Eucalyptus & Honey |H.S.|

Chapter 27 - Just Take the Pain Away

TW: Self Harm and Anxiety

My eyes moved back and forth between Harry and Marc as if watching them long enough would give me all of the answers I've been searching for.

Coming to the realization that the phone calls were from Marc almost felt like a slap in the face. If anything, it made me have even more questions than I had before I knew anything.

Like, why the fuck did he tell me the phone calls were from a family friend? And, why did Mitch sound so confident that it was a woman? And, why did Harry go along with that?

No one had said anything since Harry asked why Marc was here, and the tension in the room was suffocating.

I knew I'd have to wait until Harry and I were alone to ask him about all of this, but the wait would be absolute torture. Although, I could barely even process all of it, so maybe it was best that we had to wait until I could actually think again.

Finally, Anne broke the silence as always, but it didn't do much to release any of the tension. "I invited him. I wasn't aware I needed your permission, Harry."

I felt Harry's body tense even further, and he glanced at Anne, but returned his gaze to Marc as he said, "Would've been nice to know."

I could tell that it was taking all of Harry's strength to remain some semblance of calm, and I squeezed his thigh to provide some sort of comfort. Or maybe to just remind him that I was here beside him. The way he had done for me when he knew that I was anxious earlier.

His eyes shifted to mine, and he blinked as if he really had forgotten that I was here. His shoulders relaxed slightly, and his leg pressed against mine before turning his gaze forward again.

Anne clasped her hands in her lap, and she frowned slightly. I could see that she was genuinely feeling bad, and probably had no idea that Marc's presence would bother Harry so much. I felt bad that she felt at fault when, in reality, she probably had nothing to do with Harry being upset.

I think Gemma also sensed that Anne was feeling bad, and that Harry was more upset than he was showing, because she suddenly spoke up and said, "Well, then, let's make the most of it, yeah? There's plenty of food on the way."

Anne—along with everyone else besides Marc and Harry—looked gratefully at Gemma, thankful that someone had finally released some of the tension. Harry was still staring at Marc with a hard expression, and Marc's own expression was filled with a sadistic sort of amusement. It made my stomach turn.

Anne looked towards Harry, maybe for permission, since, in the end, this was his house, and some of the guilt returned to her features as she looked at him. No mother wanted to see their child even remotely upset.

Well, no good mother. My own mother probably couldn't care less if something upset me.

Harry's glare remained on Marc for a few more seconds before I watched him meet Anne's gaze. He seemed to be debating something internally, and I gently stroked his thigh with my thumb, hoping it was helping him somewhat. Finally, he let out a sigh that only I could hear and plastered on a smile that didn't meet his eyes. "Yeah, no worries, let's make the most of it."

Maybe to someone who didn't know Harry in the way that I did, they wouldn't have seen his tense smile and false calm as anything more than what it was. But I could see how much he wished he could tell Marc to get the fuck out. And I could also see that there was probably more to his forced calm beyond not wanting to upset Anne.

Anne gave Harry a grateful smile before standing up to officially greet Marc and Margot—who I still couldn't believe was standing right in front of me.