labyrinth Δ harry styles

Door Seventeen: A Deal

THE DISTANCE FROM his house to hers wasn't far, but the ride felt like it stretched on for hours even though there was nobody out on the streets. Indira was still embarrassed at herself for crying out of nowhere, especially in front of Harry. Even though he tried to comfort her, his face was still as stoic as the night before. There was a feeling in her that told her he wasn't used to comforting others, but she didn't hold that past him.

"My step-father came back," Indira blurted as he stopped at a red light. She tried to prevent him from taking her home, but he insisted. She wasn't sure how he was going to get back since he had taken her car, but she figured he was smart enough to find a way.

She kept her eyes straight ahead, and even as Harry was driving, she could feel him glancing at her every now and then. "He left just before my sister turned five. For twelve years, I'd never thought I'd hear from him again but..." Indira trailed off, not knowing why the started in the first place.

"Are you afraid?" His voice cut through the silence.

Didn't we just pass that building?

Indira cracked her knuckles at the blunt question. "I was. He tried to come back every few months since he left, but he would only cause more damage that what he would have done before. But now that he's back, I just don't know..." She quieted at the end of the sentence. She wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to vent to him, but for some reason she felt it was right. From the moment they've met, Indira has always had a strange urge to trust him. Albeit he was a man of little words, there was something in him that made him trustworthy. Maybe that was bad judgement on her part, but with the way things were going thus far, she couldn't imagine anything going wrong.

"At some point, you're going to have to tell me where you live," Harry spoke after Indira didn't say anything. When she blinked away from her trance, she had realized they were going around in circles.

"Oh, sorry. It's this way," she pointed to a direction in front of her.

I guess I thought wrong.

In just a few short minutes, Harry pulled into the little garage under the her apartment building. He turned off the ignition, but displayed no intention to leave. The car was dark inside even though there were a few lights dimmed overhead.

"Don't be afraid."

"Huh?" Her large doe eyes turned to look at his green ones. They were calm as they looked at her, and it was clear something had eased the tension locked in them.

"He can't do anything to you if you won't let him." Harry pulled out a piece of aluminum, stripped the wrapping, then popped the gum in his mouth.

Indira was playing with her fingers and was about to crack them when Harry reached over and stopped the action.

"Why do you crack your knuckles so much?" His grip was as gentle as a kitten and as hot as a furnace. He didn't let go, and this time she didn't move away.

"Just a habit I guess," she answered still keeping the eye contact.

He moved his hand away, unbuckled his seat belt, and turned in his seat. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Yeah..."

"I know I'm not the best with words or  expressing my emotions a lot, but I—" Harry stopped himself to find the right words. He glanced at his ringless hands, then back up at the eyes that were still watching him from a distance. "I feel so...oh fuck. I, erm, really enjoy your company."

"I-I," Indira stammered, gulping before she could breathe out her next words. "I enjoy your company too, Harry."

Harry fought the grin creeping on his face, but deep down inside, he felt happy again. The emotion was not something he could say he was used to. Two—maybe three—years ago he could say that he was happy, for the most part, but now it was as if happiness was like a rare gem, hard to find but easy to treasure. And he certainly treasured his happiness when he was around her.