Falling Too Far

Chapter 50- Rebecca hates Ribena.

As soon as she is no longer in sight, I stride over to Harper, hitting his leg. "What did you do that for?"

"What?" He smirks. "I didn't do anything."

"That! Making me blush! Now she thinks we're flirting!"

He raises an eyebrow, pulling me gently to sit on the sofa beside him. "Are we not?"

Oh my gods.

"Well- I- "

I glanced up to see him silently laughing at me.

"I hate you," I groaned, pushing myself back into the cushions, covering my face with my hands.

Boys.

He laughed even harder, pulling my hands away from my face. "Well it's not my fault you're insanely attracted to me."

"You are actually the worst," I grumbled. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you loooooooooooooove me," He responded cheekily, poking my nose. "Looooooooooove." He adds again for effect.

I sighed. "How do you go from crazy rage mode to cutesy-Harper? I don't get it."

He frowns and "cutesy-Harper" is gone in an instant. "'Crazy rage' mode was completely necessary." He retorts coldly, but I take comfort in knowing that his bitterness is not directed towards me. "He has no fucking right to come back and do that- he has no right to hit you, touch you, look at you- hell, if he thinks of you I'll smash him to pulp then feed his innards to a- "

"This is exactly what I was talking about," Muttering, I turn to face him. "I was so scared when you were fighting. Yes, thank you for fighting for me, Harper- "

"It's 'Sexy Beast' to you." Harper winks.

"- thank you for fighting for me, 'Sexy Beast', but you let your anger get ahead of you." My voice simmered to a whisper. "What would have happened if I hadn't stopped you, Harper? You could have killed him." He opened his mouth to protest but I cut him off. "Don't try to deny it- I saw the look in your eyes Harper. I saw how you moved- with absolutely no intention of stopping." I looked up at him sorrowfully. "You have to get that under control, Harper."

He was quiet for a bit, picking at his bandage. It must have been a minute or so before he gathered the courage to look back up at me, green eyes glowing, the bruises on his face prominent in the filtered sunlight of the office. "That's the thing that scares me, Noelle," He said. "What has scared me since the very beginning. When it comes to anything involving you, I have no control."

I stopped, my heart racing in my chest. How do I respond to that?

How do I tell him that whenever it comes to him, I feel the exact same way?

I didn't think it was possible to adore him as much as I did then.

"I- "

"What happened to your hands?" Harper suddenly cut in, glancing down at my knuckles. I stretched out my fingers, confused. "What, nothing is wrong- "

It was only then that I registered the sharp pain jarring through as I did  so, and I winced, looking down. I hadn't noticed before, but the skin was split and bleeding, angry red burning unbearably.

"Damn it, Noelle" Harper muttered, getting up and reaching for one of the nurse's first-aid kits.

When hurting Joshua, I couldn't feel the pain of my punches, the raw agony that came from slamming my fast hard into flesh. I was just too intent on fighting and standing up for myself, and later on protecting Harper that I simply had not registered my own blood.