Kiwi // H.S. // A.U.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

HARRY

"Hey, angel, how are you?" I ask Emma.

I could just imagine the smile playing on her lips as she says, "I'm good. How are you? Family wearing you down yet?"

I furrow my brows, something wasn't right. I could hear it in Emma's voice, "Not yet. The kids and my brother and sister didn't arrive until dinner, so it didn't give them much time to try and destroy me."

She breathes out a weak laugh, "Take some more pictures. Your nieces and nephews are so adorable."

"Emma, are you sure you're okay?" I ask her.

I hear her sigh, "I've got to tell you something, Harry."

"Okay?" I waited patiently, sitting on the edge of my bed.

She took a deep breath before saying, "I ran into Jake on my way out of town. He was trying to drop off a note at my door."

She paused, probably waiting for me to blow up. I don't blame her, my entire body tensing immediately, jaw clenching, and my heart hammering in my chest. I take a few deep breathes in myself to calm down, saying simply, "Okay."

She was hesitant before continuing, "He was sober. Or at least not drunk, who knows, really..."

"Emma, I'm trying to stay calm here, but you not telling me what happened quicker is making it really hard." I say roughly.

"I'm sorry." She squeaked out, and I immediately felt regret.

"No, no, I'm sorry, angel. I'm not trying to make you feel bad or nervous. I just can't stand this whole situation." I say softly into the phone, wishing I could hold her face in my hands.

"I know. Me too." She takes one last breath before saying, "He seemed relatively calm at first. He was putting on his favorite apology face, but he noticed the hickeys you gave me, and that, uh, made him mad."

I close my eyes and count to five. When I'm done, I let out a breath and ask, "What did he do?"

"At first he just touched my neck-" I stood up from the bed, and started pacing my room, waiting painfully for her to continue, "but then he did this thing... Harry, please don't freak out, because I'm fine and I handled it-"

"What did he do?" I said through gritted teeth. I open my window to get some air, feeling like I was suffocating in my room. My hands were shaking, one gripping my phone so tight I thought it would break in half.

"He started to wrap his hand around my neck. I don't know if he meant it as a way to physically hurt me, or if he even knew what he was doing."

My breath was stolen away from me, knees nearly giving out, so I lean my back against the wall, and grip my old dresser to keep me upright. The image of it alone brings bile to the back of my throat. I knew something like this would happen. I knew I should've postponed Lu and I leaving for another day so I could stay with her.

"He didn't even get a chance to do anything. I grabbed his wrist and twisted it. Mike taught me that move a few weeks ago. He backed off right away. Think I might've actually hurt his wrist."

My heart slowed significantly, pride swelling at the thought of my angel protecting herself. I was also immensely grateful for Mike in this moment.

"You're okay?" I choked out.

"Harry, you need to breathe, baby." She said, suddenly very worried, "I'm perfectly fine. Not a scratch on my body, I promise."

I took a few more deep breaths, sliding my back down the wall to sit on the floor, "I should've stayed."