Reasons

Chapter 6

Rylie's POV

Harry dropped me off and I climbed into bed, only having enough energy to kick my shoes off. I turned to my phone and texted Gemma. If anything, we could meet and talk about what happened. She would see Harry's swollen face. I didn't want to take the blame, but I didn't want to bring Luke up. Who knew what chaos would happen if I did. I half hoped Harry would lie about the fight. Or just ignore her.

My mom was baking a cake in the kitchen and even asked me if I wanted to help. I just had too much on my mind to worry about a silly old cake, so I declined.

Gemma finally called me around six.

"Rylie, can we meet over some coffee? I don't want to stay in my house right now," she said as soon as I answered.

I frowned, feeling terrible for Gemma. Her brother was hurt and she obviously didn't want to see him.

"Sure. Meet you there in ten," I answer. I hung up and got ready, fixing my hair and putting my shoes back on.

I walked out into the living room and my mom turned to look at me. She was sitting on the couch, watching some reality tv.

"Where are you going?" she asked, a smile appearing on her face. I was glad she wasn't upset with me anymore, even if I didn't do anything wrong by hanging out with Harry.

I headed to the door and turned to look back at her. "To the...store," I answer. I wasn't sure why I just lied to my mom. She didn't hate Gemma like she did Harry. But I had a feeling she wouldn't want me to go get coffee at such a late hour. And she would also ask why. Since we would be discussing something critical, the best thing I could do at this moment was lie.

My mom nodded her head, seeming less interested now. "Be back by eight," she told me.

Usually, she probably wouldn't say this, but today she must be restricting me more because I am not completely off the hook. It wasn't really fair that I lost her trust for something I didn't even do wrong. She just doesn't understand me.

Just as I was about to get into my car, I could barely see the shape of Harry on his porch, but I did see him. He looked calmer than usual. He has a lot of different emotions. Most of the time he would be making jokes every few seconds. Then sometimes, like today, he would be pissed off. But now, sitting there on the porch, he looked so cool and collected. My eyes shifted to see what was in his hands. There was a sheet of paper in one of his hands and a pencil in the other. He was tapping the paper with the pencil. I didn't want to bother him, because he seemed to be concentrating. Yet, I had to know what it was. I inched closer to the small cabin and squinted. I know it was stupid of me to try and make the words out from over here, but I did want to try.

I texted Gemma saying,"Make that twenty minutes."

She didn't seem too upset when she replied. I stuffed my phone into my pocket and walked across the street. Harry finally looked up and saw me. His eyes widened and he seemed to flush with embarrassment. He didn't say anything as I climbed up the porch steps and took a seat beside him.

"Hey Rylie," Harry said, acting different than the Harry I was beginning to know.

I didn't say anything at first. I just stared at the paper, silently asking for permission to read it. He handed it over and I ran my eyes along the page. Word after word.

About halfway through, I noticed that it was some sort of poem. Or it at least sounded a lot like one.

"Can I read it aloud?" I ask him.

Harry smiles and takes the paper back from me. "Actually...I could read it to you," he told me, sounding nervous.

"Go on ahead," I encourage and lean back in my seat.