Safe Haven ↠ h.s

Chapter Sixteen

I find a nice surprise waiting for me as Harry carries me into the living room. On the couch lays Niall and Louis, enticed in the television.

"Niall! Lou!" I exclaim loudly. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Louis yells back, opening his arms for a hug. I reach for him with mine open as well, but Harry just turns and sits down in the love chair, keeping me on his lap.

"Hey, that's no fair," I whine. "Let me hug him."

"No," Harry denies firmly.

"C'mon, Harry," I plead.

"I said no. It's my time with you, so get comfy. The only time I'm getting up is if you want a drink or something."

I purse my lips at him and shake my head.

Great.

"What's on TV?" I ask, changing the subject. Louis grinds his teeth at Harry.

"Oh, I don't know. I was just surfing the channels," Niall responds nonchalantly.

"Pass the remote, eh? Please," I add. Niall chucks the remote at me playfully, but I fail to catch it. Unfortunately for Harry, it hits him right in the head.

"Ow, what the hell was that for?" He curses. "Jesus, Niall."

"Hey. Don't use the Lord's name in vain," I scold.

"You do it," he argues.

"It slips sometimes. But I'm trying to correct myself. So please, it would be nice if you would watch your mouth around me." I send a fake smile his way, internally sighing. What's his problem?

"Yeah, sure," he mumbles.

-

The tenseness in the room lasted far too long.

I surfed through the channels on their television, amazed at all the channels they had access to. A plan like this was probably way more expensive than mine with triple the channels.

I eventually settled on Spongebob. I had already seen the episode, but it was light-hearted and I hoped it would raise the atmosphere.

Every few minutes, Niall, Louis, and I are left chuckling at the stupidity of Plankton. Harry doesn't make a noise, either staring blankly at the walls or mindlessly checking his phone.

"What's wrong?" I whisper into his ear, loud enough so only he could hear. He shakes his head. "Harry."

"Yes?" He grunts.

"What's bothering you?"

"Nothing is."

I sigh. "Obviously something is, Harry. Did I do something wrong?"

He leans his chin on the top of my head, shaking it from side to side. "No, no. You didn't do anything, Aubrey." His hand grazes my upper arm.

"Then tell me what's wrong." I tilt my head back, gazing into his piercing green eyes. His expression softens as he sighs.

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about," he whispers. I turn my head back to the television, knowing he won't budge.

Three episodes later, Harry has relaxed a bit, but not much. He's still silent.

"Okay, Harry. Get up," I demand.

"What?" He questions.

"Bring me to my room, please. I need to talk to you."

"No."

"Fuck, Harry. I'll walk there myself if you don't, and I know you don't want me on my ankle."