Her Deliverance (vol. 2) ON HOLD

Thirteen

His arm & hand in the gif RIP me

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The weekend was spent with me mostly wholed up in my room, that is when I wasn't binge watching Grey's Anatomy with Lila and Liam. I also had missed Niall's call on Saturday afternoon, though it wasn't on purpose. Feeling slightly guilty, I had sent him a text telling him we would speak during the week instead of calling him back right away. I was too distracted from the reoccurring nightmares, by the still incoming texts I was receiving from my dad, and the lack of ones from Harry.

I hadn't spoken to him at all since that Thursday morning at orientation. He never responded to my texts I had sent him then, or the ones I sent on Friday after work when he made a beeline for then exit once we both finished our shifts, without sparing me a second glance. Part of me wondered if he had gotten them, or made an excuse that his phone wasn't working properly. But I was proved wrong when Anthony had came over Saturday night to hangout with Lila, and he received a call from Harry while I was in the room. So it was just me he wasn't speaking to, apparently.

With this being confirmed, my worry for him had vanished and turned into complete annoyance. What the hell did I do to him? I didn't deserve to be given the silent treatment when I did absolutely nothing wrong to him. And if I did, he should do the adult thing and confront me about it instead of acting like a freaking ten year old. But if he didn't want to talk to me, then fine. I didn't need him anyways.

Liar. You miss him. I huff in irritation, slamming the book down a little too roughly on the shelf. The metal rattles and I wince, briefly glancing at Barbra over my shoulder to see her arching her eyebrow at me. I give her a guilty smile and she shakes her head, going back to cleaning the counter while I continue to stack the rest of the books. I briefly glance at the clock on the wall, seeing it's almost nine and Harry should be getting here any second. I had gotten here early today, unable to sleep and shut my mind off from all the thinking that I wanted to distract myself. Though, with all the book stacking Barbra had given me right when I arrived it did nothing to shut my thoughts out.

Just as I'm reaching for another book from the cart next to me, I hear the bell of the entrance door ding through out the store. Instinctively, I turn to see the back of Harry's head as he walks to the pastry counter. I send daggers at the back of his head, quickly turning around before he can see me looking at him. Putting all my attention on the books, I ignore his greeting to Barbra but it's hard to tune him out when I hear Barbra gasp behind me.

"Harry! What happened to you?"

My head whips around and I watch Harry move around the back of the counter, his hand scratching his neck. I stare at him, waiting to see what Barbra is talking about but I'm standing a good distance away to see. He keeps his head dipped down, his hands working to take his coat off and hanging it where the aprons are.

"I got jumped."

My body stiffens at his words and it's right then he turns his body towards me, his head lifting as he pushes his hair back. My breath hitches at the back of my throat, my hand stilling mid air with the book when I see his split eyebrow and bruised cheek. Oh my god.

"Oh honey, are you alright? Did you report it to the police?"

Harry shrugs, tying the apron behind his back. "No, all they took was my cash which wasn't very much. And I didn't see their faces so it wasn't worth it." He clears his throat, a small smile on his face when he looks back at her. "But I'm okay and ready to work."

Barbra purses her lips unsurely but nods. "Alright, we need to make more cookies and croissants. You can get started on those right now. Emmeline!" I almost drop the book at the sound of my name, hurriedly turning around so Harry doesn't see that I was clearly eavesdropping. I stack the book where it belongs quickly, then glance over my shoulder in fake calmness as I meet Barbra's eyes.