The Soul Catcher (Harry Styles)

34 - Secrets

"The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one."

― Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin

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"This is bullshit," Elaine exclaimed aggressively. She forcefully threw the damp cleaning rag on the ground and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Language!" I scolded and scowled, before breaking out into a grin.

"There is absolutely nothing funny about any of this," she glared at me, accusingly pointing a finger at the bookshelf in front of us.

"Elaine, this is literally the last room. We got all of this done much faster than we would have thought. Now, help me clean these last few shelves and I promise I'll finally take you to Egypt."

I grinned when she reluctantly picked up the rag and marched over to the first shelf on her side.

"You just want to see me naked," she assumed, rightfully so.

I shrugged my shoulders and winked at her. "Never said I didn't."

"Perv," she mumbled under her breath.

"Hey, was it my idea to go skinny dipping in Egypt?" I asked, frowning my eyebrows.

She wiped the surface of the shelf after putting the books down, then stopped to stare at me. "Yes."

Without missing a beat, I threw my own rag at her, accidentally – or rather, purposely – hitting her square in the face.

The rag dropped to the ground and as soon as I took in her furious expression, I regretted my decision.

"You," she snarled, her chest rising keenly, "are dead." Her voice was deadly low now and – not taking the irony of her words into consideration -, I would have actually feared for my life – if I wasn't already dead, that is.

She took a lethal step forward and I saw the peril in her eyes. With the lack of any better idea, I turned around and sprinted out of the room, my long legs carrying me down the hallway.

I heard her light footsteps behind me, but she couldn't catch up with me. There weren't many possibilities, so I simply made my way over to the first door and hid behind the last bookshelf in the room.

Of course, Elaine was smart enough to figure out my hide-out. I saw her legs through the books and sent a silent prayer towards the sky, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

As she rounded the corner, her eyes immediately landed on my awkward, crouching position. I shot her a, what I hoped to be, loving smile and sprang to my feet, accidentally knocking a few books to the ground with my elbow. They landed on the aisle of the other side of the shelf with a loud thud that echoed through the open room.

Elaine's eyes darkened, and my breath hitched. Right now, I honestly couldn't tell if she was just playing or if she really did want to rip my head off.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, a sinister smile tugged at her lips.

With five elegant and swift steps, she paced right in front of me and pushed my back against the shelf.

Being the clumsy idiot that I was, I knocked my head against the board and winced as the sharp pain shot through my skull. Elaine blinked at me in surprise, then burst out laughing, resting her forehead against my chest.

Irritated, I placed my hands on her shoulder and turned us around until I had her pinned against the shelf. A few more books ended up on the ground, but we both decided to ignore them.