“When we were walking to the car. I felt like someone was watching us and when I looked back at the building, I saw him looking in our general direction” she said. Pulling back, I said “I thought he'd already left for the day.”
“No, he's been staying late for some reason” she said looking worried.
“Why does it feel like you're not telling me something?” I asked hoping I was wrong.
“He didn't want you to know but he gets beat more often now and I think he's torturing himself for some reason. Like he thinks that in doing so, he won't have feelings for you anymore. I don't know for sure but I'm worried” she said looking lost.
“I need to talk to him... in person... but how do I get him to do that?” I asked since he'd been avoiding me.
“I'll get him to meet me and you can be nearby that way he doesn't feel like it was an ambush” Char said.
“Why don't you both get changed and then see if he'll talk to you?” Mom said coming to stand next to us before she added “don't worry about paying for anything, I'll take care of it and take it all home. You need to see Dante as soon as possible because even I'm worried now.” Nodding, we both went back into the dressing rooms and changed back into our normal clothes. As we left the fitting rooms, we handed mom the items we wanted and kissed her on the cheek.
“Go get your man and make sure he stops torturing himself for whatever he thinks he's doing it for” she said as I pulled away. Nodding, I said “I'll try but that depends on if he'd actually want to talk to me.” Taking my hand, Char said “come on, there's only one way to find out.” Nodding, I followed as she walked towards the entrance tapping away on her phone as she did.
A few minutes passed before she paused and said “he'll meet us at the coffee shop down the street in twenty minutes.”
“You mean he'll meet you since he doesn't know I'll be there” I said getting worried.
“Just breath and relax, okay. I'm sure he'll be okay to talk to you once he knows you're there” she said. Heading to the coffee shop, we ordered and sat apart while we waited for him to show up. Staring at my phone, I heard the audible gasp and looked up to see Dantes’ handsome face covered in bruises under the black hoodie. Laying my phone on the table, I covered my mouth and nose as tears streaked down my face. Since I wasn't close enough to hear them, I could just watch in horror as he got angry and then caught me watching before shaking his head and storming out. Getting up, Char came over to me and said “he didn't want you to see him like that.” Realizing what I had to do, I got up and ran after him only to realize he'd gotten away again faster than I'd thought. Pulling out my phone, I used to app to call him praying he'd answer his phone. When he answered he said “why? I didn't want you to know since you're already dealing with so much.”
“Listen to me Dante, I am upset that they're still doing this to you but I'm more worried about what you're doing to yourself. Please, if this is some sort of self torture stop this. Don't worry about protecting me, worry about protecting yourself. I know you can kick their asses single handedly if you want and I don't care if that leads them to me. I want you to start protecting yourself from now on because whether you believe it or not you don't deserve this. No one does. So, please” I said scanning the crowd as I spoke noticing someone in a similar colored sweat shirt with the hood pulled up frozen with their back to me. Pulling the phone away from my ear as I moved to stand just behind them, I said “please, stop doing this to yourself. I have a vague idea of why you're doing it but Dante, you don't have to anymore.” Turning slightly to look at me over his shoulder, he dropped his phone to his side and said “I don't know how to stop. I can't... my heart can't take it anymore...”
“What do you mean?” I asked trying to hold back the fear and tears I knew were coming.
“I can't take the waiting and not knowing. I can't take the feelings that I have for you because on some level I know they won't ever be returned. I need some way of convincing myself I don't love you anymore and this seemed to be the stupidest but best way of doing that” he said before turning to leave. Char came up next to me moments later to find tears streaming down my face.
“He hates me. What am I going to do now?” I sobbed turning to hug her. Rubbing my back, she said “he doesn't hate you baby. He's just trying to convince himself that he doesn't love you as much as he does. I think the best thing to do would be to go through with the plan” she said as I cried against her shoulder. Nodding, I said “I just hope he doesn't hate me before we can.”
“Come on, let's get home” she said pulling back to look at me.
