✓ Meanwhile [h.styles]

.thirteen.

It's well past midnight and Harry still can't sleep. It's not because of his nightmares or the odd shadows tumbling out of his open closet. It's because of Astraya.

He knows what he has to do and he still hasn't done it yet. Part of him knows she's not sleeping right now, and if she is, she isn't sleeping well. He fights with himself a little longer before slipping out of his bed and into his cotton slippers.

His feet carry him down the corridor and outside of her bedroom. The door is wide open and he slips inside quietly, closing it behind him.

The window is cracked open and there's barely enough light to make out the body on the bed with the face pressed haphazardly on his favorite pillow.

He sits down on the mattress and it isn't long before her hands find him in the dark, fingers tentative. It's no secret that his weight beside her woke her up. He looks at her to see her squinting past the sleep in her eyes.

She recovers quickly, though, and then sits up against the pile of pillows to look at him at a better angle with her bottom lip tucked in between her teeth. "Harry?"

He traces meaningless designs on her skin with his index finger; dragging it up and then back down again, side to side until she shifts in front of him. "She died in a car accident that my father started."

She shakes her head at him. "You don't have to tell me about anything. You don't owe me that, I'm sorry for asking."

"He killed her right in front of me and then locked me up in her bedroom when we got back home." Slowly, he leans over to press butterfly kisses on her right shoulder just above the bandage she's wearing. Then he trails over to her collarbone, leaving a wet trail behind his lips.

"Harry." It's breathy and vulnerable, and he's safe for now.

He goes up to kiss the side of her neck. The very same spot a random woman left a bleeding hickey at the last time she was at a bar. "I watched her die and I didn't even do the last thing she asked me to." His teeth have somehow made an appearance and are now sucking on her skin and leaving blue hues in their wake. "I couldn't even look her in the eyes."

"Harry," her fingers have settled in his hair, tugging gently and then pushing him toward her like she's unsure of what she wants. "What are you doing?"

"Proving myself." He lowers his head and begins to kiss the bridge of her breasts, swiping his tongue over the sensitive skin after he's finished sucking on it. After a pause, he continues. "My dad killed my mother and nothing was ever the same after it."

"I don't..." a labored breath escapes her mouth as his hands come up under her shirt, rings fogging up with how hot her skin is. "Can we...can we just..."

"Words, Astraya," he prompts hoarsely, not once removing his lips from her body. His hands are now slipping into the back of her bra, thumbs in the front as the rest of his fingers work at unclipping it.  "Use them so I know what you want."

Finally, with strength unknown to him, she manages to clear her throat and then push away from him. "You're doing the same thing you did last time."

He blinks with frozen hands. "I'm not."

"Yes you are." She adjusts her shirt so it's not hanging so low on her chest anymore. And she looks so flushed with wide eyes and an erratic pulse at her neck. "The same exact thing. You're not-"

"You don't believe me," he interrupts her softly. He's not mad, just disappointed. There's nothing else he can do at this point except accept that this can't work.  He stands up and rubs the back of his neck with his hands all the while looking right at her. "It's fine. Find me when you do."

Suddenly her hands are gripping onto the front of his shirt, nails momentarily embedding into his skin as she drags him closer and then pulls him down to her height. She's finally the first person to kiss him, the first one to engage it, and he can't feel any better. "I've trusted you since the third night here." Her first nightmare.

Everything is falling into place, it seems. They stumble back onto the bed and somehow he ends up on top of her with one knee between her legs and the other one on her side. Her crotch is resting just above his left leg and he smirks dirtily against her cheek before pressing his knee hard between her legs, the friction making her whimper. Her lips part and he slips his tongue inside.

Nothing goes wrong until the bedroom light is turned on. Harry's first reaction is to fall back and stand on his feet, eyes darting to everywhere except her or Liam who's now standing in the doorway.

His embarrassment slowly fades into something like betrayal as his eyes land on the small, shiny item resting on the messy bed. He licks his lips and refrains from making assumptions as he leans down to pick up the key. "What's this for?" Very cautiously, he walks closer to her and brings it up at eye level.

Astraya visibly shrinks back, but Harry won't allow it, and he reaches down to bring her up in kneeling position on the bed. Her lips are raw and red and her neck and shoulders are so bruised that they look like they were painted on. She keeps her mouth shut.

Liam steps inside like he's entitled to know what's happening. "What are you doing in here? Astraya, you said you weren't-"

"Shut up, Liam." Harry tightens his grip on the key and keeps his gaze solely on the girl in front of him. "Look at me, Astraya."

She swallows but doesn't meet his eyes.

"I want you to look at me."

And this time she does. Her hands are folded in her lap. "I was going to give it to you."

"You said you trusted me."

"I told you just now. You didn't give me time to-"

"You said you trusted me weeks ago." He feels the metal digging into his hand. There's moisture building in his palm and it's most definitely blood. He's barely breathing anymore with the fact that he hasn't even been fighting Uriah or the rest of his dad's gang.

He's been fighting her for as long as she had kept it from him.

"When did he give it to you?"

She says nothing and he feels the blood begin to silently drop down his nails and onto his carpeting.

"Answer me before I lose my shit."

"The day I went with you to see my brother."

"The day he threatened to kill you? The night you crawled into my bed and pretended that you cared about-"

"It's not like that, Harry."

Liam pushes his hair back while his eyes move wildly between the both of them. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Get out." Harry's voice is low and threatening. Even Astraya backs up a little.

Liam leaves and Harry pulls at his hair while the key is still in his hand. Some of the sticky blood begins to wet his hair but that's the least of his worries right now.

"I hate you," he spits harshly at her. He's only ever said that once before, but this feels worse than it did the first time. He tastes acid in his mouth. "I hate you so much."

"No you don't." It sounds like she's trying to convince herself the same thing. Her eyes are heavy with tears but none of them have fallen yet, and he leans over so they're at eye level for just a few seconds.

"I do," he whispers quietly. He's afraid to see how much skin has been peeled from his grip on the key. "I hate you so much right now."

And then he's walking out the door, leaving her on the bed with tears that have surely fallen by now. He feels awful, but the betrayal is still hefty on his chest. Like he might puke and scream at the same time.

(A/n: The story is almost coming to an end, guys! It's been a great few months, thank you so much for your support so far!)