Adonis | H.S

chapter thirty-one: allayment

"Have you eaten today?"

"No, but I'm not really—"

"Sit, little V. Let me take care of you."

She huffed out a breath, taking a seat on one of the leather stools at the kitchen counter. Willa made herself comfortable at her feet. Harry busied himself with making them a quick lunch. He knew that she didn't have much of an appetite but even if she got a few bites in, it was better than nothing.

Considering they could both do with a comforting meal, he opted for pancakes.

She watched him while he dotted around the kitchen, mastering and commandeering it much as he did with everything else in life. He was in control and confident. It put her at ease, seeing as she'd had quite the traumatic morning.

Her phone buzzed on the counter, and she saw it was her father calling. She slipped away from the counter, accepting the call.

"Hi." She said lowly.

"The store got trashed."

She sighed. "Yeah, sorry. I was meaning to call you—"

"It's in my name, you'd think they would call me earlier."

"I had to file a report and everything." She mumbled. "I'm fine, by the way."

"I've got a hold of the insurance company, they said they'll send someone down to assess it tomorrow. It's all covered."

"Okay, thank you."

"Mmm. I didn't buy that store for you just to let this happen, Scarlett. Take care of it."

Her chin wobbled in the effort to stay calm. Hot tears festered in her eyes as she stared out the window. Her father lacked the kind of empathy she thrived off of. Especially after the past few years of her life. But her father had made it seem like it was all her fault.

She had always felt like a burden. Her father threw money at her, but never affection. And her mother cared for her, but hardly had her own backbone to keep herself standing straight without her husband.

"It wasn't my fault." She whispered. It wasn't her fault. Not the store or anything else that he'd watched her go through.

"As I said," his voice was gruff. "Take care of it."

He hung up without so much as a goodbye. She stood at the window for a moment, wishing the clouds would swallow her up and drift her away. As if he knew she was in need of an anchor, Harry approached carefully before wrapping his arms around her waist.

His chin found home on her shoulder. "Okay?"

"Mmhm." She mumbled. "My dad is just... tough on me."

"He shouldn't be."

"It's how he was raised and how he raised me." She shrugged.

"Well, let me know if you want me to go over and teach him a lesson or two. Seb can come with."

She laughed, wiping the tears from her face. "Ugh, too much crying today."

He turned her, clearing her cheeks with his thumbs. "You can cry as much as you need to, Scarlett. Whatever you need is what you deserve."

She hugged him tightly. "I need you."

"Good thing you have me, then."

She pecked his lips with a hum, so grateful to have him at that moment. Considering most of the other men in her life were shit and invalidated her at every turn, it was safe to say that he was by far the best type of man for her. Even though it took some work, he made her feel heard and looked after her effortlessly.