All of the boys nodded in unison, and I was surprised when Elijah begrudgingly lifted a shoulder. He might not be happy with Harry, but it was obvious that he had respect for him despite the fact that Harry was younger by a few years. Harry had a higher rank than Elijah, and just how important that was appeared right now.
Even Gemma joined the boys as they all started on one car, pulling everything out from under the seats, the dashboard, the trunk. I decided that I would go ahead and make myself useful but as I began to move forward, Harry cut across my path, gently grabbing my hand and tugging me back towards his vehicle. I curiously followed, watching as he released my hand and climbed into the passenger seat. He turned his body so that his long legs were hanging out of the car before reaching both hands out to me.
I raised an eyebrow as I linked our fingers together. He tugged gently on my hands and I got the message, placing one foot on the car as Harry pulled me up. I had to duck my head so that I wouldn't hit it on the top of the vehicle, but it wasn't necessary after Harry pulled me down, his legs moving as he sat me down between them. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me tightly against him as he gently rested his chin on my shoulder, a lingering kiss being left to my cheek in the process.
"Shouldn't we be helping everyone?" I asked quietly.
"We will in a moment," he replied. "I just wanted to tell you something first."
"Go on," I said, curious now as I waited.
I felt Harry's hot breath tickle my neck and cheek as he thought over what he was about to say, and when he began speaking, I listened intently, leaning back into his warm body.
"All my life, being a gang and doing all of this"--he gestured around--"is all I've ever known. I can be gentle when I want to be, when my mind allows it, but at the end of the day, being this gang leader... it's who I am inside. I always thought that this was just how life was supposed to be. I wake up, I grab my gun, I hand out orders, I fight... that's just how it had always been until I met you.
"When I first met you, of course that's how it still was for me. But I realized why I fell so hard for you... well, I mean, it's because you're you and I think, if soul mates actually exist, that's exactly what we are, but my attachment to you was so quick to grow because I'd never been around females who I was supposed to protect and be gentle towards. The women I was around always left as quickly as they had come, and I mean that in both senses.
"Anyways, you showed me that the way I was living my life isn't the only way to live. There's so much more to it, if you bother to look, and you showed me it all. And now... I mean, if I'm being honest, I was completely terrified when I found out that I was going to be a dad. When I went home after I found out, I just sat there and thought about it for awhile.
"People like me aren't supposed to have children. I've done so many horrible things, Alice. I've killed and I've beaten... and babies are little miracles. People like me don't deserve any miracles, yet somehow I'm getting both you and this baby. I didn't believe that I deserved it... I still don't really believe it, but I guess people like me aren't just undeserving--they're also incredibly selfish, because despite the fact that I'm sure you would be better off without me, I'm never letting you go again... that is, unless you wanted me to, in which case I would try my best to stay away from you."
I realized what Harry was saying and I froze in his grip. He expected this reaction obviously as his fingers traced patterns over my stomach. He was giving me an option here and now. He laid out the fact that I had showed him how much more there was to life than gangs and violence. He told me how he didn't deserve this, but he wanted it anyway. He gave me the choice of walking away from him.
