A Sweetheart Corruption
Chapter 37
Riley's POV:
"Do you want to talk about?" I ask Harry on our drive home. He shakes his head no and continues to stare out the window without a word. I'm more worried about him then I was worried about myself through this whole ordeal. He lost control, totally and completely on another human being... and as much as Seth deserved it, that's not ok.
When I pulled into his driveway and helped him out of the car, he had a numb look on his face. We walked in through the front door and to my surprise, his mother was there waiting. My heart stopped when I saw Anne's scowl at her son, this is not going to be good.
"Harry Edward Styles, what the hell were you thinking?!" She screams, and he shudders at her words. He doesn't respond, instead he heads straight up the stairs that I've never been up before. Come to think of it, I've only been in his basement.
"Anne... Please don't be too hard on him." I croak out, unsure of what to say.
"What happened, Riley? His principal called and said he got into a fight... He can't be sent to another school, he'll end up in some kind of juvenile thing!" She sighs, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"He wasn't expelled, he was suspended for 10 days--"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!" She shouts, startling the shit out of me. I take a step forward to lean my elbows down on the counter but wince when I put pressure on them. I turned my arms over to see that they were bleeding from sliding back on the pavement.
"Perfect." I murmur, and Anne lets out a sigh.
"There are some bandages and hydrogen peroxide in the bathroom upstairs across the hall from Harry's room... Take care of yourself and then patch him up too if you don't mind. I need a minute." She sighs, and I nod heading up the wooden stairs.
The walls are a beautiful shade of maroon and the house is much bigger on the inside, if that's even possible. I wipe the blood off of my elbows without putting a bandaid on them and quickly entering the room across the hall.
"Harry?" I whisper, stepping inside and closing the door behind me. I spot his shoes across the enormous bedroom, and find that he's sitting on the floor in the corner of the room.
"Just go Riley, please." He whispers, and I kneel down beside him and take his hand.
"No." I sigh, and dab his jaw and knuckles with the peroxide. He flinches at first, but relaxes at the stinging after a few minutes. Seth barely left a scratch on his face, but his hands were a different story.
"Thank you." he whispers, wiping his single tear away just before it can slide down his cheek. I sit across the floor from him, staring into his eyes but unsure of what to say. He just looks so sad, and I don't know how to fix it.
"You scared me so badly I threw the brain across the classroom." I try to joke, and he just nods his head a few times before going back into his dark hole.
"You don't have to pretend to care Riley, I know you probably hate me right now." He sighs, and I shake my head in disbelief.
"Hate you?!" I gasp with the slightest hint of humor. "I love you so much it hurts." I sigh, and he rolls his eyes.
"I saw the way you looked at me... the way you're looking at me." He spits, showing a different side of him that I haven't seen before... kind of dark and twisted.
"I was only scared of you when you jerked me backwards, which I know you didn't mean to do but it was my initial reaction. I knew you would get mad that Seth was in the school, but I did not expect that..."
"Well what did you expect? That I would just let the bastard waltz around your school with your people after what he did to you?!" He shouts, his voice cutting right through me. I try not to let him see me get a little startled, but it's absolutely visible.
"No Harry, I didn't expect that... but for fucks sake! I didn't think you would try and kill him! Do you think before you act ever? And why wasn't one punch good enough, huh? Why did you keep going at it?" I was now crying.
"You should just go." He sniffles, holding back everything I'm dying to see. He's showing me his tough side, and all I want to see is his raw truth.
"I'm not going anywhere... What aren't you telling me, huh? What is it between you and Seth that's so bad? You'd think I'd be the one trying to kill him after all he did to me!" I shout in his face, and I watch as his anger boils higher and higher.
"That's exactly it... after what he did to you! You almost died because of how he made you feel and--"
"And we got past it! I'm alright now, Harry! You were making things ok again!" I sob, pacing back and forth across the room.
"I just hate him so much, you don't get it!" He stands up, and pushes his fist into the wall, making his knuckles start bleeding all over again.
"I get it Harry! I hate him too, but that doesn't make it ok to fucking beat him senseless and get yourself expelled! What are you gonna do when you come back to school?" I ask, and he doesn't respond. "What am I going to do while you're gone, huh? Did you ever think of that?"
"Fuck!" He growls, veins popping out of his forehead and neck. "I don't know what to do... I can't control myself Riley! I'm so afraid he's gonna hurt you again, he wants revenge!" He growls.
