Curiousity Killed the Cat

I woke up by the touch of someone moving a strand of hair out of my face, ever so gently as if not to hurt me more. I struggled to keep my eyes open, despite the bright light that was going from the window by my bed.

“Thank God,” I mumbled, staring up at Harry’s face, which looked relived that I was breathing and alive.

“What?” he asked, a confused expression over his face as I managed a small grin.

“I didn’t let those damn rocks kill me,” I said, my voice hoarse from being out for so long.

“No, you didn’t…” he said softly, trailing off. His fingertips gently running across my jaw, as I looked up at him, wondering if he was going to keep staying away from me.

“I missed you,” he said, watching his fingers rather than looking at my amber eyes. I put my hand over his, forcing him to look into my eyes.

“I missed you too,” I said, my eyes staring into his, seeing all the emotions. “Why didn’t you tell me you left?”

“Why didn’t you take the potion like I told you to?” Harry said, ignoring my question and using one of his to distract me.

I glanced around the room nervously, mentally groaning when I saw we were completely alone. “Because I was mad at you.”

He sighed, frustrated with me already. “Do you know what could have happened?

“Yes, I know that I could have died but I didn’t Harry,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I was mad at you for leaving, for leaving me alone for the last couple of weeks.”

He stiffened at my words. “I didn’t leave you.”

“Are you blind, Harry? You haven’t talked to me or touched me or even look at me,” I said, my eyes beginning to tear up but I blinked them away.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he said, seeming at a lost for words.

“By leaving me, you’re hurting me,” I said, sitting up some, ignoring the searing pain I felt in my ribcage when I did.

“Elyse, you need to lay down,” Harry said, pushing me back down as gently as he could.

“How bad was I?” I asked, pouting slightly.

He sighed, running a hand though his already messy hair. “You have seven broken ribs, they should be healed soon.”

“That’s not that bad…” I said, looking down at my bruised rib cage. As my luck would have it, the nurse had taken off my shirt to fix the cuts and had forgotten to put it back on. Charming.

“Not bad? Elyse, when I came into the room, I was half-convinced you were dead,” Harry snapped, looking at my tattered body.
“Harry…” I said, not sure what else I could say.

“I could have lost you, last night. I could have lost you,” he said, turning away from me. “You were so close to dying, I never wanted to have to feel like that. Nothing that you could die, that I’d never be able to see you again, to hold you.”

“I could lose you everyday,” I finally spoke, my voice quivering. “Everyday I wonder if it will be our last day together. They want to kill you Harry, they want you dead. How do you think that feels? Loving the person who you can’t be with because of the risk that comes with it?”

“If he knew about us…” Harry said, not wanting to finish his sentence.

“They know about me Harry. They want me dead too, it wouldn’t matter if we were together or not! They want to use me against you. I don’t care about the risk, Harry. I want to be strong, for you, for us. I want to be there, when you need me. I love you,” I said, my voice breaking.

He still wasn’t looking at me when he spoke. “I love you enough to let you go.”

“And I love you too much that I can’t let go. I can’t let go of you Harry, not even for a moment. I need you in my life, without you, I’m nothing. You’ve made me everything I am,” I said, a few tears running down my cheeks, rolling down my chin and falling onto my chest.

“It’s not safe,” he said, his voice strangled.

“Nothing ever is,” I said, softly. “Harry, I need you more than you’ll ever understand.”

He didn’t say anything.

“Look at me,” I begged, more tears rolling down my wet cheeks. “Please, just look at me.”

Harry turned to me slowly, his eyes watching as the tears rolled down my cheeks. He slowly reached a hand out, brushing away a stray tear, cupping my cheek in his hand. I laid my head in his hand, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, never wanting this moment to end.

“I can’t lose you,” he said, breaking the peaceful silence that had fallen over us.

“Then stay with me,” I whispered, opening my eyes to look into his, taking in all of the pain. He looked at all of me, my body and my face, before carefully placing his lips on mine, as if he was trying not to hurt me in my state.

“I love you,” he said, breaking our kiss.

“I love you too.”