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

Chapter Forty-Four

HARRY

Not a single spot in Emma's apartment was left alone. Jake had literally destroyed almost all of her possessions. Her TV was smashed, the glass on her coffee table shattered. I was trying to sweep up the glass in the kitchen while she sorted through her clothes.

There was an unspoken agreement that she would be staying with me until things were sorted. Neither of us had to say anything to the other, knowing that where we both wanted to be was with each other.

I couldn't imagine coming home to this. How could Emma ever feel safe here? This was her own space, and Jake had violated it to the extreme. I pushed back my anger, still fighting the urge to hunt him down and beat the living shit out of him, but Emma was right: I could easily be arrested for doing that. I could just imagine the smug look on that assholes face as he pressed charges against me. I wouldn't risk having to leave Emma just to get my hands on him. He didn't deserve that satisfaction.

When I entered her room earlier and saw exactly what he had done to her bed and clothes, I nearly threw up. More and more images of him hurting her came to mind. What if Emma had been home during this. I'm assuming Jake was blind-drunk, and I don't think he would've been able to stop himself from hurting her.

Emma had assumed that he had come over after Lauren dumped him. Her and Lauren had had a long talk after she had talked to the police, Lauren apologizing for bringing Emma up during it. It had apparently gotten pretty heated, and Lauren let it slip that she talked to Emma.

So now it was ingrained in Jake's mind that Emma's the reason he was broken up with, and his incredibly large ego couldn't handle the fact. I was more than worried about what he was planning next, but I had to trust that she would be able to get a restraining order.

And anyways, she would be with me from now on. If he came near her while I was around then I wouldn't stop myself from what I really wanted to do.

I swept the pile of glass shards into the corner, trying my best to clean up for her. This would probably take a few days to completely clean up, and she would need to get rid of a lot of furniture. She had told me her landlord would be bringing in a replacement door tomorrow, so at least that wold be done for her.

"You didn't have to do that, Harry."

I turned around to see Emma standing to the side, duffel in hand, filled with extra clothes and things that she needed that weren't destroyed. I leaned the broom against her counter, and walked over to her. Taking her face in my hands, I pulled her in for a kiss.

She gladly kissed me back, our lips molding together as they were meant to. When we parted, lips staying close, I said, "Yes, I did."

She exhales a deep breath, stepping closer to me, and buried her face in the crook of my neck. I heard her bag drop to the floor, our arms wrapping around each other in a tight hug. I pressed a kiss into her hair, before asking, "Em, can we talk about what happened over break?"

With a sigh, she lifted her head from my neck, "Can we just have tonight? I just want one night where everything's normal, and not a shit show."

My hand came up to cup her jaw, my thumb petting at her soft cheek, "If that's what you want." She nods. "But, Emma, you've got to tell me tomorrow. You can't keep holding all this in. It's not healthy."

"I know, baby." She says softly, "I don't mean to. I'm just not used to having someone to tell."

"Well, you've got me now. Let me hold some of your pain."

Her face scrunches up, water building in her eyes, "I feel like everything's crashing down on me. Like I'm suffocating."

"Oh, angel." I whisper, "I'm so sorry."