Priory // h.s.

chapter thirty-four

Harry's face slowly drains of all color. "Gerald?" he says, his voice a hoarse, disbelieving croak. "Gerald's here? What the hell is he doing here?"

I shuffle my feet. "Apparently he's one of Priory's biggest funders. His optical equipment company, I mean."

A thousand emotions play across Harry's face. Anger, hurt, frustration, and others that I can't quite identify. I gulp. It's moments like these, when his eyes are distant and untouchable and dark, that make me wonder if I've ever really known Harry at all. 

And it scares me. A lot. 

Abruptly, Harry pushes past me, our shoulders jostling roughly. I reach out and touch his arm gently, feeling him tense beneath my fingertips. "Wait. Where are you going?"

"Getting out of here," he mumbles disconcertedly, then practically bolts out of the Hall.

"You can't just ditch--" I break off, realizing it's useless. Sighing, I move to follow him. I don't want him to be alone right now, not with all the painful memories his brother's arrival stirs up for him.

A strident voice halts me, stopping me from tagging along behind Harry. "Amber! Would you care to explain why you left Mr. Gerald Styles alone in the lobby?" Maura is shaking with anger. I take a cowardly step backwards.

"I, um..."

"If you can't work properly here, we'll have to find a less challenging task for you." She sneers. "Go upstairs and babysit the monkey."

"What?" I blink at her.

Her mocking grin intensifies. "You heard me."

I realize her intention; she wants to humiliate me. 

Little does she know that I'd much rather hang out with Steve than her. 

"Babysit the monkey? With pleasure." I toss my head back and march out of the Hall.

 —

Alone in Lab 1, I sit by the cage, my head leaning against the metal bars. Steve runs his stubby little fingers through my hair, chattering excitedly to himself in garbled monkey language.

I reach out and pat the little capuchin. "Steve," I say with a sigh. "Why can't humans be as sweet as you are?"

Steve pauses, as if contemplating this.

"I mean, Damon's a total asshole, for caging you up like this. If I had the key, I'd have let you escape a long time ago. What the hell was he thinking, getting a monkey as a pet?" I question.

Steve tugs at a lock of my hair, as if attempting to cheer me up. It actually hurts a bit, but I don't protest.

"And then there's Jillian and Kenneth... They used to be the sappiest pair of lovebirds on Earth, and now it's like neither will acknowledge the other's existence."

The monkey makes a soft crooning noise, rocking back on his feet and pacing the cage floor.

"Don't even get me started on Harry." I cover my face with my hands. "He's the most incorrigible, grumpy bastard I've ever met, but there are times when I think that I actually--"

"Excuse me? Do you have a minute to spare, or is this a bad time? I can come back when you're done talking to the monkey."

For a moment, the British accent sends my hopes soaring. But the pair of green eyes I find myself looking up into aren't Harry's.

They belong to Gerald Styles.

I spring to my feet, cheeks flushed. Steve lets out an indignant noise as my hair is removed from his playful grasp. "Mr. Styles! I- um- what are you doing up here? You should be in the Main Hall, talking to the supervisors about PCOS."