Perilous (Harry Styles)

chapter 35

"The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said."

- Peter Drucker

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Just like that, the atmosphere had changed again.

It was all slowly coming undone. The web of lies threatened to fall apart, and so did every little relationship killer.

In that moment, I knew that there was far more to it than I could have ever assumed.

And there was no saying what the outcome of this would be.

I was scared. My breathing had changed, now only coming out in ragged pants. My hands were sweaty and my vision blurred.

But at the same time, I felt relief wash over me. Finally, after weeks of missing communication and hateful glares, I would get an explanation.

For once, I wouldn't be left in the dark.

This was probably our only chance to repair what had been broken forcefully and against our wills.

There was only one way to find out if we could make it through this.

Any word that had been left unsaid, and any breach of trust now needed to be addressed.

My heart was beating irregularly, either skipping a beat or driving a rollercoaster, as I waited for Harry to continue.

This could decide everything.

"We do," I confirmed his statement, leaning my head against the back of the couch and closing my eyes for a moment.

I only reopened them when Harry spoke up again. "Do you want to start?"

My impatient side was fighting to say 'no,' but my head had nodded before my mind was even able to come up with a decision. "Yeah. Where do you want me to start?"

Harry bit his lip, his green eyes piercing into my soul. "Your thoughts at the park."

The park was the last thing I wanted to think about now, but there was no way to get around it. "When you walked away, a part of me broke," I confessed, swallowing my tears.

"Did you see it coming?" His hands were shaking by his side, as if he wanted to reach out and hug me.

I wished he would. "No. I remember thinking that you had been acting strange all week. On Thursday, everything seemed to turn around for the better when you wanted to talk to me. Your texts sounded more like they used to."

His lips were pulled up at one side in a sad smile. "Yes, I wanted to explain my behavior. But you ended up at the hospital."

A soft laugh escaped me. "No surprise, really. I stumbled over those stupid shoes on the porch."

Harry shook his head in amusement. "Happens to me all the time."

"You're clumsy," I pointed out, slapping him on the arm.

"Am not," he pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest like a moping kid.

"What changed overnight that you decided to just break up?" I asked, putting our little teasing aside.

Harry shook his head. "Tell me what you were thinking first."

There was no point in fighting now, so I simply continued. "I was mostly hurt and confused. It came out of nowhere, really. You were stressed the days before, but I genuinely thought it was just work that's been bothering you."

His hand reached out to tuck a loose strand of my unruly hair behind my ears, his fingers slightly grazing my cheeks. Hot jolts shot through my body and the skin where he had touched me felt like it was on fire.