Lone [MATURE HS]

Chapter 23*

strong sexual content

I look away and stare between us, but he's stolid and so much more serious instantly. The loving smile and the snuggles, and kisses filed right out the door with the replacement; the contentious aroma of suspicion and just a tinge of anger. Because he can almost guess by the way I'm looking right now. "Tara," he calls me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I manage to look at him again, glancing between my wrist and his face repeatedly. "What happened to your wrist?" He questions quietly, like he's on thin ice, and I don't want him thinking that I did this to myself.

My lips press together and I grimace, feeling my voice go soft as I warn, "Don't get aggressive the second I tell you. Just please stay calm, okay?" My voice is soft as to not promote any kind of anger, but inside I'm firm and I don't want things getting out of hand the second I destroy his good mood. And it feels awful that I'm doing so. Because I don't like the idea of keeping things from him either.

Harry watches me carefully, green eyes narrowing and he mutters, "Okay." He's stolid and unfazed, mood completely drained. Voice low and dry.

I stay seated on his lap, trying to make myself seem a little heavier to keep him seated, although the technique seems foolish and in vain. "Uh...I was late to class and um..Keth caught me in the hallways. I told him I had to go but he wouldn't listen," I explain in stammers, trying my hardest to read his expression. My voice is slow and careful, because I feel at any time he'll explode.

But he watches me, eyebrows furrowing and he asks, "What else did he do?"

Harry is calm, yet completely serious and maybe a little less unfazed than I thought he was going to be.

I lay my hands on his chest, soothing his tee. "He grabbed me a little too tight and bruised my wrist. He kept saying that he loves me...and uh..he said I was making him hurt me?" I feel like a child telling him the story, but this time I'm the one on thin ice in a sense. I don't like feeling like I'm about to trigger Harry with anything, especially how he's so protective. It's just incredibly frustrating to care this much.

"Okay," he responds, dry and unfazed. I place my hands on his neck, locking my eyes attentively to his. Harry clenches his jaw and I notice his nostrils flare, not in the way that he does when he's turned on and worked up from the doings of me, but in the sense that he's furious and he's trying everything in his might not to react in the moment.

When he can't look me in the eyes, I know something's up. He stares at the wall behind me, furious. Vexed eyes focused on nothing in particular, but I can tell they're deep in thought. He drops his hands from my waist, loudly exhaling from his nose. My lips part in slight, wondrous shock and confusion as he moves me away from him gently, grabbing my thigh and pushing it off his lap, denim clad thigh rubbing against my skin, and standing to his feet.

"Harry," I call quietly. With his back to me, he reaches up to his face, turning around. He rubs his hand across his jaw, smoothing over the slight stubble on his skin. He still can't look me in the eyes and he stares down at the floor. "Harry..." I try again, furrowing my eyebrows and coming to kneel on the couch, one hand on the back of the cushions and the other on my thigh.

We're quiet for a moment. He simply doesn't say anything and when I call his name again he shuts his eyes for a second, dropping his hand from his face. He exhales loudly again, clenching and releasing his jaw.

He starts shaking his head, and he finally looks at me, piercing green eyes so overwhelming to look at. I see him dig into his back pocket, pulling out his car keys. He doesn't say anything, and he glances at the door, continuing to shake his head. Then he walks to it. My eyes widen in response.