The Knight in Leather Armor

ch.49 Your gold

We returned to the dining room and finished dinner quietly.

Danny insisted on doing the dishes, so I just cleaned up the table.

I knew what I had to do now. And it wasn’t just for Harry’s sake, it was also for Danny.

I scoffed. Louis must feel exponentially powerful right now- like a goddamn emperor of his own private island- knowing that so many people’s lives were in his hands.

Danny smiled at me sheepishly as he finished the dishes and I wiped down the table.

“I’ll go to Carlo. He’ll give me work” he told me.

I nodded, but a knot was twisting in my stomach.

***

I sat quietly at the back of the classroom as Cowell passed back our exams.

Cowell handed me my paper.

I turned it over and squinted at the grade.

100%?

I looked up at Cowell, like he had made some kind of mistake.

A few kids in front of me were arguing loudly about some questions they got wrong that they supposedly should have gotten right.

I looked through my test and searching for mistakes. There had to be a mistake. My test couldn’t have been perfect. Nothing is perfect.

“If you keep up work like this, I’ll write your rec in a heartbeat” he grinned and he patted my shoulder.

I nodded slowly.

“What’s the matter?” he asked as he saw my apprehension.

“Nothing” I shook my head.

He cocked his brow disapprovingly, but left it at that.

I glanced around the room as other kids quietly complained about some questions not being in the

chapter, but being on the test.

Then my gaze fell to Liam.

He was watching me. He was watching my with such contempt and longing, I could see that it made him sick.

He looked away hurriedly when our eyes met.

***

I started to walk back home, holding my books closely to my chest.

“You were right” a voice told me from close behind.

I turned around to see Becky’s grey eyes- enclosed by a web of mascara and the hint of tears.

I was quiet a moment.

“Your essay- about Darry” she began as she walked to keep pace with me. 

“Dally” I corrected her.

“Yeah. Him… That was about Harry, wasn’t it?” she asked calmly.

“So what? Why do you care?” I asked her rudely.

She nodded in acceptance.

“Because I’m sorry” she told me. And she sounded honest- more honest than she’s ever been in the ten years I’ve known her.

But I was still pissed and still quiet.

“Louis- Louis left” she spoke up, but it was hard for her. Maybe she really cared about Louis…

“So what, you want to bond over broken love?” I retorted more coldly than she deserved.

She shook her head “no.”

“Louis told me he never loved me” she confessed. I saw her hands trembling ever-so slightly.

For a moment, I wanted to reach out and take her hand and reassure her that everything would be ok, but that would be a lie and it also would show how easy I was at forgiving. And I didn’t want to be easy.

“He was only using me, Angie. He couldn’t even remember my name half the time” she admitted and a tear slipped from her blackened eyes.

I was quiet, watching her as she spoke.

“He said I was useless and pathetic and-and a gold-digging slut” she said quickly, just before tears caught in her throat.

“Becky” I started, but I didn’t know what to say.

And then I looked up into her eyes and I saw a broken girl who had been abused and tormented for the last ten years. I saw someone who was so defeated and used that she just couldn’t take the lies anymore. She couldn’t take the pain so she hid herself in her mascara and her see-through clothes. And her vanity and her promiscuity.

And it was all breaking now.

I wrapped my arms around Becky and pulled her in a long-waited hug.

I felt her tears fall against my shoulder and I patted her back gently.

Then I felt my own tears slipping and Becky stroked my hair reassuringly.

I took her back to my place since I guessed her mom wouldn’t want her back after she left with Louis.

We went up to my room and sat down, criss-cross on my bed, just like at our old sleep-overs.

“He told me that the only reason he was with me was so that he could get to you. He wanted to hurt you and he still does. Harry was only trying to protect you by leaving” she tried to explain, but I shook my head.

“Angie, Louis isn’t going to give up and he’s not afraid to hurt Harry” she warned.

“Becky” I sighed and I stood up, facing away from her.

“Harry's not real. He's a knight in armor. And knights don't exist anymore” I told her.

I heard her shaking her head.

"No, Angie, he does exist. He lives in your heart and you can't make a deal with Louis. He'll take the gold in your heart. He'll-"

I shook my head at myself more than at her. She was right. I just coudln't take the truth anymore

"Please, Angie, don’t do it, for Harry” she begged as she took my hands in hers.

I pulled away, but she gripped harder.

“Please, don’t let him hurt you. Don’t let him take your gold” she pleaded.

And when she said “gold” I knew she understood. She finally understood.

I nodded and hid my face against her chest as she rubbed my back gently.

“He won’t win, Angie. We won’t let him” she told me as an air of confidence slithered into her body.

I nodded, completely unsure what she had planned, but sure we were going to win. We had to.  

For Dally.