Well, I was glad the cup was down on the side, I felt the heat rise in my cheeks knowing that they must have changed from a white to a scarlet in seconds, as I shook with frustration and let the tears fall.
“It was him, wasn’t it? This afternoon felt like we had made progress together, a new start actually, a relationship as siblings rather than Johnny the caregiver. Now we had taken ten steps back, no wonder he wouldn’t tell me. He seems to love leaving you with the fall out and to pick up the pieces, hey Elijah.”
Everything just tumbled out, free-falling as the words left my mouth. His ash fallen face showed me all I needed was true. I made my way towards the stairs with my drink in hand.
“You can lock up; he’s obviously given you your orders. Well get in line and sort out what he wants. I’m off to bed, keys are in the door.”
I stomped each step as I went allowing the sound to increase in volume as I reached my door until I slammed it shut.
Twenty-Four
Elijah
Well,that couldn’t have gone much worse I thought, flinching at the moment the door slammed too. I knew I should have expected it by the way she paraded those tight curves up the stairs, but nonetheless, her angry attitude was sexy as hell to watch. The urge to have smirked at her, struggled deep within. As I fought every impulse within my body at her little display, which sparked a fire deep down. I knew she was tired and exhausted, not having the energy to have dealt with the backlash the way she did. Harlow wasn’t one to be dismissed, she liked to get her opinion across but then it wasn’t just me she wanted to give it to. It was her brother too.
The tingles that radiated through my body, as I waited outside for her to let me in tonight. She must have thought they were due to the cold, but it wasn’t just that which had affected me. How she ignored my quest of attention when I turned up, showed me at least she had a tough head on her shoulders. Living on her own, I knew she had to have learnt a trick or two, but it screamed that she was a definite force to be reckoned with. The way she pushed the boundaries but knew exactly her limits took guts in my opinion.
A portrayal of mistaken impressions, you see anyone can have indicated the fundamental coping strategies. She conveyed she knew how to handle herself. Or so I thought, until I heard the quiver in her tone that she tried so hard to hide when I called. That’s when I realised the charade of hiding from reality was Harlow’s way of reasoning when she couldn’t face a situation.
Maybe the lateness hadn’t helped drive it, but that was due to my mother’s visit and unfortunately, I couldn’t turn back time. I relayed a text off to Johnny, having not worked out the time difference there yet. I didn’t want to be stuck on the phone chatting random bollocks when I was preoccupied with more pressing matters. It would also have alerted Harlow that he was awake and that would have caused additional issues. Things always seemed clearer in the morning but knowing her she would have held on to those feelings. Hopefully, an edged appearance of calmness will help.
I needed to try to deal with the emotions I had and keep them locked away for the next few weeks. Tonight hadn’t helped at all, it seemed a riled-up Harlow had caused my cock to jump to attention. Thankfully, a suitcase had kept her mind engaged, rather than the tented length that had bulged in my jeans. I was glad I had decided to put tight jeans on instead of the comfort of my joggers, they certainly would’ve left nothing to the imagination of what was hidden underneath. In my own house I could have at least relieved the pressure and tension, but here I had no chance. That made me feel irritated to think of how I would manage two weeks of no release with the stunner and I under the same roof. Even more so, if her behaviour was just a taste of what was to come, the next couple of weeks were going to kill me.
“Do I want to know how Harlow took the news? Shall I just stay here and wait it out protecting myself from the kick off?”
I was glad I had turned the volume down to a vibrate setting. Playing the game, I texted back.
“You’d better talk to her tomorrow; she isn’t happy at all. She was on the rampage and has already headed off to bed in a mood. I’m lucky I’m still breathing.”
Even with no reply, I knew that Johnny had got the message. I decided to clear up and make myself useful to the best of my ability. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep as my mind was playing tricks on what had happened this evening. I never knew how messy one person could be in the space of a few hours. Making hot chocolate, I thought was a simple task but for Harlow, it ended up being a struggle it seemed. I noticed the dried stain next to the coaster in which she had placed her cup in frustration earlier. As I scrubbed it clean, I knew now that there would be some challenges ahead with us both living under the same roof.
Making sure the coals on the fire were extinguished, I glanced at the clock, and I realised how late it had become. Having always been an early riser I knew I better get some much-needed rest whilst I could, even if it was only for a few hours.
Surely it was better than nothing right?
I noticed all the lights were still turned on, so, I turned them off as I passed each one. I checked each door and window fixture as I went. I didn’t want to take all of my suitcases up at this time of night, as I knew the chances of me knocking it against one of the walls were high and I’d end up waking her. When she was younger, she was awful if she didn’t get a solid eight hours. I dared not think of her reaction to having no sleep now. I decided to take just a few essential pieces up with me now would be best including my toothbrush leaving a shower until the morning.
Turning the last remaining downstairs lights off, I made my way up the stairs being careful to not make any of the floorboard’s creek unexpectedly. The second door on the left was the guest bedroom, my home away from home. Having previously crashed here plenty of times, when Harlow was away, and I’d been too drunk to get myself home. The same situation stood at mine for Johnny.
The urge was there though to have looked across the hall and peeked into her bedroom and watched her whilst she slept. Particularly since the last time I was outside her room, and she showed me her sexy underwear. I didn’t want to come across as a creep though, especially if she’d woken to me just stood gawking at her. If I thought her reaction was bad earlier, then I didn’t know how she would have reacted at that sight.
After a quick freshen up, teeth brushed and getting changed into my Ramones t-shirt and lightweight joggers, I folded my remaining clothes and placed them onto the window box edge. One of the replica pieces Johnny had kept in each of the bedrooms, the beautiful windows and box seats. I slipped into the cool bedsheets and used my body heat to warm myself up. I flipped over as I worked my way into the covers and attempted to find that ideal position of comfort.
A loud pierced scream disturbed me, setting my heart racing. Without even a thought of what’s happened, I ran from the room and barrelled into Harlow’s, not giving a damn about knocking.
“Har… Harlow? Are you okay?”
Without the chance to answer, I flicked the light on as my heart constricted at the sight before my eyes. She was there with her covers wrapped around her, legs curled tight into her body, like a cocoon. She rocked herself backwards and forwards, tears flowing freely down her eyes. Whatever it was, it was for her to have told me and not me to have pushed at, as the slight flinch in her form became apparent as I moved closer towards her. The moment I wrapped my arms around her, it disintegrated.
“You don’t need to tell me what’s happened; you just need to know I’m here.”
I stroked her head and let her drain all her emotions out, until there was nothing left to give out.
There was a whisper of a,‘thank you,’I heard as she curled back relaxing into the mattress. Once I thought she was asleep, I left her to return to my bed. As I reached for the light, I’m sure I heard the high-pitched noise of a,‘no,’as my fingers went forward. I left the door slightly ajar, knowing it was Harlow’s snippet of life and not mine to have guessed at. I wasn’t scared to admit that I would’ve loved for her to have felt like she could trust telling me about that little part of her. No matter what it was I’d be there.
Maybe if I opened up my own life to her, it would’ve helped. It would have proved I wasn’t such the bad guy that she thought I was.
Twenty-Five