Prince and the Pauper

Chapter Twenty-Four

"No." My voice croaked in instant denial, and Harry looked pained with guilt on being the deliverer of bad news.
"Bash wouldn't do that, we've been best friends since we were kids. He wouldn't do that to me, he wouldn't do that to Geordie!"  My voice grew more and more hysterical, and I now understood why Harry and Zaiden had been reluctant to tell me.  Part of me was furious that Harry had been withholding this information from me, but the sane voice in the back of my mind told me he'd done it to protect me from the pain that was consuming me currently. Zaiden had been right, this was going to haunt me forever, and I couldn't begin to figure out what I had done to deserve being cursed.
"I'm so sorry, Dev." Harry whispered, brushing my frazzled hair out of my eyes. "Zaiden, I'll call you back about the fight." Harry gushed into the phone before hanging up and turning his full attention to me. My chest was heaving up and down, and I couldn't see clearly through the tears swelling in my eyes. My body was slumped against the headboard and Harry pulled me down into his lap as I curled up into a ball.
"How long have you known?" I managed to mouth out between sobs.
"I found out the night before we first kissed." Harry admitted, and my misty eyes peered up at him. "I had gone around to my mothers house to ask for advice about you." Harry smiled faintly at the confession, and had I not been on the verge of another break down, I would have laughed at the thought of Harry acting like a love-sick puppy.
"Sebastian was there, along with Trace. Apparently as dysfunctional as both  families are, mom and Trace still get along. Messed up, but it's true. Honestly I believe mom would still be with Trace if not for Drake's social stature, and the taboo it would cause. Trace doesn't love Therese,  that much is clear, but like I said he had to settle down so my father wouldn't suspect him of being the other man."
"And Therese probably only married for the money." I concluded hoarsely, making Harry give a razor-edged smile.
"A marriage of convenience." Harry agreed. "Anyway, Dante wanted to meet his new brother, Sebastian, given he feels like the runt of our one. So Trace and mom arranged some messed-up reunion. They played baseball out of town in the Hillson Stadium, and when I went over to see mom, they had returned home. That was when I saw Sebastian and Dante out in the backyard together, the bat in question in Sebastian's hand." My eyes squeezed closed and I buried my face into Harry's stomach. His fingered raked through my hair to console me, and I sniffled to stop my nose from running.
"Sebastian never really was my friend, was he?" I cried, and Harry frowned in pain.
"I don't doubt he truly cared about you at some point. I just think his greed for money won-out over you." My heart dropped, and the burning embers in Harry's eyes showed me he saw it, and was scrambling to pick it up again. 
"His loss, because you are the most priceless possession a man could own." I snorted, and Harry made a deep sound to argue my refute.
"I've been raised in wealth and power, Devonne. None of it ever meant anything to me, and it never made me feel like I was something special. But the way you look at me, the way you cling to me when you're frightened, it makes me feel untouchable. I'd give up all of this for you in a heart-beat, baby." I inhaled sharply at his confession, and I smiled up at him. My hand reached up and his hand swallowed mine, fingers locking together. Our joined hands were raised to his mouth, and he scattered soft kisses along my knuckles.
"You'd leave all this wealth for me?" I questioned, and Harry nodded without hesitation.
"I'd still take care of you, make you comfortable, just without the wealth you find so daunting." Amusement crinkled by his eyes, and I found myself smiling through my tears.
"So a simple apple-pie life?" I sat up more, and Harry pulled me into his torso, almost cradling me like a baby.
"No offence darlin', but I would be afraid to see you attempt to bake an apple pie." I laughed in agreement, and Harry looked relived to see me calming down. I wiped away my tears streaking down my face.
"It probably would end disastrously." I mused, and Harry hummed in agreement.
"I plan a modest sized house in the suburbs, with a white picket fence, and lush green lawns. The garden will be filled with roses of all colours." I looked up at Harry to see him staring off into space as he pictured our future together. The thought of us even sharing a future was frightening and exhilarating. The idea of settling down with Harry made my heart rate speed up, and although it seemed rash and crazy, I knew the pull between us was even crazier. His simple touch had the ability to make my entire body melt, and my mind relax. I'd never even wanted a relationship before Harry. I had been more than contempt with just looking after Geordie, but the moment Harry had entered my life the old Devonne was long gone.
"Two-storeys. Kitchen over-looking the garden and the street so we can watch our children playing." My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Harry laughed at my panicked state.
"Children?" My voice squeaked.
"You don't want kids?"
"I do..." I admitted. "But don't you think you're, I don't know, getting miles ahead of us here?"
"I'm not saying this is going to happen in the near future." Harry reasoned, and I took a relieved breath. "But I do like planning ahead."
