Why was Harry torturing me like this? He had been with numerous girls. I knew I meant nothing to him, I was a mere speck in his whirlwind of a life. He had everything he needed, everything he'd ever wanted. Why was he doing this to me?
Unlike him, I had never had anyone of the opposite sex touch me the way he did, or even come near me for that matter. Harry was only playing around with to satisfy his own selfish desires and he was aware of the effect his actions had on me. But he didn't care.
He played the pity card with me by telling me that he had a hard life. He only wanted me to relate to him so he could somehow get closer to me through our 'similarities'. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that I was inexperienced in so many aspects.
What Darren said couldn't be any truer. I had been blind to Harry's faults. I didn't want to believe that he was anything like the people around him. And look where it had gotten me. What was I expecting?
I was such a fool for letting him get to me like this. How could I have thought that he would be different? The ugly truth was that they were all the same. Malicious, cunning, venomous, perverse. I could go on forever.
I woke up from the most terrible of slumbers. Last night had quite the impact on me. I got into the shower and scrubbed hard where Harry had touched me. I hoped the warm shower would wash away everything but the pain remained.
My hair was brushed, but the tangled locks were left to be as I didn't have the energy to straighten them out. I rummaged through my clothes bag and picked out a plain brown shirt.
My days here were repetitive. I would wake up brimming with anxiety every morning, never knowing what kind of terrible things would happen. I lived in fear. But when I began to know more about the person I was living with, I was given a sense of security. Well, false sense of security would be more accurate. But whatever it was, it had been taken away and I felt completely vulnerable.
As I stared into the mirror, tears welled up in my eyes. I hated myself for being so weak. I jumped when there was a knock on the door. I didn't bother to give much thought to who it might be, so I pulled it open.
I felt my eyes widen at the sight of Harry. He towered above me and I had always found his height somewhat intimidating but I wouldn't let it get to me now. I needed to give off a vibe to show that I wasn't weak or afraid of him. I had no reason to be.
"Thalia," Harry began and I started to push the door closed but he pushed back. "Please listen."
I kept my head down and stayed silent - a clear representation of my weak and vulnerable state. I just didn't have it in me to hold up any kind of bravado. "I was going to tell you this last night but... I got distracted." I hoped I didn't blush, as memories of last night rushed in.
"Look, I understand the whole thing last night might have freaked you out, since you know... you often get freaked out by stuff like that." I attempted to close the door again but Harry held it open, his strength overpowering mine. "I want you to talk to me."
I fidgeted with my fingers as I prepared myself to say what I had to. "I-I don't want you to touch me anymore. I'm not comfortable with it." I brought out a frown on his face. "I'm nothing to you. So please leave me alone."
There was a flash of an expression on Harry's face that I had never seen before. He was unlike himself, as he remained quiet, studying my eyes. "What do you want from me, Harry? You can mess around with any girl you want." I said.
"I don't know." He finally spoke. "I don't know what I want from you. But there is something. I-just-" He placed a hand over the nape of his neck, nervously looking around. I'd never seen him like this. "Nevermind."
"Okay." I nodded, gently pushing the door.
"Lia." He pushed back once again and entered. I quickly took a few steps back. "What I wanted to tell you was that I ended the contract."
"Y-You ended it?" My voice wavered as I asked for a confirmation, uncertain if I'd really heard what I thought I had.
"Yeah, I did it yesterday. You can go home in two days." There was no life in his voice, or his face for that matter. For what real reason, I was unsure.
Mixed feelings arose at his words, a burst of excitement and a strange sensation of losing something.
If Harry had been able to end the contract all this while, like Darren had said, why didn't he? He'd lied that it wasn't possible to end it just like that. But I decided to just ignore it, because all that mattered now was that I was going to see my family again.
"I-I don't know what to say." I murmured.
"And you'll be.. well... happy again." He added.
Happy? I'd be returning to my former life. Doing chores in the apartment while my mother worked, as I'd done for the past few years. I didn't know what to feel, I only knew what I was supposed to feel. Which was 'happy'. Why was I taking such a long time to be so? This was all I'd been looking forward to.
"Thank you." I told him, unsure what else to say.
"You don't have to thank me. If it wasn't for me, you'd never be in this mess."
I didn't respond to that. I knew that I would still be in a mess if it wasn't for him, and probably even a much worse one. But I decided to keep it to myself.
"Lia, tomorrow's my birthday. And... I want to treat you."
"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" I questioned.
He shrugged. "I owe you."
_____________
Harry handed over his Mercedes to the car jockey. Once he had instructed the jockey to take good care of his car, Harry turned to me as the Mercedes revved off. Glass doors slid open automatically as we neared and I was greeted with a cool AC wind blowing at my face.
I protested against going with Harry but his words were forceful so I had to give in eventually. The mall was humongous. I'd only ever been to the smaller ones every once in a blue moon and compared to this, those small malls were nothing. Designer shops with names I'd never even heard of filled every floor. Posh restaurants - English, Italian, Mexican, Asian - were scattered about.
