Unpredictable

Chapter 6

Wednesday evening rolled around quickly. I hadn't talked to Harry again, but we had texted, and were going out to dinner with the rest of his bandmates after their rehearsal. After I got back from work, I was about to go and get changed when my step-mother, Jessicca, stopped me.

"Where do you think you're going, Ella?" She scolded.

"Upstairs, to get changed?"

"Are you forgetting that you have to cook dinner tonight? And it's your turn to hoover."

"Look, I'll do the hoovering tomorow, and there's lasagne in the fridge from yesterday, just heat that up. I'm going out tonight." I sighed.

"Why?" She folded her arms.

"I have a date tonight. Not that it's any of your buisness." I tried to push past her but she grabbed my arm.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, Elizabeth, or you won't be going on any 'dates' tonight." She used two fingers to make quotation marks, and I pushed past her.

"Elizabeth Rose Carter, come back here!" She shouted.

"Look, I'm 17, you can't tell me what to do. And no offense, but you aren't, and will never be, my real mother, so just leave me alone!" I was slightly surprised at myself for this outburst: I normally just did as Jessicca said, as much as I didn't like her.

She smirked. "Oh no, sweetie, I was just going to tell you not to wear the red skinny jeans. They make you look fat."

I wanted to scream at her, well, they clearly don't make me look fat, last week a boy, a really attractive one at that, tried to have sex with me whilst I was wearing those jeans! But that would be more trouble than it was worth, so I just ignored her.

Instead, I stormed upstairs, took a quick shower, and tried to decide what to wear.

All of my clothes were so... Bleugh. Either too dressy, or too sloppy, or in the wash, or didn't go with anything. I couldn't wear my red jeans again, or my big jumper, because I wore them last time. After spending 20 minutes trying to sort out an outfit, I decided on: a white cardigan, black shoes with low heels and a black skater dress I got for my birthday. It wasn't too dressy: the skirt reached almost to my knees, and the neckline wasn't too low down. The bodice of the dress was lace, but the pattern was big enough so that no-one could see my bra.

I picked up a shoulder bag and slung it over my shoulder. I was just finishing my hair and make-up when a car horn beeped outside. I picked up my mobile. There was a text from Harry: I'm outside. You ready? Hx

I ran downstairs, shouted "Goodbye!" and ran out the door, slamming it behind me.

Harry's green car was parked outside, and he was sitting on the bonnet. He jumped off when he saw me, his long limbs stretching. He was dressed in really, really, tight, black jeans, a grey t-shirt and a black blazer. He grinned, wrapped his arms around me. "You look amazing!"

I smiled shyly. "Thanks."

"Come on, we better get going..." Harry opened my door before going round to his seat and starting the engine.

I buckled the seatbelt and bent down to put my bag on the floor. The sleeves of my dress rode up, showing the inside of my arms.

Harry looked over, then did a double take. "What's that?" He pointed to my arm.

I pulled the sleeve of my dress down. "It's nothing. Really."

"No." He slowed down and pulled over. "Show me."

"Jesus Christ, Harry!" I said, exasperated. "Does it matter? Just forget it."

"Ella." He placed his hand on top of mine. "Listen. I know cuts when I see them."

"Oh." I picked a piece of lint off my dress, but all I could think was, how does he know cuts when he sees them?

"Why?" He asked softly, drawing circles gently on my palm with his index finger. I felt a tear trace down my cheek.

"Hey, hey." He wiped it away, cupping his hands around my cheeks. "You don't have to tell me, not if you don't want to."

I shook my head. "Not- not today. I can't. Maybe someday, but not tonight."

"Okay, okay. It's alright." He kissed the top of my head, smoothed down my hair.

I leant into his shoulder. "Thank you." I felt safe with him, like he would protect me.

"Can we go?" I whispered.

He nodded. "I can take you back home if you want. We don't have to-"

"No. Let's go." I put a smile on my face. "I want to meet your friends."