Dare - Draco Malfoy

Chapter 27: Goodbyes

Maeve:

He moves from me and stands.

I see him get dressed quickly. He fixes his hair. He's nervous, troubled.

I grab the hem of the blanket covering only half of me. I pull it close to my chest and with my other arm I pull myself up.

"Draco" I call.

He turns.

"I can't stay" His tone flat.

"That's okay" I mumble.

He scoffs and shakes his head.

"What?" my voice shakes.

"What? Everything Maeve" He spits.

"This is fucked up" He bellows now.

Hi arm is pointing at the door behind him.

"We are gonna figure it out" Are we?

"There's nothing to figure out!" He starts, voice calm.

His fists clench. He swears.

"Draco, it's gonna be fine." I beg.

As he gets further away from the bed, I search for my clothes. I find my underwear and shirt which is long enough to cover me. I get out of bed and walk towards him. The floor is ice under my naked feet. I feel smaller than usual. He is standing tall and immobile, watching me get closer. He wrap his arms around me.

"It's gonna be fine" I repeat.

I never felt him holding me like this.

I close my eyes and bury the side of my face on his chest. He pushes me gently away after a moment of bliss.

I look up at him.

-

"Maeve!" A distant shout coming from the end of the corridor.

I ignore him.

"I need to go." He murmurs annoyed.

"I'll see you soon" I say back.

His lips lower to rest on my forehead. He holds me by the shoulders for a moment, turns decisively and leaves the room.

I stand still for some time, staring at the door. Then walk back to the bed to find the rest of my clothes on the floor and dress, quickly.

I walk down a few steps of the staircase, hoping not to be discovered. Draco is still here, talking to Nott now. I freeze as I hear them from just the end of the curved stairs.

"You can't come back" Nott is calm, almost empathetic.

"I know" I hear Draco's words, muffled by the walls around me.

"You need to take care of her. You have to keep her safe." he begs.

"Mate I know what I'm doing" he replies, annoyed at Draco's commands.

"No!" He spits under his breath

"I won't be back, but you need to promise me"

"Your word" He prompts.

"My word" Nott hesitates, but replies seriously.

Then footsteps, a door open and close. I hear Nott coming upstairs, probably to check on me. I jolt and as a instinct I pretend to be just walking down the stairs. We meet halfway. He jumps at the sight of me.

"Hey!" He calls in surprise

"Oh sorry." I mutter, trying to look surprised.

"Come, I'll make you something to eat" He replies kindly.