Heartbeats || H.S. [ONGOING]

{fifteen}

Niko cried the whole drive home — almost having to pull over on numerous occasions because of it. But by the time she walked into her apartment, she was fuming mad. Fuck Julia. Fuck her.

She slammed her door and began pacing her living room. Julia had absolutely no right to barge in there and have any say in what Harry was doing with his life. She hated that Julia was still around making Harry's life miserable. All she wanted was for him to be happy. He deserved so much.

Niko sat down on the couch in a huff. How did the night turn out so badly? She and Harry — oh, god, Harry... Did she really tell him it was over? Oh, god. She dropped her face into her hands and began crying again at the thought of him. She knew it would never be over with him and she hated that she added to his pain.

Feeling nothing but self-loathing and heartache, Niko picked herself up off the couch and walked to her bedroom. She began stripping her clothes off as she made her way to the bathroom. She figured a hot shower might help to relieve some of the tension she felt.

The water washed over her body, nearly burning her skin with its heat. She couldn't shake the terrible feelings that were running through her heart. She felt empty, lonely. The shower wasn't helping even a little, so she shut it off and got out — the tears still flowing freely from her eyes.

She patted down her wet hair before wrapping the towel around her body. She knew she needed to just go to bed. The night just needed to be over.

She laid in bed crying — wishing for her life to be different. Wishing that Harry and Julia's divorce had gone off without a hitch, that she and Harry got back together right away after that. In her daydream, she and Harry were married by now and leading a happy life together — instead of the shitty reality they were living in.

Somewhere between it all, she heard her apartment door open and then close. She groaned to herself. She really didn't want to deal with Max. She didn't have the energy. She looked over at the clock — 7:41 pm. He must have just gotten off of work. She wiped at her tears, knowing that she really had no excuse to be crying and he would certainly question her.

"Niko..." She heard, but it wasn't Max's voice — it was Harry's.

Her head shot up, finding him standing in her bedroom doorway.

"Harry? How did you get in here?" She asked, scrambling to sit up in bed.

"Another person let me in downstairs. And your... your door was unlocked. I knocked," he explained, walking toward the bed. She must have forgotten to lock it in her enraged state.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as tears welled in her eyes again.

"You really think I was just going to let you leave like that?" He asked, watching her.

She sighed before laying back down. He crawled into the bed, lying with his head on the opposite pillow looking at her.

"Niko, I'm sorry about that," he breathed, wiping at the tears that fell from her eyes.

"Where are the kids, Harry?" She asked, her voice cracking with emotion.

"She has them. And Patty will be there for when they come home."

"You should be there," she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.

"I can't let you do this, Niko. I won't," he said, grabbing her hand, intertwining their fingers.

Her face scrunched up again as another wave of emotion hit her. She let out a sob, pulling her hand away from his to cover her face.

"Niko, baby. Please," he cooed, pulling her head to his chest as he held her. She cried helplessly into his shirt.