Stay With Me

Chapter 14

Harry drew back to inspect the application but caught sight of the red marks on Draco's neck, peeping over the hem of his pyjama shirt. "What happened to your neck?"

"It's not a big deal, he just didn't know his own strength--"

"So when he hit you, did he choke you as well?"

"No," Draco lied, "I just bruise easily, that's all it is." He shrugged and took another sip of tea but Harry remained unsatisfied with his reasoning, his face cold, "He liked it rough, he just got carried away--"

"-And assaulted you by the looks of it! Draco, do you not realise how serious this is? What he did to you was--"

"It doesn't matter what he did," Draco cut him off fiercely, "It's over. I'll never see him again."

Harry frowned and slumped back in his chair, crossing his arms knowing that if he fought any more he would only piss Draco off, and right now things had never been better between them.

Draco couldn't admit to Harry to extent of what had happened, hell, he could barely admit it to himself. Harry was never going to find out, he'd already decided that. After all, what did he expect? He offered his body in exchange for money, he wasn't in a position to be changing his mind. The man had a right to be angry, he'd brought it on himself.

Memories seeped through the cracks in Draco's mind of that horrible moment. The pressing of skin on skin, the cries that made his throat sore, the dampness of tears, the blood running down his legs, the sting of the bruises between his thighs. He winced slightly and his breath hitched in his throat, staring down at the table feeling the pain that was very much real overwhelming him once more, the pain he was shutting out desperately.

Draco didn't want it but it happened.

He'd said no but the man did it anyway.

He deserved it, right?

"... Draco?" Harry's voice echoed in the back of his mind, "Draco?"

He snapped back to the kitchen table, "Mhm?"

"You okay? You zoned out for a moment."

"I'm fine," he flustered, the painful memories burnt into his mind fading away, they always did when Harry was there.

Harry couldn't help the concern that oozed from his sad green eyes, big and glassy behind the frames and looking across at Draco like his heart was torn between wanting to comfort and wanting to respect his boundaries. Draco sensed his inner battle and softened, bringing the warm mug to his chest.

"Thank you, for looking out for me," Draco finally spoke after a moment of tension, "You're the only one that does."

With that, they sank into the silence. Harry made himself two slices of toast whilst Draco curled up on the chair and drifted between the pages of his novel and the blustering autumn breeze swaying the trees outside the kitchen window.

Right then, in that moment, he was home with Harry, he was safe.

***

Harry spent the following few days in a sour mood. He made his best efforts when Draco was around him, if anything he was trying harder to keep the atmosphere positive, even though there was still a nagging ache that lingered in the pit of his stomach.

Draco was burying himself in books, most likely as an escape from the nightmares that plagued his mind every day, but he was still a shell of himself. There was a vagueness behind his smile, a subtle hurt laced in the tone of his voice despite the effort to seem happy for Harry's sake.

And Harry could see right through it, but chose not to mention anything for fear that at any moment Draco could hit another low and retreat back to trying to take his own life again.