Reunion [Harry OsbornxReader] ~Book 2~

CHAPTER 7

*(F/n) = Father's name

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"Okay."

That was all he needed to hear. He led you back to his office, ignoring the glances. Once you both entered, you locked gazes with a woman. The P.A. She seemed just as surprised as you were seeing each other. 

'Why is she here? Oh shit yeah, she's the P.A. I'm an idiot.'

"Hello, Mr.Osborn. (Y/n)."

"Hey Felisha." Harry sent a half-assed wave to her before continuing to his desk, still pulling you along. She resumed her work, occasionally staring at you two in irregular intervals. Meanwhile, Harry was pulling up tabs with miscellaneous images and text. 

"What are you looking for?" You peered over his shoulder to see better, accidentally flustering the distracted man. He swallowed, side-eyeing you as he sifted through the documents. 

"It's just work stuff, and I had an idea for the sleepy couple we just dropped off."

"Oh? What idea?"

"I was thinking of stuff to do with them while they're here."

"Cool. What can I help with?" He stopped a minute, wondering if there was anything he could assign to you. Judging by his sudden reaching for the tablet, you figured he had. He turned to face you, making you lean away to give him space. He handed over the device, clearing his throat to speak.

"Can you look at some of the ideas I had? Just click on the file icon. I think it'll be better for you look them over." There was something about the way he said it, it unsettled you. 

There was definitely something going on besides just wanting to spend time together. Yet, you couldn't bring yourself to ask. Maybe because you thought he would tell you like when you were younger, maybe because Felisha was there. Maybe, deep down, you didn't want to know. Because you wouldn't like the answer. You took the tablet and sat on the floor beside his chair, uncaring of his exasperated sigh and Felisha's confused and judgemental look.

"You could get a chair." He sat in the chair beside your place on the floor.

"Nah, the floor's nice and deserves appreciation."

"Fine," He smirked, shaking his head at your silly actions, "just.... Tell me if you need anything, okay?"

"Will do." You watched the screen become bright and unlocked the unprotected device. There were few apps, so it was easy to find the mentioned icon. You clicked it, then opened the most recently saved file, conveniently labeled 'N&R Ideas'.

In it were regular attractions, cafés, places all four of you would like. You liked all of them, so narrowing down would be difficult unless you had to account for something else.

"Hey Harry?" 

"Mhm?"

"When do you wanna do this?"

"Maybe this weekend, why?"

"I like all of them, so I needed another reason to not go to every single one."

He chuckled and refocused on whatever he was doing. You swiftly followed suit. 'Here is too busy on weekends, so is here. And didn't this place get shut down for some reason?'

You tried to recall why exactly that restaurant was shut down. It was on the news. 'I guess I can check.'

So, you exited the file and tapped on the little newspaper icon. The newest articles were on the page, temporarily distracting you from your objective. Big and bold at the top of the page, 'CAR CRASH NO SURVIVORS'

You would've shot right past it if not for the image of a familiar car crumpled at the front. You opened it, anxiety welling in your throat, clogging your chest, fogging and stabbing your brain. There it was, the all too familiar car. 

'45 year-old male (F/n)* (L/n) crashed into a tree at 5 p.m. Onlooker called an ambulance but he was declared dead on sight.'

The tablet clattered on the floor as its slipped out your shaking hands. You stared into space, into the empty distance ahead of you, but not acknowledging it. Harry was alerted by the falling of the tablet, becoming worried when he noticed your frozen state. His searching view landed on the fallen device, and his eyes shone with recognition as he saw the headline.

He forsook (yes that's a real word) his work and slid down beside you, taking your shaking hands into his. The warmth of his hands pulled you back to reality, and you stared desperately into his beautiful eyes. 

"He's gone, my dad's gone. I'll never see him again." Your voice was a mere whisper, tears filling and blurring your vision before leaking onto your cheeks. Harry squeezed your hands apologetically, rubbing his thumbs across your skin.

You were confused, ashamed. Not because you couldn't believe what happened, but because you couldn't believe what you were feeling. Amidst the pain, the sadness and the grief, there was something rather unexpected. Relief. Like the entire world was no longer on your shoulders. And you loathed it. How could you feel relieved when your father had just died?

There was a question nagging at you, and this awful news seemed to fill in the blanks. "Did you know, Harry?" You croaked, "Is that why you wanted me to stay?"

He clenched and unclenched his jaw, gathering the words to speak. "Yeah. I'm sorry, I should've told you. But after today I didn't want to exhaust you even more. I'm sorry."

Anger bubbled beneath your skin, but only briefly. Yes, he hid the truth from you, but you still found out. Getting angry wouldn't help, but you wanted to vent somehow. So frustration built in you, clogging your throat, clawing at your head, suffocating you.

So you cried. You clung to your best friend and cried. You let him see you vulnerable, burying you face in his chest and soaking in his warmth and support. You didn't care that Felisha was nearby, you didn't care that he was your boss and the owner of a multi-billion dollar company. You just cared that Harry was here, that your father was gone and that was it.