Marvels Of Fate

You Did Good

"Are you sure you don't want me to kick his sorry ass out first?" Harry asks me for the tenth time.

"Yes, Harry, I'm sure. Trust me, seeing that jerk won't break every bone in my body." I assure him, tracing invisible patterns along the back of his hand. "Plus, I have two strong men with me."

"You don't need our protection, Mus. You're strong," Joshua says from the back. Today, he, Harry and I are going to the house I share with Carter to kick him out and to change things a bit so that Joshua can come join me there. I did message Carter and I did tell him to leave. However, he chose to ignore my warning and instead said that when I get home we'll talk things through. Well, tough life, I don't want to talk. I want him out.

"True that." I nod in agreement. "Joshua, you got your stuff right? Cause you're gonna get a big room and of course, feel free to spread out into whichever portion of the house."

"Trust me, I will." Joshua says, laughing. "Do you have a library?" I turn around and offer him a shocked expression.

"Of course! Come on, that's the foundation of any house I build." I exclaim, laughing. Joshua nods and smiles at me sheepishly.

"Yeah, that was a pretty stupid question to ask."

"So when we build a house together, the first thing we're planning is the library?" Harry asks, grinning.

"Of course!" I nod with enthusiasm. "Wait...when're we building a house together?"

"I don't know. Soon," he shrugs his shoulders innocently. Harry adorns an amused smile across his lips. It makes me look forward to the future that lies ahead of us.

"Wait...Can I come and stay with you guys?" Joshua asks, grabbing the headrests of our seats and pulling himself forward.

"Of course!" Harry answers immediately. "We're gonna design a special room for you." My heart constricts at the thought. Harry and I both know that Joshua will not survive that long. I'm pretty sure he knows it too, but just the thought of him staying with us floods my nerves with joy. "And you're gonna have to help design the library too." Joshua nods eagerly and I reach my hand backwards, enveloping his.

"I want a section dedicated to my books." Joshua states, looking at Harry hopefully through the rear view mirror.

"Section?" Harry scoffs. "Go ahead and take the whole room. We can have two!" Joshua and I both plaster stupid grins across our faces at the thought. Harry pulls up into my driveway and cuts the engine. He gives my hand a tight squeeze and offers me a reassuring look. God, those eyes. Those eyes give me comfort and support me at times like this, when I'm losing courage and when all I want to do is run away from a situation, instead of confront it.

"Lets go!" Joshua yells, punching his fist in the air. He gets out first and bounds toward the porch. Harry and I follow suit. I unlock the front door and enter.

"Mus? Are you here?!" Carter yells from the lounge. Harry clenches his fist tightly and closes his eyes, trying to control his breathing. I walk over to the lounge, while Harry tells Joshua to go look around the house and familiarize himself with it. He then follows me. Harry jogs to match my pace and takes my hand in this, entwining our fingers. These small gestures offer me a hell of a lot of support and they definitely make me more confident of what I'm about to do. I enter the lounge, Harry alongside me. Carter places his laptop on the coffee table and turn around to greet me, his mouth falling open when he sees Harry.

"Carter, you need to leave." I say, my tone stern and my expression stoic. Carter's eyes flit towards our entwined hands.

"What?" He asks, as if he wasn't paying attention the first time.

"You heard me, Carter, please leave. Don't make this any harder."

"Or we can try some other way to get you out." Harry says, his tone menacingly calm. I squeeze his hand, trying to tell him to calm down.

"Mus, we can talk things through." Carter pleads, wringing his hands. "I was drunk and high yesterday." Carter steps away from the sofa and towards us. "Please Mus. Can we talk in private?"

"No," I reply. "No, we can't. There's nothing to discuss. Carter we've had a failing relationship from the start. You know it and have always known it and so have I. Then what's the point in prolonging this?" Carter shakes his head.

"No, we haven't. I love you and so do you." Carter takes another step toward me, which makes Harry step in front of me. I look at Carter from the side of Harry's body. Lets just say my ex is visibly intimidated.

"Harry, this is b-between me and her." Carter says, nodding his head in my direction.

"No, this is not." Harry says, leaving my hand and crossing his arms across his chest. "It's over between you and Mus. Get the fuck out before I get a restraining order put on you." Carter lets out a nervous laugh. Wow, I don't get why he's almost wetting his pants at the sight of Harry.

"Come on, man, this isn't fair." Carter is practically whining, which makes a tiny smile tug at the corners of my lips. "Y-You have to let me talk to my fiancee."

"Ex fiancee," Harry corrects. "And no, I don't because she doesn't desire to converse with you." Carter steps aside to get a better look at me. He silently begs me and I give a tiny shake of my head.

"Carter," I shut my eyes. "You're making this very hard."

"I'm not enjoying it either!" Carter yells, banging his palm onto the headrest of the sofa. I flinch, gripping Harry's forearm.

"Don't raise your voice." Harry warns, his tone still deadly calm. "You should be glad I haven't kicked you out yet."

"Mus, we've been together for years. Do you really wanna throw it all out for him?" Carter asks, casting Harry a disgusted look. "Did he stick around last time that he'll stick around now?"

"He didn't!" This time I'm the one who's yelling. "I gave up the one good thing in my life for you! I thought we would be good friends and that it would make this whole situation bearable, but you turned out to be a dick. Carter, you cheated on me! Never once did you want to understand what I was going through, what I wanted. It was always about you and your fucking friends! Do you even understand just how conceited you are? And you know what, Carter? Harry has made a special place for himself in my heart, one that no one else can fulfill. I never stopped loving him," I whisper the last sentence. It's more of a revelation to me. I never stopped loving him. How could I be so naive and stupid before? For some reason, right now, I want to envelope Harry in my arms and kiss the life out of him.

"But I fucking love you!" Carter yells, the vein in his head bulging with anger.

"No, you don't! It's called lust. It's called bearing another person, but it's not called love." I clarify, clenching my jaw. "When you love somebody you care for them. Worry about them. You're concerned about the other person, if she's uncomfortable or if she doesn't wanna hang out tonight cause she's tired. Did you ask me even once? Did you ever say, 'Mus, it's okay if you don't wanna go. We'll go to his house some other time.' No, you didn't. And I never expected you to either." I shrug my shoulders, showing indifference. "It's best if you just leave right now Carter, without being further insulted." Carter's gaze flicks from Harry to me and then he offers me a curt nod.

"I'll be gone in a few hours," Carter says. Then he strides past Harry and I, bounding up the stairs. A shudder wracks my entire body. Harry turns to face me and engulfs me in a warm, soothing hug. I wrap my arms around his back and lean my head against his shoulder.

"You did good," Harry whispers in my ear. "You did good." I nod my head, calming myself with Harry's familiar scent.

"Thank you for being here with me." I say, meaning every single word more than he can even imagine.