Devil's Due [h.s.]

Chapter 36

**THIS WAS A DOUBLE UPDATE. Read Chapter 35 before! xo**

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Chapter 36

"You can't be serious," Harry muttered, staring at the green stripe a few inches away from his feet.

"Oh, I'm as serious as ever," I flashed him a mocking grin, stepping back from the line. "If you respect this distance, then I will talk to you. We can have a conversation like mature adults."

Harry clenched his jaw. "We can have this conversation as mature adults without the fucking paint–"

"Apparently we can't," I shot back. "All we've done is scream at each other."

Harry eyed me warily, his gaze dipping to the paint a few times before he ground his teeth and huffed an angry sigh. The whites of his eyes flashed, confirming his annoyance.

Finally, he defeatedly said, "Fine. Whatever. Fuck."

"Feel free to pull up a stool." I gestured behind him at the few lone, wooden seats remaining from the class that I'd yet to put away. Harry glanced over his shoulder but made no move to go grab one. I crossed my arms over my chest, cocking my head to the side.

"Jesus," he breathed, shaking his head in irritation before reaching over to grab one. It slid along the tarp beneath us. He took a seat on it, twirling the ring on his forefinger around a few times before motioning a hand at me, "Go."

Taking a few lazy steps over to the front desk, I hopped up and crossed one leg over the other, interlocking my fingers and letting them rest on my knee. I drummed my thumbs a few times, keeping my eyes on Harry.

"Okay, you want to know what I'm mad about?" I said slowly, watching how his gaze tracked every small movement I made. "I will tell you what I'm mad about."

His silence was enough for me to continue.

"I'm mad about a lot of things," I went on, reaching up to the strap of my overall. Fiddling with the button for a second or two, I popped it open, letting the strap fall to my chest. "I'm mad that I'm caught up in this mess. I'm mad that you seem to get to boss me around all the time but aren't able to handle it when it's the other way around. I'm mad I'm being watched 24/7, that it's gotten to the point where even my friends and people from work are noticing–"

"Again," Harry interrupted with a sharp breath, "you didn't fucking tell me that."

I paused, midway through undoing my other strap. "What do you suggest then?" I asked, somewhat frustratedly, "because you sure as hell aren't going to let them leave."

"They have undercover training," Harry said, his voice surprisingly level. "I can get them to be more... inconspicuous. To not hover where people will see."

"So they'd just be continually tracking me only in hiding–" I snapped but cut myself off with a short breath. One battle at a time. He was willing to compromise, more so than I'd ever yet seen from him, and I was willing to take what I could get. "Okay, you know what? Fine. That's fine. That's better."

Harry leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "What else are you mad about?"

"I'm mad that nobody told me the extent of what would happen at the event–"

"Riv, you fucking went to that on your own–"

"I know," I hastily shot back. "And I've apologized. I'll apologize again for it. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, that's on me, but I'd like for things to be more clear next time. Don't keep me in the dark. It was a lot to witness, but I'd rather just have heard about it."