cardigan [h.s.]

Chapter 34

Diana

"I still can't believe you let him hit you."

Ivy winces as she looks at my face again. The mark on my face has finally purpled with the edges slowly fading to yellow. It hurt to laugh and smile, but other than that I didn't really pay attention to it.

Another scar or mark to add to the list of the many I have already.

"He was going to hit Harry," I shrug, shoveling some food into my mouth.

We were sitting at the kitchen counter, talking over a plate of eggs and bacon. Things have been good between us since I talked to her a couple morning ago, when I made pancakes. It feels like maybe things will be better. I don't think we'll ever get back to the way we were before, but we're getting somewhere close to normal.

Ivy shakes his head, "You shouldn't be jumping in the defense of a boy." She stands up from the counter, carrying her empty plate to the sink. "Besides didn't you say that his father and him don't get along all the time." She places the plate in the other side of the sink after cleaning it off. "And didn't he hit his father first."

"He's an asshole Ivy," I say, standing up to clean my own plate. "And just because Harry hit his father first, doesn't mean his father has the right to hit his own son." The thought of Harry's father hitting him makes my stomach uneasy. And to think that Harry said it wouldn't have been the first time, meaning his father has hit him before. "Would you ever hit me?"

"Fuck no," she responds quickly.

I gesture my hand, "See." I place my plate on top of Ivy's. "I agree that Harry probably shouldn't have punched his father, but who's to say he didn't deserve it. He was being a dick to Cornelia and he's never been to fond of me." And, he's slapped Harry before. "I think it was a long time coming."

Ivy lets out a puff of air, "I just don't like that he hit you." Her thumb lightly brushes the top of my cheek, just where the bruise starts. She mutters, "Asshole."

"I jumped in front of him. I knew what was going to happen, and I'm fine," I tell her, taking her hand away from my face and stepping around her. I grab my backpack off the chair in the living room. "I'm probably going to hang out with Harry after his practice, so don't wait up."

Ivy stops at the door where I'm stepping out from, "I'm going to regardless if you tell me not to. Have a good day kid."

My face cringes the slightest bit as I walk to Cherry Red. I still don't really know I feel about her calling me kid. Something about now still feels off and doesn't seem like it fits our relationship anymore. Maybe I've just outgrown it.

The drive to school is quick and easy. The snowy world blurring past my window as I drive down the roads. With December we welcome snow, freezing cold air, and Christmas lights. There is not a block where you don't see a flash of green and red in someone's yard. Or a reindeer on someone's roof. Eden Falls loves Christmas just as much as they love their hockey and their Halloween.

When I've parked my car and start walking to the front of the building, my eyes look for Harry's Jeep. It seems like lately that's what I do a lot of the time. I always search for him.

"He's not here." I turn to where the voice came from, and I come face to face with Benson. Her arms crossed over shirt and flannel she was wearing, her hip popped out. "You were looking for Harry's car right?"

"What are you getting at Benson?"

Benson doesn't intimidate me and I know anything to come out of her mouth is not always true. But I do have to remind myself sometimes that she and Harry have been together in such intimate ways for months before I came into the picture. So, I'm always going to be skeptical of her.