Running [h.s.]

twenty three | luna

I know the last chapter was intense, and I'm sorry if it was distressing for you. I am warning you like I did at the beginning of the book, there are dark themes in this story, and this is not the last time something like that is going to happen. Reader discretion is advised always.

You'll like this chapter much better! Enjoy :)

As I drive the two of us back to Harry's house in silence, I feel the hot tears pricking my eyes and I blink them back furiously.

After Lucas walked off, I froze, unable to do or say anything. Harry practically had to drag me to my car. He offered to drive us back, but I insisted I was okay, not wanting to make him drive. He didn't argue with me about it, seeing the lifeless expression in my eyes and not wanting to make things worse. I wonder how this will affect Harry, since he works with Lucas's parents...

I think about James and how angry he'd get with me when any guy spoke to me. Lucas's terrifying expression reminded me so much of him, and it shook me to my core.

Jealousy is the ugliest emotion, making the nicest people turn into hideous monsters. I thought after James died, that I would never have to endure that kind of jealousy again, but I was wrong. Men like him and Lucas are so fragile that they need to be validated by the girls they are with. When I rejected Lucas, it made him feel emasculated, but that's not my fault. No means no.

We pull up into Harry's driveway and I punch the code into the keypad, opening the gates in front of us. As I drive up towards his garage, parking where I did only an hour or so before, Harry breaks the silence. "Luna, talk to me. Tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours."

His soft, kind words are the final thing that tips me over the edge, and the hot tears fall rapidly down my face.

Harry sighs, unbuckling his seatbelt and reaching across the center console to hug me. I let my body sink into his embrace, feeling his hot breath fan on the back of my neck and his fingers swirling patterns onto my back.

My body starts to shake as the tears turn to sobs. He hugs me tighter, stroking my hair with one hand and rubbing my back with the other. "Shh, Luna baby. It's okay. Come on, let's go inside," he says gently.