KILLSHOT // [H.S]

056. FORGIVEN

dec 18: before things get started, i just wanted to say I'm so sorry for the wait. i was super busy with work & then when I saw the number of people starting to read this book, I got extremely overwhelmed. my biggest fear is letting you guys down with the story and I kept thinking what I was writing wasn't good enough. 

I'm still working my way out of that headspace and I appreciate every single one of you that has stuck around. i finally have some time off from work so I'm hoping to just writewritewritewrite!

ALSO i can't believe the last chapter I was thanking everyone for 25K and now we're at 75K. thank you thank you thank you. 

anyway, enough of me being sappy. love u all. 

don't forget to comment and vote xo 

//

056. FORGIVEN

...10:59.59... 10:59.58... 10:59.57... 10:59.56...

Rory's body stilled with fear.

Moments ago, she had been completely fine. So fine, in fact, that she had forgotten the very reason the two stood holding each other in a protective embrace. However, all it took was the sound of the eerie robotic voice to send the poor little Bambi into a paralyzed fear of the unknown.

It felt like she was standing in the middle of a crowd - surrounded by a giant swarm of people who had no purpose other than consuming her personal space. Everything around her was pushing in - the walls, the bodies, the furniture... everything. The air evaporated from the room, thickening with fear and causing a simple breath to become a chore.

Panic hadn't set its way into her body to take permanent residence in quite some time.

Little could get her out of this tortuous loop - mainly because most of the things that helped her were people who were now dead.

Something drew her focus back to reality; the sound of a beautiful voice speaking in a soft, angelic tone. As her eyes found their way to a pair of emerald green, an entire wave of calm rushed through her body from head to toe. She could feel the warmth of his hands cup her cheeks, and a small smile wanted to tug on her lips over the concerned look he wore.

"Rory? Are you alright?"

She blinked and nodded her head slowly. "Y-yes." Licking her dry lips, she added, "I didn't think there was a scarier robot than you."

The words tumbled from her lips before she had the chance to realize what she had just referred to him as. Shit. Calling him a robot is the last thing I should be doing right now.

To her surprise, his glance softened as a wide grin appeared. "There's my girl."

There's my girl.

Rory hadn't heard him say that in quite some time. And yet, it did the same thing it always did; it made her heart clench. But her head couldn't focus on his words for long as she quickly became far more distracted by the way he acted.

Caring. Loving. Concerned. Three words she would have never used to describe Harry months ago. Three words she learned he could be. And three words she watched disappear only an hour ago.

But there those three words were. 

The three words had returned.

Harry had returned.