Speechless (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

“Honey,” my mother called softly her hand tapping the door, “Harry’s here to pick you up.”

I took a deep breath and stared at my face in the mirror that was a top my vanity. I had dreaded this moment from the second I fell asleep till. I had a new understanding of Harry and I wasn’t exactly sure how to handle it. My mother woke me last night to make sure I wasn’t hungry and I told her Harry would be picking me up because he insisted that he brought me home. She reluctantly agreed and left my room with no more words than necessary. Now I was here, about to get into a tiny metal car with a convicted teenager.

Placing my hands on the vanity I pushed my stool out and got to my feet. I walked out of the house with no sign of goodbye to my mother. I could feel her eyes follow me as I made my way down the stairs and out the front door so it wasn’t required that I tell her I was leaving.

The cold air met me with opening arms, completely enveloping me the moment I stepped from my house. I could hear the low hum of the car engine that sat in the middle of my driveway. I walked slowly to the car was met the eager face of Harry Styles.

Pulling open the car door I was welcomed into warmth once more.

“Good Morning Genevieve,” Harry’s voice was more chipper than normal and his face was brighter.

I let a weak smile spread across my face.  I could feel the anxiety rising in my stomach as I placed myself onto the worn fabric of the car seat. I clutched my backpack against my chest and looked straight forward as Harry pulled out of my driveway.

I could see the faint figure of my mother in the front window watching the car leave. Taking a deep breath I focused on the road before me. The yellow line that ran unendingly through the middle of the road captured my attention with more force than it had ever before.

I wanted nothing more than to escape this car and get to school where I could fade into the background friendless.

“So that was a pretty crazy fight yesterday,” Harry stated turning the radio off.

I mindlessly nodded but kept my eyes firmly on the yellow lines. I had finally made my mind up about Harry. I finally developed an opinion on him that was influenced by none of the vicious rumors or warnings heeded by my peers or adults.

Harry as bad as they all say, he had a record, he was angry, he was violent, he was a player. He was everything they had said about him but in a way no one thought. He cared about the fact that he had a past so he separated himself. His father had abandoned him and his family so he was never taught to control his anger and I guessed he had an abusive father at one point so he grew accustom to violence. He had never seen a successful relationship shown to him so he had commitment issues. The rumors that were spread about him were all partially true. It wasn’t his kid he was caring for it was his mothers, his brother that no one had time for.

But there still was a question I could not fight off.

What was his meaning for his protectiveness over me? Everything else had a meaning but the fact that he fought to keep me safe and defending me when he knew nothing about me still puzzled me.

“Sorry I wasn’t in English yesterday,” Harry chattered on without realizing I was completely lost in my own thoughts, “I had to go help Tobias with an issue at pre-k and my mom was busy so…”

Harry continued to talk but my thoughts overcame my mind completely blocking him out.

I couldn’t picture Harry comforting a four year old, holding a weeping kid and whispering comforting words to him. To see him crouched down so he was eye to eye with this little boy. It seemed more like a distant fantasy than an actual reality.