You're Still The One

I reflected on what just happened, knowing that if Harry knew what Sean did, he’d react without thinking. At this particular moment, I was so overcome with emotion all I could do was stand there and look at the blank stares both me mum and Harry gave me. The silence that filled the room was the worst part. My eyes tried to blink away the warm droplets that were beginning to stain my heated cheeks but it didn’t work. The backs of my hands wiped away any proof of me crying at all.



“Charlie?”



Harry rose to the occasion, his eyes never leaving my presence, as he approached me. His arms quickly circled around me, pulling me into his warm embrace. I winced at his touch, reminding me of Sean’s forceful hold on me. But, that didn’t matter the only thing I focused on was the person holding me and the feeling he gave me. No worries. No fear.



“Did he hurt you?”



My silence was all the answer he needed and before I could process what was happening, he was on his way out the front door. I knew Harry would do anything to defend me and that deeply worried me. The trouble he could get in, especially because he’s fairly popular, nationally. If he gets himself in too much trouble it could definitely do some damage to his reputation. I attempted to follow after him when Mum grabbed hold of my arm, hindering me.



“Let him go,” she said.



“Mummy!” I whined. My tear filled eyes focused on the door.



“Shh,” she pulled me in for a hug, trying to relax me. “Go get cleaned up so we can talk.”




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I let the water run, preparing for a quick shower, as I studied the vehemently blackened marks that covered the skin above my hip bone, somewhat resembling the size Sean’s masculine hands.



“Shit,” I swore aloud, through gritted teeth. I put my own small hand against one of the dark marks it amazed me that the scar was bigger than my own hand.



The first drop of water hit my skin and it burned. Each sharp little drop felt like blades of fire. I backed away from the water instantaneously, trying to give my body a chance to react to the scorching water. Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I stepped back under the water adjusting to its high temperature rather quickly as the bathroom filled with steam.



Never in a million years would I have ever imagined that I would have been in this predicament. My mother teaches young students about being safe when it comes to dating and the different signs of being in an abusive relationship and here I am; a victim of it.


Tears slowly trickled down my cheek. I felt lightheaded as the hot water intensified and the crying drained my body of all its fluids. To ensure that I wouldn’t faint, I crouched, preparing to sit in the bathtub, still letting the hot water soothe my skin. I bent my knees to my chest and wrapped arms around them.




After my heated shower, Mum knocked on my door before entering. I was bundled up in bed, in hopes that she would realize that I wouldn’t want to talk and just leave me be, but no. She was perceptive. She kept pressuring me to tell her about everything that’s been going on.



“Talk to me!” Her tones were growing louder with each plea, but I remained silent until she left.



“I just want to know who’s been hurting you…” her voice trailed off. She sounded deeply worried and utterly destroyed but that didn’t change my mind about speaking. I breathed deeply through my nostrils and out my mouth, hoping to leave Mum with the impression that I was sleeping. It didn’t work out so well.



“I know you aren’t sleeping...Fine,” she said throwing in the towel. “You aren’t allowed to see Sean or Harry until you’re ready to tell me who’s caused all of this.”



“Mum!” I yelled, quickly jumping up, giving up on the naïve idea that she believed that I was sleeping. I already took care of what I needed to and Harry’s probably handled it too. There was really no need to dwell on the past. “That’s uncalled for.”




“Well, when you start talking, you can see whichever one you choose.” With that said, she left my room closing the door on her way out. Normally, I’m not the type who throws temper tantrums, when I don’t get what I want but this is Harry we’re talking about. He’s the only person I can confide in at the moment. I need him.



I snuck off to Harry’s anyway.



I’m so bad ass.



I was just a little flustered to see him answer the door with a swollen lip. It could hardly go unnoticed. The features of his face were so endearing, but his puffy lip just stuck out.



“Charlie?” a shirtless Harry said, quickly turning his backside to me, trying to distract me from his fat lip which was pointless since I’d already taken it into consideration that he did do what I thought. There was no need to question him. I already knew exactly who’d given him the puffed lip, I knew exactly how he’d gotten it and why.



“God, you’re so stupid. Why would you fight him?” I asked, welcoming myself in.



“He hurt you. So, I did what I had to do.” he replied, lying down on his fluffy couch as I took a seat on the floor.



He had no right to justify what he did. It was stupid. He knows it, I know it. End of story.



“He hurt you too. So should I go pick a fight with him?” I asked, trying to prove a point.



“Don’t be silly.”



Silly is what Harry was being. How dare he call me silly, when his actions just proved to be the same?



“So? You see my point, right?” I asked.



