Lying in bed after waking up wasn't a thing she did often, but the more she thought about the night before the less she wanted to walk out of her room. She heard every sound the people in and around the house made, the morning was quiet and any little noise sounded clear even with her window shut. She had called Tom when she first woke up, it was late out there but he answered, he always did. Talking with him helped a little but it wasn't the same as to see him properly and catch up, obviously she omitted what happened a few hours prior, and what had happened when Harrison took her to see Pearl. Basically, she omitted everything to do with Harrison, she couldn't even mention his name and when Tom asked about him she just gave a short answer and deviated from the conversation.
Harrison's body felt so sore, even though he often worked out his muscles ached like hell and it wasn't near a workout pain. The cuts on his face were swollen but not as much, just a minor bump on his cheekbone and brow. His arm ached the most, the gash one of those bastards' pocket knife had left on it was long but not deep in its entirety. He looked down at the stitches, they looked far from professional but they did the job, a slight smile tugged at the corners of his chapped lips when he remembered the night before but it soon disappeared when her frightened expression replaced the feeling of her soft hands on him.
That expression cut right through him, the tears that brimmed her eyes were of shock, he knew it wasn't because of him but because of the situation she had experienced before, but either way, he didn't want her to feel that. Not for him, nor for anyone. But that was something he had no control over, the life they lived didn't absolve them from tragedy. The man sighed heavily and finished getting ready for the day at a slower-than-normal pace.
When he exited his room, his eyes couldn't help but divert towards y/n's room, the door was closed and the lights off. He ran his fingers through his freshly done hair as he carried on walking down the hallway to reach the stairs. He found Tuwaine in the dining room, drinking coffee on his own, surely waiting for breakfast to be done. "Shit, man. You look awful." Tuwaine said as soon as he saw Harrison enter the room. The blonde gave him a slight glare before breaking into a grin as he shook his head side to side. Tuwaine didn't have a scratch on his face but his hands and forearms were plastered with small wounds.
"Thanks." Harrison breathed out, pulling a chair to sit at the table. "Did a cat 'ave a go at you?" He looked down at the man's arms and lifted his brows tauntingly.
"Fuck you." Tuwaine laughed, lifting the small mug with coffee to meet his lips, he looked at Harrison over the brim of the cup. "How come you got a pretty nurse to take care of you and I and the boys didn't?" Harrison's eyes rolled playfully, his head tilting back a little. He thought silence would be the best answer to his friend's question but he knew Tuwaine too well and the man could be persistent when he wanted to get something out of anyone. "What did you do to her that she hasn't come down?" Tuwaine's deep voice kept questioning, making Harrison huff and straighten up.
"Nothing." Harrison said flatly, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt and lifting his own coffee cup to take a sip of the hot beverage.
"Right." Tuwaine raised his eyebrows in surprise and fully sceptical, but he wasn't done, he was determined to get whatever had happened out of the man. Tuwaine kept pressing as they ate breakfast, irritating Harrison more with every assumption and question. "Harrison—"
"It's complicated and none of your goddamn business." The blonde grumbled, getting up suddenly and walking out of the dining room, leaving Tuwaine slightly stunned and on his own again. There was a weird feeling in Harrison's chest. The night before never left his mind, each movement, every word she spoke to him. The worry in her eyes when she first saw him covered in blood. How her hands were trembling and how she even joked a little with him when everything was under control. No doubt it was a little awkward but it wasn't borderline awkward, they were both adults, and mature by force of the universe so having a little awkwardness between them wasn't a huge deal. What worried him was the way his skin still burned with her gentle touch, how his ears had already found comfort in her soft voice, how he'd like to relive the night before, feel the pain all over again if it meant he'd had her close and taking care of him.
Leaving her behind wasn't something he wanted to do, but it was better than bringing her along to the meeting he had with Dexter, only because he was well known for his little respect toward women and if he said something to y/n, Harrison didn't want to think of the way he was going to react. So better be safe than sorry, he kept repeating in his head the whole way over to Dexter's house.
The last thing he wanted was to be sitting across that man, a filthy rich senior that thought he owned everything and everyone, it made Harrison so sick to even look at him but it was necessary that they had a few words about the distillery ambush. They have caught one of the guys and he recognised him as one of Dexter's men.
"He was one of my men." The middle-aged man said, puffing out a thick cloud of cigar smoke. "Dunno for what other prick he's working for now."
"Who the fuck releases a man just like that? How fucking thick you gotta be?" Harrison furrowed his brows at the man.
"First of all, kid. Don't talk to me like that in my fucking house." He pointed a warning finger at the blonde, as his eyes narrowed at him. "We got a deal, boy. What he does is not my problem. As long as he doesn't open his damn mouth about my shit, he lives." Dexter informed casually, waving his hands around as he spoke.
"And how are you so sure that he hasn't opened his mouth to the one he's working for now?" Harrison dared, he wanted answers and the man wasn't giving them to him.
"Look, son. I've got eyes and ears on every damn corner of this city. He hasn't ratted." Dexter stated, bringing the cigar back to his lips and taking a drag, "Now, speaking of eyes and ears. Birdy told me you've got yourself a new whore." He taunted, making Harrison lock his jaw and ball his fists. "A real nice one for what I've heard. Thought a good looking young man like you could get a lady without paying. How much was she? And can you get me one of them?" The tone of his voice and the words that came out of his mouth made Harrison's stomach toss and turn in distaste.
