Orphan

Chapter 71

Witnessing the profound effect he had had on her first-hand, the things he could cause with a snap of the finger, it was alarming. He had known before that things would always go his way, but he made it so, he forced his way with everyone else...but with her, she openly gave it to him, with little debate. And all because she loves him, she actually loves him. His ability to be able to lift her up one moment and completely tear her down to the point of no return was powerful, to Harry it was magnificent. He didn't have to do much to break her like he did with everyone else, he didn't even have to make her do anything, he simply had to live his life, he hates to admit...but he loves it. He loves the power.

He sits quietly on the restroom floor, who knows what rancid, filthy rubbish had been on the very spot he's so comfortably nested, but he couldn't care about germs right now. Not when he had something so precious between his arms, resting against his ribcage, clinging onto herself for dear life. Harry can't quite understand just why he lied to her, he's usually quite frank about things you see, but he did. He lied to make things better, even though he knew she knew he was lying. That's what you do for the ones you love, you lie to them.. or was it for them? Harry furrowed his brows questioning his own thoughts, mouth opened slightly about to ask her for the answer to his little internal debate, but chose not to. See, this didn't seem like the moment to be asking about whether or not we lie to or for our loved ones, but he stored the question in his memory for later keeping.

Her breathing had slowed down to a somewhat steady rhythm, the tenderness from mere moments before, now turning into a tense atmosphere as she came down from her emotional high. The two became very apparent and aware of eachother's breathing, their skin touching, their closer than close proximity. This kind of intimacy was rare between them. Three knocks came from the door on the other side of the room and caused Monique to flinch in his arms, neither of them expecting the loud sound.

"Ma'am is everything alright in there?" A very feminine and soft voice broke the tense silence. Monique spoke for the first time since her breakdown, her voice almost inaudible altogether as she uttered a silent and cracking, "I'm alright." Which hadn't come out loudly enough to answer the woman. Monique furrowed her brows, still staring at the floor tiles. Her voice was weak, she however, wasn't. At least not anymore, she felt better, but the long silence and the cries from a few moments earlier had caused her first words since then to sound somewhat strained. She internally uttered an array of curse words at her own frail sounding voice, she genuinely was alright now...not that anyone would believe her after that.

The nurse stepped in and her eyes immediately dropped down to where the pair were situated on the ground. Still neatly tucked into one another. "What are you doing out of bed?" She questioned stepping closer, kneeling down and placing a hand on Monique's shoulder. Monique unlocked from Harry's grasp and lifted herself to her feet, straightening out her hospital gown before sighing. "Gotta pee." She muttered plainly heading towards one of the stalls and shutting the door, while Harry stood up from the floor. "Sir, this is a ladies restroom. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, please." Harry rolled his eyes and walked outside standing at the door. A few on-lookers stood around the area, eager to know what had happened. He gave them a death glare and hoped it would help with scaring them off a bit, but the intimidation seemed pointless. The nurse came walking out of the bathroom with Monique slowly, holding onto her shoulders on each side as if she would topple over. "Alright now, let's get you to the room and get you something to calm down,"

"She is calm, you're not drugging her. She doesn't need it." He spat. "Sir, please let me do my jo-"
"I said no. I can make your life a living hell. You are not going to stand here and treat my wife like she's unstable. Don't treat her like some crazy mental patient. She's perfectly fine." Harry sassed, rolling his eyes as he watched as the nurse handled her like a delicate petal. Speaking as if she were a child who needed help saying the ABC's, to Harry it seemed demeaning to treat her that way. She was his, and she was fine, he handled it. If anyone could fix her it was him, he basked in that knowledge and now just like that this nurse was about to take it from him.

"Sir, I am only doing my job. We need to know what happened and why she had a breakdown out of nowhere, it could be trauma." The nurse spoke softly when addressing him, when addressing anyone really. It was unsettling. "You're ridiculous, she's fine!"
"Harry. Stop it... I was upset earlier, because I thought I hurt my baby...that's all this is. I needed an outlet and I needed to pee. That's all. I'm not crazy. Can I just please go to my room and see the doctor so I can know when I'll be discharged." Monique piped up, finally able to speak clearly. It felt like all eyes were on her, the glaring bright lights of the hospital seemed like the same thing a deer saw right before it got hit by a car.
A car. She had just realised that she must look a mess, she placed her fingertips on her cheek caressing the softness there, feeling the grazes of her torn skin underneath their touch. She had barely noticed the stinging pain she felt all over, barely noticed the ache when she moved. Not that it mattered, she had felt worse pains before, these were mere scabs which would heal and fall away. Skin that would eventually connect its tissue and heal itself and become whole again. All things that only happened physically. Emotionally and mentally she would not heal, she would not become whole again, even if she tried, because he had a part of her. Him. Monique's eyes glossed over the expanse of his hands and arms which tightly crossed over his chest, a stance he liked to take. It was defensive and it was protecting. Those hands had touched her, hurt her, loved her, changed her. Those arms had held her in place, so many times before. As she looked up from her momentary daze she came face-to-face with him, now fully aware that she had been staring and now fully aware that he had been staring right back, glint of confusion in his gaze.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" He mumbled, shifting on his feet, not breaking the eye contact. "I want to go home." His chest stopped its rising and falling motions for a brief moment. He chewed on his lower lip and his eyes fell to the floor after a few seconds. What did she mean by home. Home meant a lot of things at this point. "Monique," he sighed. "Don't make this difficult okay you-"
"Home, Harry! I want to go home. Please, I don't care if you keep me locked in the room all day, just get me out of here." She sighed and followed as the nurse gave her arm a light squeeze and they headed off to the hospital room.

Harry glanced around the room one last time, everyone now scattering off and going back to their own business, before he followed the two back to the hospital room. Harry sat on the chair opposite the bed where Monique lay drinking some water. "I have to head back. If they don't discharge you tonight I'll come back in the morning." She looked over at him, distrust rife in her chocolatey orbs. "Whatever. Have fun." She shrugged, running her finger along the frosted glass in her hands catching the water droplets as they ran down. Harry rolled his eyes lulling his head back in his seat before lifting it back up again, "Do you always have to be so bloody dramatic?"

She blinked at him a few times. "Dramatic? Wow, Harry. I'm so sorry that I was upset that you were flirting with someone right outside my hospital room, ready to fuck her while I was in pain."
"Apology accepted. Not like it's my fault you're in pain. You decided to be a dumbass and jump out of the car, almost kill your own fucking kid."
"Screw you. G-et out." She muttered quickly wiping away a stray tear, it could never be good for too long with him. "There you go again. Grow up, own up to your actions. I'll see you in the morning I'll ask them to let you out then. I don't have the energy for you right now." He spat standing up from his seat, leaving the hospital room without another word. He was angry, beyond angry. And he had no release for his emotion. Harry ran a hand through his hair and texted Niall, who arrived a few minutes later in the car. "That was fast." Harry mentioned upon entering the vehicle. "Tried to stay relatively close by in case you called. She not coming home yet?"
"I'll try tomorrow. I need to get home as soon as possible, so step on it." He sighed leaning back in the seat with his arm rested out of the window, the bright stars and the street lamps the only things lighting up the midnight sky.