Forbidden Dedication

Chapter 10: Harmoni

I woke up in a familiar room. Rivers room. I smiled to myself at the thought of last night. Nothing happened, we haven't even kissed yet. Let alone slept together. But it was nice to feel him there next to me during the night. Although he wasn't here now.

I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. "If you're looking for him he's in the screening room." One of the maids told me with a smile. Once I made coffee I walked down the hall and into the screening room. "River White tidying up, am I dreaming?!" I joked. He just smiled back with a slight chuckle.

"What can I say? Since I've met you, I think I'm realising that the world doesn't revolve around the rich kid and I should stop being such a cocky little shit!" He said back to me, putting the empty pizza boxes in a bin liner. "Let me help you with that." I told him, walking over to the table.

"No, no. Go upstairs and go out on the terrace." He instructed me, I followed his orders and left the room to head upstairs. When I got up there, I sat in one of the chairs and looks out over Rivers grounds to see if there was any parts I hadn't seen before. I looked my right and saw a tennis court? I wondered why River never pointed it out before.

Less than ten minutes later River came up and sat next to me, he was back to wearing a white shirt with smart trousers and shoes. "River?" I asked, he just looked at me. "You never said you have a tennis court?" As soon as I said it he looked really uncomfortable. "It's too painful to talk about..." He told me, I knew he had his secrets, but what could be so bad about a tennis court?! "May I ask?" He let out a sigh and started opening up to me. "Well, It hasn't always just been my Father and I." He started. "My parents had two children, me and a younger sister. I put you in that room you're in for a reason." He spoke in a quiet voice. "You remind me of her. That's why I've been nicer to the staff recently. Harmoni there's something you will never find out about me, but whatever it is, know that that's changed now."

"River, you're not making any sense? You had a sister? What happened to her?"

"My father got sick of her constantly being around. He had her put in care. He never wanted her there, she was only there because I refused to let him let her go. Family has always been important to me. That's why I hate my Father. He got rid of his own daughter. I will never forgive him for getting rid of her. I don't even know where she is." That explained the picture of him and a younger girl in the room I've been sleeping in recently. I know he didn't want to talk about it, but how could I not question what he was saying? "What do you mean, you put me in that room for a reason?" I asked him.

"You remind me of her, she was never really a sister, she was more of a best friend. That was her room. That, and I kind of wanted you to know this, I was hoping at some point you would ask who she was after seeing the pictures of me and her."

"How does this have anything to do with the tennis court?"

"That was our thing as a family. My sister couldn't hit a ball to save her life, me and my dad would play while she watched, every day. Without fail. That's another reason why I hate him. He thought he had the power to do anything but he didn't." He stopped. He looked at me and I could see tears starting to form in his eyes. I thought for a second before speaking. "Do you ever miss him?"

"No. Not at all. I miss her. I miss her like crazy. If I could choose to give up all of this or spending one more day with her, I would take a day with her in a second!" He told me. "Anyway." He said, snapping out of it. "We have school today." He told me, walking off the terrace. I sighed and followed him into the house. I went to my room and got dressed into something a bit more suitable. I pulled on black jeans, a grey turtle neck jumper and a flannel shirt with normal boots. I walked downstairs and remembered my bag was at home. "Hey, River. I have to go home first, I need my bag and books."

"Oh. Okay, I'm sorry. I would drive you there and to school but there's a few things I have to do before I go into school."

"Oh. S-sure." I told him with a slight smile. I somehow knew he was lying. I just guessed he didn't want to go into school with me. I left the house roughly half an hour before River. When I got to school the first thing I noticed was River standing with his friends. It made me feel a bit let down, I knew he didn't have anything to do before school, he just didn't want to be seen around school with me. I purposely went a different way to my class to walk past him. I was facing him as I was walking towards his group, I dropped eye contact as soon as he was no more than a few meters away from me, he held out his hand to the side of him as I walked past, I snapped my hand up, making sure none of his precious friends would see it. "Guys I have to speak to her, she's my science partner, I'll talk to you later." I heard him say. I heard his footsteps behind me. "Hey. Get to school okay?" He asked. I decided to keep it in, I knew it would be best if I didn't say anything, I knew it wasn't much of a big deal. "Yeah." I replied, giving him a small smile.

"Good. You coming round after school?" He asked me.

"I don't know yet."

"Well, I have a sixth period today so I won't be leaving until five. But you have a key so you could walk back and just watch TV for a few hours while you wait for me."

"Actually, you know what, I can't today, I need to go home." I told him.

"Oh. Okay. Well, tomorrow?" He asked, I just nodded and walked away. You're just his play toy! Why are you bothering?

I snapped out of my thought. I didn't want to think like that. I knew he liked me! I fucking knew it!

It was the last week of term before Christmas and there was only a few days left, I knew that I was hoping for whatever me and River had the other day, I desperately hoped it would happen again for Christmas. 

-Two days later-

I haven't seen him in a while, I don't know if I want to. I need to ask him why we can't properly be seen around school together, it's not even like I'm his girlfriend, he never asked me to be anyway...

I was sitting at home in the living room when I heard a knock on my front door. I got up and walked to the door, revealing two rather large men. "Harmoni Jones?" They asked.

"That's me. What's happening?" I asked them cautiously.

"Your house is being repossessed, you're behind on your payments. I'm sorry but this house now belongs to us." They told me. No, this couldn't be happening! I didn't know where I could go!

Almost immediately after letting them in to look around, a rather expensive looking car pulled up on the drive. I knew immediately who it would be. "Harmoni, we need to talk." He told me.

"Look, I can't right now. I'm kind of homeless at the moment." I told him turning away from him. He grabbed my shoulder, turning me around to face him. "What do you mean you're homeless?!" He asked. I let out a sigh, as if it was hard for him to understand. "Well, they came here." I told him, pointing at the men in my home. "And now I have nowhere to go because they're taking my world from me!" I told him through my tear filled eyes. He pulled me into a hug. "You have me. You will always have me. You can come stay with me." He told me in a quiet voice. I cried harder, hugging him back. He may want to hide me around school, but he's just asked me to live with him, I thought I finally had him all to myself.