Harry and Niall drive onto the driveway. I watch as the headlights turn off and the car doors open. I smile as Ross and Lacey get out of the car. They seemed fine, except for the bruises that matched mines. I returned Liam's phone to him before dashing out of the house and down the driveway. I carefully gave each of them a hug, making sure I didn't harm them.
When I pulled away from them, I got a better look at Ross's face. Shallow scratches were clear on his face and the area around his right eye was purple.
"What happened to you?" I ask, trying to keep anger and suspicion out of my voice. But I knew I wasn't doing a good job.
"Nothing happened Darce," Ross sighed.
"Ross, you tell me right now," I demanded. Lacey shied away. She made her way up to the door and the boys welcomed her.
"It doesn't matter Darce, we're never going back, so what does it matter?" Ross shrugged.
"I want to know, Ross," I tried one more time.
He looks at me before letting out a sigh, as if giving up.
"After you left, Amera came in for our daily make-out fest and I just..." he trailed off.
"What?" I ask, urging him to keep going. He smiled and shook his head.
"I got fed up. I love Lacey, not Amera and I was tired of being someone's make-out doll. Why do I have to get punished for her ugliness? That's what I told her. 'It's not my fault you're so ugly no one wants to date you.' So she..." he trails of again and he chuckles.
I look over his shoulder at Niall and Harry who were leaning against the car, listening with keen interest. Along with interest, there was another emotion that I didn't know. It looked deadly, scary, angry. Maybe that was what it was.
"Go on, Ross," I said softly.
"She scratched me, here," he says, running his hand over the scratches. He did it softly but he still winced.
"And, then she got her dog's leash, the one that hangs on the peg near the door at the top of the stairs?" he says.
"Yea, I know that one," I said.
"She wrapped it around my neck and nearly strangled me with it," he raised his neck, revealing red marks that I hadn't noticed. I felt my hands quivering.
"And then she got the metal end and swung it at my face, hitting me in the eye," he finished. He turns to look at the house. I felt anger rush through me. I quickly glanced at the boys. They were still listening, but they were staring at the ground.
"She went after Lacey, too, but luckily, Lacey had been walking past the door upstairs and I warned her in the nick of the time," Ross sighs bitterly.
He turns to look at me again.
"You know, if they ever find you, you're in big trouble, right? For running away?" he asks me.
I nod.
"But who says they'll ever find me?" I smiled. He smiled back. He wrapped me in a gentle hug before walking towards the house again.
"You know what they say about eavesdroppers, they never hear what they want to hear," I smile at Niall and Harry.
"We weren't listening in to your conversation. We were looking for Harry's silver ring," Niall said, immediately lowering himself to all fours.
"Now where'd it go?" he asked himself, looking under the car. I laughed and Harry let out a small chuckle.
"Well, Hazza, I think it's gone forever," Niall says dramatically while he's getting up.
Harry smiles a small smile and Niall starts walking to the house, where Amy is waiting at the door.
"Well, Niall, might not have been eavesdropping but I'll admit, I was," he admits.
"Why didn't you tell anyone? Like call the police or something?" he continues. I turn to look at him. His green eyes are sincere and full of anger.
"Because we- well, I- don't want to draw attention to something as small as a few bruises," I sighed.
"Few? You have bruises snaking up and down both of your arms, and your friend got strangled, beat with metal, and clawed," he said bitterly.
"We just didn't Harry. And how exactly was I supposed to call without a phone? The only phone in the house was in Urican's bedroom," I explained.
He looked at me, sincere apologies in every feature.
"I'm sorry, I just don't like seeing you like this," he admits, his green eyes not leaving my gray ones.
"You know, they were the first things about you that I fell in love with," he smiled.
"What?" I asked, walking over to lean against the car beside him.
"Your eyes. Everywhere I went, I'd be looking for those pair of gray eyes. He smiled.
Then his eyes trailed up and down my arms and he frowned. I followed his gaze and saw my bruises pulsing against my skin in the moonlight. I pulled my sleeves down, hiding them from view.
"Hiding them doesn't mean they're not there," he said calmly.
I turned to look at him again. He inched closer to me.
"We could pretend they're not there. Out of sight, out of mind," I say when he's right in front of me. I could smell his breath. He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear and leaned down.
I had missed the presence of his warm lips. Of course I had. That presence hadn't been there for the past 6 months. He seemed to have missed me to. All the feelings and emotions went into that one kiss. His fingers wrapped themselves into my hair and my arms snaked around his neck. he chuckled and pulled away, looking towards the house.
I turned to follow his gaze and saw the curtain move an inch. I giggled.
"It appears our conversation is no longer private," he laughed.
His hand enveloped mines and we walked to the house. Louis waited behind the door, his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face.
"Harry, need I remind you that this house is rate PG?" he smiled.
"No, I knew that," Harry smiled.
"It's late, we should probably head off to bed," Liam yawned, looking at his watch.
"Yea, I'm beat, good night," Zayn stretched his arms and got off the couch, walking towards his room.
"I'm going to go drop Amy off at home, come darling," Niall said, taking her hand and walking out of the house towards the car.
"You two can take the couch," Liam says, taking the cushions off and pulling out a metal frame that transformed into a bed. He went into the hallway and came back with pillows and blankets.
"Darce, you could share with me," Harry says, leading me towards his room. Louis waited at the entrance to the hall.
"PG rated," he said again, this time a bit louder.
Harry and I chuckled and headed towards his room.
He walked to his drawers and passed me a pair of sweatpants and a shirt.
"Bathroom's down the hall, swettheart," he winked at me. I walked to the bathroom and changed. After I was done, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I pulled the sleeves' of Harry's shirt up and almost gasped at the bruises that were there. I hadn't thought they'd be that bad.
The blue and purple circles looked like pulsing neon signs. They made my skin look white in comparison. I shook my head, trying to clear it and rolled the sleeves back down. I picked up the clothes I had taken off and made my way back to Harry's room. Liam was turning off the lights. He wished me good night, smiled at me and then walked to his room.
Harry was laying down when I re-entered his room.
He sleeps bare-chested?
Oh god.
"Can I put my clothes in your hamper?" I ask quietly.
"Yea, sure," he answers, laying his head against the pillow.
After doing so, I walk over to the other side of the bed and sit down. I lay down and turn to the side.
"Good night Darce," I hear Harry say sleepily.
"Good Night, Harry," I answer. I turn to look at him. His eyes are closed already. I inch over to him and lay my head on his chest.
I look up to see him smile.