Chapter 78: Tell Me Why

~“The time I thought that we would have, was taken from red to black.” —Freya Ridings.~

Chapter Theme Song: “You Mean The World To Me” by Freya Ridings.

HARMONY

“Harmony.” April’s hand waves in front of my face, and when I don’t respond, she snaps her fingers. “Harmony!”

I’m pulled from my thoughts. It’s been happening a lot since yesterday, my mind constantly drifting back to the red stain on those sheets.

I look at April, who’s watching me with concern. “Yes?”

She crosses her arms and sits next to me on the bed. “Are you okay? You keep zoning out when I’m talking to you. You get this blank look on your face.”

She imitates my vacant expression, pressing her lips together for effect, and I can’t help but laugh a little.

“No, seriously, Harmony, are you okay? You’ve been acting strange.”

I sigh. “April...can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” She shifts to face me, giving me her full attention. “You can always ask me anything.”

“Can a person get drunk after drinking one small shot of liquor?”

She tilts her head, narrowing her eyes in thought. “Hmm, is this person a lightweight?”

“Yeah, but it was just a quarter glass of alcohol.”

“Maybe, if they’re not used to it.” She shrugs, and my heart sinks a little more. I manage a tight smile and look away.

“Okay,” I mumble. “Thanks.”

“Another possibility is if someone slipped a drug into the drink,” she adds, leaning back on her hands.

That catches my attention, and I look back at her. “A drug?”

“Yeah. College kids do that a lot. They have some really effective ones that can knock you out in seconds.”

She smiles, shaking her head as if remembering something. “James was drugged by one of his friends once. He had no idea until he woke up the next morning. He was so mad.”

She keeps talking about James, but I’m too busy trying to make sense of my own situation.

Could Maddie have slipped something into the drink? With everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had a chance to really think about it.

A big part of me knows that I don’t know much about alcohol, so I can’t say for sure if I actually got drunk from that drink.

But I woke up in Maddie’s room, of all places. It makes me wonder if this was all planned.

“Oh, sorry.” April puts a hand to her chest, looking a little embarrassed. “I must sound like a lovesick fool, smiling and talking about silly James.”

I force a smile. “No, you don’t. Not at all.”

Maybe that’s it. Maybe Maddie did something to the drink. But would Kite be involved?

I find it hard to believe that he would stoop so low just because I chose Blaze over him.

If that’s the case, I’d be relieved. But I can’t know for sure because my memories are still fuzzy.

When did my life get so complicated? Just a day ago, I thought things were finally looking up for me at this college. But I guess I jinxed my own happiness.

“Harmony.” April waves her hand in front of me again, and I sigh in apology.

“Sorry.”

“See? You keep spacing out.”

“I’m sorry, April. I just have a lot on my mind.”

She sighs. “Is this about Blaze?”

I’m about to answer when my phone dings with a notification. “Hold on a minute.” I smile at her as I pick up the device from the nightstand and quickly unlock it.

My heart nearly leaps out of my chest when I see the photo sent to me from an unknown number.

It’s a picture of me and Kite. We’re both half-naked in bed, and I’m sound asleep while his arms are wrapped around me. His chin is resting on top of my head, and his eyes are closed.

If that’s not enough to send me into a panic, the caption below the image certainly is.

“You are done for now, Harmony Skye.”

~Oh. My. God.~

My breathing speeds up, my skin goes pale, and April narrows her eyes at the strange look on my face. “Are you okay?”

I swallow and cover the screen with my hand. I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack. “Y-yes, I am...”

~What is happening? Who sent this to me?~

“You don’t look okay. You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

~Ding!~

Another message comes in, and I’m scared to look at it. But the suspense is killing me, so I take a deep breath and remove my hand from the screen.

I let out a sigh of relief when I see it’s just a message from Blaze.

Blaze❤

Hey green eyes, I miss you ;-). My dorm at 6 later? Maybe we could watch a movie and chill?

His text calms me down a bit, and despite my racing heart, I can’t help but smile.

April’s worried look turns into a wide grin as she crosses one leg over the other. “I’d bet my entire makeup collection that the person who just texted you is my ‘hard work’ of a cousin, Blaze Xander.”

I look up at her with a shy smile. “Yeah...he wants me to come over later.”

His message reminds me that I was supposed to visit the town’s gynecologist for an exam today, but it’s already 5:15 p.m., so I’ll have to reschedule for tomorrow.

I want to see Blaze tonight. I miss him more than anything.

“Well, get dressed in something cute and enjoy your night!” April gushes, and I chuckle.

“Okay.”

“If you come back to the dorm later, I won’t be here. The girls and I are going out of town for the night,” she says as she gets up and heads to the closet.

“Alright, have fun.”

I can’t help but smile to myself. Maybe seeing Blaze will help distract me from the guilt that seems to grow stronger whenever I’m around him. But I can’t seem to stay away from him, no matter how hard I try.

