Taste (H.S. / A.U.)

Chapter 54

TRIPLE UPDATE: Chapter 52-54

ELOISE DUPONT

"Why do you fear the rain so much?" 

I wanted to tell him everything, but I just wasn't even sure. The problem is, I never fully knew when I stopped loving the rain. I wasn't always like this. "It's everything."

Not a lie.

He stared at me, teeth clenched beneath a jawline that threatened to cut glass, green eyes cutting through me and begging for answers.

"I used to love it, and then it became this weird omen in my life. My mom's funeral was filled with showers which at the time I thought was this beautiful thing, like cleansing the wound of losing her. I got married in the middle of a hurricane actually, a stupid resort where it stormed the whole time I was there. My beautiful outdoor wedding turned into an indoor thing put together last minute. Things started to get worse. It felt like all the biggest parts of my life were clouded over with storms, showing me that no matter what I do with my life it will be encompassed by this bigger force that threatens to ruin it. Sometimes I look back and think maybe they were omens trying to tell me bad things were coming."

A deep breath worked its way through my core, allowing me the strength to continue. "Found out about Chase during the worst storm of the year. I walked in like a wet dog from the rain to find them, and the only comfort I had was to ruin out into the rain once again, allowing it to hide my tears with the rest of the rain. Everything felt bad. It rained for multiple days after that. After that, I was just scared."

He tried to understand. Finishing his drink with slow nods to my story. Harry stood up, pulling out a stack of bills to shove down onto the table.

"Let's conquer that fear then baby." Harry tugged at my hand and I didn't know what to do besides follow behind blindly. Was this my best idea? Was it Harry's best idea? No, but what was I to do?

Pulling me out of the comfort of the warm café I was drug onto the sidewalk. The concrete was hard beneath my feet, puddles pooling about would splash up against my legs, sending small chills up my spine while droplets clouded over my vision. The rain was heavy and loud, creating a blanket of cold over my body, but my hand in Harry's was warm, the feeling of that being enough to sustain the rest of me and continue pushing me towards whatever his ridiculous goal here was.

He didn't stop for the cars, instead dashing in front of them, across the street and through bystanders that attempted to protect themselves with umbrellas. I shouted out apologies behind us but they were ignored while we continued at the quickened pace.

Harry tugged me along, pulling me behind him while my eyes blinked away the wetness that continued slapping at my skin. My chest was heaving with a mixed fear, boldness, spontaneity, and anxiety. All together my feelings spiraled, but I was trying to push them away and focus only on Harry and keeping up with him.

Finally, we stopped.

I nearly crashed into Harry with the abruptness of it all. We were in the middle of a street, no longer surrounded by cars, instead there were only a few buildings on this street littering both sides. The threat of cars didn't seem to be on Harry's care as he dropped my hand and collapsed onto the street. He looked like he was about to start creating snow angels in the surrounded puddles.

Did he expect me to lay down in the middle of the street with him? He just yanked me out of the security of a warm, safe building to instead risk pneumonia, getting hit by a car, and the never-ending storm that now rained down on us.