The next four day passed in a blur as we went about our routine and getting ready for the dance. Saturday morning, as I woke up a wave of terror and hope ran through me as I bolted upright in bed. Covering my face with both hands, I heard my door creak open just before the bed sank around me. Pulling my hands from my face, Char said “everything will be okay. Just trust and believe that the man you love still loves you no matter what he may have said.” As I looked at her and Annabelle, Belle crawled into my lap throwing her arms around my neck and said “we'll be with you the whole time. So, don't be scared big brother.”
“Thanks Belle, I’ll try not to get too scared” I told her wrapping my arms around her tightly.
“Come on kids. It's time to start our day” mom said from my bedroom doorway.
Later that afternoon as we were getting ready for the dance, I went to Chars’ room to help her. As I zipped up her dress, I asked “are we sure he'll even be there tonight?”
“I have it straight from Grace, that even now he's getting ready. So relax, Harley. He'll be there. Have you chosen a song yet?” She asked.
“This might be cheesy but No Body But You by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani” I said as I clasped her silver rhinestone necklace around her neck. Turning to look at me, she said “I don't think it's cheesy at all. It tells him how you truly feel about him even before you say it.” Nodding, I said “yeah, that's kind of what I was going for.”
“Come on, let's go see if mom and Belle are ready” she said taking my hand and leading me out of her room. Once we were downstairs, we saw mom and Belle in their nice dresses and smiles.
“You guys ready for this?” Mom asked.
“Ready to dance like there is no tomorrow. Not sure about the rest of it though” I said getting nervous again.
“Harley, sweetie, relax. We all know he loves you just as much as you love him. Have faith in that and everything will work out” mom said. Looking around at my new family, I said “I'm trying... it's just that...”
“It's just that what baby?” Char asked moving to stand in front of me her silver heels clicking on the hard wood floor. Taking a deep breath, I said “it's just that the last time I was going to tell him how I felt about him, the accident happened. Now I'm scared that something else will happen.”
“Oh, sweetie don't think like that. Just trust that everything will be fine, okay” mom said.
“I'll try. Come on, we should go” I said as they all nodded.
Arriving at the school gym for our prom, I took a deep breath before entering the room with my family by my side. Mom and Belle moved away but Char stayed by my side as we waited for the love of my life to show up. Checking her phone, she said “he'll be here in a minute.” Taking a deep breath, I nodded and said “then I guess it's time for you to request a song.” Nodding, she asked “are you sure?”
“Yeah, let's do this” I said moving to where I could be seen from the doorway as she headed over to the DJ. As the song began, my nerves sky rocketed in anticipation but the moment I saw those gorgeous green eyes and long blonde hair I couldn't do it. Running into the locker room, I hid behind the end of one set of lockers. Moments later, I heard what sounded like heels on the tile before Belle said “big brother, where are you?”
“I'm here Belle” I said as she rounded the lockers. Sitting down next to me, she asked “what's wrong? Why’d you run from him?”
“I got scared AnnaBear. I don't know what I'd do if he doesn't love me anymore” I said pulling my knees to my chest as I cried.
Charlottes’ POV
Requesting the song like Harley had asked, I turned around just as Dante walked into the gym to see Harley run to the locker room. Almost everyone followed him to the doorway, curious as to why he'd done that. However, Belle was the only one to actually go in after him. As Dante came to stand next to me, he looked confused but said nothing as the song continued to play. Turning to look at him, I gave him a stern look and said “go talk to the love of your life and tell him how you feel” pointing towards the locker room as I spoke drawing everyones' attention to us.
“I don't know what you're talking about, Char” he said as his cheeks heated up in surprised embarrassment.
“Stop lying Dante. You say you love him as a friend after everything he's been through but I've seen the way you still look at him when you think no one is watching. And I know you know how he feels about you whether you realize it or not. I mean, he picked this song cheesy as it may be, to confess to you but the second he saw you he got scared. He's terrified that you don't feel the same after waiting for him for so long. So, for once forget about the crowd and appearances. Forget about protecting him from those idiots who thought it was okay to beat you up because you're not the same as them and go in there and tell him the truth” I said tears running down my cheeks as I spoke while everyone in the room looked between me and the locker room doorway. Nodding and taking a deep breath, he turned to enter the locker room as the entire graduating class watched on in anticipation. A few minutes passed before Belle came back out to stand by me and mom while the boys talked.
