Heavenly // h.s.

chapter 10. second chance

"Aleah's not gonna come home today," Harry said with a sigh.

"What's for dinner then?" I asked as I scrolled through Instagram. I wasn't surprised to see a couple shit posts about me. They were basically about me but didn't actually say my name. I liked those posts on purpose.

"Dunno, but here's the finished painting," Harry said as he passed me his canvas.

I gently grabbed it as if it was a delicacy. The painting showed a woman, naked of course, staring into my eyes with such unexplainable expression. Her brown hair messily pooled over her shoulder, hiding her breasts. Her body looking natural and beautiful.

"It's beautiful, Harry," I genuinely said with a smile.

"It's my job," he sighed.

"Just take the compliment, damnit," I jokingly said, earning a small smile from Harry.

When my eyes landed on his curled up lips, my heart...

fluttered?

What the hell. No. This isn't OK. Why was my heart beating this fast and my body getting hot and my mind going at light speed? He's your sister's fiance, Scarlet! You're sick, sick, sick!

"Scarlet?" Harry asked with his soft voice.

"Yeah?" I responded back, trying my best to hide my nervousness.

"How does pizza sound?" Harry asked, a smile on his lips but a worried look in his eyes.

"Perfect," I sighed.

~~

"There's this gallery opening," Harry started to say as he started to clean up our dinner.

"And?"

"It's basically my newest works at the museum all the way in New York," he slowly and softly spoke, dragging every word with his pink lips. "And I was wondering if you would like to go with me?"

"How about Aleah?" I asked with a cool composure, even though my heart was unfortunately beating like crazy. I felt like he could totally hear it beating, and that only caused my cheeks to heat up.

"She's probably busy," Harry said. "And she doesn't even like my art that much."

"Oh," I whispered.

"So, yes?" Harry asked with a hopeful face on his handsome face.

"Yeah," I confirmed with a nod.

"OK," Harry whispered to himself as he finished cleaning up the kitchen.

Once he left the kitchen to get some more cleaning supplies in the storage room, I couldn't help but let out a giant smile from my excitement. It sounded wonderful; walking around the art gallery, examining and talking about his art, and being part of his happiness.

~~

"Hello?" I yawned out.

Some asshole decided it was completely sane to call someone at 2-something-a.m. I would usually ignore calls if I knew who it was, but this one was a private number.

"Scarlet," Jake's voice said on the other line.

As much as I hated him with every single cell in my body, I missed all the good memories we had, even if it was all fraud from the beginning. I missed his calls at night, wishing me a goodnight. I missed his kisses on the top of my head. I missed him hugging me and me burying myself into his chest.

"What, Jake?" I asked, completely awake now.

"I really miss you, Scarlet," Jake said on the other line with the sweet voice he used to use in the past.

"After I beat the shit out of you?" I snapped at him, ignoring how my heart felt alive when he said he missed me.

He doesn't mean it.

"I was wrong, Scarlet. Being with Sarah made me realize who I really loved," he said with a small chuckle. "And that person is you."

Pain rippled through me as my brain played every memory of him saying he loved me. All those confessions and kisses we shared were lies, just like now. I clenched my fists as another small part of me told me to believe Jake. That maybe he really loved me all this time.

"Please, let's meet at the place we first kissed, I know you remember," Jake said. "I'll wait there and if you come, I'll know you love me back. And if you don't, I'll know you're over me."

Just like that, he hung up.

My brain knew immediately what to do; stay home. But my heart was confused. All the good memories of him started to clash with the bad memories of him. There was that one memory of him handing me a bouquet of roses and then a memory of him laughing as he kissed Sarah in front of me.

"You thought I really loved you? Don't be stupid. It was fun making the one and only Scarlet Brown fall head over heals for me. Who would've thought all you needed were cheesy quotes and flowers"

I didn't know what to do. I felt so lost as I sat on my bed, my phone resting on my sweaty hands. As I bit my lips and a tear fell down my eyes, I made me final decision.

I got up from my bed and took careful steps from my room.

He killed me and now I'm going back to him. What an idiot.