Chapter Seven

Harry

The day of Lawman’s grand opening came faster than I’d liked. I had tried to get out of going, but firstly, Ethan wouldn’t hear of it. Secondly, it also was one of the most important events in our mission to date – Dawson would probably be a little peeved if I stayed home watching Grey’s Anatomy instead of attending.

Tonight was the night where all of Lawman’s contacts would be on full display to us. All of our neighbours were attending and this would also give us the opportunity to suss out who they were networking. Operatives from the agency had already rigged the club with undetectable cameras – this footage would show us exactly who the people Lawman and also Grant Jefferson associated with. These were our two main suspects and they needed to be monitored accordingly.

The event started at nine sharp and it was already six. The drive to New York City, where the club was located, took at least two hours. Allowing for traffic and parking, that gave us half an hour to get ready. Ethan was still in the shower and I was running around the master bedroom, trying to match outfits. Nate Foxx didn’t leave the house in just anything. I was still trying to uncover how we had let ourselves get so far behind on time – it was especially unlike Ethan to be so last minute. Then again, he’d been distracted lately.

The days since the confrontation between Ethan and I were tense to say the least – even with Georgie here to relieve some of the awkward silences and to receive the butt end of the jokes I’d been building up since we arrived in the Hamptons.

I’d been relieved beyond words when Georgie came sauntering out to me that day when I was in the pool. He was the much needed distraction that allowed Ethan and I to avoid any topic of the fight – which was marvellous. I could sense that I was the only one who held this opinion, however. Ethan was struggling to keep his annoyance and frustration in check – this was evident from the duration of his evening runs.

He used exercise as a distracting mechanism – running seemed to be his preference these days. He’d be gone for almost three hours some times. I couldn’t fathom how exercise caused anything but more grief – I could practically feel the disgusting, sickly sweat on my back whenever he returned, wheezing for air. No thank you.

Georgie was scheduled to come only twice a week for two hours maximum. The first day he’d arrived, the three of us were able to laugh and chat for a while, under the guise that we were helping him ‘settle in’. He came again yesterday however, and this time a mere five minutes was spent in the kitchen chatting before he went out into the garden.

Those were the only times when Ethan and I properly had a conversation this week – either with Georgie or about him. We’d made a few appearances around the neighbourhood, meeting and chatting with the neighbours that we happened to bump into. We also took the cars out for a couple of hours a day, allowing people to believe we were on business trips to New York City and so forth.

In reality, I would just drive and drive, letting the thoughts I struggled so hard to ignore take over my mind. Ethan had suggested that we do something together on these days, saying it was silly that we were taking two different cars. I had declined, citing ‘I had shit to do’.

I hated whenever Ethan and I fought, but now knowing that he knew all this shit about me, it made me feel so weak and vulnerable. I didn’t know how to properly act around him anymore. Was he psycho-analysing my every move? Did any fleeting emotion that crossed my face make him pity or judge me more? Did Ethan laugh along at my joking behaviour but secretly make a mental note of what I’d just said, in case it was relevant to any future breakdown I may have? Had our entire relationship been built on concern and pity?

This hurt the most – was I truly considered his best friend, or just a person for him to ‘fix’? I hated how I was feeling now – I couldn’t even lie to myself anymore. And living in pretence was how I used to function. I needed my old self back, no matter how self-destructive Ethan claimed it to be.

The air changed whenever we were in close proximity now. It was a mixture of awkwardness and something else. I didn’t need the tension between Ethan and me. Any sort of tension.

We had gotten too close the last day in the kitchen – much closer than friends were meant to. I could almost feel his heartbeat pulsating from his chest. I’d thought we were going to kiss. I had to take action before it went any further.

‘Men who lay with other men will end up in Hell, boy!’

I stumbled backwards as the memory cascaded through my mind, hitting my back against the large, mahogany chest of drawers in the master bedroom. A photo of Ethan and I in a glass frame fell off and smashed on the ground. We had taken the photo from a rare holiday we took three years ago – in this setting, however, it was taken during Rob and Nate’s honeymoon in Hawaii.

Ethan came running in at the sound of crashing, a towel wrapped around his waist and his bare chest shiny with droplets of water still clinging to his few chest hairs. His hair was almost midnight black when it was wet – I loved that look.

