The Year 3000

Chapter 14: Claimed

Scarlett's POV

Previously:

I was not a virgin anymore.

The worst part was, looking back at it, I had enjoyed myself. I had loved Harry, asked for more, begged him to go harder, and he had felt so good, but the whole time I wasn't me. Even my thoughts weren't my own. He had stolen from me the last thing I had, and forced me to do it willingly. I would never forgive him for this.

*************************************

I lay awake in bed, too traumatized to sleep. Harry had soundlessly returned after his shower, crawling into bed beside me without a word. He didn't touch me, though, and I took the opportunity to lie as far away from him as possible. My thoughts whirred by a million miles per hour, tears occasionally slipping out. I contemplated running away, but the consequences of such an action greatly outweighed the risk of staying.

Also, Luke was here.

I couldn't leave him, even if I could manage to escape. My thoughts turned to Ashton, and the raw pain that shot through my chest at the thought of him knocked the breath out of me. He didn't even know I was a vampire. He was going to hate me. I whimpered softly, wrapping my arms around myself. More tears made their way to fall down my already blotchy face. I was so exhausted that my eyelids finally began to droop. That would be the first time I cried myself to sleep in the Vampire Palace.

***

I felt the bed dip as someone got up. My breath caught, but I kept my eyes closed, pretending I was still asleep. I heard Harry sigh.

"Good morning, beautiful. I know you're awake."

I tried my best to not move, but my bottom lip betrayed me and started to tremble. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter as I curled myself into a smaller ball. I heard Harry let out a deep sigh. I hugged the covers tighter around my shaking body as Harry's footsteps sounded on the plush carpet as he came to kneel next by my bedside. My eyes reluctantly opened.

"I cannot even begin to express how sorry I am for what I did last night. I know sorry doesn't even begin to make this right, but I need to you know how deeply I regret what I did. I should've never touched you." He shook his head, self-loathing evident in his stormy green eyes. Good, I thought, I hope he hates himself. "I-I was just so infuriated over Luke and terrified of losing you again that I didn't know what I was doing," he confessed, eyes wide and pleading. A mixture between a scoff and a sob left my lips.

"Y-You honestly want me to believe that you didn't know what you were doing?" I wanted to scream and never stop because I couldn't stand another second being next to him. "There is no excuse for what you did to me—what you took from me."

I felt like I was drowning, choking on my anger and anguish. My entire body shook as I sat up, my gaze never once leaving Harry's. I wanted him to see the pain in my eyes, the pain he had caused, the pain I would always feel whenever I looked at him. I just shook my head when Harry opened his mouth to speak, my lips trembling uncontrollably.

"No, you don't get to speak to me right now." My breath hitched, but I forced the words out. "You need to hear me when I say that you crossed a line last night, and there's no coming back from that. I will never forgive you for what you did. Nothing you could ever do will ever make up for—"

A mangled sob suddenly burst from my lips, tears blurring my vision as snapshots from last night played on merciless repeat in my head. I blinked furiously, locking my jaw and trying to fight the lump in my throat. When my vision finally cleared, the first thing I saw was Harry's expression, and my thoughts dulled. His entire face was contorted in what could only be described as pain, eyes like those of a boy who had just watched his mother die in front of him. A sick sort of satisfaction filled me, the ache in my chest ebbing a fraction. I wanted him to hurt as badly as I did. I blinked and Harry had regained his composure, his face as emotionless as blank canvas. He nodded tightly, standing up in one swift motion.