Break Down Your Walls

[51]

~𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜~

Charlie and I walk down the stairs, hand in hand. My eyes search the now clean kitchen in the near distance, trying to find Haz and Tom. In my searching, I hear rustling in the den and so my eyes naturally follow to find the sound. They are both lounging on the couch, Tom leaning back against the armrest with one hand holding a small glass of whisky and his other arm draping across the head of the couch. Haz's back is to us as he is crouched over, his elbows on his knees and his head dropped low.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I ask, leading Charlie into the room and taking a seat on the other couch to the right of them. Charlie's grip tightens on my hand as her blue eyes are focused on Haz who still hasn't brought his eyes up from the ground.

"I told Haz about everything." Tom says, his voice deep and husky with frustration before he takes the finishing swig of his whisky.

"Bastard." Haz mumbles before picking up his head, and for the first time, I see pure anger and hatred in his usually kind eyes. It frightened me, if I'm being honest, and it definitely surprised Charlie because she moves closer to me on the couch, but her eyes are locked with his.

"What are we going to do?" Charlie asks after a few agonizingly tense and silent seconds. Her voice quavered, which only happened when she was genuinely nervous. She seemed so in control upstairs, like she would go looking for him to take on Steven with her bare hands. Now, her already pale face was even paler and her eyes were widened with fear. I can't tell if her fear is caused by Steven potentially coming for her, or if she was terrified of what Harrison would do if he did.

"You'll stay with me." Haz says curtly, his body not moving an inch. His face seems to soften as he adds, "If that's okay with you."

Charlie's face begins to gain it's color again, her shoulders relaxing as a smile almost forms on her lips. "Of course that's okay. I know you'll keep me safe." Her last sentence comes out with a hint of that fear that was in her voice before, but it was barely audible.

"Let's hope nothing has to come of this. The police are on it and looking for him now." Tom says, his own anger seeming to wash free off his face and his soft expression is making an appearance again. "We have more exciting and fun things to look forward to anyway." Those chocolate eyes lock their hold on me before he winks, that handsome smirk curving his thin lips.

"You're right." I smile back, wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulders, her head resting on one of mine.

Just then, beeping comes from the kitchen and Tom jumps up from the couch, placing his glass back on its coaster before he speeds to the oven. "I should probably go help him set up the table." I smile at both of my best friends, releasing my hold on Charlie which is quickly replaced by Haz's strong embrace after he raced to get to her side.

"How's it going, Mister Chef?" I ask, grabbing bowls and spoons while he carefully places the hot pot of dip on the stove. He lets out a triumphant sigh, leaning his head back a little as he takes off his oven mitts. The scene makes my heart beat out of my chest and I have a weird feeling that he can hear it. Then his eyes move from off the ceiling to meet mine.

"I think I have mastered your favorite dish, Miss." Tom replies, his smirk plastered on his face. I teasingly look at the pot with a disapproving face, as if it had come out green instead of golden orange. His face all of a sudden turns grey and his smirk turns into a frown. "What did I do wrong?" He asks like a little child.

I suddenly feel guilty, but I keep a smile on my face as I step towards him and go up on my tippy toes to kiss his peach fuzzed cheek. "Nothing, darling. It's perfect, thank you." I respond, feeling his strong arms taking a hold of my waist.