with venom on your tongue » l.s.

2 | HARRY

With less than two weeks left until final exams, Harry was taking a much-needed breather on a quiet bench outside of his dormitory. The early June heat was a bit uncomfortable, but he was too lost in his second re-read of The Great Gatsby to care. Their English final was going to be made up of three essays and Mr. Collins told them that they'd need to brush up on all the reading material from the semester if they wanted to do well. Usually, once Harry read a book, he didn't re-read it. He was good at remembering most of the text and what happened in the story, but he'd decided to dive into this book one more time. Read it from a different lens. It was a short one, so he was gunning to finish it before he met up with his best friends, Niall and Zayn, for dinner.

He was in the last chapter when he felt his phone ringing from inside of his pocket. Reaching for it, he barely lifted his eyes from the page until he noticed who was calling. Harry sighed, steeling himself for the conversation that was about to take place. He kept his spot in the book with his finger tucked in between the pages and accepted the call.

"Hey, Dad," he greeted.

"What's going on, bud?" Jack said. "Am I catching you at a good time?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I'm just reading for a class. How's it going?"

"Good, good," Jack said, his tone calm, cool, and collected as always. "Cherry and I are currently at the lake house in Tuscany. Thought I'd give you a call and check in. See how you're doing after the big game."

Cherry was Jack's fifth wife. She was a young thing with over 500,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. They'd met through connections and within four months of dating, Jack had proposed. Prior to that, Jack was with a model for a few years. And before the model, there were many, many other women. You weren't a football legend without having your legion of fangirls who would do anything for even five seconds of your time. Jack managed to stay fit, too. He had a strict workout regime and a healthy diet that had him looking buff and young. With girls online calling him "daddy" and "silver fox", Jack just ate it up and leaned into it.

"I've been mostly taking it easy now that football season is over. I have final exams coming up, too, so all in all, I'm doing good, I suppose."

"Rest is definitely important," Jack said. "You need to let your body shut off for a bit before jumping back in, but you also don't want to get too comfortable, you know?"

"Yeah," Harry replied quietly, scratching the back of his head as he leaned back on the bench.

"You still got the workout I sent you?" he asked.

"The one that's two hours long by that trainer on YouTube?"

"Yeah," Jack confirmed. "Pick that up starting tomorrow. Your body is in your control and you've got to train it. Keep it strong, healthy, and improving. Trust me, this will help you in the long run. You won't feel so run down next year when you start back up again with football. I've got some programs lined up for you this summer, too. Football camp, too."

Harry felt exhaustion sweep through his body at just the thought. The corners of his mouth twisted into a grimace and he stared down at the grass beneath him. The programs his dad enlisted him in every break were grueling. Sure, his body felt strong after, but it was a lot of work, and Harry didn't want to do it. He couldn't think of a worse way to spend his summer. It wasn't fair that this was the plan for him while his dad was off vacationing with his wife in Italy. He deserved a proper break, too. Despite that, he knew arguing with Jack wouldn't be fruitful. He held a power over Harry that he'd never been able to go against.

"That sounds good, Dad," he replied weakly. "I'll also start doing the workout you sent me. The gym's been closed since the sports teams are adjourned for the year, but I'll speak to Coach Thomas."