Broken

Chapter 8

Adelaide

I wrapped my hands around the warm mug of my third cup of tea.

"And you just walked right up to her and kissed her?" I laughed, my eyes crinkling. I shifted, my feet touching his under the blanket, but I made no motion to move them. His warm skin pressed against mine as I leaned against the arm rest of the couch, the blanket spread over our legs. Harry sat opposite of me, his eyes shining with amusement.

He nodded. "Yeah. She slapped me afterwards but it was worth it."

I laughed again, shaking my head.

Harry had quite the past. His parents had divorced when he was seven and his dad moved out here to start his business. He stayed with his mom in England until two years ago when he came to finish his education in America.

"You're crazy you know that?" I raised an eyebrow at him over the edge of my mug, getting a half smile in response. I jumped when my phone buzzed under my leg. I clicked on the screen, my eyes widening.

"It's ten o'clock."

Harry sat up. "Seriously? Already?"

I nodded, throwing the blanket off of my legs. I searched around for my shoes, the pain in my foot decreasing to a dull throbbing.

"Here let me help you." Harry reached for me as I stuck my hand for him. My foot caught on the edge of the blanket and I fell forward, my hands gripping his biceps. His arms came around me, pressing me to his chest to help regain my balance. My eyes shot to his, looking down on me in concentration. I felt his fingers flutter over my shoulders, a fingertip trailing the column of my neck. I swallowed hard, my heart beating fast. He twirled a strand of my hair around his pointer finger, still looking at me.

"You're so beautiful." he murmured, tracing my jaw line. His thumb ran over my bottom lip lightly and I felt my knees start to give out. "Trust me Addie." he whispered.

I gulped again, not breaking his gaze. "I-" i stopped, not being able to speak. His head lowered, his lips a fraction of an inch away from mine.

"Trust me." he whispered again, and I could almost feel his mouth against my own. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, bracing myself for what was coming next. I felt his grip tighten on me and then-

"Harry I'm home!"

I jerked back, my eyes flying open. Harry's dad came through the door, announcing his presence. He stopped short when he found me in Harry's arms. A blush creeped up my neck and into my cheeks, my heart barely beating at all.

"Oh." he said awkwardly. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No."

"Yes." we said at the exact same time. Harry looked at me, a frown on his face and disappointment flashing through his eyes. I eased out of his grasp, running a trembling hand over my hair.

"I was just leaving Mr. Styles." I said, taking off the robe to expose my dry clothes underneath.

He nodded, hanging up his coat. "Alright. It was nice seeing you Adelaide." He gave me a small wave before disappearing into the kitchen.

The silence in the living room was thick, and I could feel it suffocating me. I picked at the straps of my sandals, not looking at him. I could feel his confusion and hurt from where I was standing and it made my insides crawl.

"Adelaide-"

"Take me home please." I whispered, cutting him off. I looked up at him. His eyes had dimmed in confusion, his jaw clenching. He opened his mouth to say something but thought otherwise and snapped it shut again. He reached over and grabbed a shirt and his jacket. I felt a small sense of disappointment when he pulled his shirt back on but I shook my head and hobbled to the door. We walked outside in the dark and he made his way over to my side to open the car door for me.

"Thank you." I murmured as I climbed in. I watched him go back around and get in the driver seat. He went to start the car, but paused.

"Why did you pull away like that?" he asked, not looking over.

"It's complicated Harry." I sighed.

"Did you not want to kiss me?"

I didn't respond at first. Of course I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him more than anything but I couldn't.

"I guess not." He muttered after a few seconds of my silence.

The ride home was tense and quite, the only sound was the engine running. We pulled up to my house and I made a move to get out.

"Wait." he said, unbuckling his seat belt. He came around and opened my door for me, scooping me up in his arms so I didn't have to walk. I absentmindedly ran my fingertips through the soft hair at the base of his neck and I heard him clear his throat. He set me down on the porch, his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I could feel his gaze on me and I looked at him, wondering what made him hesitate. He leaned forward and placed his lips on my cheek, catching the very corner of my mouth. His lips were soft and warm.

"Bye Addie." he said before walking down the steps and getting into his car. I pressed a hand to my cheek as I watched him drive away without a single backwards glance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next two days were spent nursing my foot. I didn't hear from Harry at all and it made my heart heavy.

I was sitting on the couch flipping through channels when a knock came at the door. I limped over, swinging it open. Jean stood there, her hair thrown in a bun. She wore a long sleeved shirt with a high neck which I thought was odd for the spring. Tears leaked down her face.

"Jean what's wrong?" I asked, worry building in my chest.

"Oh Adelaide." she sobbed. I opened my arms and she came into them. I wrapped my arms tightly around her as she shook against me. We rocked back and forth, my fingers smoothing her hair, telling her everything was going to be alright.

"He's dead."

I stiffened, my heart dropping. "Who's dead?" I asked, not wanting to hear the answer. My mind immediately went to Harry, his look of disappointment burned into my mind.

"Nicki." she replied. "he died this morning. Harry is still at the hospital with his family."

I pulled back, grabbing my shoes. "Take me."

We drove to the hospital, Jeans sniffles piercing the silence. We walked into the hospital and I could feel the heartbreak in the atmosphere. Jean lead me down the hallway to the waiting room. There sat a man and a woman, the woman crying into his chest. He tried to calm her down but his own tears flowed as well. Harry sat two chairs away. He was leaned forward, his hands gripping each other tightly, his head bowed.

"Harry." I whispered.

He raised his head, his eyes rimmed with red. He wiped the back of his hand across them, trying to hide the tears. I went over and knelt in front of him, my fingers gripping his knees.

"I'm so sorry." I murmured.

"Sorry won't bring him back." he responded quietly. "I couldn't save him."

I stopped. "This isn't your fault Harry. He was too small remember, he couldn't handle it. Don't pin this on yourself."

He looked at me full in the face and everything seemed to stop.

"He's dead and I'm not. I couldn't take his place, no matter how much I wanted to." he stopped. "He's dead and I'm not, who fault do you think it is?"

He gently pushed my hands away and stood up, striding down the hallway. I sat there on my knees watching and Jean trailed after him. My heart broke for Jean and Nicki and his parents, but it broke most of all for Harry, the boy who wanted to save the world.