I realised I was in shock. I couldn’t think straight. All I could see were cold, grey eyes. Eyes I hadn’t thought about until a few days ago. Eyes I had been struggling to forget. The box of memories that I kept tucked away in the back of my mind was aching to be opened – this was the first one to slip through the cracks. The cracks that were caused by Ethan and his naivety that once we spoke about my past, all would be alright.

I didn’t realise Ethan had been talking to me until his hands were on my shoulders, shaking me roughly. I focused my hazy eyes onto his, blinking stupidly before listening to what he was saying.

“Harry? Harry, what the fuck, answer me! What’s wrong? What happened?” his eyes were wild as they darted around the room and I noticed he kept looking me up and down, as if looking for injuries.

“Sorry, sorry. I just tripped against the drawers. We need a new picture frame.” I spoke slowly, ensuring I wasn’t mumbling my words. That had been a huge problem for me when I was younger – I’d buried myself so far into my own mind, I’d almost forgotten how to speak. That was ironic, seeing as how I didn’t shut up now.

Why was this happening to me now? Why now? I’d had nightmares about my past, primarily concerning my father, and woken up the next morning, able to put a smile on my face and put it out of my mind. Why did Ethan’s mere mentioning of him drag me back down this path? Why couldn’t I put it out of my mind?

“Harry, what’s wrong with you? You’re as white as a sheet. Sit down on the bed – sit!” he commanded when I’d started to shake my head.

I needed to get a grip. This was what happened when I thought too much – I needed to shut my mind off and put that cheeky smile back on my face. I needed to say something stupid and mildly offensive so Ethan would know I was okay. So I would know I was going to be okay.

I sat on the edge of the bed, gripping the edge of the mattress. Ethan knelt in front of me, placing his hands over mine that were slightly shaking. Get a grip, Harry.

“Please, talk to me,” he murmured so quietly, I barely heard, “I can’t live like this. I can’t carry this worry with me anymore.”

His striking blue eyes that I admired so much held such sadness to them, I felt my throat closing up. I opened my mouth to speak and I felt him still, almost as if he was afraid that if he moved, I would back away and close up.

But he didn’t have to move for me to close my mouth again – I already knew that talking about this would only make things worse. I was Harry Taylor – I’d killed multiple bastards in my time and was hailed a hero by my Captain three times in the past ten years. Hero’s didn’t have demons.

I wouldn’t give my past enough power to control me like this.

I struggled, but eventually I had that wide smile back on my face. Ethan’s lips stretched into a thin white line at this and his hands gripped mine tighter.

“Ethan, I fucking tripped! Relax, would you? I know, I know, you’re wildly and passionately in love with me so everything I do fascinates you. But gotta say, buddy, if you want sex later on you need to chill!”

I don’t know why I said this – I could have said so many different things to get out of this situation. Why had I chosen the ‘I love you’ route? I’d used it plenty of times before, but that had been prior to this, this tension.

My father’s eyes reappeared in my head, but this time, I saw more of his body. The last thing I saw before shutting my mind off was the glint of an already bloody knife, poised and ready to attack.

I didn’t have as much of a reaction this time – instead, I bounded off of the bed and put as much space between Ethan and I in the room.

He had fallen backwards onto his butt as a result of my movements. But instead of standing up, he just stayed sitting there, his eyes staring into space. He only moved to adjust the towel wrapped around his waist, which was moving perilously further down his body.

“If you know that I’m in love with you, why do you sleep in the same bed as me?” his voice was dull and void of all emotion – he seemed to be having a tough time gathering his thoughts. I knew that there were probably dozens and dozens of them flying through his head right now. Thoughts of me.

I was shocked by what he’d said – normally he would just ignore my comments about his apparent homosexuality. I’d always been joking before – or had I? Yes... – yes.

This time I knew was different, though. I’d regretted saying the words the instant they left my idiotic mouth. I knew all traces of humour had left the room. So was I really that shocked by his words after all?

My laugh was half-strangled as I picked up a crisp, white shirt off of the ground. I must have dropped it when I hit against the chest of drawers. I couldn’t think of an answer – my mind was gone blank. Instead, I pulled the t-shirt I was wearing off over my head and started dressing myself in the shirt.

“You need to get a move on – we’ve ten minutes before we have to leave!” I made a pointed look at the digital clock on the bedside locker, indicating that we were behind on time.

“Answer me.”

I closed the last button the shirt and rolled my eyes. “Ethan, it was a joke. Can you stop using your psychology shit on me for one minute and just get dressed?”

