*song for chapter - Fix You by Coldplay &

                                  - All Of Me by John Legend*

Chapter 25 – Harry’s P.O.V.

            You know those cliché movies where they talk about “sparks” that occur during your first kiss with a loved one? Well, I guess I’m in one of those cliché movies right now. It was almost like instant fire, something far stronger than I ever felt with Elizabeth. I don’t even know if this is Chloe’s first kiss, but it definitely feels like mine. I just can’t help but worry that she doesn’t feel the same flame igniting inside her.

            Chloe could probably pull back right now and slap me across the face, but I still wouldn’t care. My lips molded to hers is what I’ve wanted to feel for a long time now, and at least I can finally say I’ve felt it. The guards behind me aren’t even effecting this moment right now. All I want—all I need—is Chloe.

            I never would’ve thought that I’d fall in love with someone who is supposedly “mental.” I always thought Elizabeth and I would be that on and off couple, but we’d always work out in the end. Honestly, I’m glad we didn’t. If I were still with Elizabeth and Chloe wasn’t in my life, I wouldn’t have had the most laugh-fulfilled, bright-smiling two months I’ve ever had in my life. It’s like Chloe was able to bring out the lighter side of me, the one Elizabeth never let me show. If Chloe wasn’t in my life, I’d be scared to know how the last two months would’ve played out. You never know with Elizabeth.

            Hell, considering she accused me of abuse, she probably would’ve killed me in my sleep. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s not like I was ever hateful to her, but she’s just the type that wants everything she sees. If she wants it, you better damn sure get it for her. If not, she’ll probably chew you out for being inconsiderate. Yes, it’s happened to me multiple times when I refused to buy two-hundred dollar dressers or designer shoes. Apparently that makes me “selfish.”

            Dragging myself away from my thoughts and back to Chloe’s lips on mine, I realized she hasn’t pulled back yet. It’s only been about ten seconds or so, but the fact that she hasn’t punched me in the face is baffling. That’s not saying I don’t like it—I do—I’m just surprised she hasn’t pulled away.

            A guard cleared his throat behind me, so with all the strength I could muster, I detached my lips from hers. Keeping both my hands on either of her cheeks, I locked our foreheads. The kiss wasn’t heated—obviously—but just the simplicity of her lips moving with mine was enough to satisfy me. It was more than enough.

            Chloe stared into my eyes as her hands come up to hold mine. She seemed confused more than anything, but a spark of happiness was bright behind those golden brown eyes. “Why’d you do that?” she whispered.

            A small smile tugged at my lips as I said, “Because I—“

            “Sir, are you going to bail her out, or are we going to have to lock you in?” a guard asked, interrupting what would’ve been my confession.

            My jaw locked at the thought, anger clawing at my insides. “If some people had a little patience, it wouldn’t be so difficult to decide,” I said sarcastically.

            The guard scoffed. “We’d rather not watch you kissing a psychopath.”

            My hands fell to my sides, curling into fists as I turned around to face them. Every time I heard that word, it pissed me off to no end. It was bad enough with Gemma and now it’s with Chloe as well. But as if she were reading my mind, she gently placed a hand on my shoulder in order to attempt to calm me down. The thing that set me off to the extreme was the sinister smirk on the guard’s lips.

            “Knock it off, Tom. Let’s just get these two out of here,” the second guard said, and I mentally praised him for having a little bit of sense.

            As said, the two guards led Chloe and me out of the cell. The only downfall was the required cuffs they had to latch onto Chloe. I understood it—surprisingly enough—since this was a mental asylum. And even though Chloe didn’t need them, she did have to abide by the rules.

            It actually didn’t take all that much money to snag Chloe out of this horrid place, but I’d spend every last dime on her if I had to. Each and every day she was closer and closer to acting like a normal nineteen year old girl. Each and every day I could see her attitude improving, her skittishness wearing off just the slightest. If I kept her in here, I’d feel like shit considering she didn’t belong. There was always a chance of being helped, and I was determined to fix Chloe.

            Swooning the receptionist at the front desk was probably another reason it was so easy to get Chloe out of here. She was also a manager, and by the way she kept eyeing me and laughing at the slightest thing I said, I took it to my advantage. Of course it might’ve been misleading to her, but it isn’t my fault. She brought it upon herself. I mean, when I ask to bail out a female, couldn’t she have taken that as a hint that I wasn’t interested in her? And since Chloe doesn’t have my last name, it’s not like we could’ve been siblings. Nonetheless, I don’t feel bad at all for “flirting” with her. It got Chloe back to me, didn’t it?

            Chloe was decently quiet while I was filling out all the papers and such, but I was too. I think we both kept replaying that kiss in our heads. I wanted to know if she was okay that I even did it, but she didn’t seem appalled or repulsive when she asked me why. She just seemed honestly confused.

            Even the car ride home was generously silent, but not in an awkward way. More like both of us overthinking everything to where no words were needed. Chloe did ask what happened to her father and her sister, so I told her about her four year sentence in prison, plus lying on the stand after taking oath. As for her father, I couldn’t answer that. I hadn’t seen him since the beginning of the trial.

            That honestly scared the shit out of me.

            Where the hell did he go?

            Pulling into the driveway, Chloe unclicked her seatbelt as I did the same. She stepped into the house without a word when I unlocked the door, but then her eyes caught on her unfinished book still lying face down on the coffee table. She turned to look at me, her eyes glossed over as she whispered, “You kept it out for me?”

            I shrugged, smiling just the slightest. “I thought you’d still want to read it, so I didn’t want to move it and you lose your place.”

            “You knew I would come back?” she asked.

            Pursing me lips, I pondered on that for a moment. But the only answer I could give her was, “I hoped you would.”

            “Why?” she whispered, forcing me to frown my brows in confusion. “Why would you want me back, Harry?” Chloe looked on the verge of tears, but I knew why. She was in the state of mind where she thought no one cared about her.

            That was far from true.

            Sighing, I stepped towards her. “Because I love you, Chloe.”

            The words leaving my lips sounded so much better out loud than in my head. It was becoming too much to carry on my shoulders the past week or so, and for the truth to be out was relieving.

            Chloe’s lips parted as she stared at me, her eyes filling with water before a lone tear rolled down her cheek. “Y-You love me?” she whispered in disbelief, letting out a breath as if she herself were relieved.

            “I do,” I admitted, walking closer to her to where we were merely inches apart. Chloe didn’t move and just stared up at me, so I pressed my forehead down on hers and laced our fingers. “With all my heart,” I added in a soft voice.

            “No… N-No one has ever told me that before,” she whispered, another tear leaving her eye.

            I smiled, using my other hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s because they knew you were too good for them, Chloe. You’re even too good for me, but I love you anyway.”

            Chloe’s lips curled into a large grin as she let out a soft giggle, not bothering to wipe her tears away. But the thing she whispered to me hit me harder than I ever thought it would, “I love you, Harry.”

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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, omg! But I think this book might be coming to an end soon. There will definitely be at least a couple more chapters, though (: Thank you all for reading! It does mean a lot to me xx

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