"I've got no one, Dexter. Your birdy's a little shit talker." Harrison tried to not sound aggravated by the man's despective comments but on the inside, he was livid because he was pretty sure he knew which girl the old man was talking about.
"My birdy happens to be the man she pointed a gun at." Dexter sneered, watching Harrison get tenser and tenser.
"Mmh. I don't recall."
"Well if she's not yours then I'll make sure to find her for myself then. Bitch's well fit." Dexter chuckled devilishly, knocking the last sip of brandy back as Harrison diverted his gaze to his watch, pretending he was running out of time.
"Yeah, you do that." He sighed as he got up from the uncomfortable leather chair in front of Dexter. "This better not be linked with you, Dexter. We have a good deal. Don't fuck this up, man." Harrison warned, adjusting his jacket and giving one last glance at the man at the desk before walking towards the door that Tuwaine opened quickly. The young man took long strides towards the front door to be out of the house and away from that man that spiked his fight instinct that was otherwise well tamed and deep within the blonde.
"Was that bastard referring to y/n?" Tuwaine asked once they were in the car. Irritation was clear in the young man as well as in Harrison, the blonde didn't even want to answer his friend's question and his silence alone was enough for Tuwaine to curse at the old man under his breath while the driver pressed on the gas pedal to get out of there.
The best hiding place was the library, the time she spent there seemed to fly with how calm and quiet it was. Between reading and working on her laptop it was already late at night. She put on a record on the vintage record player that sat on a small marble table by the window, the calm music echoed softly through the large room, the wind softly blowing up the thin fabric that fell from the open window, the moonlight reflecting on the polished surface of the piano where she sat.
"Hey." A soft voice pulled her out of her trance, y/n turned her head to look at who dared to disturb her downtime. It was none other than Harrison, of course. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his dark grey trousers, he was a few feet away from her, slowly stepping closer.
"Is there a problem?" She asked, thinking he wanted her to take care of something. She tried so hard to keep the feeling in her stomach at bay when she locked eyes with him. The bumps on his face from the fight were a tiny bit inflamed and bruised, the purple and red tones standing out on his milky skin.
"No. Not at all." He was mere inches away from her now, looking down at the girl, "May I?" He asked, pointing to the small space on the bench where she was sitting. Y/n's heart was pounding in her chest as she wondered how could he be so careless after what happened to him not even twenty-four hours ago.
"Sure." She scooted to the left to give him more room to sit. Their shoulders were touching, arms were brushing against each other and she inhaled deeply concentrating on slowing her heart rate, the pleasant warmth that radiated from the blonde man making it tough for her to focus on something else.
"I want to talk to you about us. Well about me, mostly." Her eyes widened for a second then she glanced up at him, his gaze was already on her, his eyes were kind and they shined so bright with the reflected light of the moon.
"Us?" Was all she managed to get out, barely blinking.
"I guess, yeah." His jaw clenched and relaxed as he swallowed. "I want to formally apologise for my ways towards you since we met." He was fidgeting with his rings and trying really hard not to look away from her piercing eyes. Y/n's stomach turned at the man's words, she never in a million years expected him to come down from his ivory tower to actually apologise. "You just came in tryna handle my shit and I just got defensive about it. Not that that makes it okay, though. I know that." He sighed and looked down at the piano, bringing his left hand up to press a key, the gentle sound getting mixed with the music from the record.
"It's okay." She said softly, she was still in shock at how that was actually happening.
"Don't say that." He looked back at her and she furrowed her brows, confusion washed over her face.
"What?"
"Don't say it's okay when someone is apologising." The man clarified, his knee nudging hers subconsciously.
"What am I supposed to say then?" She scoffed, her brows furrowing even more.
"Say that you accept the apology. Never say it's okay. That makes it sound like whatever they did to you was okay and I don't think that if someone upsets you to the point where an apology is due will ever be okay." He ranted calmly, not really raising his voice in the slightest.
Her eyes danced between his pale ones, she felt a blush creeping up her neck and she couldn't bear him staring at her like he was so she rolled her eyes and looked away from him, "Alright, I accept your apology. Is that better?" She raised her brows at him.
"I 'sppose. Would've been better if it was honest but... That'll do." He shrugged, getting up and stepping to the side but y/n caught his wrist before he could move any farther. He looked back down at her, scanning her face with soft eyes.
"I." She paused, thinking on what to say, she had no reason to stop him from leaving other than she kind of missed the warmth he irradiated, "I'm— sorry, too." She finally spoke. Harrison didn't move, he barely reacted to her words which only made her feel judged so she let go of his wrist, dropping her hands on her lap.
"And what are you apologising for?" Harrison inquired, not moving a muscle just staring at her.
"I mean... I've been a bitch to you too." She bit the inside of her cheek, "You sort of deserved it, though." She tried to joke but he just nodded with a serious expression on his face.
"So you're not really sorry." He stepped away from the bench and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He waited for her answer but she was stuck, nothing she could say would make it better, nothing she could think of right at that moment at least. "Right, I did my bit. I'll leave you to... Whatever you do in here." He turned and walked out of the room.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, y/n." The girl groaned when she was alone, squeezing her eyes shut as she leaned her forehead on the piano, cursing herself a little more. He was finally coming clean with her and she'd gone and said that. She blamed him for her attitude in her apology completely cancelling it. It was true, she was being an asshole back to him, but that's not something you say when you're coming clean. If Tom was there he would help her think what to do now, to at least make peace with Harrison for the sake of the business, for her own sanity. She felt like she couldn't wait until Tom was back to fix things up. She had to try, just like he did.