sweet & brutal || h.s ✔️

~18~

Aria's POV

I lay in my bed, trying to harness my hangover. Harry was out grocery shopping due to the lack of food in the fridge. I took two tablets of Advil and then got out of bed.

I proceeded to clean up the kitchen, throwing away the half diced and now dirty tomato. The couch was packed up so I unattached all of our knives, separating them into piles. I neatly ordered them and put them away in Harry and I's hidden drawer. The collections slid back into the wall with a small click.

I trudged downstairs to go do laundry, noticing I was dressed in Harry's t-shirt and black underwear, when something caught my eye.

A small patch of grass outside had shifted into two shoe prints. The prints faced the house and where Harry and I would've been sleeping last night. No one could've broken inside but I was sure someone was watching us.

I went outside to investigate. The shoe prints were the bottom of formal ones which eliminated the idea of a stupid teen watching us.

The print had a small circle which I realized had a graphic in the middle of it when I looked closer.

A Tiger.

Shit.

They've found us.

Wait, Aria calm down.

I took a minute to slow my breathing and then went back in my memory to search for my words.

Flashback

Dad passed the letter that Nigel sent as a threat around until it reached grandpa who analyzed it thoroughly.

"We think that there is a mole in our mafia or someone is truly watching Aria closely either as a contact of hers, from her cameras or from afar. Our best guess is that they've hacked into her cameras." Father says, leaning back into his chair.

"Well there's nothing we can do besides investigate everyone Aria knows but that can put everyone she's associated with in danger and possibly give Nigel more information" Grandfather said.

I thought over his words. It seemed to me like there was nothing we could do besides wait for another threat or word from Nigel. But I didn't want to wait. What's the worst he could do to me anyway? Why exactly was he threatening me. For 4 years he was silent, why now? What made me so vital to his life and schemes that made him want me right now? I felt my real personality kick in. I honestly don't give a fuck if he wanted me, because maybe it was time to turn myself in. Maybe it was time for me to return to the life I ran away from.

"There's nothing we can do. We'll just have to leave it. If he comes for me, then I'll go with him. It's the best option" I lowly stated as I kept my gaze on the floor. I wasn't staring at the tiles for much longer as my father's grip on my chin brought my face to his. Concern and a little bit of anger was etched into his expression.

End of Flashback

I thought over my words and closed my eyes to soak in my decision.

It only came to my attention then that I remembered who I didn't think of when I made my decision.

Harry.

He has no idea. All he knows is that Nigel is my father. He has no idea of my past or where I came from.

And that hurt.

All of a sudden I felt the familiar pain again. It was worse than the pain of last night because I was hit with the reality that the pain was about to become real.

This decision just gave me more of a reason to tell him how I felt. I had to do it tonight. Nigel finally had me in a place that he wanted and it was only a matter of hours before he scooped me up and ran.

I sighed.

My mind started to hurt so I tried to block all of this out as much as I could and focused on the laundry. I picked up the basket and placed it into the machine waiting for it to stop washing.

I decided to clean the rest of the house for Harry as the sun descended in the sky.

I placed the wet clothes in the dryer, trying to avoid leaving the house or putting myself at any risk that they could take me before Harry returned home.

I dumped all the dry clothes on the couch before going upstairs to shower and clean myself up. Due to the lack of clothes and Harry's choice of clothes on my body, I wore his white t-shirt with my usual matching black lingerie underneath. I left my hair in a high ponytail and walked down the stairs to the living room.

I proceeded to finish folding the clothes. In the middle of it, I heard the door open and then close. A smile broke out on my face as Harry walked through the door.

"Hey baby"

I heard some shuffling from the kitchen but I didn't look over my shoulder, just continued to fold the clothes.

"Aria, where are you" He yelled.

"Living room" I yelled back.

I heard his footsteps trail into the living room but then stop.

"Woah"

I looked over my shoulder at him. His cheeks were flushed and I wondered what made him so flustered but then I looked at his face and saw his eyes making a direct beeline for my ass. His shirt that landed mid-thigh, had risen to show some of my lace. I rolled my eyes but continued folding clothes, letting him stare.

After a while, his hands trailed down the curves of my body but rested on my hips.

"Wow Baby" He said breathlessly as the shirt rose slightly. I smirked to myself and rolled my eyes.

"Harold, I'm folding the clothes" I said without turning around. I picked up a shirt to fold but Harry took and threw it at the floor. I turned around to scold him but as soon as I did, he picked me up and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist.

There was no denying him. I was completely done for.

.