Palas

8. "I didn't even try Lexie."

“I thought you would want your phone back.” Harry suddenly stands behind me as I try to find my laundry. It’s not in the washing machine I put it in this afternoon.

“God, Harry stop creeping up on me,” I say finding my balance again. I almost fell flat on my ass when he started to speak.

“I didn’t even try, Lexie.” He slurs a bit, his voice slow as if he has to find the right words. “I would have given it back if you would have asked nicely.”

I turn around to face him fighting the urge to not roll my eyes. “Sure.”

“Really,” he counters back crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, can I have my phone back please?” I ask, faking a polite tone.

“No.” He smiles showing his teeth. “Too late now.

If possible he’s even more annoying when he’s drunk. I bite my lower lip swallowing the words I want to yell at him. I have to remember myself that he has been nice to me and that this is just… I don’t know.

“Why do you feel the need to bully me?” I ask blunt, maybe this will help.

“Bully?” A deep line appears between his eyebrows as he eyes me. “I am just teasing.”

“Well, call it what you want. I call it bullying.”

“Were you ever bullied?” he asks and I wonder if it is concern what I read on his face.

“Yes,” I answer honestly. Not that ever felt like that, but I guess that’s the correct name for some people’s behavior.

“Tell me.” He leans against the only dryer that I still have to check. “If you want to of course.”

It’s him telling me that I don’t have to tell him what pushes me over the edge to open up to him. Even when he annoys me most of the time.

“My father is a big drinker. It didn’t make me popular amongst the other kids when I was younger.”

“What would they do then?” He seems genuinely interested in this. I hope I’m not giving him ideas.

“Shut me out. Call me names. One time they even locked me in to the gym building. It was the thing that made them stop in the end because they got in trouble with the school. But I never had many friends.” I shrug my shoulders as I tell him.

It isn’t that it didn’t hurt me, but it doesn’t hurt me anymore. If anything it made me more protecting of my father because it was even worse for him. I shed a few tears, but my father was the one who it affected the most.

“I had no clue, but I’m not bullying you. I just… tease a lot. I’m sorry,” he tells me and I believe that he’s really sorry. I didn’t mean for him to feel bad about it. I was just hoping to get my phone back.

“It’s okay. I know you’re just a dick.” I have to fight the corners of my mouth lifting up as I watch his face.

“I guess I deserve that.” He smiles, but is still not making any efforts to give it back to me.

“So, can you give me my phone now?”

“You can grab it.” He shifts his weight back to his feet.

I know that even though I told him a sappy story about my past that he won’t back down. I guess it’s in his nature to tease someone and I better get used to it. I decide to just quickly grab the phone from his back pocket like it is no big deal.

There’s no room between him and the washing machine and I know that he won’t turn around so that I can grab it easier. There’s only one thing that I can do and that is stand in front of him and place my hand on his hip.