I had barely made it home, shedding my hoody and bag by the door. My emotions had calmed slightly, still a bit shaken but nothing compared to when I had fled. I had no desire to face anyone, opting to walk home instead of getting the crowded bus. The soft breeze had seemed to settle my nerves, drying the wet streaks that trickled down my cheeks. As I helplessly mulled over what had and hadn’t been said, I bent down, fumbling with the laces on my boots. All I craved was to crawl into bed and lose consciousness, anything to ease the ache my heart was weighted with. But my actions abruptly ceased. The loud thumping knock was unexpected, taking me by surprise and jolting my body. Harry.
I desperately fumbled with the catch, yanking the door open. But as I peered up, it wasn’t who I had hoped. Tom stood in front of me, he was panting, sweat droplets glistening on his forehead. His expression was something of desperation and fear.
“Tom? What’s wrong?” I asked with concern.
A hand grabbed at my arm.
“You need to come with me.” He gushed.
“Why, what’s going on? Where’s Harry?”
My voice displayed signs of distress, cracking as the last question was expelled in a panicked breath. Oh god, Harry.
“Come with me, I’ll explain on the way.”
I didn’t bother with my hoody, instead grabbing my keys from my bag, slamming the door and sprinting after Tom to the vehicle that had been left running. I hastily entered, taking a place in the passenger seat. The car was in motion before I had a chance to put on my belt, anxiously looking to Tom for some sort of explanation to his sudden arrival.
“Bo, he’s lost it, Harry went out looking for Scott.”
My stomach dropped, fingers tightly gripping the fabric of the seat with the rushed words.
“Tom.” I attempted to encourage him.
“He found him.”
I had never experienced a car ride like it. My heart was in my mouth, pulse thumping as Tom practically floored it. We came to a screeching halt just on the outskirts of town. I don’t think I had ever moved so fast, stumbling from the car and running to the unfamiliar pub Tom had informed me Harry was in attendance. The amount of fights that had taken place in the presence of alcohol was enough to put me off of drinking for life.
“Bo, wait!”
My palms shoved at the heavy door, forcing it to comply and tripping into the busy inside of the social environment. My gaze desperately scanned the area for my curly haired lover. At that moment in time I didn’t care that my words hadn’t been reciprocated by Harry. All I desired was find him, stop him from doing something stupid.
That’s when my wide eyes fell upon two males. I knew it was Harry. Despite his soft curls being hidden from view under a hood, his lean frame was something I had become very intimate with. Expansive hands gripped Scott’s shirt, fisting it and forcing him up against the wall down the corridor for the toilets. They were of equal height, stature much the same. But Scott was nothing in comparison to the beauty of the man currently pinning him with an icy glare.
My body jolted as Harry tugged Scott from his leaning position, only to aggressively slam him back into the wall. A hand on my shoulder yanked my vision away from the terrifying sight. Tom peered down at me, following my line of sight to witness his friend uncompromisingly drag the large man down the darkened passage. I ran to catch up, both men unaware they were being pursued by Tom and myself. It was happening again. Harry was going to lose control, just like he had in his mum’s back garden and how he had in the boxing ring.
