The sobs become overwhelming, my whole body shaking with the force. Horribly sounds emit from my throat as my whole world crumbles. This breaks Harry. Tears spill out of his eyes as well, and he forcefully pulls me into his lap, holding me as we cry together.
"Why? Don't you love me?" I cry into his shoulder, squeezing his bicep. He pulls me into him tighter, gently shaking me.
"Yes, so fucking much. And you know that," he whispers. "It's the leaders. They don't think it's appropriate for a Guardian and the person they're guarding to have a relationship like we do."
I cry harder now, if even possible. Why is everything falling apart.
"Get ahold of yourself, Madelynn," he whispers, gently pushing me off his lap, bringing his hands up to cup my cheeks. I begin to calm down, while he continues to frantically speak.
"They're making me stay away from you. For good. They think that I'm going to get you pregnant, which is against the law if you're a Guardian." He takes a deep breath. "If you die, I will too. That's all the same. I just can't do anything to stop you from dying, I can't protect you any longer." He cries for a few seconds.
"I don't care about me any more. I care about you, and whether or not you have a long and happy life."
I begin to interrupt, but Harry shushes me, signifying that he's not done.
"If I get within a 30 mile radius of you after the 8th of February, I have to pass on. I'm gone. For good."
My heart stops. It stops, and then it shatters. Shatters into a million pieces. I can't survive without him.
"But that's only a week and a half away!" I cry, counting up the days in my head. "I won't survive. We're both going to die. I'll be an easy target to Storm, and-" He shushes me again.
"I will do every damn thing in my power to keep you safe, Madelynn. You aren't going to die. You're going to live a long and happy life, and get married, and have lots and lots of babies. And you'll be happy." He sobs, choking on his own breath and tears.
"I can't be happy! Not without you Harry," I cry.
"You'll have to be," he whispers, attempting to compose himself. "Right now, we need to focus on keeping you alive. Keeping you out of Storm's sight." He stands up and begins to pace, tugging at his curly hair.
"You have to quit school," he finally says, shaking his head. "There's no other way. I know a place you can stay, a place that's hard to find. I can get Kian and the rest of 'em to stay with you. And we'll find you a disguise. We don't have much time," he sobs, not paying attention to me.
"Quit school? And just leave?" I sob. My stomach hurts, and I have to resist the urge to vomit.
"What do I tell my parents?" I lay back on my bed, closing my eyes.
"Are you stupid? You don't tell them anything!" He stops pacing and looks at me. "With Storm being your mother's guardian, I don't think it'd be safe for you to tell them, huh?"
My eyes shoot open, a sob getting stuck in my throat. I can't breathe. The last bit of my heart shatters, as I slowly sit up, wide eyed and speechless.
Harry stares at me in shock, realizing what he said. It's obvious that I wasn't supposed to know.
"What," I manage to choke out, "did you just say?"
Well that happened
