Detached [h.s au]

Chapter 56: Feelings

Elizabeth's POV

A couple of days have passed since Harry was shot and his condition has improved drastically thanks to the medications that sped up the healing process and thanks to everyone's efforts in taking care of him. We haven't had the chance to talk about what's going to happen between us and I feel like the time has come. The only problem is, I don't think I'll like the outcome.

"Harry? What are you doing?" I ask as I walk into his room, seeing him standing beside his bed. He shouldn't be doing this alone.

"I went to take a piss, Beth," he says. "There's no way I'm calling Niall to help me again."

I smile, closing the door behind me. "It's great to see you're feeling better."

He sits down on the bed, gesturing for me to join him. I debate sitting on the chair, but decide against it at the last moment, settling next to him. A heavy silence falls between us even though it's obvious both of us have much to say.

"Can I kiss you?" Harry suddenly breaks the silence.

I widen my eyes slightly. "Oh, I- what?"

"Can I kiss you? I really want to," he says. "For weeks I've been wanting to kiss you again," his eyes flick down to my lips.

"Then kiss me," I say before I can process it.

He leans forward almost instantly, his lips enclosing over my lower one slowly before I respond, our lips working together. I instantly feel goosebumps rising across my skin, my whole body reminding me of how much I've missed this, reveling in the bliss of having him close again.

His hand finds its way to the base of my neck, holding me close and putting more pressure into the kiss. One of my hands settles on his chest while the other one weaves through his curls, making him release a muffled groan. A familiar spark ignites between us, the temperature slowly rising in the room as the kiss intensifies.

Harry is the first one to pull away, his chest rising and falling quickly, his palms rubbing his face. I can feel my cheeks are flushed, my lips slightly swollen.

"So," he starts.

"So..."

"I want to thank you," Harry says after a few moments, looking at me. "I want to thank you for staying with me for this long, for taking care of me. I can't imagine why would you..." he sighs, looking down. "I just don't understand."

"Understand what, Harry?" I encourage him.

"I lied to you and used you, my father treated you like shit yet you stayed by my side and took care of me," he says, looking up at me again. "Why, Beth? Do you...do you still care about me?"

"Of course, I do. It's not something that just goes away," I reply, clasping my hands in my lap. "My feelings for you are out of the question. You don't have to feel obligated to feel bad or anything, I know you probably don't feel the same--"

"I lied," he interrupts. "When my father injected me that day, I lied."

"But you couldn't lie, that was the whole point--"

"Beth, I was getting those injections for six years of my life, don't you think I learnt to resist it?"

"Come on, Harry," I shake my head. "Whenever I think what you're saying might be true, you do something to prove me wrong."

"No. No, you have to believe me," he turns to me completely. "I swear I lied. The pain was almost unbearable, but I had to endure it, I had to stall long enough for Louis and Liam to come. We were planning to come for you, but my father suddely called me and asked me to come meet him or he would kill you. I even made a deal with him. He promised to keep you alive if I let him inject me and my answer satisfies him, so I had to lie."