The Chase (h.s. au)

Chapter 30

Harry.

Dark circles run beneath both our eyes, Lauren's fingers running along my cheek and face as she washes away the reminder of the previous minutes. Her dark brown eyelashes are so long; her beauty unflawed and absolutely gorgeous. I can't tell anyone how I got so lucky to be with her, but I know that she's mine until I breathe my last breath.

"Oh God, I feel horrible," she says, holding onto my cheeks. Is she still feeling sick? Why does she feel horrible?

"It kills me seeing you get hurt because of him," she says, pulling my head to hers. Her lips trace over my eyebrow cut and cheek.

"Don't worry about it beautiful," I say, her love the only thing on my mind.

"He hit you. Harry, that is not okay," she says, my head shaking.

"If it wasn't me, it would've been you. I'm going to take the hits for you. Do you understand me?" I ask, her head nodding. Her hands stay on my cheeks and I pull her closer to me.

Fuck this; I don't care if I get sick.

I press my lips to hers and set my hands on her waist. My body slowly climbs off the counter, my arms wrapping around her waist as she continues to splay soft kisses to my lips.

She slowly pulls away and I open my eyes to look down at her, her arms moving around my neck. Her eyes stay closed and she leans her head down, my lips pressing to her forehead. Her body moves one step closer to me and I take her back to the bedroom, her features clearly showing her exhaustion. Once I lay her down, I pull her into me and protect her throughout the night.

My fingers type on the computer in my lap the questions to my homework assignment, looking over everything in my notes. Butler moves onto the couch beside me and I thank God he's back in the house. The night her father came we had to leave him at the vet for a while. He's not allowed to eat bacon anymore.

"Harry, can I ask you a question?" Lauren asks, walking into the living room. She picks the dog up and sets him on her lap.

"What's up?" I ask, her fingers running along the dog's head.

"Can we go to a concert tonight?" she asks, my head turning to look at her.

"Who's playing?" I ask, her lips curving.

"Ed Sheeran. Please; Martin had tickets and he bailed with his date and has two tickets. Can we go?" she asks, my lips curving.

"Of course. Ed's good," I say, her arms wrapping around my neck as she kisses my cheek.

"I love you so much," she grins, my head turning to kiss her quickly.

"And I love you so much," I smile, her eyes so bright.

"Now, I need to give my baby a bath," she says, lifting the dog into her arms. I smile at her as she walks into the hallway, Butler licking her face.

As I finish my homework, I e-mail it in and shut the laptop. I plug it into the outlet on the wall and walk to my brown-eyed beauty, adoring the sight of her holding a freshly cleaned dog in a towel.

"I don't think he likes me right now," she laughs, the dog holding such puppy eyes it's unbelievable.

"I wouldn't let it get to you," I smile, crouching beside her and allowing the little dog to come towards me. I lift him up and grab Lauren's hand, pulling her up as well. We walk outside and let Butler shake off the water, Lauren and I sitting on the grass.

"Where's the concert?" I ask, allowing her to lay her head in my lap.

"Down near the beach. It'll take an hour to get there," she says, my hands grabbing hers.