143

Ch26

I had no idea how much time had passed since I'd thrown myself into Harry's unsuspecting arms, but it had to have been over two hours by now. Once he'd gotten a good grip of my body that was embarrassingly limp against him, he'd closed the door to his dorm room, and dragged me over to his bed to lay me down. I think he'd set me down there, intending to then sit down beside me, but I had found it rather difficult to unlatch my hands from around his neck, so he'd decided to lay down beside me.

At first, I just let him hold me close, burying my face in his chest, and trying my hardest not to let out the sobs that I could feel fighting to be free. That had lasted all of five seconds, of course, and I'd then began soaking the front of his shirt in my tears.

He'd taken it all in stride, though, tugging me closer so that he could whisper reassurances into my ear. My mind didn't focus on anything he said, though, only allowing the image of Louis' face to paint itself on the inside of my tightly shut eyelids. The expression on Louis' face was when the realization had dawned on him that I knew everything about what happened in Manchester. It was the moment he knew he couldn't lie about it anymore; the moment another one of his master plans came crashing down in front of him.

"Shh, Adelaide, it's going to be okay. He's a dick for hurting you. There's no need to cry," Harry soothed, rubbing circles into my back. It seemed as if he was afraid to bring the volume of his voice anywhere over a whisper. With the hysterics I was currently in, I didn't blame him.

"I'm a mess," I sniffled, pulling away from him slightly to cover my face with my hands instead, "don't tell anyone I cried."

He chuckled at my ridiculous demand, pulling me back into his chest, "Wouldn't dream of it, Adelaide."

After that, I think I whimpered a bit, and shut my eyes again. My sobs died down soon after that, and Harry and I spent a long time laying wrapped up in one another in silence. I was counting the number of his heartbeats to keep my mind away from the previous events of the day, when Harry finally spoke up again.

"I'm glad you came to me, Adelaide."

His voice was scratchy and rough from the hours of silence, and I liked the feeling of it rumbling through his chest where my face was laid against. Instead of answering him verbally, I just nodded my head slightly against him. I was glad I'd come to him, too. I knew some of the others might not have quite agreed with my decision, but Harry was always a friend first. We'd bonded in the beginning of the school year, just like I'd bonded with Niall, Perrie, Zayn, and the others. It was all the same to me.

He placed a chaste kiss to the top of my head then, still trying - and partially succeeding - to cheer me up. He let his hand swipe lightly up and down my arm, and although I wasn't an incredibly touchy-feely kind of person (Louis could definitely attest to that), I found myself not minding or even caring about it as I laid there with Harry.

"What's wrong, Adelaide?" He finally asked, "What happened with Louis?"

I could feel him staring at the top of my head, but I refused to peer up at him. I wasn't ready to see the pity in his eyes, and I was also scared that I may find something else in his eyes that I really couldn't deal with at the moment. Something I hadn't had to deal with since we'd had an awful date a few months back.

Picking at his shirt with my fingers, I chewed my lip debating whether to tell him or not. " I just...I had a fight with Louis," I supplied in a shaky breath, "It was pretty bad."

Harry squeezed my waist at my words, "I'm here for you, you know, Adelaide...as a friend," I could tell he was uncertain of himself as he spoke the last few words, but he corrected himself a short moment after, "...as a listener."