“No. He’s stronger than you but he’s not stronger than me.”



Men and their egos. Of course, Sean’s stronger than me. I probably couldn’t beat a five month old baby in a brawl but I’m okay with that. My mum taught me that violence never solves anything, it only leaves you with Injuries. Cough, cough.



“Besides, I’m not the one you should be worried about. I beat the fuck out of your little boyfriend.” The emphasis on the word ‘fuck’ sent chills down my spine. Harry rarely used foul language. And with that said, I came to the conclusion that he meant just what he said. He probably had beaten Sean to a bloody pulp. I was left to imagine the fight that had obviously gone too far. My mind inquired further, wondering where he’d fought Sean, how he’d got away with the fight going unnoticed from authorities and so on.



“You’re insane.” I smiled, shaking my head.



“Did you come all the way here to take care of me?” He questioned, wearing a cheeky grin.



“Actually, no. I had a small fight with Mum and I needed somewhere to go.”



“So, you came here?” he enquired.



“Yes, I came here.” I snorted, poking fun at his deep voice. He convulsed at my humor and gently tugged at my arm. “I think my mum thinks that you gave me gave me all those bruises...”



“Bruises? I thought you only had the scratch on your eye..?”



I lifted my shirt enough to reveal the discolored skin on just the left side, then I turned and I showed him the right side. He considerably ran some fingers over the surface of the bruise, careful not to hurt me.



“Why didn’t you show me this earlier?”



“Does it matter when I showed you? You beat the fuck out of him, right?” I said in a mocking, condescending tone but to Harry, it wasn’t funny. He held a serious expression.



“Can I stay here?” I asked, changing the subject. Harry gave me a smile, displaying the indentations of his cheeks. He patted down on the empty space next to him on the couch, implying that I lie down next to him on the small couch.



“Of course you can.”



Instead, he joined me on the floor and for a while, we just talked and laughed just like we used to, lying on the floor like unruly children. It’s uncanny how I could care so much about someone that I once believed that I never wanted to see again. All those harsh feelings and those years that I spent hating him were for nothing. Harry hadn’t really changed at all. He’s exactly the same twerp that I’ve always known and loved.



“Remember the truth-or-dare games we used to play?” He asked with a smug look.



“How could I forget? They always ended with one of us being completely naked.” Of course, the games always led to other things…



“Do you want to play?”



“Are you serious?” I chuckled. He concurred with a simple nod, with the same smug look and gleam to his eyes. “You want to play right now?” I asked and his response was the same as before.



“I completely understand if you’re afraid.” Harry said trying to persuade me and it worked.



I shook my head and rolled my eyes before complying. But, knowing the type of dares that he gives, I won’t be choosing dare.



“Truth or dare?” I asked him.



He smirked, “Dare.”



“Hmm,” I groaned rubbing my chin. “I dare you to, er, strip down to your boxers,” I said, biting my bottom lip and wiggling my eyebrows, enticingly.



“You just need an excuse to see me naked.”



“Shut up and take it off.” I smiled, getting up from the floor. I figured I’d get a better view from the couch.




He stood and quickly took off his shirt.




“Whoa, whoa, what’s the rush? Put the shirt back on and take it off slowly” I requested, leaning back on my elbows, pillows supporting me.



“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”



I was, yes.



“And can you dance a little?” I grinned. I watched completely entertained as he slowly removed the shirt from his torso. I admired the ink that covered about thirty percent of his frame for a bit until I noticed him wiggling his way from his tight trousers, leaving him in nothing but his black-banded boxers. He even danced, rolling his body in slow, sensuous movements. He’s no magic Mike but I applauded him for actually following through with the ridiculous dare anyway.



He sat back on the floor, grinning up at me.



“Your turn. Truth or dare?”



Without hesitation, I answered, “Truth.” Then, I slid back down to the floor to accompany him.



“What?!” He yelped. My response obviously surprised him. I’m sure he had some devious plan to either embarrass me or strip me down like I did to him. “Don’t be a chicken.” He mocked.



“You can tease me all you want. I’m not changing my mind.”



“Fine,” he gave in.



Usually, when you ask someone for a truth it takes a lot less time than when you’re devising an epic dare, but the time it took Harry to ask for a truth was almost torturous. With each second that passed, I grew a little more impatient and anxious. And though we were still playing a game, his demeanor had taken on a new look of seriousness. His brows furrowed, eyes were strong and his mouth pursed in preparation to speak.




“Is it true that you told Sean that you love me?” he asked.



