Achilles Heel |h.s|

33. Astar - Aftermath

Not even twenty minutes have passed and Harry's already spewing profanities in my direction.

We got back from the very targeted motorcycle ride about fifteen minutes ago. My bike was well and truly shit. We ended up rolling it behind a dumpster for Oliver to come by and pick it up once he has the time. Harry was bleeding from multiple places and so was I but Harry was worse. I could see multiple spots that were missing flesh down his arms, there were even spots that had the material of his shirt embedded into the flesh. Some of his tattoos were unrecognizable, the skin having been ripped off of his arms by the harsh, hot cement. Road rash is no joke.

His forehead is bleeding, there's a big gash under his chin that won't stop bleeding and for minor injuries, there's a lot of blood to share between the two of us.

And now I'm sitting here in a dingy, rundown motel that is halfway between the hotel Liam works at and Harry's place. There's some mysterious stain on the second bed and I refuse to sit on it, forcing Liam and me to sit on the other bed whilst Harry paces back and forth, ranting yet no one is replying to him.

"Who the fuck was following us?" He spits, coming to a complete stop near the end of the bed as he faces me.

I fish-mouth for a few seconds, unable to find the words to answer but even if I did have an answer ready, I wouldn't have had enough time to speak before he's shouting profanities at me once more.

"You know," he begins, letting out a laugh that I can only describe as hysterical like he can't believe the words that are about to roll off of his tongue. "Liam tried to tell me he thinks you're an insider for some government agency but that seems far-fetched now. Firstly, you're a woman and secondly, you didn't even know you were being followed? Fucking pathetic," he spat. His words are charged, wanting to hit me where it hurts and I can feel the dread as it sinks into my bones and causes rocks to become lodged in my throat.

I can't believe the words that are falling from his lips.

There is ice flowing through my veins as I stare right through him, my brain trying to process everything that just fell from his lips that are now tainted with dry blood.

Anything that is falling from his lips now is going in one ear and out the other as white noise fills them, drowning him out as my heart rate seems to pick up. Is he just angry or does he genuinely believe women can't work in the government? I can't fault Liam for being suspicious but I'm curious as to what misstep I took to make his mind go right towards me working for the government? Where did I fuck up that he felt confident to come to that conclusion?

I can feel my eyes burn hot with tears, something that I know I can blame on the pain that I feel from the road rash. Yet, there isn't a greater pain than the words that slip from Harry's lips. We were doing so well, where did it all go wrong? It's like we just took an entire season's worth backwards.

Any argument that I have ready just seems redundant now as my hands shake with anger, biting down on my lower lip to stop it from wobbling. The pain that I'm feeling from his words eventually turn into anger, red hot anger.

So, I stay quiet. Might as well live up to whatever image he has of women inside of his head at this moment. Is it for us to sit pretty and be quiet? To lead redundant lives? To serve men?

Liam is who breaks me from my reverie, his finger coming up to brush under my eye. I didn't even realise that a tear almost fell, but he caught it before it could and then proceeded to whisper small apologies whenever I would wince. Cleaning gravel out of wounds wasn't how I imagined spending my day. Or having insults thrown my way.