Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 86

Lie To Me-Chapter 86

(Harry's POV)

I stood there, confused, mute as Riley hurriedly left my room. Had I done something wrong? Had I said something to upset her? Maybe the jersey was too much...

She'd been shocked when she realized what I'd given her, but with the way her eyes had glazed over, her fingers softly caressing the fabric, I'd thought she'd liked it. Lord knows, I had. Imagining my jersey covering her soft skin, my name sprawled across her back like a branded tattoo, telling the world that she was mine...

Yeah, that sounded pretty damn perfect to me.

But, after her sighed response, she'd flipped like a light switch, sudden fear overwhelming her features, and she couldn't seem to get away from me fast enough...

Picking a few more items out of my closet, some for me, others for her, I resumed packing. All the while, my eyes kept trailing to my open door, hoping to find her standing in it. But every time I'd look over, all I saw was empty space.

With the last of what I needed to take placed in the duffle bag, I zipped it closed, dropping it on the floor near my door. Taking a moment, I peeked down the hallway.

Should I go check on her? Is she coming back?

We'd slept together the last few nights, and God knows it'd been the best sleep I'd ever gotten in my life, but with how she'd fled my room tonight, I didn't know if she'd wanted to be left alone, or not...

Taking a deep breath, I left my room and headed for Riley. If nothing else, I at least needed to know that she was okay... That WE were okay.

Her closed bedroom door was my first disappointment, my first hint that I'd be sleeping alone...

Knocking lightly, I waited.

"Harry?" Her muffled voice called to me from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, it's me. I just..." Wanted to feel your lips against my own. Wanted to hold you close. Wanted to sleep with you wrapped in my arms. "...wanted to see how your packing is going?"

My subconscious called me a coward, which I was, and shook his head at me.

Seconds later, her door opened, and she gave me a soft smile. "It's going okay. I still have a few things to pack before I'm done, but I'm getting there. How's yours coming?"

"I just finished, and I figured I'd check on you before getting ready for bed. Do you need help with anything?"

Willing her to say yes, my disappointment grew as she shook her head. "No, I'm okay. But, thank you."

From an outside perspective, anyone looking in would think nothing of our conversation. It sounded normal enough. But, the things going unsaid between us were deafening. She was being too cordial, too polite, as if whatever had scared her off earlier didn't exist. I was being too aloof, pretending like I didn't know that something was wrong, pretending like I wasn't silently begging her to let me in.

An awkward silence settled between us before Riley spoke again.

"Well, I should get back to packing..."

And there it was. The answer to my unspoken question. Riley intended to spend her night alone, away from me...

"Um... Okay. I'll see you in the morning, then?"

Another soft smile greeted me. "Of course! We have a long day to get through."

We shared an even more awkward hug and kiss goodnight, and I dragged my lead feet back to my room. I didn't want to sleep alone tonight. I didn't want to sleep alone ever again. I wanted Riley, dammit!

* * * *

An hour later, I laid in bed wide awake, still angry with myself over how the night had ended, still wondering what had gone wrong, still wanting to go back to her.

Listening through the walls, I could hear her tossing and turning in her bed. Her groans of frustration, her irritated sighs... Well, at least I wasn't the only one suffering tonight.

"Jesus, Riley, would you get a grip?!?"

Before everything had happened between us, I would have probably laughed at the way she scolded herself. But, now? Now, I found myself tossing back my sheets, and ignoring my nakedness as I headed back down the hall to her room.

We both needed sleep, and it was obvious that staying apart wasn't going to get us there. So there I was, turning the knob on her closed door, entering her bedroom unannounced, and making my way toward her bed.

Whatever had happened tonight, whatever would happen now, I wasn't leaving.

"Harry?" Her soft voice nearly weakened my knees as she sat up, clutching the sheets against her body. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know what happened tonight, but neither one of us is going to get any sleep alone. So, scoot over. I'm coming in."