My heart sank to my bum. I was lost for words. My racing mind had already concluded that I would deny everything. And as cliché as this may sound, my heart wouldn’t let me lie to him. I didn’t want to lie about anything ever again.



“Yes. I said that…but it was only to get him from off of me.”



My eyes wandered down to my fingers and I started fiddling with them and when my focus was on Harry again, he wore the most adorable grin. The heat rose in my cheeks and I’m sure it showed. I buried my face in my hands.



“Truth or dare?” he asked me, ignoring my sudden bashfulness.



“Isn’t it my turn to ask you— ”



“Just choose.”



After painfully choosing truth the last time, and having to sit through the awkwardness, I’m certain I will be choosing dare from now on.



“Dare.”



His eyes were stalking mine as he thought of a clever dare for me. I caught him taking glances at my lips every so often and I watched his tongue glide over his own.



“I dare you to kiss me.”



We met each other halfway, our heads equally leveled. His emerald orbs met with my blue ones, signaling me that he was ready. I barely exerted a kiss to his full lips, teasing him a bit. Plus, I was careful enough not to hurt his swollen lip. Then, I let nature take its toll. His lips reached my jaw, leaving a trail of feathery pecks to it before reaching my neck.



I couldn’t seem to tame the wild heart beat in my chest. The space between us decreased as our bodies desperately attracted, like magnets. My hands were tugging at his shoulders before cascading to his soft brown curls. His hands carefully held my waist, still very aware of the bruises.



Our lips eventually found each other again and he kissed me with so much passion to the point where I saw stars. His tongue glided across my bottom lip. Then, he expertly, parted my mouth. I eased away from the kiss, remembering that we both needed to breathe at some point.



“Is your Mum home?” I asked breathing heavily. He didn’t answer however, I already knew she was probably upstairs and I was looking for an excuse to stop. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”



My eyes fluttered shut and my head fell to the side, as his lips roughly devoured my neck.



“Just say the word, princess, and I'll stop.”



“Stop.”




He stopped instantly and looked at me confused, with his shiny green eyes. I stood from the floor and paced around for a bit. He didn’t think I was going to ask him to stop. Believe me, I wasn’t going to but, I felt so bad. Mainly, because I just got out of a relationship, I’m not supposed to be this happy and making out with my best friend so soon. I should be balled up in the corner of my room, sobbing and hating life. Honestly, I don’t want to hate life, or cry. I want to finally be happy.



“No, I’m doing this.”



I made my way over to the boy sat alone on the floor, with his back leaning against the couch and I propped myself on his lap, straddling him and slowly raising my top over my head and tossing it to the floor. Delicately, I pecked his lips to his neck, smoothly thrusting myself onto his thighs. He placed his hand on my lower back, guiding my motions. I pressed my chest to his, our lips still very much intact as I slowly brushed my hand over his crotch. The thin material of his boxers was the only thing separating my palm from his big bulge. He belt out a throaty groan in response and I couldn’t help but feel the adrenaline rush of my heart when he kissed me. I felt so protected and secure in his presence, that I barely even noticed that he had me pinned to the freshly carpeted floor. He began nipping at my neck then he left a pathway of feathery light kisses along my collarbone, then to my breasts.



He touched me so passionate yet delicate that I could’ve melted right then, right there. As he kissed along my stomach, my hands got lost in the coils of his hair. I felt a weird vibration against my butt but I refused to give it an ounce of my attention. Harry had just got my jeans unbuttoned when my phone began to ring.




“That explains the vibration,” I said. He remained on top of me, his face buried in the crook of my neck as I returned her call. His throbbing bulge was felt in my inner thigh, dangerously close to my intimate area and it made me undeniably hot.




“What?” Harry laughed. I grabbed it from my back pocket and I saw ‘Mummy’ displayed across the screen along with six unread text messages from her.



“It’s my Mum.”



“Yippee, Mum!” He muttered sarcastically when he thought I wasn’t listening. He was noticeably disappointed and I felt horrible.



Mum wasn’t too happy about me sneaking off to Harry’s against her order. It serves her right for trying to use him as a pawn to get answers out of me. Anyway, after the heated night I spent with Harry, I decided I’d tell her ‘Vas Happenin’ between us and what happened with Sean.



I searched for my top and I had to re-button my jeans before preparing to leave. A long night of lengthy heated lectures is what I mentally prepared myself for.



“Is your Mum coming to get you?”



“I’m gonna walk home.”



“It’s far too dark. I’m taking you.”



I think I could have walked home alone in the dark without being harmed. I’ve done it many times before. Whatever, though. He can take me home. No problem. I was tired from our intense kissing anyway. Less energy I have to use.


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Notes