Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 33

"I'm sorry, I know. I'm an idiot, I shouldn't have said it." I curse myself mentally, knowing I've interrupted her when she was about to tell me something about herself. By the look on her face, I can say the moment is gone, especially since it had something to do with something so delicate like the mark she seems to loathe as much as I do. But I could never loathe the person wearing it and she needs to know that.

"Lena, I'm really sorry. I know it probably feels awful whenever you see me react that way, but it really has nothing to do with you."

"Harry, I understand, it's alright." She smiles and takes my hand once again, interlocking our fingers and relieving some of the tension I didn't even know was there. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

I smile. "Who said anything about leaving?"

. . . .

"Okay I got this one when Alex was chasing me around with a fork for stealing his cake," Elena says, laughing as she shows me the faded scar on her hand. "I fell down and almost dropped it, but I managed to protect it because. . . skills, I guess." She shrugs. "Before Alex could jump on me, I stuffed the cake into my mouth. His eyes were all teary, but it was so worth it, I mean it was chocolate."

"You really like cake, don't you?" I ask and she sighs longingly, nodding. "How old were you? Seven, eight?"

"Uh, seven. . ." she mumbles and I smile at the thought of cute little siblings running around.
"Teen. . ."

"Why am I not surprised." I burst out laughing. "I guess it's my turn." I glance at my outstretched arms, searching for some scars. For the past half an hour, we've been exchanging stories of how we got our scars and trying to compete with each other in which story is more stupid.

"Alright I got these when I was six," I say, pointing to barely visible scars on my ribs, hidden with tattoos. "Remember how I told you I had a cat named Cat? Well my cat knowledge back then was very vague so I grabbed it by its tail and pulled it to my bed with me-" she snorts "-and used it as my pillow-" she covers her face "-and she crawled beneath my shirt and began scratching me. It was like someone was ripping my gut apart- hey stop laughing!"

"Aww and you just wanted to cuddle!" She coos, pinching my cheeks, making me roll my eyes and laugh along with her.

"Can I ask you something? It's personal, so if you don't want to answer, don't." She nods reluctantly, her smile fading, a cautious look appearing on her features. "Those scars on your back. . . how did you get them?"

Elena casts her gaze down, her brows pulling together in a deep frown, making me realise the story is as horrible as I thought. When she finally gazes up at me again, a pained expression flashes over her features. "I got them for Alex. Everything I do, I do for my brother."

My eyes widen slightly, pain rushing through my chest when I remember my brother and his warm smile. "I understand completely. There's not a thing you wouldn't do for your family or someone you consider your family."

She nods, a small smile appearing on her lips for a brief moment as if she's relieved I understand. "Exactly. Alex was never. . . skilled when it came to being on the field and operating a gun or anything similar. For God's sake, he can't stand blood." She laughs lightly, but it's a fond laugh, not a mocking one. "I, on the other hand, never had a problem with it. It's one of the major reasons our uncle chose me to take his position one day."

I nod, letting her know I'm listening. "Since he wasn't a soldier material, he would get punished a lot for his constant failing, no matter how hard he was trying. Punishments would range from running fifty laps around the base to severe physical punishments like punches from our superiors."