Harleys’ POV
A few more minutes passed as I cried and Belle stayed by my side holding my hand until we heard the sound of shoes on the tile floor. Sucking in a sharp breath, I looked over at her and she nodded before quietly getting up and leaving. She must've told him where I was hiding because seconds later Dantes’ voice came from just over my head.
“Do I scare you that much?” He asked gently. Nodding, I buried my head in my knees again as I felt more tears flowing down my cheeks. A few seconds passed before it sounded like he moved to crouch right in front of me. Feeling his hand in my hair, he said “Char tells me that you picked this song as a way to tell me how you feel. I guess on some level I already knew but since you never said I tried to convince myself you were better off without me.” Lifting my head up to look at him, I angrily said “it's not true. I was scared that you'd hate me after everything you've been through and after waiting for so long. The thing you don't know is I was going to tell you how I felt six months ago. I had planned to tell you when I got back after that stupid trip but then the accident happened and I never got the chance. I've loved you for so long Dante, I was just too scared to tell you.” As I sat there crying and waiting for an answer, I couldn't help but get more nervous as the minutes ticked by until he smiled and said “someone once told me that I wouldn’t be able to be myself with you if I couldn’t tell you the simple and honest truth. So, the honest to god truth is that everything Grace told you was and still is the truth. I've been in love with you for so long it hurt when I couldn't talk to you. It's why I let them kick the shit out of me, to deal with my own pain. Harley, you are the most incredibly intelligent man I've ever met and I want to spend the rest of my life with you every day. I love you, Harley. Will you be my boyfriend?” Shocked but ecstatically happy, I shifted so fast I knocked him on his ass as I threw my arms around his neck crying into his ear “yes, of course I'll be your boyfriend.” Wrapping his arms around my waist, he slid them down to my thighs and shifted my weight so that I was straddling his hips as he leaned against the wall. Leaning back to look at him, I quirked a brow at him as he just smirked and said “baby, I love you but having your knees in my junk kind of hurt.” Chuckling, I said “oh sorry” as I leaned my head against his. Tilting his head up slightly, he captured my lips with his licking my bottom lip to get me to allow him to deepen the kiss into a more passionate one. Sitting on the floor of the locker rooms, we made out for a while as we listened to all the different tracks play just outside. Breaking the kiss when we couldn’t breath anymore, he leaned his head against mine and said “god I missed you.”
“I missed you too baby. God it was so hard no talking to you everyday like we used to” I said as a tear slid down my cheek. Reaching up, he wiped my tear away before he said “I’m sorry for ignoring you for so long. I just wanted to give you time to heal without worrying about me. God, I wanted to talk to you everyday but I was afraid if I did you would worry about me and you didn’t need that.” Caressing his face as I looked into his eyes, I said “stupid boy, I was worried about you without you telling me anything was going on. Hell, even Char was worried and I know she was keeping some of what you told her from me but baby, I knew what you were going through alone and it hurt more not talking to you knowing you were dealing with it alone than it would’ve if you’d have just talked to me. I even sent you messages hoping you'd talk to me even if it was just to lie and say you were fine.”
“I'm sorry. I didn't realize you both would worry about me. I knew Char was because she texted me everyday to check in and would come find me sometimes” he said caressing my cheek. Kissing him again, I cried as I thought about how much he had to deal with alone all this time. Pulling back to just hold me, he whispered "don't cry baby. I'm fine, really and I promise I won't let them keep hurting me even if they threaten to go after you."
"Good because I hate seeing you all bruised and cut up" I sobbed into his shoulder. Leaning back to look at him, I kissed him again before pulling back and saying "we should probably go back out there since Char, mom, and Annabear will be waiting for us."
"Yeah and we don't want Char to send in a search party for us" he joked making us both laugh at our best friend. Getting up, I pulled him off the floor only for him to pin me against the lockers and kiss me again before letting go and taking my hand. Looking down at our interlaced fingers, I looked back up at him and asked "are you sure baby?"
"I'm sure if you are my love" he smiled before kissing my cheek. Giggling, I said "okay, let's go enjoy our prom."
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