Unpredictable

Chapter 11

After Perrie dropped me off at the park, I walked over to the swing set that I used to play on as a child, thoughts running through my head. I couldn't go back to my house, I knew that much. I didn't have many friends, so I couldn't sofa surf. The one friend that might let me stay was on holiday with her boyfriend. My grandparents lived in a different country, and I had no other close family.

I sat on the weathered seat, twisting the chains around my arms. The only person that left was Harry, but I couldn't stay at his. I had known him for less than a month and although I really liked him I couldn't expect him to look after me. But there really was no-where else for me to stay tonight, and I could leave the next morning, couldn't I?

I spent the next few hours, until early evening, wandering about town, buying a spare change of clothes, toiletries, pajamas, that sort of thing. Harry wasn't answering his phone, but there were pictures of his house on facebook, and I knew the area he lived in pretty well. I set off on the bus to his neighbourhood, spent the next hour wandering about, completely lost, and just as I thought it couldn't get any worse, it started to rain. It was dark, cold, wet and scary, and just as I was about to try and hail a cab to the nearest motel, I spotted Harry's car at the end of the road.

Shivering, I rang his doorbell. The house was big and fancy: Victorian style, three floors, big bay windows. After a few minutes Harry answered, dressed in a pair of ripped, blue jeans and a hoodie, his hair wild and wet, as though he had just got out of the shower.

"Ella?" He sounded surprised. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, then shrugged. I was too cold to speak, hair dripping like tears onto my soaking jumper. He pulled me inside the door, and hugged me tight, rubbing his hands up and down my arms to keep me warm, despite the fact that I was getting his jumper all soggy.

"You look freezing, Ella. What happened?"

"I... I'm sorry that I surprised you, I tried to call and I just... There was no-one else that..." A tear mixed with the water soaking Harry's shoulder.

"Hey, hey." He rubbed circles on my back. "Don't worry, darling. It'll all be alright."

I cried even harder. Why was he so nice to me? He was the only person who had ever cared about me, I was sure of it. "Harry, I..." I started to explain, but he smoothed back my hair and looked me in the eyes.

"Look, don't try and explain now. You'll freeze to death if you walk around, soaking wet like that. If you want, I can run you a hot shower, and then you can tell me what's wrong. Sound okay?"

I nodded, and followed him upstairs to his bathroom, where he showed me how to work the shower. When he had left I stripped off, leaving my clothes on a radiator, and stepped into the steaming shower, letting the water envelop me, warming me. I stayed inside until the water began to cool, then stepped out, drying myself with a towel and getting changed into the clothes I had bought earlier that day, making sure I looked halfway decent. Then I made my way downstairs and into the the big, airy living room, where Harry sat with two mugs of tea. The gesture was so thoughtful and homely that it made me want to cry.

Before he could say anything, I sat down opposite him. "Harry, look. I need to tell you some stuff, things that I've never told anyone. And I just need you to listen. I know that we only met a few weeks ago, but I really like you, and to be honest, right now I trust you more than anyone else in my life. But I understand if you don't want to know, if you tell me to leave, or that you don't want to hear what I have to say, then I'll go."

He looked up, eyes puzzled. "Of course I want to hear what you have to say. I want you to feel safe with me."

I closed my eyes, steadying myself, and took a deep breath.

(A/N: Hi guys, sorry for the crappy doodle late update! I had a shitload of maths homework and a massive maths test today (whoo. You can sense the amount of excitement that I feel towards this by the amount of exclamation marks - none.) so I'm really sorry if you thought that this chapter was short/crap. But it should get more exciting, and yes I know I've been saying that all the way through the book but I promise it will! Anyway thanks for reading, I love you all. Votes and comments would be much appreciated, but, you know, you don't have to. )