Beastly | ✓

Chapter 13 | Past

Chapter 13 | Past

I wiped the tears away from my eyes and sniffed, trying to make the horrible memory disappear and go away. My heart was heavy with hurt. It was 1am in the middle of the night and I couldn’t sleep because of a horrible nightmare—a memory.

It was stuck in my mind and I couldn’t get it off my mind. The room felt suffocating and I decided to go out and enjoy the night sky. So, I sat in the garden, looking up at the night sky as I tried to push the memory away. More tears started falling and I hugged myself, trying hard to control them but they kept coming and I couldn’t stop them.

“Harley?”

My eyes went wide at his voice and I wiped the tears away furiously, as I stood up, facing him.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, walking closer towards me and lifted my head to meet his. His eyes went wide as he took in my face and narrowed his eyes at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I said.

“I didn’t you can lie.” He said and took a sear beside me on the bench. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

He seemed really calm and I relaxed at his calm demeanour. I wondered why he was being so kind towards me. Is he really concern about me? Does he really care about me? Does he think of me more than a friend?

Should I be expecting him to think of me as more than a friend?

No. I shouldn’t. I just can’t.

“Harley.” His calm low voice broke my thoughts and I continued fidgeting with my hands, feeling uneasy and nervous. “It’s ok. Tell me.”

Suddenly, his hand reached mine and he wrapped his hand around mine, holding me close and I smiled at his comforting contact. Yes, I can trust him. I looked up to meet his eyes and he looked at me, waiting for me to give an explanation.

“I was in love once.” I said, my voice cracking and his grip tightened on my hand and I bit my lip. “He was my neighbour. I had a crush on him since I was five. When he told me that he loved me, it was a dream come true.” I said, breathing heavily.

“I don’t think I have ever loved anyone that powerfully. I thought he was the one. He was my world and I did anything for him.” I breathed out.

His thumb stroked comfortingly over my hand and I pursed my lips, trying to control the unshed tears from falling. He seemed tensed and I was glad he was listening to this story. No one knew about this story except my sister.

“Everything was going well for the first five months and after that,” My breath hitched. “He started becoming distant and more aggressive. He was being too possessive and wanted to ‘do it’ with me.” I said and he got the hint, his eyes becoming wide and his jaw went rigid, as he continued his soothing patterns on my hand.

“I discovered o-one day that he was cheating on me but when I confronted him about it,” A tear slipped down my eye. “He acted as if it was nothing and tried to r-rape me,” He whipped his head around so fast I was scared that his neck was going to break. He seemed so angry and I smiled weakly at his concern. “but I p-pushed him away and r-ran to my house.” I said, and more tears slipped down my face. Immediately, arms circled around me, pulling me closer towards his chest as I cried, letting it all out.

I had never actually talked about this to anyone and it felt good to talk about it, to let all the emotions out from the bottle. “I realised l-later that he had been u-using me f-for the w-whole r-relationship. T-the whole damn thing was a lie.”

“Shh. He is an asshole who didn’t know your worth. You are a diamond in the rough. You deserve better than him.” He said those words, whispering them in my ear as he held me close. “You are a wonderful woman Harley and don’t let anyone destroy that bubble of craziness and fun you have. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.”

I cried more, feeling the depth of his words as I took in a sharp breath, crying more and more. My lips were quivering as salty tears flowed past them. I remember how broken I felt whenever I saw him with the other girl.

It took about another half an hour until my cries died down and I was sure his shirt was drenched with salty tears. He had remained calm the whole time, whispering comforting words of encouragement into my ears and I was so glad that he was here with me. The whole time, his hand was intertwined with mine and I felt my insided go warm.

“Thank you.” I said, moving away from him. He gave me a small grin and I gave him a big smile as I wiped my tears away. “I should go sleep now.”

“Really? Are you sure you can sleep?” He asked, his eyes filled with concern and it did weird flips in my heart as I stood, looking at him as I contemplated the idea.

“I don’t think so.” I said, sitting back down on the bench. “What do ya have in mind?”

“Come on!” He stood up, holding his hand out for me to hold and I immediately grabbed it, without a second thought. “We have to be really quiet.” He said and pulled me with him as he squatted down, hiding behind the bushes as he continued walking. I followed him, trying to peek behind the bush but he pulled me down.

“Don’t look. Not now.” He said and continued walking and I did the same. We were so quiet and suddenly he stopped before turning around to look at me. “You can look now.”

●●●

Hey!

Guess what? My friend who is helping me type this book, is in love with this book and wants to help more! 💚

I swear its so awkward sometimes.

Me: And he looked at me with such passion that I---

My friend: Ugh. This is so awkward. Wait. What did you say? Looked at me with what? Pancakes? *types*

Me: Passion! *rolls eyes*

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