He stood up slowly off of the ground, walking towards me. I trembled slightly as he stopped mere inches from me, his breath fanning against my face.

“W-what are you doing?” I knotted my eyebrows in confusion. My heart was racing and my father’s furious, disgusted face was making its way back into my mind – I was so conflicted. I had no choice but to be conflicted – I’d been tortured into feeling disgust. I’d spent years closing off this part of me that I’d assumed I’d overcome. But now, the beat of my heart and the raggedness of my breath was filling my every nerve with nothing but raw desire.

What the fuck was happening?

Ethan reached out and dragged his finger softly along the top of my throat, before unbuttoning the top button of my shirt.

“It’s nicer unbuttoned. You look too stiff and formal with it closed.” His eyes lingered on mine for five seconds more before he turned and went to the bedroom he’d slept in since the fight. With the breaking of eye-contact, it seemed to also break the spell I’d been under. I needed to focus. I wasn’t this person – I couldn’t be. I’d gone through too much to be this person.

He didn’t speak again until we were pulling up outside the large, brick and sophisticated building on the Upper East Side. It had annoyed the shit out of me that he had stayed silent for the entire two-hour journey – how could someone be so resilient into not talking to someone who was doing everything to get their attention?

Granted, I’d thrown a few pieces of popcorn at him from the packet I’d brought, but that was meant to be a peace offering! Ethan was overreacting – we’d be back to normal after a few drinks.

There was a pumping noise coming from the club, indicating loud music was being played. I couldn’t believe how posh the place was, especially for a nightclub.

“Rob Foxx, thank you,” Ethan said, speaking for the first time in two hours to the valet who was going to park our car.

“Wow, he speaks,” I rolled my eyes, hopping out of the car. I had tried to engage him in conversation several times already, only to be met with silence.

“I’m Rob, speaking to Nate. Not Ethan speaking to Harry. Ethan will only speak to Harry when Harry cuts the bullshit,” he took my hand as we walked to the door of the club, giving our names to the mean looking bouncer at the door. I eyed our intertwined hands, slightly hurt by his comment.

I didn’t like the fact that we’d paused an argument to pretend to be a happily married gay couple – it was too confusing for my simple mind to take. If he laughed at my jokes would that mean I was off the hook? Or that Rob found Nate’s joking amusing?

“Rob! Nate!”

It didn’t take that weasel long to spot us. I pretended not to hear Lawman’s irritating voice calling us from the crowded bar as we entered the pumping, flashing club. Ethan, however, almost bounded over to him, dragging me along.

“Hugh, this place is amazing! I can’t believe how big it is... You’ve truly impressed me – not just me, us. Right, baby?” I didn’t realise I was the one being addressed as ‘baby’ until Ethan squeezed my hand painfully, pulling me into the conversation.

“Yeah, it really is something!” I replied. A load of horse-shit is what it was.

Lawman’s cheeks practically split into two from smiling at my comment. “That really means a lot. You can be sure that you two will always have a spot on the VIP list!” I forced a half-smile, showing my supposed gratitude, “Now, what are you two drinking?”

“I’ll have a double rum and Coke, thanks.” Rum and Coke was my drink of choice in real life – I knew that Nate’s favourite drink was a good Martini and I was branching away from the briefing slightly. But tonight, I planned on showing Ethan the good old times and make him remember why we were such good friends. The first step was a good dash of rum – ‘our favourite mistake’, as Ethan liked to put it.

“No problemo, Nate! And for you, Rob?” Who the fuck says ‘problemo’? What a douche.

“I’ll just have a sparkling water – thanks though.”

I gawped at Ethan. “What?”

“Yeah, c’mon, Rob! Have a drink!” Lawman piped up.

Ethan darted his eyes to me before speaking to Lawman. “I’m driving tonight, unfortunately. Next time, though!”

“Bullshit – we can get a cab home tonight and drive back to the city tomorrow with my car to collect yours! Easy!” I was grasping at straws here. I couldn’t stand another awkward night with Ethan – myself and alcohol were the only things that loosened him up and got him talking and enjoying himself properly.

I was the only person he truly felt comfortable around and when he drank, he felt comfortable around everyone. And right now, he wasn’t my number one fan – that just left alcohol to solve this.

