Forever You - Evening the Score // Book Two

Chapter 31

Elena's eyes fluttered open when she heard Joey's scream echo down the hallway as well as through the baby monitor. Once she realized what it was, she was out of bed and out of her room in a shot. Harry must've had the same idea as he and Elena almost collided in the middle of the hallway.

They both stopped, awkwardly blinking at each other before Joey's scream shook them out of their moment. Elena was first in the room as she reached forward for her son. Joey's face was splotched red, his eyes pouring tears. Elena was alarmed, to say the least, the last time she'd heard Joey scream like that was when he'd been born.

Harry flipped the light on,

"Is he hot?"

Elena shook her head,

"No." She said as she bounced him lightly in her arms until he calmed a bit, "Nightmare maybe?"
Harry lifted his hand to rest on Joey's head,

"He doesn't feel hot."

Elena nodded,

"I just said that." She responded, a slight twinge of annoyance in her tone.

Harry sighed in defeat,

"I was just-"

"I'm gonna change him." She interrupted as she brushed past Harry and set Joey on the changing table, "I'll stay with him, you can go back to bed."

Harry stared at her back for a few moments,

"Len, I-"

"Harry I can handle him. There's no reason for both of us to be sleep deprived." She glanced over her shoulder, "Go to bed."

Harry's mouth closed as he finally nodded. He walked past her slowly, stopping once he'd rounded the doorway into the hallway.

So many things had changed in such a short period of time.

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Harry felt like he was suffocating inside the heavy weight of emotion in the house. Elena was playing on the floor with Joey, barely even acknowledging when Harry said he was going out for a bit.

He hated this. He hated that they still hadn't discussed anything that had happened between them. He was tired of being polite.

Harry needed to breathe. He felt like he hadn't since he'd seen those pictures so many months ago.

Harry's initial destination was the gym, but once he'd made it to the highway he turned in the opposite direction and headed straight for Gemma's.

She was just finishing breakfast when he got to the front door,

"What's up?" She asked, "You sounded a little...weird on the phone."

Harry nodded as he closed the door. He was weird. He'd been weird for months now. Harry plopped down on her couch,

"Gem...was...am I-" He stopped, his eyes lifting to hers, "Was I ready for all of this?"

Gemma studied him for a few, munching on her final piece of bacon as she sat down across from him,

"Ready for all of what?"

Harry ran his hand over his face. He was going to have to admit what he'd done to Gemma and he was positive she would take it exactly the way Elena had. Harry had never felt more ashamed. He looked down at his clasped hands,

"I did something." He whispered.

Gemma pulled her eyebrows together in confusion,

"What'd you do?"