offshore | h.s

67

HARRY STYLES

"You slut," Archie spits.

I see the fear flash across Gen's face, and something inside me snaps. My blood boils as anger surges through me. I step forward, my fists clenched, and before I can even think, I'm in Archie's face, my voice rising. "What did you just say?"

Archie doesn't back down, a twisted smirk on his face. "You heard me," he sneers. "She's nothing but a—"

"Shut the fuck up!" I shout, cutting him off. My voice echoes through the restaurant, and suddenly, it's like everything else fades away. I'm not aware of the people around us, not aware of anything except the seething rage coursing through me and the need to protect Gen.

"Harry," Gen whispers, her voice trembling, but I'm too far gone to listen. Archie's still smirking, still thinking he can intimidate her, and it makes me sick.

I grab him by the collar, slamming him against the wall. The impact knocks the smirk right off his face, and for a split second, I see something like fear in his eyes. Good. He should be scared. "You don't get to talk to her like that," I say. "You don't get to talk to her at all."

"Harry, please," Gen says, but I'm not done yet. I press Archie harder against the wall, my hands trembling with rage. "You're a fucking coward, you know that?" I spit. "Hurting her, abandoning your own daughter—you're nothing. You don't even deserve to be in the same room as them."

Archie struggles against my grip, his face reddening as he tries to push me away. "Get off me, you fuckwit!" he snaps, but I don't budge. I'm not letting him go until he understands just how much I hate him.

"Or what?" I snarl, my voice rising again. "What are you gonna do, Archie? Are you gonna try to hurt me like you hurt her? Not gonna happen."

The restaurant is deathly quiet now, everyone's eyes on us, but I don't care. All I can think about is how scared Gen was, how she shrank back the second Archie opened his vile mouth. And Avery—fuck, Avery was right there. She doesn't deserve this, none of them do.

"Harry, please," Gen pleads again, her voice more urgent, and that's what finally pulls me back. I glance over at her, seeing the tears welling up in her eyes, and it hits me that I'm not helping. I'm just making it worse.

With a deep, shaky breath, I release my grip on Archie, letting him stumble back against the wall. He glares at me, but he doesn't say a word. He knows better now.

I take a step back, still seething, but trying to control it. "You're done here," I say, my voice cold and final. "Get the hell out."

Archie straightens his collar, his eyes darting around the restaurant as if realizing for the first time that everyone's watching. He opens his mouth like he's going to say something, but then he just sneers at me one last time and storms out.

As soon as he's gone, I feel the tension start to drain from my body, but I'm still shaking. I turn back to Gen, who's standing there looking so small, so scared. My heart breaks for her. "Baby, I'm so sorry," I say, stepping closer, my voice soft now.

She shakes her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's not your fault," she whispers, but I can see how shaken she is.

"Let's get out of here," I say, my voice low but firm. Gen nods, her hand trembling slightly as she takes mine. We don't waste a second, quickly making our way out of the restaurant. The eyes of the diners follow us, but I don't care about any of them right now. All I care about is getting Gen somewhere safe.

As soon as we step outside, the cool night air hits us, and I feel a slight relief. But it's short-lived. The van is waiting, and as we reach it, I can feel Gen's grip on my hand tighten. I open the door, helping her in first, then climb in after her.