"Get anything you want." Harry said. It almost sounded like an order.
"What?" When he said that he'd treat me, I was thinking cake pops at the most.
"Clothes, shoes, bags. Whatever girly shit you want. Get it." He told me. I began to question the opinion I had of Harry.
Harry had definitely grown nicer since our first meeting, although sometimes his choice of words is misleading and rude. But I still couldn't let my guard down, I constantly reminded myself of the type of people Damian and Richard were and the possibility that Harry was like them. I wasn't going to fall into any trap again.
"Well, go." He urged. I might have been looking at him for a little too long, but it was because I was so lost in my thoughts.
I walked into a boutique with a massive photo of a model plastered outside. Harry followed. A lot of dresses caught my attention, but some were too short for my liking. I didn't move around much, I merely eyed the clothes and bags.
"You don't have to be afraid." Harry grabbed my hand - an action I'd told him to refrain from doing. "Come here." He led me through the crowded boutique. I felt that people were glaring at us, but I didn't dare to look at any of their faces.
He dropped my hand when we got to some sweaters and summer dresses. "Go on." He nudged his head to the side. I parted the clothes from one other, looking through the different t-shirts and dresses.
"I'll just have this one then." I plucked out a white laced gown that came down till the ankles.
Harry's face contorted in amusement, he was seemingly struggling to hold back a laugh. "When I asked you to get something, I didn't mean a wedding dress. You share the same fashion sense as the Corpse Bride. What's the matter with you?" He chuckled.
"Well, you're a guy. What would you know about dresses?" I shot back.
"If you asked me what I'd like to see my girl in, I'd say this." He pulled out a black cotton dress that reminded me of the girls I'd seen at Richard's place before I was sold off. "Not too revealing, but still sexy." He forgot that I wasn't his girl, and so I wouldn't have the slightest interest in his suggestion.
"That's... a no. No. No." I wagged my head in refusal.
"Fine, whatever." He lifted his hands defensively.
After going a few rounds, we lined up at the cashier behind a middle-aged lady with the most bizarre hair. It was like purple cotton candy. I caught the sight of unevenly smeared lipstick on her skinny lips. Her choice of clothing wasn't any more decent, as she was wrapped in a striking blue tube dress that looked more like a shower curtain to me. Rich people in these areas were extremely odd.
When it was our turn to pay, I placed the white dress I'd picked out on the counter, as well as two more sweaters that Harry demanded I should take. I was caught by surprise when the skimpy black dress he held up earlier was chucked on top of them.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
"No one said it was for you." He responded.
"Are you going to wear it then?" Harry laughed a little too hard at my reply, but he shook it off when numbers flashed across the cash register screen. I found my eyes widening at the amount that needed to be paid. It was a little too much for four pieces of clothing.
Harry didn't seem to have a problem with it, as he nonchalantly slid out a credit card from his wallet and handed it to the cashier lady.
_____________
"Why now?" I had to ask.
We'd been on the road for about ten minutes now and for the first nine, I'd been deliberating on whether I should ask Harry that. Something told me I didn't want the answer but I had to ask anyway.
"Why now what?"
"Why did you only end the contract now?"
He sucked in a deep breath, I assumed he was hoping I wouldn't ask that. "Lia, I'm going to have to... settle down soon."
A force clutched at my heart, threatening to burst it. I'd only realised now that Kaylee had slipped my mind. I'd forgotten about her. She was the reason for this. "Oh." I breathed. "With that... girl yesterday?" I had to struggle to construct a proper sentence.
Harry nodded and my whole body began to ache. "It's not that I want to. I have to. I've been failing in my exams and I don't think I can even get through college. How am I supposed to handle a business then?"
"So she's going to support you financially? What about your dad?" I found myself asking more questions than I intended.
"He's not going to be around forever and he wants to make sure I have a stable future. No she's not going to support me financially, I'll do that on my own. She's just going to be there to help me. She's better at it than I am." So she was going to support him financially. He just didn't want to admit it.
"But why would you think you can't do it on your own? I'm sure you're more than capable."
We pulled up over the drive way and Harry killed the engine. "You're the first person to ever tell me that." Our eyes locked when he turned to me, and it only made the pain in my chest swell. He brought his fingers to my cheek, the contact surging electricity through me. This was not supposed to happen.
"Thalia, that night I kissed you, for the first time... I wasn't that drunk." So he remembered.
"Harry, all of this is over." My voice was soft, I didn't want him to listen to me. "And I don't mean anything to you. So... you should stop." I moved his hand away.
"Would you stop saying that?" He sputtered. "Stop saying that you don't mean anything to me. I would've already fucked you if you didn't."
I was about to cover my ears, not wanting to taint myself with the profanity. I'd never had anyone talk to me this way. I didn't how to react to what he said, but I didn't have to as he got out of the car with a violent slam. I wasn't sure who or what he was angry at.
My feet were almost as numb as my head they carried me into the mansion. My mouth fell open at the sight of Richard and Damian lounging by the fireplace.