crumble | h.s

part twenty five

Lydia White

Harry's arms remained tightly wrapped around me. I rested my head on his chest as I breathed in and out, shutting my eyes and taking in how good it felt to touch him. 

"Lydia, are you okay?" he asks, while holding me still. I nod into his chest. 

"Thank you." was all I could manage to say.

"For what?" he asks. He sounded confused and slightly shocked, making me gently pull away from our hug and look at him in the eyes. 

"You saved me." I whisper, looking up at his green eyes. He looks down at me and furrows his brows. His lips parted as he tilted his head. 

"No I didn't." he breaths out. 

I shake my head. "In there," I point behind me to my apartment building. "You literally saved my life Harry and I can't thank you enough." I tell him. His lips form into a line and he lets out an exhale from his nose. 

He looks at me before gently taking my small hand in his. His green eyes light up a a little. 

"Come here." he says, guiding me by the hand to the back of his sleek, black car. 

He lets go of my hand and climbs up to the roof of the vehicle, then sits down. I tilt my head as I look up at him. He smirks and gestures for me to join him up there. 

I smile before climbing up and sitting down next to him and placing the book in my lap. The air was slightly colder as we faced the setting sun. 

"Where is this coming from?" he asks, referring to what I had said to him moments before. 

I inhale. "When I was in my apartment...I felt so unsafe. All I could think about was how those men broke in and tried to hurt me. It was like the walls were closing in while I was up there. I felt so suffocated." I begin. 

He turns his head to look at the side of my face. I can feel him watching me intently. 

"That place is supposed to be my home, but while I was up there...I've never felt less at home." I mutter. 

I look over at Harry, who turns his head back forward. "But then I remembered you. How you saved my life and held me on the floor so tightly, trying to make me feel safe." 

He inhales and looks up at the sunset, which was getting lower and lower. 

"When I ran out of the building and saw your face, it felt like I could breathe again. I looked at you and I suddenly, I was okay." 

His eyes drift down to look at his lap. 

"I'm not the kind of person that should make you feel that way." he says quietly. My heart sinks at his words. 

"Harry-"

"You know who I am now. You should be scared of me." he shakes his head. 

"I knew who you were from the beginning. I just didn't know your lifestyle, that's different." 

He furrows his brows and looks at me. 

"I know you've made bad choices. I know that. But, Harry...in the time I knew you before that, you caused me to care about you so much. I've come to realize nothing is going to change that." I look at him directly in the eyes, desperately trying to get my point across. 

I meant it. I did care about him so deeply and he deserved to know that. 

"No one's really ever cared about me before." he says, twisting the rings on his fingers, and moving his eyes away from mine. I pout my lip in empathy and nod my head.