He gave us a tight smile, showing me that he was getting annoyed. “Honestly, I’d rather keep a clear head tonight. I’ve a huge meeting tomorrow that I can’t be hung-over for – I promise that the next time I won’t be as dry!” He was lying about that meeting, obviously. We hadn’t even discussed him going anywhere tomorrow.

Lawman shrugged his shoulders in defeat. I was about to tell him to cancel my order but he’d already ran off, shaking hands with people as he went to the bar. I couldn’t be drunk tonight if Ethan was sober. I had less of a filter when I was drunk and right now, I couldn’t spill my thoughts.

He was doing this to punish me – to show me that he wasn’t having a good night because of our fight. This annoyed me. It annoyed me that we still hadn’t just agreed to disagree and that he wouldn’t just let it go.

“You shouldn’t let me ruin your night. I never asked you to fucking worry about me.” I said bitterly as we handed our jackets into the cloakroom.

“I learned a long time ago that I had no control over my emotions, especially when it comes to you. So saying that you never asked me to worry is pointless.” He spoke so casually and simply – it was driving me insane. It was also unnerving me the way he was speaking and the content of his words. There was a different edge to them.

“I’m not going to stand around with you all night if you’re going to be like this. Just because I’m not saying what you want to hear – ...”

He pulled me close, making it look like we were embracing, and placed his lips against my ear. “You know it’s not as simple as that – not by a long shot. Now can we just drop it and pretend to be Nate and Rob. I just really need to forget about Ethan and Harry for a while, okay?”

He pulled back before I could respond and a huge smile appeared on his face as he spotted someone. “Jennifer! Harvey! We were wondering where you two were!”

As much as I liked Jennifer and Harvey, I couldn’t face them right now. I just wanted to leave, to be honest. And it had nothing to do with Lawman and his overly-pretentious club.

I turned to them, a ready smile on my face. “The bouncers were saying they’re looking for two people, a male and a female – apparently they’re getting kicked out for partying too crazily... I’m thinking I should send them your way?” I joked lamely as I took in their appearances, indicating to me that they were absolutely pissed drunk.

“Oh, Nate! Stop it!” they roared with laughter. Jesus, I’d have whatever they were having... I couldn’t even muster up a decent joke and they were laughing as if they couldn’t stop. I envied their carefree life. I envied how much they loved each other.

Lawman returned with our drinks a few seconds later and we all fell into easy conversation until Lawman had to go a ‘socialise’. I barely sipped on my drink, not in the mood for fun anymore. Instead, I did what I was brought here to do and focused on who Lawman was speaking to.

He was currently in the middle of a conversation with a tall, blonde woman whose boobs were almost painfully big. How did she carry those around all day? The blonde woman was surrounded by other girls, all foreign, underage and exotic looking. Was this a Playboy reunion or something?

Ethan was at the bar, speaking to Kyle and Stephanie. They were both stuttering and swaying on their feet. Was everyone in this club drunk out of their minds apart from us?

I let my gaze linger on Ethan. How had we come to this? We had never been as nasty to one another. This operation was supposed to be fun – we had been closer than ever before we left. Now, I hesitated before speaking to him in fear it would start a fight.

“Trouble in paradise?” I jumped at the voice and turned to see Jennifer and Harvey both staring at me, a glass of alcohol in both of their hands. This must have been their twentieth drink.

“What? No! Of course not!” I stammered.

“We’re very perceptive people – that look on your face wasn’t a good one, baby-doll,” Jennifer placed her perfectly manicured hand on my shoulder, “But, what we always say is, if you love each other, there’s nothing that can’t be sorted out with just simple kiss!”

I strained a smile. Obviously they’d never faced a serious argument in their lives if a mere kiss fixed it. ”That’s a great theory, but Rob and I are fine!”

They both seemed to ignore what I was saying and Harvey was walking over to Ethan, pulling him away from his conversation with Stephanie and Kyle. I shook my head, backing away.

“No, seriously guys! You’ve got it all wrong – we’re fine, aren’t we, Rob?” I gave Ethan a pointed look when he and Harvey came over. Ethan looked confused for a millisecond before understanding.

“Oh, of course! Yes, Jennifer, Harvey, I promise you – I couldn’t last fighting with him,” Ethan wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. I put mine around him gently, trying not to make a big deal out of the situation.

Kyle and Stephanie came over to our little group then, both giggling stupidly.

