asset [h.s.]

seventy seven // ally

Alicia

Much to my surprise, Connor invites me into his house. He leads me into his modern-looking living room, instead of his basement/computer lab like last time. I sit down on the faux-leather couch while he goes into the kitchen to make us both some tea, making a comment about how I'm shivering, but I don't really hear what he says because of my whirring thoughts.

"Here you go," he says as he walks back into the living room, carefully handing me my cup of tea.

"Thank you," I reply, wrapping my hands around the mug and taking a sip of the tea, thankful for the warm liquid sliding down my throat. As I swallow it, I realise this is the first proper drink I've had in days.

"So," he says, taking a seat on the couch opposite me. "You look different. I didn't even recognise you."

My lips arch into a small smile. "Yeah. That was kind of the point."

"Well, it works," he says with a laugh, but then his expression soon turns serious again. "You're on the run?"

I hesitate, swallowing hard. "Well, not really. I-"

"It wasn't a question," Connor interrupts, surprising me. "You're on the run. Your hair's been dyed and cut, obviously by yourself because it's a bit jagged. You look like you picked out the first items of clothing you found in a shop, and your bag clearly doesn't have much in it. They're all signs."

I just blink back at him, holding his gaze for a while before eventually raising my eyebrows. "Ok, so you got me," I say, reaching forward to place my mug onto the coffee table and then leaning back again. "What are you, a detective now?"

"No, I'm just observant," he replies with a shrug. "So, who are you on the run from? I find it quite surprising that the Harry guy let you out of his sight....." His eyes suddenly widen, seeming to be catching on. "Wait. Are you running from him?"

I don't reply, although I suppose my silence and uncomfortable movement serves as an answer anyway.

"Why would you be running from him? Aren't you two like, together or something?" he asks me curiously, furrowing his eyebrows. "Unless he tricked you and turned out to be the bad guy after all."

I feel one of my fists clench at my side. "He is not the bad guy. He didn't trick me," I tell him firmly. "And yes, we are together actually."

Connor arches one eyebrow like he doesn't believe me, adding to the aggravation I already feel. "Then why aren't you together now? From what I remember, it looked like he'd rather die than put you in harm's way."

I shift uncomfortably again, not really liking the route this conversation is taking. Surprisingly, I've managed to avoid thinking about Harry too much, mainly to push away the pain and guilt I feel for leaving him. I know he's probably going out of his mind right now wondering where I am, and every second I'm gone is hurting him more, but it's a sacrifice I had to make.

"Because," I begin with a sigh. "I have a plan. But he never would've let me go through with it, so I had to leave on my own."

"And what is this plan exactly? I'm assuming you need some sort of help with it, seeing as you're here."

"I'll tell you about it soon. But first," I say, leaning forward again. "You need to answer my question. Who was the man that came here?"

Connor sighs, raking a hand through his hair. "I can't really remember. He wasn't here long, and I had a few beers that night......"

"Was he young? Old?" I ask him. "Because if he was old, it could've been Owen, but if he was young, it could've been Dan. Was it Owen and Dan?"

"Look, I honestly wouldn't know the difference," he tells me. "It was quick. He was barging into my house one minute, gone the next. Unless you give me an entire photo album of all the people who are after you, I don't think I'm much help."