Always

Chapter 74

Harry was silent as we walked away from the park, walking at a fairly clipped pace and pulling me along by my hand.  I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder to get one last glimpse of this mystery girl. 

My mind was spinning, trying to figure who she could possibly be.  I knew she wasn’t some kind of ex-girlfriend, because I knew I had been Harry’s first for everything.  But what other than that could earn such an awkward and stony reaction from him?

We were halfway back to our neighborhood before I decided to say something since he clearly wasn’t going to, and I needed an explanation.

“So…” I started, hoping he would catch on and explain without me having to probe. 

His eyes darted to me, a hint of annoyance playing on his features and I hoped it wasn’t directed at me.  He sighed when he saw me watching him expectantly but didn’t say anything for a few seconds.

“So,” he finally said, voice lacking any emotion.  I blinked at him.

“So how do you know Katie?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice even.

“It’s a long story,” he said, squeezing my hand as we walked.  A flush of relief ran through me, because I could easily tell now his annoyance wasn’t directed at me.  The selfish side of me couldn’t help but feel happy that whoever this girl was, she wasn’t someone he had been pleased to see. 

“I’ve got time,” I told him gently.  His brow furrowed as he stared at the ground distractedly.  We had arrived back at his house now, which I was grateful for because once we were inside, I hoped he’d talk to me. 

He let out a heavy sigh.  “Let’s go inside first,” he suggested.

“Okay.”

He steered us up the walkway to his front door and let us inside; the house was quiet, indicating his mom was out.  I was beyond thankful for that, because I knew our first reunion after her lecture would be awkward and I was too concerned with whatever Harry had to say at the moment to be able to handle that initial interaction right now. 

I knew that once we got that out of the way, Anne would most likely go back to being the sweet and loving woman I had come to know- she just had to put on the tough-mother routine to show she wasn’t a pushover.

After kicking off our shoes and shedding our jackets, we ascended the stairs before finding ourselves in Harry’s room.  I instantly crawled onto his bed, crossing my legs beneath me as I sat down, patting the space across from me.  He followed, filling the space and facing me.

“So, let’s hear it,” I said gently, not wanting to irritate him further. 

“I don’t even know where to start,” he said, more to himself than to me as he frowned at the bed, lips twisting to the side as he searched his mind.  I stayed silent, letting him collect his thoughts. 

“Well first of all, she moved away two years ago ‘cause her dad’s in the military, and she didn’t go to our school,” he started, explaining why I had never seen her before.  I nodded silently, urging him on. 

“And… she was my best friend since forever until about a year before she moved,” he explained.  “Our moms were friends and would always stick us together, so we kinda just were forced to hang out until we actually started to on our own.”

My heart beat painfully in my chest.  He hadn’t even said anything too detrimental yet, no confessions of love or a childhood romance, but it was clear they had once been close and I couldn’t stop the pang of jealously that radiated through my body.