on the door. I looked at Liam and he shrugged, “Must be Susan. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and went back to drinking my tea as I heard him open the front door.

“Where is she?” Harry’s breathless voice reached my ears and I froze. “Where? Tell me!” He was yelling now and I heard Liam take a step back.

“Calm down mate, I don’t know where she is.”

Thank you Liam, I silently thought.

“Look, you are the only person who would know where she went. She used to tell me everything, now she barely even talks to me. If you don’t know where she is then I’m calling the police.”

“What? Slow down. What happened?”

Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew Harry’s green eyes were wild and he was running his hands through his curls. “This morning we umm, we ahh…” he didn’t seem to want to explain to Liam and I wondered why. He was always bragging about how many girls he could get.

“This morning?” Liam prompted.

“I kissed her.”

“Oh,” Liam muttered under his breath and I knew everything was clicking in his mind.

“After we kissed I told her that I didn’t feel anything for her and that we weren’t meant to be best friends. I thought that’s what she wanted to hear.”

What? Why would I want to hear that?

“I didn’t want to tell her how much that kiss meant to me cause I didn’t think she felt the same way. I’ve been kissed plenty of times before but none of them were ever like that. And it scared me because I don’t think she likes me like that and I’ve never thought of her in that way before but that kiss was just so…” Harry trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. “It was more than I ever imagined a kiss could be. So I lied and said I didn’t feel anything and she agreed with me and I went to the kitchen to make tea and she said she would be out in a few minutes and she never came and the shower was on and I waited for her to come out of the shower and she never did and I went in and the bathroom was empty and then I realized most of her clothes were missing and and and…” Harry stopped talking, the whisper of tears on the edge of his voice.

“Whoa, slow down.” Liam seemed to be puzzled over Harry’s rushed explanation of things. “Breathe a little.”

I heard Harry take in a deep breath and I slowly wandered over to the kitchen door and peeked out into the hallway. Harry had his head down and his hands were pressed against his eyes. His shoulders were shaking slightly and Liam stood by, obviously uncomfortable. He didn’t know Harry at all.

Liam glanced behind him and saw me, then raised his eyebrows in question. I just shook my head and he seemed to understand. I went back to my seat and waited to see if Harry would say anything else.

“So do you know where she went?” Harry’s voice still sounded a little tearful, but he had obviously gained control of himself again.

“Did you try calling her?” Liam was obviously trying to be helpful without giving anything away, but his suggestion was a bad one. My ringtone was on loud, if Harry called now he would obviously hear it. And unfortunately my phone was shoved somewhere in the depths of my stuffed backpack. I quickly tried to find it and shut it off but it was too late. Harry had already dialed.

“Brittany?” I heard the confusion in his voice when the sounds John Mayer’s voice hit his ears. The song was muffled by the clothing piled on top of it, but it was still noticeable.

“You lied,” he spat in Liam’s face. “You knew exactly where she was.”

I heard angry footsteps pounding on the floor and Harry burst into the kitchen. Relief flooded his face when he saw me. “You’re okay.”

“Of course I’m okay.” I stood up and faced him. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Now it was my turn to make him feel the way I felt all these years.

Doubt flashed in his green eyes and I could see he was rethinking my feelings for him. “Well I thought I upset you this morning.”

“What did you do to upset me?”

“Kiss you?” he phrased it like a question, unsure of where the conversation was going. “Or tell you I didn’t like you?”

I just stared at him, not saying anything.

“I like you like that,” he finally blurted. “In a more than a friend way.”

I still didn’t say anything.

“But I didn’t know it until I kissed you this morning and it scared me. So I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“You’ve hurt me for years Harry,” I finally spoke. “And just like all those times, I’ll get over it.”

“This time is different,” he walked over so he was standing right in front of me. His hand slowly made its way to my face and he forced me to look him in the eye. “This time I’m asking you to be mine. I’m not going to hurt you ever again. I swear.”

It was so simple. Everything I had ever wanted was staring me right in the eye, offering himself to me. Yet I was hesitating. I knew that Harry wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. He would tear my heart apart the way he had so often done.

His thumb stroked my cheek and I felt every cell in my body come alive. I needed him the way I needed oxygen and I knew I was willing to fall. Even if I would come out broken.

I stood on my tiptoes and gently pressed my lips to Harry’s soft pink ones. He kissed me back as I slipped my arms around his next and let my fingers tangle in his gorgeous curls. His other hand went to my waist, pulling my hips closer to his as he began to smile against our kiss.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he murmured against my lips before drawing me closer.