Flames of Eternity // George Weasley

13. Misunderstandings

Song for this chapter ~ All I Want by Olivia Rodrigo

George's POV

    As the words fell out of my mouth, I instantly regretted them, now that I turned to her and saw the expression on her face. Although I was still furious over the fact that I caught her with Pucey, and then seeing her do what she had done in front of Fred, her look of shock followed by the saddened one, sent the largest wave of guilt through me.

    Before I could reach out an arm for her, she had quickly turned away, and began heading for the bedroom door, while quietly muttering about going to take a shower. As she had now quickly left the room before I could take back what I had just said, my fist met the wall as I let out a deep sigh of frustration. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings, but I just couldn't get past the things she had done up until this point.

Why would she go back to Pucey only to act out of jealousy like she had just done?

Her actions only confused me further, but I knew I had gone too far with my words so I made my way out of the bedroom and down the hall, the sound of the water running from the shower now apparent as I approached the bathroom. Before I could go to open the door, I heard a small cry escape from inside, my heart aching as it only became louder.

With my forehead now rested against the door and my hand gripping the doorknob, I thought back to this past week and how terribly I treated her. Despite her encounter with Pucey, it was my fault for not letting her know how I felt about her. If anything, I was now more upset over the fact that she thought he even came close to deserving her.

"Cali...I'm sorry," I let out, while gently knocking at the door.

Her cries only continued as I stood there, waiting for her to say or do something—but nothing.

"Cali, I'm sorry...I didn't mean any of that..." My voice now began to tremble as I attempted to contain the overwhelming emotions I was feeling right now. "Please, can I come in?"

As her cries were only made worse with every second, I couldn't bear hearing her like this, so I slowly began to open the door, making her aware I was coming in. Keeping my gaze on the floor, I didn't need to shift it much, as she was sitting on the cold ground; her small body curled up so that she was hugging her legs into her chest, her face nuzzled into her knees as she continued to shed tears.

I looked up to see the water from the shower head running, quickly shutting it and looking down at her with a sad expression on my face.

Now looking up at me with her red face and puffy eyes, she wiped it with the back of her hand, tears still uncontrollably streaming down her face. It pained me to see her like this, and knowing I was the cause of it made it all the worse.

Shutting the door behind me, I kneeled down to her level to reach for her hand, but she quickly jerked it away, all while avoiding my gaze.

"Cali, I—I shouldn't have said that. I was just upset...and I know that doesn't excuse it, but please, say something...I hate seeing you like this," I said reaching for her face with one of my hands, my thumb wiping away one of her many stray tears.

"If you didn't mean it, why say it George?" she asked through sniffles, still not looking at me. As my hand still remained cupping the side of her face, I removed it to sit down facing her, my arms now resting on my bent knees as I looked down at the floor in guilt.

"Because I thought it would upset you..." I spoke, as it was now me who couldn't look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, I know it's petty..."

"I...wasn't lying..." she began to say while attempting to wipe away her tears. "When I said...that you were my firs—". Her head fell once more to her knees, clutching onto her sides and letting out an uncontrollable sob.