DISCLAIMER:
This book contains mature subject matter and triggering topics that may not be suitable for every reader.
• • •
"What is it that I always tell you, Winona? You'll always come back to me. A bird never forgets its home."
Winona Horton ha...
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August 2010 • • •
An hour and forty-five minutes had gone by since Winona had spoken to Harry over the phone. In that time, she had pondered upon what she would say to him once they met after nearly two months. One thing was for certain though, and it was that their relationship would forever be changed.
Everyone she had come across told her that Harry's feelings weren't just platonic. She had begun to internalize the possibility that maybe he saw her differently than she saw him. But for how long? Over the years it just seemed like they were able to get along without any labels on what they shared; it was a strong, deep connection, unlike anything she had ever shared with anyone before. Not even Wes.
Could it have been the case that Harry thought of her as more than...
More than what?
This whole ordeal was more confusing than it had to be. Figuring out her relationship with Harry wasn't even at the forefront of her mind. It was seeing him again. To be in his arms, to be around somebody familiar, to feel like she wasn't an outsider anymore.
Where are you, Harry? Winona clutched the bag to her chest, her gaze darting left and right in anticipation. clutched the bag to her chest, her gaze darting left and right in anticipation.
"Are you alright?"
Her eyes shot up at the sound of a thick voice. Her hopeful heart was expecting to see Harry, but she had never seen the tall, brown-eyed man before in her life. He looked young. Not young like Wes, but young, nonetheless. Her guard was instantly up, and panic came rushing into her veins for fear that he knew her identity or that he was some kind of undercover police officer. "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yeah, I'm waiting for a friend of mine," she said, anxiousness coating her expression. "He'll be here soon."
She thought he would take the hint and walk away, but he sat beside her instead. "I know what you're thinking." A small smile raised the corner of his lips. "It's okay, I'm not gonna do anything to you. I'm also waiting for someone."
Winona's shoulders relaxed a little. "How long have you been waiting for?"
"Uh, about an hour. It's a long drive from where she lives."
She stayed quiet, not in the mood for conversing with strangers. If there was one thing this experience taught her, it was that she couldn't trust anybody besides Harry. It didn't matter how harmless they acted; they each had their own problems that they would displace onto her. She couldn't stop feeling so stupid for running away with Wes. She didn't even know a single thing about him or his life. Not who his father or mother was. Not if he had any siblings. Not his childhood. Nothing. Yet she trusted him so blindly because he had fed her lies about the only man she loved. How could she say she loved him when she had been so willing to abandon him?
