Contrite ✓

Chapter 2.

After taking one last drag from the cigarette and crushing it under his boot, Harry lazily pushed off the wall and sauntered over to where I was standing dumbfounded. Being this close to him after all those years of longing, wondering and confusion made my body tremble in the most uncomfortable way.

If possible he had gotten even taller and I had to slightly tilt my head back to be able to look into his eyes. Eyes that were equally emerald as I remembered them.

Harry smirked, catching a strand of my hair between his fingers. "You look exactly the same as you used to. That's kind of a letdown." He tugged at the strand before releasing it.

"I-I.. What?" I looked at him in bewilderment.

"Developed a stutter, too, did you?" He continued to smirk and took a small even step closer.

I had to refrain from staggering back, both from his proximity but mostly from his rude attitude. The person in front of me didn't behave anything like the Harry I remembered.

Considering that, I took a closer look at his appearance. He wore very tight black jeans paired off with cognac coloured boots. His lean torso was covered by a shirt in an oddly silky material, unbuttoned all the way down to his upper stomach. A thin chain hung from his neck and flowed down, ending with a small cross just below his chest. I also noticed tattoos. And lots of them, from what I could see. There was no denying his style had changed enormously, the Harry I remembered would laugh at guys who wore jeans tighter than me.

It wasn't just his style or choice of clothes that had changed. His face was less boyish and more chiseled, cheek bones high and jaw line sharp enough to cut glass. He wore his long hair in a bun and didn't resemble much with the boy I'd grown up with. Even his voice had gotten deeper and huskier.

His quiet chuckle brought me back to reality. "Watch it before you start drooling, love."

I snapped my head up to meet his eyes, perfectly speechless, unable to come up with a retort. He had never acted like an arrogant arsehole around me before.

Harry winked when I failed to say something. "This has been nice, really, but I've got to head back inside. Catch you later, yeah?"

And with those words he turned his back to me, leaving me behind completely clueless. When a taxi finally drove by and picked me up, I was more than confused. How was Harry back? Why hadn't he contacted me? Why did he say those things? And most importantly; why the hell didn't I confront him?

Four long years had passed since he moved away and I had thought about him and his whereabouts almost everyday. I wanted to believe he had done the same with me, but from the looks of it I'd been completely wrong.

Once I got home I was too drained of energy to take a shower. My clothes landed in a heap on the floor and I washed my makeup off with soap and water, not bothering to use my regular makeup remover or moisturiser.

I crawled into bed and laid there thinking about the events of the night, feeling empty. Empty like I had when Harry left in the first place. He was obviously back now, but it wasn't really him. Not the person I used to know at least.

And what the hell was up with Adam tonight? I'd never seen him act like that. Like he didn't care about anything except partying and drinking. I didn't mind leaving the club alone but it did surprise me that he hadn't even offered to help me find a taxi.

Just when I was about to fall into a restless slumber, my phone went off. Reaching out my hand I grabbed for it, sliding it unlocked.

Adam: hey, i think i just say harry, or what's his name? did u know he was back? quite the ladies man, eh? anyway, just wanted to wish you good night and sleep tight x

My breath got caught at the first words, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. I had Adam, I was perfectly happy with him and shouldn't care about Harry. Or the fact that girls wanted him.

All I needed was to forget about the Harry I met tonight. Hopefully he would be back to his normal, charming self by the next time I met him. Hopefully I'd just caught him at a bad time. Nevertheless, he had some serious explanation to do. He might've been rude as hell and I wasn't sure there would be a future for us as friends, but I was stubborn and wouldn't leave him in peace until he confessed the reason for his lack of contact. I thought I deserved as much.

.

.

The next day my alarm went off way too early for my liking and I might've hit the snooze button a few times too many. I had nearly suppressed the fact that I had work and once I realised how late I would be, I flew up from bed.

After quickly washing off and getting dressed I headed outside and jumped into my car. I had to quickly apply makeup in the car park outside the café and succeeded arrived five minutes before I started which gave me plenty of time to change. I peeked out from the dressing rooms into the sitting area, but no table was occupied. It seemed to be a calm morning.

I said hello to my colleague Madeline and went to the back to fetch some coffee beans. When I returned with the huge bag, panting from the effort, I threw it on the floor beneath the coffee makers and glanced up as the bell above the door chinked.

And froze when I recognised the familiar figure stepping inside.

Harry was dressed casually in washed out, blue skinny jeans with holes on both knees and a white, knitted pullover. He looked so ridiculously good, I had to force my eyes away before I gave him another reason to taunt me for staring.

Getting myself busy with the heavy bag, I pretended I hadn't noticed him coming in. As I pulled out my pocketknife and opened the bag to pour the coffee beans in cans, I heard him clear his throat by the counter. I screwed my eyes shut for a second before I slowly rose and plastered on a smile.

"Harry, how lovely to see you. What can I do for you today?" I said, my voice slightly shaky but still coming out sounding quite effortless.

He rested both his palms against the counter and leaned in close. His eyes scanned my face before trailing down to my hastily rating and falling chest before they met mine. "That panting thing you've got going on gives me all kinds of wicked thoughts, I'll tell you that." He shot me a sly wink. "I'll have a cuppa with milk to go."

I tried to avoid looking stunned from his words while calmly preparing his tea. Apparently I hadn't caught him at a bad time last night after all. "That'll be 80p please. And can we maybe sit down and talk some time soon? I want to know what you've been up to, Harry." I met his stare and nervously waited for his response.

He laughed quietly and smacked a pound on the counter. "Sure, whatever, Ella. Say hello to your boyfriend for me, will you?" Then he turned on his heels and left the café.

I got so mad I wanted to punch someone, preferably Harry, when the door closed behind him. I had no clue what was going on and all of his douchebaggery had me feeling beyond confused and distressed. How did he know about Adam? We had barely spoken more than ten words since he got back.

Furious, I almost threw the coffee beans into their cans before pouring myself a huge cup of well-needed, steaming hot coffee.

This day was not going to be any better than last night. And if I knew Adam, he was going to be brutally hungover all day. Which meant I had nothing to do after work. Which also meant my mind would probably relentlessly wander to places I'd rather it didn't.

I knew it would come to a stop if I could just get Harry to hear me out. But what would it take for me to make him listen?