Fool's Gold

I was thankful that Enola had forgiven me for the careless words I had spoken first thing in the morning. But as I sat beside her, watching her go through all of the pictures she'd taken with my mother, sister and Eleanor on their adventure, I grew worried about her silence. She'd been very quiet in the moments that we'd spent together since we came down from our sexual high. Since I'd been insensitive. She'd stopped smiling as much and she seemed sad almost. I rubbed her back gently, the way I would when we were in bed at night. She flicked her eyes up to mine and smiled at me, a genuine, loving smile. It washed away some of my worry. But within seconds she'd gone back to her camera.
"Noli." I whispered.
"Yes, Bear?" She replied with a soft, sweet tone. Her eyes met mine again, her own concern written in them.
"Can we sneak off for a moment?" I requested. Enola looked around slowly, seeing who was paying attention to us. The dressing room was a flurry of activity. My mother was speaking to Niall and Gemma was playing games with Louis and Eleanor. She nodded quickly. I set her laptop and camera on the table in front of us before taking her hand. We made our way to the door quickly and quietly, without anyone noticing us.
"We're going to get into trouble again." Enola giggled as I lead her into another room of the backstage area. I shut the door tightly behind us. When I turned to Enola, she leaned against me, placing her hands on my chest. "There's no one I'd rather get into trouble with." Enola whispered as she smiled up at me. I cupped her cheeks in my hands gently. I kissed her tenderly, just letting my mouth rest on hers, letting her breathe life into me. Enola wound her arms around my waist and pulled me closer. "What's wrong, Bear?" She murmured against my lips.
I shushed her, "Just kiss me." Enola backed away from me completely. "Noli." I pleaded.
"Tell me what's bothering you." She begged with sad eyes.
I sighed heavily, "I'm sorry I acted like a jerk this morning."
Enola scoffed at me, "Harry, you can't help the way you feel."
"But I shouldn't have said it. I hurt your feelings. I don't want to be like him. I don't want to hurt you like that." I whispered to her, pulling her closer.
"Harry, you can't promise that we'll never disagree or argue. That's just not realistic." Enola stated with sadness in her voice.
"I love you and I don't want you to think that I would ever end up speaking to you the way he does. I won't." I spoke softly to her. Enola wrapped her arms around my waist again, holding me close. I stared down into her distressed eyes.
"Harry, stop comparing yourself to him. I'm here with you. Where I want to be. There's a reason that I am leaving him and standing here with you." She paused for just a moment. "Because you are incomparable. You are uniquely you. There will never be anyone like you ever again. And I don't think anyone could ever come close to you. That is what I fell in love with."
"But he's..."I began.
Enola shook her head, "Absolutely not. You are not like him; you could never be like him. I don't want you to think about him."
"Enola, how am I not supposed to?" I asked her with a bit of attitude. "When you leave me, you're going back to his house. He's going to be mean and try to tear you down. How am I not supposed to worry about you? How am I not supposed to lie awake at night wondering if you're alright?" I inquired trying to contain all of the emotions flooding my heart.
Enola stood on her toes and pressed her forehead to mine, "I'll be alright, Bear." She brushed her fingers over my chest and whispered, "I'll have your love with me everywhere I go." I wanted to smile but the worry that gripped my heart wouldn't fade. "I promise. I'll be okay. I've made it five years. I can make it another few months."
"If he lays a finger on you..." I started, my voice catching.
Enola shook her head, "No, baby. He's all talk. He'd never hit me. It leaves a mark that people can see. He is all about appearances." I frowned even more. I didn't like that she was just brushing off the way he spoke to her, the way he treated her. "Bear, please, don't worry about this now. We've still got tonight and another seven amazing days together." Her eyes turned pleading, "Baby, please." The only thing I could do was kiss her again. I pressed my mouth to her hard. I wanted her to feel every bit of love that I had for her. I wanted her to feel every promise that I'd made since we met. I was going to be the one for her.

Notes