Resolution

17. Not Your Fault

"Baby, when I'm yelling at you, it's not your fault." 

Song: Not Your Fault

Artist: Awolnation

A ridiculous grin was plastered across my face as I jumped out of Harry’s SUV, my heart positively fluttering from the kiss he had given me and the accidental slippage of my shortened name.  Surprisingly, no one had ever called me ‘Hal’ and before now, I would have hated it, but I loved the way it had fallen so effortlessly from his lips, the unintentional nickname for me making my heart glow. 

Despite our rocky fight last night, things had ended extremely well.  Not only had we both finally admitted we felt something more for each other, but I’d managed to stay the entire night without fleeing.  And, we were going to go on a date.  It was crazy to think how drastic of a turnaround we’d accomplished in such a short time, from screaming and shoving at each other to behaving like two soppy preteens. 

I saw Harry’s car pull out of my parking lot out of the corner of my eye and my grin only widened.  My mind was buzzing with so many different thoughts that I didn’t see the man sitting tensely on the bench outside my apartment building until he said my name, ripping me from my reverie and making my heart pound erratically. 

“Halle.”

I jumped, my hand rising automatically to clutch over my heart as I whipped my head to the side.  My blood, which had been so light and fuzzy only a second ago, turned to ice in my veins.  Ben.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked harshly, confused and irritated about his sudden appearance.  My body reacted so vastly differently to his sudden appearances, turning cold and shrinking into myself as opposed to the overwhelming flashes of heat and desire I felt for Harry when he did it. 

“Well I was going to come ask if you’d go to breakfast with me but I see you’ve been busy doing something else,” he said coldly, making it clear he had seen just who had dropped me off and the kiss we had exchanged.  I stared at him, the impending sense of an outburst creeping though me.  I knew him too well to know that this dangerous calm would only last so long before he lost it. 

“Who the fuck was that?”

“He’s… it doesn’t matter,” I answered vaguely, not wanting to give him any information about Harry.

“Are you with him?” he spit, rising from his bench to move closer to me. 

“It’s none of your business,” I said firmly, standing my ground.

“It is my fucking business, Halle, are you with him?” he demanded, tone growing angrier as he glared down at me.

In all honesty, I didn’t know how to answer because I wasn’t with him, but I wasn’t nothing with him either.  He studied me, trying to interpret my silence.

“Or are you just fucking him?” he growled, his voice menacing as he continued to stalk toward me. 

“It’s none of your business, Ben,” I repeated, struggling to keep my voice calm. 

“It is, Halle!” he shouted suddenly, causing me to flinch away from him. 

“Don’t yell at me, it’s not your business anymore,” I said. 

“You’ll always be my business, you’re mine,” he said darkly.  His tone sent a chill through my body, his possessive nature over me scaring me a little.  I didn’t like it at all. 

“Not anymore, Ben,” I said, my voice dropping slightly in fear.  He had never physically hurt me, but there had been times where things had been thrown across the room to shatter against the wall.  His verbal assaults, which would sometimes come out of nowhere, had been scarring, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t scare me.  His temper had the potential to be even worse, now, because of his anger at me that I wouldn’t take him back.