"Revenge on Eric? Aren't we past that?" I ask, and Harry suddenly calms down. "What else is there to get revenge on, Harry? What else did you do!" I scream, coming towards him.
"Riley, just get out of here now! Don't come back, just leave! It's better that way, I ruin everything I touch!" He breaks down and drops to his knees.
"Harry, please just--"
"No!" He shouts, and a book from his shelf comes flying towards me. "Get out!" He shouts, and I quickly run down the stairs and out the front door, ignoring Anne's pleading calls.
I can't even breathe. I don't... I'm just speechless. I don't even know what to think, because I cannot think. I send a quick text and sit on my steps waiting for someone to explain everything to me to arrive. I need answers, and I need them now.
Harry's POV:
If I tell her what I did, I'll lose her completely. I was so fucked up before I met Riley, it's like I'm a different person now.
When I dated Seth's sister, I played her, I pretended to be a nice guy and she bought it, just like I thought she would. We dated for 4 months before she fell in love, and I broke her heart. He wants to break Riley, just like I broke his sister.
He wouldn't have come to Red if he didn't want to, they give us a choice. I could have went to any other high school in a 10 mile radius, and we all chose Red. He's here cause he still wants revenge, and he isn't getting any.
That's why I can't have Riley know why I beat him so hard... she wouldn't forgive me for breaking an innocent girls heart. The difference between Riley and Seth's sister Celia is that Riley is like a porcelain doll and if you drop her she shatters, meanwhile Celia was like a ton of bricks... you could break her if you pushed hard enough but the pieces aren't that hard to put back together.
"Harry!" My moms voice breaks me from my thoughts. I look around me at my destroyed room and let out a whimper. I really fucked up this time. "Harry, Niall's here to see you!" She shouts, and I look out my window.
"Fuck no." I murmur, and watch Niall walk up the front steps to Riley's house. He's not here for me, he's here for her. She's too smart for her own good, and Niall's gonna tell her everything.
When will I learn my lesson? When will I stop lying? Hopefully I taught Seth to back off and this will all be over soon... or else I don't know what I'll do.
"Do you want to talk about?" I ask Harry on our drive home. He shakes his head no and continues to stare out the window without a word. I'm more worried about him then I was worried about myself through this whole ordeal. He lost control, totally and completely on another human being... and as much as Seth deserved it, that's not ok.
When I pulled into his driveway and helped him out of the car, he had a numb look on his face. We walked in through the front door and to my surprise, his mother was there waiting. My heart stopped when I saw Anne's scowl at her son, this is not going to be good.
"Harry Edward Styles, what the hell were you thinking?!" She screams, and he shudders at her words. He doesn't respond, instead he heads straight up the stairs that I've never been up before. Come to think of it, I've only been in his basement.
"Anne... Please don't be too hard on him." I croak out, unsure of what to say.
"What happened, Riley? His principal called and said he got into a fight... He can't be sent to another school, he'll end up in some kind of juvenile thing!" She sighs, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"He wasn't expelled, he was suspended for 10 days--"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!" She shouts, startling the shit out of me. I take a step forward to lean my elbows down on the counter but wince when I put pressure on them. I turned my arms over to see that they were bleeding from sliding back on the pavement.
"Perfect." I murmur, and Anne lets out a sigh.
"There are some bandages and hydrogen peroxide in the bathroom upstairs across the hall from Harry's room... Take care of yourself and then patch him up too if you don't mind. I need a minute." She sighs, and I nod heading up the wooden stairs.
The walls are a beautiful shade of maroon and the house is much bigger on the inside, if that's even possible. I wipe the blood off of my elbows without putting a bandaid on them and quickly entering the room across the hall.
"Harry?" I whisper, stepping inside and closing the door behind me. I spot his shoes across the enormous bedroom, and find that he's sitting on the floor in the corner of the room.
"Just go Riley, please." He whispers, and I kneel down beside him and take his hand.
"No." I sigh, and dab his jaw and knuckles with the peroxide. He flinches at first, but relaxes at the stinging after a few minutes. Seth barely left a scratch on his face, but his hands were a different story.
"Thank you." he whispers, wiping his single tear away just before it can slide down his cheek. I sit across the floor from him, staring into his eyes but unsure of what to say. He just looks so sad, and I don't know how to fix it.
"You scared me so badly I threw the brain across the classroom." I try to joke, and he just nods his head a few times before going back into his dark hole.
