Orphic [H.S]

TWENTY FOUR

Mae POV:

"You need to hold still" I say softly, avoiding eye contact as I run his bloody hand under the warm faucet. He flinches every time a piece of glass breaks free from the grasp of his skin.

He brings the nearly finished bottle of rum to his lips with his free hand.

"I think we've had enough of that for one evening" I say as I reach to take the bottle out of his grasp.

"I'm sorry" he whimpers, letting go of the bottle without a fight.

I remove his hand from under the running water to take a closer look. Almost all of the glass is out.

"I'll be right back" I say as I hop down from the bathroom counter in Harry's room and head back into mine for a pair of tweezers.

Standing amongst the rubble is Jayce.

"He's going to be fine. You guys head home, I'll take care of him" I say as I take a pair of tweezers out from my vanity drawer, while simultaneously avoiding stepping on broken glass.

"Okay. Are you sure you are okay?" She gets up and walks towards me.

"Yeah. I'll be okay" I give her a gentle hug and walk back into Harry's room.

"Really?" I look at the bottle of rum that lays empty in the sink.

"I didn't drink it" he slurs

"Sure" I huff and I take his hand

"No really. I poured it over the wounds." He raised his hand towards my face "smell it. I swear"

I take his hand and push it back down. It did smell like rum so at least I know he isn't lying. Though, if he was I still think I'd play along to avoid that confrontation.

"You're just drunk harry" I use the tweezers to take the remaining few pieces of glass out of Harry's hand.

"Ow" he winces

"Hold still" I quietly snap

"What's wrong?" He asks with a somber tone

"Nothing harry" I sigh as I remove the last piece of glass out of his hand. "There, just make sure to keep it clean" I let go of his hand and hop down from the counter.

"You didn't answer my question"

"Because there's nothing left for me to say harry" I snap

I was expecting him to respond but instead he just stayed silent, eyes locked on me.

"I guess, I'm just tired. I'm in a place I've never been before, with people I don't know, who are involved in things I don't want to know about. I'm here against my will and I know I have no one to go back to and no real life to miss but I hate being treated like a burden when your sober and a princess when your not."

He still remains completely silent, letting my tipsy brain word vomit all over him.

"I know you felt something that first night and I know you felt something last night but you refuse to admit that you may have let your guard down for one second and let someone else into your tiny little secret bubble that you call your life. If you're going to keep me around either put me back to work around the house and leave me alone or let me into your life and I'll let you into mine"

"Is that what you want?" He mutters

"Is what, what I want?" I snap again

"For me to leave you alone." He says quietly

I take a second to think about my answer. On one hand I do want him to leave me alone, because every time I interact with him, it ends up with me being hurt and him raging. And it's only been a few days. Who knows what this could turn into.

But on the other hand, in these few short days, the moments in which he let me in he made me feel like I was the most precious thing in the entire world. That I was safe and protected. Like I was invincible by his side. Like i meant something to him. Something more than just a job , or someone he's been put in charge of to protect.

He made me feel like I was loved.

"No" I say quietly

"No what?" He jumps off the counter and walks towards me. His towering figure standing a mere inches away from mine.

"I don't ever want you to leave me alone" my answer surprises the both of us.

Without a word harry leans down and gently presses his lips on mine.

"Harry" I pull away but he's insistent.

His lips are so soft.

"Harry" I say again.

"What" he looks at me straight in my eyes waiting for my response.

"You're just making another mistake that you'll regret in the morning by doing this" I whisper to him

"Nothing was ever a mistake" he whispers back shaking his head, "Not even this"

And with that he wraps his large hand around the bottom of my spine and pulls me into him. Our lips moving in time with one another slowly. He staggers backwards into his bedroom.

"Harry your only doing this because your drunk" I say, falling pity into his games

In one swift motion he lifts me up by my legs, holding me against his chest as I wrap my legs around him. Without removing his lips from mine , he leans me over his bed, gently resting my back and head on his pillows. He climbs on top of me and pulls back to catch his breath.

"I really am sorry Mae" he says, looking directly into my eyes

"Why do you keep saying that" I ask

"Because Im a shit person who's dragged you into an even shittier situation" he says , rolling off of me and onto his side beside me.

"I mean yeah but I doubt it will get any worse. Tonight's already taken a turn for the better" I say as i roll him onto his back and climb on top of him. He pulls me down to give me a gentle kiss

"I mean when you put it like that..." he cuts himself off and pulls me back in towards him.

I know this should feel wrong but it doesn't. It feels the complete opposite.

In fact i don't want it to end.

His lips taste like sweet rum as his warm fingers trace circles on my back.

"Did you mean what you said?" He pulls back and asks

"Mean what?" I ask in return

"That thing about leaving you alone". I can feel his heart start to race below my chest.

"Yeah. I meant it" I say quietly.

"Because I don't want to" his voice trails off

"You don't want to what?" His hands travel down my back and over my hips.

"I never want to lose you".