Damaged » h. styles au

Chapter 57 - Harry

                                                                 57.  

                                                           ●•Harry•●

The only bad thing about Scarlett (I’ll need some time to get used to this) opening up to me is that she didn’t only let out part of what she’s been carrying all alone through all these years, but also, she brought it all back to the fore, and the sight of her all wrecked up is not nice.

It’s not without a reason, though. I was certainly not expecting her past to be so… Awful. And that’s a compliment.

Her life was purely sh–t. I even feel guilty for once thinking she was a horrible human being; she has all the right to hate everyone, if she wants to. I know I would. I only went through one bad thing during my whole existence, something I used to think was traumatic, but it’s just pathetic. I shut everyone off for no reason, I had no right to complain, I guess.

I mean, I miss her, but everyone has to say goodbye someday; I was certainly not the first, nor the less to go through that, and yet, I acted like a jerk for so, so long. I should praise my friends for bearing with me during this whole time. They must be real angels or something.

“You okay with wearing my clothes now or you rather sleep like that?” I asked, trying to ignore my thoughts as much as I could. Scarlett was wearing her jeans and some cold shirt of hers, though if she chose to stay like that she’d freeze. “Because, you know, I have some warm sweaters there, if you’re interested,” she half smiled at me as I handed the third – or maybe forth? – cup of coffee to her; her eyes a lot red and swollen due to so much crying.

She sniffed, pulling her knees towards her belly and resting her cheek on them while grabbing the cup from my hands. “Okay, I may need something warmer. But don’t get used to it,” she then warned, trying her best to sound as bitch-y as usual, but failing. Even her voice was cracked up.

I sighed, taking a seat next to her on the couch and tiredly throwing my back against the rest, for a brief moment allowing myself to close my eyes. Didn’t last long, though, because soon enough I opened them again and tilted my head to the side, looking at the clearly affected girl next to me. And she was still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“You may also need a shower,” I pointed out, giving her a tired smile.

“You’re saying I smell?” she cocked an eyebrow, holding the cup with both hands right in front of her mouth and sipping it lightly, before pulling it away and sharply taking in air, trying to get rid of the burning warmth of the beverage and muttering something like an ouch, but I quite couldn’t be sure.

“No,” I started saying halfway through her sentence, holding back the urge to laugh at her. “I’m saying you look tired, and you need a shower. Plus, it’s cold, and you’re freezing.”

“I’m not-” and before she could finish her sentence, I touched her hand, fast enough for her to notice the contrast between both our body temperatures. She was, indeed, freezing. Or maybe, I had fever, which was not probable at all.

“C’mon, you know where the bathroom is. If you want to use a tub, you can go to mine. I’m gonna get you some decent clothes,” I stated, already standing up from the sofa on a jump and heading towards my bedroom. Before I could get to it, I heard Scarlett’s voice from the living room:

“You mean yours? Decent? Nice try,” and then I heard a soft giggle that made me smile like a fool, because despite everything she’d told me, despite all the crying, the whole falling apart thing, she was still acting like the one I fell for. She’s so f–cking strong.