Harrison
She refused to look at me when I handed her the glass of water. Her hands shook almost as much as her legs, and the goose pimples that burst across her skin secured the focus of my gaze.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nodded at the floor and took a sip of water.
“Lily?” I crouched before her and took her chin in my fingers to direct her face upwards. The distress in her eyes made my gut twist. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Honestly, I’m fine. Just hungry.”
“Hmm.”
Although I wanted to believe her, I didn’t. I was sure I’d put the fear of God into her. I had always struggled to contain my temper, but with Lily it was different. I didn’t know why, or precisely how she evoked so many damn emotions in me, but I couldn’t seem to control them around her. My thoughts and feelings were savage when it came to her; every single sensation and reaction seemed intensified where Lily fucking Cooper was concerned. I struggled with how to handle them. So, I took my frustration out on her.
She was undeniably embarrassed, or uneasy around me, so I went in search of food. Her fridge, understandably, was empty, but finding pasta and various ingredients for a sauce in her cupboard I spent the next half an hour rustling up some food for us both.
An incoming call cut into the music blasting from my phone and, turning the sauce down to a simmer, I begrudgingly answered when I saw the name displayed. “Ann.”
My teeth vibrated with the grating sound of her voice. As much as I didn’t want to speak to her, I knew I had to. Glancing into Lily’s front room, I was relieved to see she had disappeared, presumably to the bathroom. Even so, I still closed the door for more privacy.
“I told you I was right, Harrison. I can’t believe you didn’t trust me. That hurt me more than anything else you’ve ever done.”
Rubbing my tired eyes, I sighed. “Yeah. But then you’ve never actually given me any good reason to trust you, have you?”
“You can be a complete pig at times; you know that?”
“Yeah, you keep telling me, so I’m more than aware of that fact now.”
Not even a minute into the call and she was already pissing me the hell off. Trying to zone out as she went into another one of her usual tirades, my gaze fell to the pile of mail on Lily’s table. I’d been monitoring it for so long it was now second nature for her to put it to one side for me.
“Are you even fucking listening to me, Harrison?” Ann bellowed. I should have just ended the call and blocked her from everything where my life was concerned. But I wasn’t that much of an arsehole, despite what Ann reckoned.
“Yeah.”
Sifting through the various letters, a small padded envelope acquired my attention. Tucking the phone between my ear and shoulder, I slid my finger under the lip and opened it. Surprised to find it contained a USB, I grabbed my laptop and inserted it into the port as I read the small note that accompanied it.
‘Tomorrow, I will forward instruction. If you don’t follow my command, I will upload this to YouTube. In seventy-two hours the world will see what a whore you really are.
Sinners are an infection that must be purged from this earth.’
“Holy - Fuck!”
“What?” Ann finally shut up griping when she heard the shock in my voice. “Harrison?”
“Gotta go.”
She stuttered something I couldn’t hear as I ended the call.
I couldn’t remove my eyes from the screen. I wasn’t sure who I was more furious at, the motherfucking cunt who had done this, or myself. I clenched my jaw when my cock strained at the sight of a naked Lily masturbating in the bath. It was on a loop. I watched her come repeatedly. Her creamy thighs were parted and her hand disappeared under the water. The pleasure on her face had my breathing coming in short, sharp bursts, the erotic sight making my balls ache. Her back arched, pushing her soft tits upwards as her head fell back and her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’.
“Motherfucker!” I finally hissed as I forced myself to slam the laptop shut.
It only then occurred to me that Lily wasn’t in the room where I left her. She was in the bathroom – where some fucker had set up a hidden camera.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I burst through the bathroom door. But all thoughts of hidden cameras flew from my mind when the scene that greeted me made my heart falter.
Lily scrambled up from where she sat on the floor. The horror on her face as she attempted to cover herself and the various things around her only heightened the shock that numbed every part of me.
“GET OUT!” she screamed as she rushed to shove everything into a bin liner.
For a long moment, I couldn’t move, even the blood in my veins froze in shock. But then rage shoved aside the disbelief.
She screwed her face up, forcing her eyes closed so she wouldn’t have to look at me when I grabbed hold of the tops of her arms and shook her. “What the hell, Lily? What the fuck! Why?”
Her eyes snapped open and the vehemence in her glare only angered me further. “This has nothing to do with you, Harrison.”
“I don’t fucking care if it has anything to do with me or not! What the hell is wrong with you?”
Her jaw trembled with fury, but the puddles of tears in her eyes exhibited so much despair that my rage instantly evaporated.
“It was just a couple of lines.”
Jesus Christ. “Just a couple of lines?”
Loosening my grip on her, I flung my arms around her and pulled her into my body. She fought with me to begin with, her tiny fists beating at my chest until all the resentment dissolved and nothing but misery streamed from her in thick, raw sobs.
“I can’t stop,” she wept. “I’ve tried so hard. But I can’t!”
“It’s okay. Shh,” I soothed as I stroked my hand over her hair. It was far from okay, but for once Lily didn’t need my tyranny to sort out her shit.
My mind raced with the images of what I had burst into, repulsion making my stomach cramp. To me, it didn’t make sense. Except, to Lily, it wasn’t just habit; it was an addiction. What is more, unless you were equally dependent on something then you couldn’t ever experience or understand the absolute need it brought.
“I’m sorry,” she cried into me as though she begged for my forgiveness. But it wasn’t mine to give.
She clung to me harder, using me as an antidote to the poisoned thoughts inside her head. But no one could heal those wounds for her. That was up to Lily. Although, I had a feeling that she wasn’t ready to give up her sick need. Not yet anyway.