“Guys, have you ever seen these two show any sort of affection to one another?” Jennifer pressed on, directing her question to them now. What the fuck was this? They were all perverts... or else just extremely drunk. I guessed both.

“N-no! C’mon guys, let’s show some lovin’!” Stephanie hiccupped. Her long blonde hair was falling out of its clips and one of her false eyelashes was falling off. How did these two have children? I’d caught Kyle checking out more than a few girls here too – they were both still in their college years; in their minds anyway.

As if to demonstrate how kissing worked, Stephanie grabbed Kyle and planted a big, messy kiss on his lips. He was so out of it he didn’t notice what was happening for a few seconds – that’s when it got disgusting. We ended up turning away from the two of them when they practically dry-humped. Even Jennifer and Harvey had the decency to look uncomfortable.

I had thought we’d dropped the issue until Jennifer and Harvey’s expectant faces focused on us again.

“Come on, boys. Anyone could sense the tension between you – just give each other a little kiss! Harvey and I never stayed angry after a kiss.” Jennifer was slurring so much I could barely understand her and I suspected she wouldn’t remember this in the morning.

Harvey had looked away and was staring at the DJ in the middle of the dance floor, almost going crossed-eyed. These two seemed like they were on more than just vodka. Stephanie and Kyle also were too out of it for my liking – what substance were they on?

I could hear Jennifer still babbling on about kissing, but I’d zoned her out. All of my attention was on our case – for the first time ever! I turned to tell Ethan what I suspected, but once I turned, no words could leave my mouth.

His lips were on mine in an instant, one of his hands brought up against my cheek to hold my head in place. My eyes were wide open, shocked. My brain had finally done what I’d wanted it to do all week – completely shut off. It was like animal instincts – that was the only way I could describe it.

My eyes closed and I kissed him back – unsure at first but after a couple of seconds, one of my hands was clutching his hair and the other on the small of his back. We were the only ones in the room and everything else was merely background noise. A small growl-like sound left his mouth as it got more intense and when I felt his tongue against my lips, it was all I wanted – I just wanted to be with him. And I knew he just wanted to be with me. I was about to grant him entry as his tongue touched off my lips softly again, before my brain switched back on.

That damn fucking brain of mine.

My father’s eyes were there again, but this time they were scrunched up, full of hatred. His face came into view then and eventually his entire body. He had abandoned the knife he had previously been holding and this time a baseball bat was there.

I didn’t need to continue watching to know what he was doing with that baseball bat – and to whom he was inflicting it on. It was almost as painful reliving it.

I jerked back from Ethan, not even looking him in the eye. Jennifer and Harvey were clapping their hands with glee, obviously convinced they had just solved all of our ‘marital problems’.

I couldn’t feel anything but desire and guilt. It was tearing me apart – how could I have let this happen? I’d sworn to myself and to my father that I’d stopped these feelings. I’d stopped – I’d gone through enough to force them out of me!

Ethan placed his hand on my arm unsurely. I stiffened but didn’t pull away – I didn’t want Jennifer forcing us into round two. I knew he’d only succumbed to Jennifer’s taunting and that I was hurting him by overreacting. He didn’t understand that this wasn’t easy for me, though. Not when I was already questioning things about us.

“I, um, have to go to the toilet,” I muttered, walking away from them without another look or word. I didn’t want to see the pain in his eyes – out of sight, out of mind.

We had a job to do here tonight, anyway. We had accomplished nothing apart from one mistake of a kiss – a kiss the agency had probably already seen through the cameras rigged in every corner. I didn’t even want to think about it. I felt like I couldn’t breathe – the feelings I’d felt during that kiss were more than friendship. But I refused to acknowledge it. I point-blank, refused.

I couldn’t find the door to the bathroom anywhere and it was made harder by the number of people staggering around the place. I found a corridor off the dance floor and peeked down it, walking a few steps to see if I was on the right track. I guessed not and turned to try a different route when I heard voices – familiar voices.

The hallway was long and narrow and curved around a corner that probably led to a fire-exit. I crept along the hallway, keeping any noise I made a minimum.  I could feign drunkenness and claim that I was lost if I was caught, anyway.

“And I’m telling you, if I don’t get that order in by tomorrow, there will be consequences,” the voice had a sharp, nasty tone to it. I recognised it immediately as Grant Jefferson.

