Winter Air [H.S.]

Twenty-One

He was done.

He had found his muse. If it wasn't for Ava, Harry would still be pulling out his hair and drinking whiskey by the litre.

She began to stir. Her eyebrows furrowed and a soft whimper came from her sweet lips. "No! Stop! Please!" Her voice was laced with utter fear. Tears began fall in her comatose state. "Help! Please!" At this point she was shrieking but still asleep.

Harry rushed over to her side. "Baby! It's okay. Wake up!" He cooed. Ava didn't wake, "Ava! Babe, wake up!" He began to shake her. Her eyes sprang open, completely wide. Her breathing was erratic. Her short ombré locks clinging to her sweat layered face.

"Let go!" She shrieked. "Scott! Don't touch me!"

"Baby, it's me. Harry. It's okay." He held on to her arms and pulled her to his chest. He began to rub circles onto her back, hoping it would sooth her. Ava's breathing slowed down, her tears drying up.

"Harry?" she hiccuped. Ava pulled away from his embrace and looked up. Her eyes were blanketed in fear but quickly dissolved at the glimpse of her boyfriend.

"Baby. You were having a nightmare. It's okay. You're safe."

Ava was still confused, as she was still waking up. She pulled away completely and began to walk away from the bedroom. She stepped inside his small apartment, locking the door behind her. She turned on the tap allowing the cold water to warm up. Once it was at her desired temperature, she spashed it to her face. Her heavy breathing returned to its normal speed. She looked into her reflection and was met with a puffy-eyed, pale face version of herself. It had been months since she last had a nightmare. It once had been so frequent, but with the help of a therapist, she was able to have them stop. 

Yet somehow they came back and with a vengence. 

She could still feel his grimy hands on her body. She could still smell his stale breath and feel the lingering feeling of his harsh kisses. She shuddered at the memory. 

A knock at the door brought her back to reality. "Baby, are you okay?" Harry. She had forgotten about him. She had forgotten that this was his bathroom and his bed that she slept on. Harry- the man with the piercing green eyes, and sexy voice. God. She couldn't believe that he was still here. That he wanted HER here. Inside, she still felt broken. She still felt dirty. With the passing of her mother, she was able to push aside the thoughts of her dirty ex and the things that he did to her. But now that she was finally moving on, the memories were back. She hated that. She hated that they still had power over her. But most importantly,  she hated him. She hated Scott and this undeniable power he had over her emotions, even though he was long gone and out of her life. 

"Baby, please open up. Talk to me." You could tell that he was worried. His usual calm voice had traces of nerves and was raspier than usual. His accent thick- which still managed to bring goosebumps (even if she was in the middle of having a nervous break down). 

She quickly wiped her face and took another glance at the mirror. She found a comb and tried to manage her messy waves. That will do. She thought. 

Ava opened the door. Harry had been leaning against the frame, his eyebrows completely furrowed. His eyes were worried. "Av, what's going on." 

She walked past him and sat on the couch, bringing her knees to her chest. Harry followed and sat close beside. She let in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his own, while bringing them up to his lips. He left small kisses along her knuckles. "Tell me." He whispered. 

Ava sat up straighter and looked at Harry. His face was serious- ready to listen. 

"When I was in the tenth grade, I fell in love. He was by definition perfect. He was my first everything - first boyfriend, first kiss, first.. well.. sexual encounter. He was my everything. But that all changed." Her voice cracked. 

"It was summer before senior year. We were at a party for his birthday. He had a lot to drink that night. There was something off about him that night. I didn't know what it was. I found out later that he was getting a lot of pressure from his dad about college and well... he was angry. Basically, he let his anger out on me." 

"He led me to his bedroom. We began to kiss. I knew he was upset so being the good girlfriend that I was, I did what I thought I was supposed to do and comfort him. But he quickly became agressive and started to push me. He didn't have a condom and I was in between birth control so I didn't want to have sex. That didn't stop him though. You would have thought it would though since he loved me and all. But nope- it didn't. That night he raped me, but he didn't say that it was since I was his girlfriend. I didn't want to do it. I told him to stop but the rage and the alchol mixed took away all of his senses." 

Harry didn't say a word. He just sat there, rubbing patterns into her back as she retold the events from the frightful night. 

"He came to my house the next day appologizing. I didn't want to hear it. I broke up with him. He was pissed but honestly, I didn't care. He never talked to me after that or ever since. School was okay. We had different friends and he didn't talk to me. It wasn't like the stereotypical movies where the guy makes the girls life a living hell. He had some decency left. He wanted me to have a bit of self-respect for myself I guess."

Ava looked over at Harry. He wiped the tears that began to fall. "What about the nightmare?" He asked. 

"After that night I kept having these nightmares. Basically of that night. I went to a therapist once my mom died because they got worse after she died. They haven't happend in months. I'm not too sure why it happend tonight." 

At this point, Harry had lifted Ava onto his lap. She layed her head on his shoulder and he soothed her. "I'm sorry, baby." He whispered into her neck. "You didn't deserve that." 

"I know. Thank you." 

They remained that way, Harry soothing her as she stared off intot he distance. "Stay the night?" He asked. 

She nodded and followed Harry into his room. He stripped himself from his shirt and pants leaving him in nothing but his boxers. Ava couldn't help but stare at his perfection. She found herself memorizing every tattoo that inked his skin. Each crevice of his abs and the outline of his muscles. He was her defintion of perfection. She couldn't believe that he was hers. 

She slowly took off her jeans and pulled down her shirt, hoping it would cover her bare legs. He passed her his shirt. She thanked him. "Turn around?" She asked him shly. He laughed but did so. 

She threw on his old band tee that reached down to her knees. She was thankful for her short height. "You can turn around." Her voice was timid and her cheeks flushed. 

His eyes widend at the sight of her. She was beautiful. "Fuck," he let out a low rasp. Immediately her whole body was on fire. "You are making it really hard for me to not fuck you right now. Especially after what you told me because that would be extremely inappropriate." He said bluntly. If she wasn't blushing before, she knew she was now. She was not used to this vulgar side of Harry. To say that it didn't turn her on would be a complete lie. 

"Oh."

Harry turned around quickly and pulled the blankets down and got in. She followed and laid down on the other side. "Just because I want to, doesn't mean we will." He said. 

"I know."

"Then why are you laying so far away?" He winked at her. 

"Sorry," she giggled and scooted closer to him. He reached over and pulled her into his arms. His nostrils were quickly filled with her perfume. Coconut. He was pretty sure that was his new favourite scent. 

"Goodnight Harry."

"Goodnight Ava." He mummbled back, already half asleep. 

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Now you know a bit more about Ava's backstory. This book is almost haflway done. Woah!