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

Chapter Fifty-One

HARRY

Emma and I woke up early the next morning, seeing my parents off, and picking up her car at the hospital. I was on edge all morning, seeing as we would both be going back to work today. My normal anxiety from work was compounded with her having to be around Jake all day. She hadn't heard anything from the detective assigned to her case, so we both assumed there was no new news.

She saw right through my attempt to hide my stress from her, of course, making sure that she was reassuring me every few minutes that she was okay and will be safe at school. Her touch helped as it always did, but my worries were too powerful to fully evaporate. I even convinced her to let me follow her to work after picking up her car. I wanted to make sure she walked into the building safely, and there was still a little ice on the ground.

Our short respite from life, wrapped in each other's limbs confessing our love to each other didn't last long enough. Life had been thrown right back in our faces.

I was pleasantly surprised, however, when I got to work to see that everything seemed to be put together correctly. There were some minor changes and fixes that needed to be done, but nothing that I couldn't handle. I would definitely have to bring some work home over the next few days. I had Emma there, though, so it wouldn't be that bad.

My mind was on her all day, texting her once I got to my desk. She didn't get back to me, and I knew she had already started her class. I wished I could protect her all the time, but I couldn't. I had to trust that Niall, who knew what was going on, would do that for me at her work.

She didn't contact me until closer to lunch, which I was skipping to keep on track with work. I answered quickly, only needing letting it ring once, "Hello?"

"Hey, Harry." I hear her on the other end. She sounds light and happy, calming me immediately.

"Angel..." I respond quietly, closing my eyes and resting my cheek in my hand, "How's work?"

"Pretty good, actually. Missed all my kids." She tells me, "Jake's not here today."

I furrow my brows, "He's not? Who misses the first day back?"

"I don't know, but I was relieved to see it. Especially, since Niall got stuck on recess duty, and wouldn't be with me during break."

"Is that all week?" I ask her, going by some miracle that Jake would be violently sick or something.

"Yeah," she mutters, "we'll see how it goes. I was thinking of calling the DI after work when I get home just to see if anything's changed."

"That's a good idea. You know where I keep the spare key, right?" I ask, making a mental note to get her a copy of mine.

"Mhm, what time do you get off?"

I think about all the work I'll have to do, and say, "Probably around five."

"Do you want to meet at the gym? Feel like hitting the treadmill tonight..." She trails off, and I know instantly she's hiding her worry a lot better than me.

"We can do that. Pick up some dinner on the way back? I think my mom cooked everything I had in the kitchen for dinner last night." I suggest.

"I'll just pick up some groceries on the way home, since I'm off by three thirty." She tells me.

I don't like the idea of her going places by herself, but I also don't want her to feel suffocated by me, "Alright, we'll cook dinner when we get back. I might have to bring some work home-"

"How are you feeling?" She asks quickly, "Did those idiots do their job right?"

I can't help the smile that spreads across my face, "Surprisingly did pretty well. Just want to keep up on this week so it doesn't swallow me whole."