“Grant, I’m telling you – he won’t give me any more until you’ve paid him for the last batch! That’s the way it works – you know this!” This voice was attempting to stay reasonable but held a tremble to it. He was afraid. I also recognised this voice – Hugh Lawman. I fucking knew it! I told Ethan that Lawman was our man.

“I’m a reasonable man, Hugh. But things will start... breaking if I don’t get that order. You can tell your daddy dearest that. I have contacts too – more powerful than you could imagine. You’ll get your payment when I get my batch.” He was almost snarling at Lawman now and although I couldn’t see them, I imagined him pinning Lawman to the wall by the scruff of his neck.

I would have thought I’d be thrilled at the prospect of Lawman shaking in his boots. Instead, I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He seemed genuinely afraid. And it also seemed that Lawman was more connected to the supplier than we’d ever imagined –his father, if I heard correctly. This was huge.

“You can’t touch me – you will be killed and you fucking know it!” Wow – Lawman was getting feisty.

“I’m not talking about you. There are rumours, Hugh. A few photos made their way onto my desk a few days ago – oh yes. You know what I’m talking about. Now, be a good boy. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

I started backtracking up the hall before they came around the corner and found me eavesdropping. What the fuck was Grant talking about? I made it back to Ethan and the Collins’, information spinning around my head like a merry-go-round.

“Eth – Rob!” Fuck, I’d almost called him Ethan... we needed to go somewhere quiet. I wasn’t great at handling large, important amounts of information at once. I needed to tell Ethan so he could take half of the load.

Ethan stiffened when I returned, his eyes unsure. Fuck – I’d almost forgotten what had just happened between us. How could I have almost forgotten that?

“Rob,” I said more gently, “Can I talk to you – in private?”

Jennifer and Harvey made ‘ooh’ noises and winked at us suggestively. I didn’t even bother speaking to them and just smirked, taking Ethan’s hand and dragging him outside. I walked up the street a bit from the club before stopping and turned to face him.

His entire body was on edge and he couldn’t look me in the eye. I wanted to distract him from what had happened between us – I wanted him to forget it ever happened. I didn’t want this mission to get between our friendship. I didn’t want to explain why it was imperative that we just remained friends. I didn’t want to explain how broken I truly was – and what had broken me.

I needed to pour myself into the investigation – I had to. Otherwise, his striking blue eyes would be the undoing of me. And those very blue eyes were looking at me with hurt buried within them. I could tell he was trying to hide it. I could tell he didn’t understand. But how could he understand something I barely did?

“I’m sorry about being so off with you earlier – I really am. I know that I overreacted... you just got me by surprise... Jennifer can be persistent when she wants to be,” I chuckled uneasily.

“It’s okay. I understand,” he said quietly. I hated how vulnerable he was – I hated this entire fucking situation.

“Anyway, I need to talk to you – ...” I wanted to steer the topic away from that kiss so I explained the entire scene I had just witnessed and eventually, the stifling tension between us was disappearing as our jobs took our first priority.

“So Hugh’s father is the supplier... I can’t believe it...” Ethan murmured, pacing back and forth on the pavement. “I really thought he wasn’t part of this – he didn’t seem the type.”

I snorted and was about to start a tirade against Lawman but stopped. Ethan was tense enough as it was.

We discussed every aspect of the conversation, not leaving a single detail unnoticed.

“What do you think was in the photos Grant got?” I asked, putting my hand on his arm to stop his pacing – I hated when he paced. He glanced at my hand on his arm and I dropped it quickly.

“I have no idea. Obviously they have something on Hugh and his father. Something that lets him get away with threatening them... Dawson will have to hear this first thing.”

Ethan started walking back towards the club when we were finished talking, and I fell into step beside him. There was a silence again – we’d discussed everything we needed to and now the stifling feeling was returning. I was panicking. I could feel my mouth opening, about to say something stupid.

“So... did any girls catch your eye in there?”

Ethan stopped walking for a second to look at me incredulously before continuing to walk, reaching the main doors of the club again.

“Don’t even fucking start.”

And for once, I kept my mouth shut.

Sorry for the delay with this chapter... it took me so long to write it and I’ve edited and re-edited it so much, I’m not even sure if it makes sense anymore haha!

I’m not completely happy with this chapter, I feel like I could have written it better, but I’m not sure how... maybe I’m just sick of looking at it from the amount of times I’ve proof-read it!

Aaaaanyway, what are your thoughts? Vote and comment if you so wish and I really hope you enjoyed this!

-O.