"What about Geordie?" I asked, and eagerly waited to hear is plan.
"I'm thinking he'd want his bedroom on the second storey, given men and the whole king-of-the-world gene." My lips quirked upwards, and I couldn't help but picture the life Harry was seeing. It was far from what I'd ever thought I'd be, but the change didn't faze me. I had already gone out of my comfort level for him, and I didn't mind him testing the boundaries either. As long as Harry was there holding my hand, I'd walk the line with him.
"They'd also be pressure to have sons, because he'll want brothers. "
"You seem to know an awful lot about Geordie." I smiled, and Harry grinned down at me.
"Well I know you, and you raised him, so I have a pretty good idea. Plus he is a male, so that also gives me an advantage." Harry retaliated.
"I think he'd like you." I blurted out, and Harry smiled warmly. "After he gets over Dante being your brother, I think he'd really like you." I shook my head slightly, pained by just the thought.
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"  Harry quizzed, clearly confused by the solemn look on my face.
"Of course." I rushed out. "I just don't often indulge in thoughts  of Geordie waking up, and imagining the 'what if's' in case he never...in case I never see those doe-brown eyes again." Harry gently ran his hands down my arms, and I took in a deep breath that seemed to rattle in my chest. 
"People wake up from coma's all the time." He consoled me. 
"After a few days." I argued. "The longer  it goes on, the lower the chances get. It will be three months on Thursday."  
"Don't you dare do that." Harry warned. Suddenly my body was rolled onto the mattress, and Harry was hovering above me, steading himself by his forearms.
"Do what?" I asked incredulously, shocked by his serious mood.
"Give up. Don't you dare give up, do you hear me?" His eyes bored into mine, and I found myself rendered speechless, so I meekly nodded.
"Imagine if I gave up on us? I nearly did, Dev. I was so sure you'd forever blame me for Dante's actions. But I fought it, and now look what I've got. The woman that from the first moment I met stole my heart is now here in my bed. All because I knew that despite all odds against us, the families bad blood, the short time it happened it, if we both wanted it then we could get it."   
"You don't need to fight all the way on your own, if both people fight for it they can meet half-way." I  bit my lip as his words sunk in, and I reached up, brushing back some stray curls from his forehead. Harry's eyes fluttered closed  at my touch, and I heard him release a dreamy sigh.
"I love you." I whispered. And just like that, his eyes snapped open, and his lips tilted upwards. His head lowered and his nose nudged mine in an Eskimo kiss, making me giggle lightly.
"I love you more."
"Debateable . I said it first." I argued, and Harry's chest resonated with laughter.  
"I was the first to push you up against that wall and kiss you breathless." Harry countered.
"Well I..." I pouted my lips in thought, and Harry watched me, clearly entertained. "I initiated sex last night. Ohmygosh." I squeezed my eyes closed, embarrassed I had said that out loud, and  heard Harry laughing above me.
"Baby, we both know that's not true. The minute I closed the door it was on." I slid my tongue along my teeth, and Harry grinned as he kissed my cheek sweetly.
"Also I am going to be the one to get you justice for Geordie." My interest was peeked, and I awaited Harry to explain.
"The fight." I took a deep breath, the idea suddenly not so alluring to me.
"If it's not safe, if it's not legal, I don't know if this is going to work, let alone help Geordie." I tried being rational, but Harry shook his head.
"Hurting Sebastian will be more therapeutic than anything, true." Harry agreed. "But in the fight, we can get a confession out of him."
"What are you talking about?" I sat up, and Harry leaned back onto his legs so I could sit up.
"The fight is illegal, so it's not going to be with a roaring crowd. I imagine the only spectators will be you, Zaiden, and Trace. Potentially Dante, but he's not really the supportive type, so I wouldn't wager on it."
"Okaaay?" I drawled, still lost as to how this would bring Geordie his well over-due justice.
"You can sneakily record the fight, and when me and Sebastian are in the ring, I'll egg him on. Trash talk isn't uncommon in the ring. In fact, it's a common strategy to throw off the opponent. He'll think that's what I am doing, and I can guarantee you he'll retaliate." His mischievous smile was contagious, and my eyebrows quirked in realisation.
"He'll bring up what he did to Geordie."
"And we'll have our evidence. Sebastian will go to jail, he'll no doubt drag Dante down with him, along with the third accomplish." Harry concluded, and I pulled Harry back down by the back of his neck, connecting our lips together. 
"You'd send your own brother to prison?" I asked, and Harry nodded without hesitation.
"Dante may be blood, but he is not family. Geordie is." My heart leaped at Harry's earnest words, and I kissed him hard and passionately, to which Harry happily complied.