Reliance

Chapter Three

Chapter three

C A R T E R

I woke up, my face twisted in terror and my body drenched in sweat. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, looking out at the stormy sky outside my window. I never liked thunderstorms; it always reminded me of that night. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I sighed, closing my eyes in hopes of pushing that memory to the far back of my mind. It always made its way back, though.

One thing I like about living by myself is that I can walk around in just an old tshirt and underwear. The clock on the microwave read 3:14 am. I knew there was no way in hell I would be able to fall asleep with the storm going on. So, I decided to make myself a cup of coffee and pull out my books to study.

It still surprised me that Harry was the one to buy me all of my school books. As I looked at them, I could tell their value and that he bought them brand-spanking new. The cheapest book in this pile is $89. They all had that new book smell once I opened them and I couldn't help but feel grateful, yet confused. My mind always went back to Harry as I was writing down the notes for making the three major sauces.

Rubbing my eyes, I closed the book, being that my mind obviously had something more important to focus on. I finished my cup of coffee and decided to send Olivia a text, telling her I needed to meet her before class at the café. 4:26 am. Maybe I could try a small nap, I tell myself. Instead of going back into my room, I crash onto the couch and pull the homemade blanket over my short body.

All too soon, my alarm goes off and I'm startled awake, not fully realizing where I was at first. I groaned into the pillow, not really feeling school today but knowing that I needed to graduate on time. Did I really care? Of course not; I was already ahead in most of my classes. So, I decided to text Olivia and told her we were staying in today. Of course, she agreed and told me she would be over with movies and snacks. Staying in my pjs all day didn't sound like a bad thing to me.

"All I'm saying is, Damon needs to forget about Elena and come get him a piece of Olivia," she says as she stands up and twirls her hips. Laughing, I hit her with a pillow before checking my phone. "Hoping for someone to text you?"

"No," I quickly say, shutting my phone.

"You were always a horrible liar," she tells me as she joins me on the couch with two pints of ice cream.

"I'm not lying." She gives me a look and I sigh. "Alright. I was waiting for Liam to text me."

"Is that the only person you were waiting for?" She wiggles her eyebrows.

"Shut up," I blush.

"Why were you waiting for Liam to text you," she says, making air quotes as she says Liam. I roll my eyes but continue to tell her.

"I told him I found out who bought me the books."

"And who's that?" She licks her spoon.

"Harry." She gags herself on her spoon and I can't help but laugh at her face.

"Not funny," she says putting her ice cream down and turning to glare at me. "Harry? As in Harry Styles?" I nod. "Why the hell would he do that for you? There's not an innocent bone in that man's body."

I shrug. "Maybe he's not as bad as you thought he was. I mean, he's a dick, don't get me wrong. And I have no idea why he bought me those books. I never asked him. And when I talk to him, he always makes vulgar comments."

"That sounds more like him," Olivia giggles. "Anyways, at least you have your books. But I wouldn't put my hopes up for him to text you."

She was right. Why was I waiting for something that would never happen? Harry wasn't my type and I didn't come to college to meet boys. He needed to be ripped out of my mind and to never come back.

H A R R Y

"Where the fuck is she," I asked Liam once class was over.

He shrugs, putting his books away and never making eye contact with me. "Why do you even care? I thought you didn't like her."

"I don't," I stuff my hands into my pockets. "A thank you would've been nice from her. I did buy her books."

"You didn't tell her you bought them. You expect her to think it was you?"

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean," I yelled at him as I followed him out to his car.

"You must be forgetting. We've been through this before, Harry. We've been partners for 6 years, been in the same training for 8. So, I think I would know when you start to like a girl, especially someone so close to this case. I'm not asking you, anymore. I am telling you, leave Carter alone." He wouldn't let me get a word in as he hopped into his car, and drove away.

I don't know who that fucker thinks he is, talking to me like that. I could easily take him like I did so in training so many times.

"Fuck," I groaned out loud as I pulled the ends of my hair. I couldn't be falling for Carter. Just because I did one nice thing for the girl, doesn't mean I like her. Sure, it's been awhile since I did something nice for someone other than myself, but that doesn't mean I want to be with the girl. Would she be a good fuck? Sure, with that body of hers, I imagined doing so many things to her, making her call out my name. Just the thought of it was making me hard. But, I knew that I couldn't get with her, either way my options were pretty open on this campus. But just the thought of fucking another random girl didn't sit well with my subconscious and that just made me even madder.

I pulled out my phone, scrolling right to the number I never thought I would call. Without even thinking, the phone was by my ear and the dial tone came through the speaker. I couldn't believe I was even doing this.

"Hello," her innocent voice cracked through the line.

"It's Harry."