Beige

Chapter Sixteen

Alexis Monpettit

"Lex."

"Lex."

I feel a hand wrap around my shoulder, lightly shaking my body.  My reflexes act fast as I turn around and push myself away from the person laying beside me.

I gasp, a deep breath entering my lungs. My eyes squeeze as tight as possible, still not having seen the light of day out of my slumber.

I hear a voice come from the person beside me, "Lex. It's me. It's just Harry."

I peek one eye open, revealing a very worrisome Harry. I release the breath I was holding onto and open my other eye.

Shaking my head, I begin apologizing profusely, "I'm sorry, it's an instinct. I just wasn't expecting you to grab me, and uhm when I don't expect something, my body kind of goes on autopilot, and-"

"Lexi, stop." Harry interrupts me, reaching his arm across the bed, waiting for me to return to his hold. I crawl over, laying my head against his chest as he wraps his arm around my back. "Never apologize for that. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that was a trigger-"

"It's not-"

"Let me finish," he interrupts me again. "I know now not to do that in the future. I'm sorry."

I shake my head, lifting myself up to sit cross-crossed next to him, "it's just because I was sleeping and I didn't expect it." I rub my eyes, letting out another deep breath, "is there a reason why you were trying to wake me from my sweet dreams?" I ask tilting my head down to look into his green eyes.

"Yeah actually." He rolls over, reaching out to grab my phone off of the nightstand on his side, "your phone has been nonstop ringing for the past half hour." He rolls back over, seeming to roll just enough for his head to land on my thigh. He lifts the phone above his head so that I can reach it before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around my leg.

I place a hand in his hair, scratching lightly as my phone starts ringing again, EmBear flashing across the screen. I swipe to answer and lift the phone up to my ear, "Hi Bear."

"HELLO? I'VE BEEN CALLING YOU FOR THE PAST 30 MINUTES AND YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU JUST WOKE UP." I pull the phone down from my ear, as the screaming continues for a few more seconds.

"Anyway, why are you calling me?" I say as I hear deep breaths coming from the other line.

"Are you still with Harry?"

"Yeah? Why?" I scrunch my eyebrows together as I pause my fingers in Harry's hair, making him look up at the tone of my voice.

"I'm not sure if you both just woke up but there's been a picture leaked," I feel every beat of my heart tick throughout my body as the words process into my brain.

I feel my lungs deflate as time slows down, my ears starting to ring as I continue to lose every sense.

I see Harry lift himself up, moving on his knees as he takes the phone from my hand. I try to read his lips as the ringing continues in my ears, leaving me even more confused.

I look down as I feel a hand reach out to grab my arm, the anchor tattoo on his wrist, catching my attention. I focus on the details that are engraved into the tattoo, as I feel the same tingling sense from the first time he grabbed me at the luncheon, starting to spread from the spot he's touching on my arm.

I lift my eyes back up as I start to hear Harry's voice speak through the ringing, "it's handled, Emma." I close my eyes trying to focus on the sound of his voice. "I told Jeff to handle it. It's gone already," he pauses before whispering as quietly as he can, "I'm trying to protect her as much as I can. We gotta go." I feel a thud on the bed indicating he hung up the phone.