Tell Me The Truth -H.S. AU

H -67

I've never been so tired and stressed out in my fucking life.

The flight home was so much worse than the way there. By far. Both of us are consumed with anxiety for a few different, but many of the same reasons.

Violet fell asleep in the car while I was loading our bags into the back. It's ripping my fucking heart out to see how mentally and emotionally overwhelmed she is. The last two days of the trip were far from a vacation.

She stopped eating, only having a few bites to humor me when I would bring her something. I'd catch her staring off into the distance, her mind constantly racing about I don't even know what. She was having so much trouble getting herself to calm down, I asked my mum for one of her prescribed sleeping pills.

I talked her into taking it on the last night. Assuring her that I'd be there the whole time to comfort her and keep her safe. We're halfway across the world and she's terrified he'll come for her. How the fuck is she going to be able to sleep when we're twenty minutes from his house?

I put on our favorite movie in the bedroom and when she started snoring, tucked into my side not even ten minutes later, I was so relieved I could've cried. Having to watch her slip back into the place that she worked so hard to get out of absolutely crushes me.

I'm not even sure she was fully awake when we went through the airport and boarded the plane. The only thing that assured me she was still in there was how tightly she gripped my hand when we were taking off. Even though she was so lost in her own head, she still wanted to comfort me, remembering that I told her I hated flying. But flying was the least of my worries at that point.

I've decided I'm going to take her home. To her bed, her house, her family. I think she's expecting me to take her to mine, but something about the last few days is making me feel off.

I think maybe I need to talk to her dad, or maybe her brother. Maybe both?

I don't fucking know.

I have to talk to someone who wants to keep her safe as badly as I do. If anyone understands, it's them.

"Are we going to my house?" Violet's sleepy voice startles me when she speaks up from the seat next to me. I loosen my grip on the steering wheel, not realizing I was white knuckling it as I got lost in my thoughts.

"Yeah, baby." I drop my right hand to rest on her knee and she smiles when I squeeze gently. "I figured you'd want to see your dad after being gone for so long."

"Yeah, I do actually." She sits up straight, my shoulder suddenly cold when she lifts her head from where it rested on me. "Thank you."

I pull into her driveway and shut the car off. There's this strange tension between us and I'm really fucking hating it, but I don't know what to do.

"I'm sorry." She whispers and I whip my head around to look at her. I open my mouth to tell her she has nothing to be sorry for, but she cuts me off. "You were right for not telling me when you found out. I mean, seeing as how the last few days of the trip went, you were absolutely right."

"It had everything to do with you, and I kept it to myself." I shake my head, not allowing her to take any pressure off me. "I should've said something sooner."

"Harry, please." She reaches out to hold my chin and forces me to look at her. "I know you were just trying to do what you thought was best for me, and I'm sorry I bit your head off for it."

"You really did, didn't you?" I smirk at her and she smiles coyly. "Had me on my knees, begging you to forgive me."

She throws her head back laughing, the first one I've heard in days. My heart swells in my chest and I feel the energy around us slowly returning to normal. Finally.