"You don't have to pretend to care Riley, I know you probably hate me right now." He sighs, and I shake my head in disbelief.
"Hate you?!" I gasp with the slightest hint of humor. "I love you so much it hurts." I sigh, and he rolls his eyes.
"I saw the way you looked at me... the way you're looking at me." He spits, showing a different side of him that I haven't seen before... kind of dark and twisted.
"I was only scared of you when you jerked me backwards, which I know you didn't mean to do but it was my initial reaction. I knew you would get mad that Seth was in the school, but I did not expect that..."
"Well what did you expect? That I would just let the bastard waltz around your school with your people after what he did to you?!" He shouts, his voice cutting right through me. I try not to let him see me get a little startled, but it's absolutely visible.
"No Harry, I didn't expect that... but for fucks sake! I didn't think you would try and kill him! Do you think before you act ever? And why wasn't one punch good enough, huh? Why did you keep going at it?" I was now crying.
"You should just go." He sniffles, holding back everything I'm dying to see. He's showing me his tough side, and all I want to see is his raw truth.
"I'm not going anywhere... What aren't you telling me, huh? What is it between you and Seth that's so bad? You'd think I'd be the one trying to kill him after all he did to me!" I shout in his face, and I watch as his anger boils higher and higher.
"That's exactly it... after what he did to you! You almost died because of how he made you feel and--"
"And we got past it! I'm alright now, Harry! You were making things ok again!" I sob, pacing back and forth across the room.
"I just hate him so much, you don't get it!" He stands up, and pushes his fist into the wall, making his knuckles start bleeding all over again.
"I get it Harry! I hate him too, but that doesn't make it ok to fucking beat him senseless and get yourself expelled! What are you gonna do when you come back to school?" I ask, and he doesn't respond. "What am I going to do while you're gone, huh? Did you ever think of that?"
"Fuck!" He growls, veins popping out of his forehead and neck. "I don't know what to do... I can't control myself Riley! I'm so afraid he's gonna hurt you again, he wants revenge!" He growls.
"Revenge on Eric? Aren't we past that?" I ask, and Harry suddenly calms down. "What else is there to get revenge on, Harry? What else did you do!" I scream, coming towards him.
"Riley, just get out of here now! Don't come back, just leave! It's better that way, I ruin everything I touch!" He breaks down and drops to his knees.
"Harry, please just--"
"No!" He shouts, and a book from his shelf comes flying towards me. "Get out!" He shouts, and I quickly run down the stairs and out the front door, ignoring Anne's pleading calls.
I can't even breathe. I don't... I'm just speechless. I don't even know what to think, because I cannot think. I send a quick text and sit on my steps waiting for someone to explain everything to me to arrive. I need answers, and I need them now.
Harry's POV:
If I tell her what I did, I'll lose her completely. I was so fucked up before I met Riley, it's like I'm a different person now.
When I dated Seth's sister, I played her, I pretended to be a nice guy and she bought it, just like I thought she would. We dated for 4 months before she fell in love, and I broke her heart. He wants to break Riley, just like I broke his sister.
He wouldn't have come to Red if he didn't want to, they give us a choice. I could have went to any other high school in a 10 mile radius, and we all chose Red. He's here cause he still wants revenge, and he isn't getting any.
That's why I can't have Riley know why I beat him so hard... she wouldn't forgive me for breaking an innocent girls heart. The difference between Riley and Seth's sister Celia is that Riley is like a porcelain doll and if you drop her she shatters, meanwhile Celia was like a ton of bricks... you could break her if you pushed hard enough but the pieces aren't that hard to put back together.
"Harry!" My moms voice breaks me from my thoughts. I look around me at my destroyed room and let out a whimper. I really fucked up this time. "Harry, Niall's here to see you!" She shouts, and I look out my window.
"Fuck no." I murmur, and watch Niall walk up the front steps to Riley's house. He's not here for me, he's here for her. She's too smart for her own good, and Niall's gonna tell her everything.
When will I learn my lesson? When will I stop lying? Hopefully I taught Seth to back off and this will all be over soon... or else I don't know what I'll do.
Notes
hi guys! please comment & vote for more! xxxI hope you're enjoying the story, please let me know what you think!
Can we get to 55 votes for the next chapter? :)
@londonstar23
ah, i don't know if i will ever update again... but so happy you enjoyed this story! wishing you all the best.
12/14/17