Limitless

Chapter 14

Harry dropped me into the front seat of his car and slammed the door.  He wasn’t gentle like I thought he might have been.  He walked around the front of the car and jumped in, cranking it and speeding out of the parking lot.  I wanted to thank him for saving me, yet again, but I was so mad at him for what he did to me on our date.  I glanced casually in his direction and studied his clenched jaw, dark eyes, and furrowed brow.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He kept looking straight ahead at the road.  He gripped the wheel a little more tightly when I sniffled and pulled down my visor to look at my face in the mirror.  A large, bright red handprint was burning along my cheek and a little bit around my eye. I stretched my skin out a little bit to try and alleviate some of the pain. “Are you okay?” Harry finally asked, his voice low and quiet.

I nodded without looking at him.

“Where are we going?” I repeated.

He still didn’t answer.  He didn’t even glance in my direction. “Harry?”

He pushed the power on the radio and turned up the volume.  The music began to blare through the speakers in the car.  I looked sideways at Harry, annoyed.

“Are we just driving around to drive around?”

No answer.

“Oh my God, Harry.”

I crossed my arms and looked out the window as we passed a few local boutiques, and suddenly I remembered the greasy food that was drying on my clothes.

“Can we stop at that store? Or Walmart or something?”

Harry turned sharply into a shopping center and pulled up in front of a store.  I grabbed my wallet from my backpack and jumped out of the car before we fully stopped.  I didn’t wait for Harry to park before I walked in to the boutique. A particularly happy individual greeted me at the door. Her long straight hair faded from dark brown to a lighter blonde, and her hazel eyes shone with eagerness.

“Hello! Welcome to Earth Tones! All of our clothes are from small villages in South America and Africa! Portions of the profits that we make go back to those villages! It just really helps the…” She trailed off as she saw my clothes. “Bad day?” She asked.

I smiled shortly and turned to one of the racks where some shirts were.  The bell on the door rang as Harry entered the store behind me.  The girl’s face lit up again and she turned to him. “Hello! Welcome to Earth Tones! All of our clothes are from small villages in South America and Africa! Portions of the profits that we make go back to those villages! I’m Noelle!”

Harry smiled shortly and nodded at her.  He turned to a rack of shorts and began to search through them.  He picked up a pair he liked and held them out to me.  I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, but took the shorts and stuck them under my arm along with a shirt I liked.  We walked to two more racks and began to search.  I grabbed what I liked and Harry passed me a few things he liked too.  Noelle watched us from behind the counter, intrigued.

“Are you two deaf? Or mute?”

Harry and I both turned to look at her, frowning. “No,” We answered simultaneously.

“He’s giving me the silent treatment,” I said as I grabbed another pair of shorts from Harry’s hands.

Noelle cocked her head to the side. “Are you guys dating?”

Harry and I both turned to look at her, frowning. “No,” We answered simultaneously.

“Why is he giving you the silent treatment?” She asked.  I jiggled the handle on the dressing room door.  Noelle quickly grabbed a key and ran to the room to unlock it for me.