***

I decide on a pink summer dress and a beige cardigan. The image from earlier is still fresh in my mind, haunting me as I get ready to go to Blaze’s room.

What if they show him the picture? What if they use it to blackmail me?

These thoughts are driving me crazy. I’m so lost in them that I don’t even realize when I’ve arrived at his dorm room door.

I don’t want anything to ruin our time together, so I try to push these worries aside for now. I take a deep breath before knocking.

I still get butterflies every time we hang out. It’s a feeling I don’t think I’ll ever get used to.

He opens the door quickly, a crooked smile on his face. He’s shirtless, his thin silver necklace the only thing on his upper body. His six-pack abs make my cheeks flush a bright red.

I’ve never really taken the time to appreciate him shirtless before; the sight is breathtaking.

I can see the faint scar on his chest from when his mom burned him with a hot fork as a kid, and the tattoo on his waist is a reminder of his troubled past.

He’s been through so much, and the secret I’m keeping from him will only make things worse.

How could I do this to him? I don’t know what happened that night, but it’s still my fault. If I had just stayed away from Maddie, I wouldn’t be in this position. The position to hurt him.

If I end up losing him, I deserve it.

“You’re doing it again,” he says, smirking as he leans against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

I shift uncomfortably. “Doing what?”

“That look, like you’re a million miles away.”

I give him a small smile. “It’s nothing...I just missed you. Haven’t seen you all day.”

“That’s my line. You didn’t eat lunch in the caf, and I get the feeling that you’ve been avoiding me.”

I shake my head. “I’m not.”

He bites his lip and lifts his chin, nodding. “Mm, right. Come on in, you owe me a big hug for being so distant.”

I laugh as I step past him. “Okay...I can’t argue with that.”

He closes the door behind me, and as soon as I turn around, he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close.

Before I can process what’s happening, his lips are on mine in a passionate kiss.

My eyes widen at the intensity of his kiss, but then I slowly relax against him, giving in to his embrace as he holds the back of my head to keep our lips locked.

His kiss is so powerful and passionate that I can barely breathe. I can’t match his intensity, so I kiss him back at my own pace and hope it’s enough.

His breath tastes minty, a flavor I’ve come to love. He must have just brushed his teeth and taken a shower; he smells fresh and clean.

His arms tighten around me, and he steps forward, still kissing me.

I have no choice but to move back until I’m sitting on his bed, our lips still moving together. His kiss is eager, mine struggling to keep up.

He moves down to my neck, and I tilt my head back, a sigh escaping my lips. He expertly sucks on my skin, making my eyes roll back in pleasure.

But then the thought comes back, ruining the moment. The same insecurity I felt when he tried to touch me yesterday. It’s back, and it’s stronger than ever, and I start to panic.

I look up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. “B-Blaze, um, d-didn’t you say we were going to watch a movie...?”

He doesn’t answer, and I can’t tell if he didn’t hear me or if he’s just ignoring me.

He presses his body against mine until I’m lying on my back, his lips exploring my chest.

He grinds against me, and I can feel his erection pressing against my leg.

~Oh, God.~ We need to stop now. If something did happen with Kite and we go any further, Blaze will know. I don’t want to hurt him. I really don’t want to hurt him.

“Blaze...” I say, my breath shaky. “I...think we should...”

He pulls away from my chest to look me in the eyes. “You think we should what, green eyes?”

His hand is now on my thigh, and I try to suppress the arousal building within me. I need to stay calm. I need to keep my head clear.

“Let’s just watch a movie,” I beg, and his eyebrows furrow.

“You want to tell me why?”

I feel tears welling up in my eyes, but I fight them back. “I...I just think...”

“You’ve always wanted us to have sex, right? Isn’t that what you wanted us to do a while ago? Isn’t that what I’m offering you right now, Harmony?”

“I just...I just feel like~—~”

Before I can finish, his hand is trying to slip inside my underwear, and I quickly reach under my dress to stop him.

He looks at me, confusion etched on his face, and I shake my head, holding back tears. “Please...don’t, Blaze.”

He narrows his eyes and looks down for a moment before meeting my teary eyes again. “Tell me why.”

I can’t hold back the tears any longer, and they start to fall.

His jaw clenches and his face hardens. “I said tell me why, Harmony.”

I take a deep breath and shake my head. “I can’t. I can’t right now, Blaze...just... Let’s just do something else instead...”

“Fuck.” He looks down again, muttering under his breath before finally looking back up at me.

His eyes are so angry that I wish I could just curl up and roll away. Maybe even off the edge of the earth, if that were possible.

“Well, I guess I just got my answer then.”

I look at him, confused. “W-what?”

“Since you won’t say it, I’ll say it for you,” he starts, and my heart jumps.

He glares at me, and I can see his face muscles tighten.

“It’s because you. Fucked. Kite.”

My eyes go wide with each word, and it feels like I’ve been shot in the heart three times.

The room feels like it’s collapsing around me, and Blaze looks into my eyes, his own filled with rage. “Isn’t that it, Harmony Skye?”