Race

Chapter 17

Harry's POV

"Is that really the best way of coping with your heartbreak?" Jake looked at me, his eyebrows raised.

He sometimes really annoyed me. I felt like he was always judging me for my actions. He was always there to make me feel bad about them or to tell me how wrong they were. I certainly hadn't moved out of my parents' house to have Jake be just like them and play the new parental guide that watched my every step and told me what was wrong and right.

"It helps," I answered his question curtly.

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth - most likely to hold a speech about how wrong my behaviour was - when another barely dressed girl hurried past him. She stopped at the door and turned around. "Goodbye, Harry," she said, holding most of her clothes in front of her body, before opening the door and leaving.

Jake turned around, an incredulous look on his face. "Another one?! How many girls did you have over here last night? I already thought the three girls I kicked out earlier were a lot!"

I took it as a compliment, shrugging, a smirk clear on my face.

"Harry! You need to stop this!"

"Why?" Suddenly I felt anger pulse through me. "Why do I need to stop this? It's not like I'm hurting anyone. It's not like I'm in a secret relationship with somebody and make other girls feel like I actually like them and then tell them 'Oops, sorry, I'm in a relationship'. I'm not doing any damage to anyone."

"You're doing damage to yourself, Harry. And as your best friend I don't want to watch you do this to yourself."

I laughed bleakly. "How am I damaging myself? How is having sex any damage? I'm just having fun." Jake was shaking his head. I turned around. I couldn't do this. I couldn't stand here and have Jake tell me what to do, to tell me what was the best for me. This wasn't happening. I was my own person. I was the one to decide what was good for me and what was bad for me. Having a lot of sex and not thinking about my problems and feelings? Good. Having Jake treat me like a little child and tell me about how I was supposed to be heartbroken, how I was supposed to be in excruciating pain? Bad. No, I could care for myself. I started walking away, toward my bedroom. When I was halfway through the room I turned back around and looked at Jake, who was still standing where I had left him, almost as if frozen. "I can't even damage myself. Do you realize that? She completely and utterly destroyed me. There is nothing left to damage!"

-
Jake had left afterwards. At some point I had started to feel bad about snapping at him. But I had been right. Who was Jake to tell me how to cope with my heartbreak? I was quite convinced he had never been hurt like I had been by Valerie. He had had relationships. Some of them had been quite serious, I guess, but he never had fallen that hard for someone. He had never been in love like this and he had never been played like this. So how could he know the right way to cure my broken heart? He couldn't.

A few hours later he had called. He had apologized and told me exactly what I had wanted to hear. That it was none of his business. That he couldn't tell what was good for me. As a peace offering he had invited me to the club that night. The drinks would be free and I'd have enough time and 'prey' to pick a few girls to help me get over my broken heart. I had been surprised at first. I hadn't liked him criticising me that openly in the morning but him supporting what I was doing had seemed off to me as well.

And now I knew why.

I had only been sitting at the bar for an hour, looking out for a girl to take home - none of them seemed to look right, there was something wrong I found about every single one of them, I guess I wasn't drunk enough yet - when I saw her.