Page 20 of Harmony

She doesn’t want me,my brain says quietly.

“You can’t control her, Nate. She’s her own person. If she wants to spread her wings then let her, if she comes back, she comes back.” Willow shrugs.

“How can you be so nonchalant about this? Doesn’t this piss you off?” I know I shouldn’t take my anger out on Willow, but I can’t help it. I thought she would react differently. I thought she would share my anger.

“I mean sure, it stings a little, but it is what it is.” She doesn’t even seem bothered.

I want to yell at her. Ask her if she even fucking cared about Hailee. Maybe this is why Hailee left us. Left me. Because Willow obviously doesn’t care about her the way I do.

“Besides, maybe it’s not what you think. Maybe she has a reason for doing what she’s doing,” Chase adds.

“I can’t see a single reason why she would do this,” I tell him, already having gone over it in my head.

“That’s the great thing about humans. You can’t read minds. You don’t know what her motivations are, so before you fly off the handle and do something crazy, consider what she is doing and see if you can see it from her perspective.”

“So what do you expect me to do? Let her get away with this?”

“Why do we need to do anything?” Willow asks, tilting her head to the side.

“Because it isn’t right!” I say, my hand clenching my hair, pulling slightly.

I don’t want to admit the real reason.

I am falling for her.

No, I have fallen for her. Last night in my truck only cemented that fact. It was the best fucking night of my life. I finally had the girl I had been craving since the beginning of the year. The one girl that broke past my walls. Now to know that she has gone against us?

The betrayal burns in my chest.

“You need to let it go, Nate. I’m telling you now. Don’t make things worse,” Willow warns.

“This is bullshit. She’s supposed to be your best friend. Why don’t you seem to care?” I yell as I storm out of the room.

I head toward my bedroom and slam the door once I’m inside. I grab the closest thing next to me and chuck it against the wall, watching the lamp shatter.

My blood boils as I think about seeing Hailee with them.

How could she?

I thought we were finally working toward becoming something. Something more than bickering acquaintances. More than forced friends. I thought she was going to be mine.

That was before. Before she helped Willow escape. Before this betrayal.

I think back to before.

The rage that overtook when I saw Hailee beaten and bruised. How I wanted to hold her and take her pain away.

“What happened?” I demand.

“H-henry,” she stutters through the pain, clutching her chest.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I say, standing.

“No, wait,” Hailee pleads. “He’s not worth it.”

“Comet…” I trail off, feeling torn.

“I don’t want you to get into trouble, Nate.”

---