IT WAS OUT OF THE ordinary sitting in front of Harry with a cup of coffee in front of me. My hands held onto the coffee mug tightly and I was afraid I was going to break it. Harry, on the other hand, seemed completely calm during this. I did not remember agreeing to having coffee with him; yet, here I was. Here he was. I barely drank my coffee but Harry had already downed his. I was almost certain my coffee was cold now but I knew I had to drink it. Harry paid for it and I did not want his money to go to waste.

I could not bring the mug to my lips, though. As much as I wanted to, my body declined to follow my orders. I kept the coffee mug on the table and I stared down at the light brown liquid. I gnawed at my bottom lip and I was not concerned if I chewed it off. We were currently on our lunch break and I followed Harry to this little eatery. He had offered to drive but I did not trust him. The harsh words he said to me were still fresh in my mind. I blinked, realizing, and looked up at Harry.

"You think I was crying because of you."

"What?" he scratched his head.

"You caught me crying," I said slowly. "And then you offered to take me to get coffee. You think you made me cry. This is your way of apologizing."

He laughed.

Harry threw his head back and roared with laughter. My grip tightened around the coffee mug and I was almost certain I was about to break it. He placed a hand on his chest as he laughed and he even squeezed his eyes shut. I was able to feel my face turning hot with embarrassment. I wanted to toss the coffee on him but it would not have left the kind of effect I was looking for. The coffee was too cold and it would not burn away his pathetic laughter. I wished it was still hot. Nothing about this was funny and I had no idea why he was laughing.

"You think I care about your little crying incident?" he was still laughing.

My eyebrows rose, "I...um...I—"

"I just wanted some coffee and since you were there, I decided to invite you."

"I thought you hated me."

"Oh, but Doll," he pouted. "You're supposed to keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"I'm not an enemy," I argued. "I've done absolutely nothing to you."

"Your existence is bothering me."

I gasped. I was already hurting and Harry was only adding fuel to the fire. My purse was sitting on the floor beside me and I quickly grabbed it. Tears filled my eyes and I bit my bottom lip, trying to force them back. Harry remained sitting and he was no longer laughing. In fact, he was completely silent. I tossed my purse over my shoulder and turned to leave. Before, I ignored his little side comments. Now that I was hurting, his words were getting to me. They were biting at my flesh, trying to tear me apart little by little. I was showing Harry how weak I truly was and I hated myself for it.

I walked by all of the other tables and heard bits and pieces of different conversations. Someone was talking about how their daughter was going to graduate high school with all A's. Another person was complaining on how poorly their home was remodeled. A woman was talking to a much older woman—who I assumed was her mother—about how someone named George was doing. I heard a bell ringing and I looked up to see someone impatiently waiting to be served. They looked angry and if no one served them soon, I bet they would leave a very detailed complaint.

Just as I reached for the door handle to leave, I heard my name being called.

"Sydney, wait a second!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Harry jogging in my direction and I rolled my eyes, pushing the door open and walking toward my car. I heard him running behind me and I did not care. I was not going to give him the attention he wanted. He did not deserve it and if he thought I was going to stop to hear what he had to say, he was wrong. My existence bothered him. Out of all the things he could have said, he chose the harshest of them all.

Harry had managed to catch up to me but I kept my focus on getting back to my car. I was walking much faster than he was and he had to jog to keep up. My hands balled up into fists and it took everything in me not to hit him. I wanted to, though. I really wanted to hit him. How was he able to look me in the eye and tell me my existence bothered him? He barely knew me! He did not have a right to say anything like that.

"Sydney," he urged.

I rolled my eyes, hating the name already. I was perfectly fine with changing my name to Sydney but now? I hated it because Harry kept saying it. I knew when I moved on to another town, I would not keep Sydney as my name. I would change it to keep Harry's voice out of my head.

"Hey," he tried again.

"What?" I snapped, still not looking at him.

"Look, I'm sorry—"

"Save it," I smiled. "I want a peaceful day. You're ruining it."

"Oh, come on," he sighed. "Stop acting dramatic. You know I didn't mean it."

"Do I?" I challenged him. "I don't even know you!"

"But—"

"Don't talk to me. Your voice is annoying."

"Stop using my own words against me."

"Why?" I asked. "It hurts, doesn't it? When someone uses them on you?"

"Stop it."

"Stop being such an ass and then maybe I'll treat you a little better." I muttered. "You're supposed to treat others like how you want to be treated. You treat me like I'm dirt and I have no choice but to treat you the same way. I tried being nice but you only ignored it and only made me more angry. So, you know what, Harry? This...whatever this is has to stop. You being rude to me and me trying to ignore it. I'm done with you. From now on, I'm no longer talking to you. Since my existence bothers you so much, leave me the hell alone. I'm sure there's someone else in this world to be rude to. Sadly, that person is no longer me."

"Sydney—"

"Stop saying my name!"

"I didn't mean to be so mean back there. If you just hear me out, I can—"

"Bye, Harry."

I started walking even faster and my mind was racing. Our lunch break was not even halfway over and I was already leaving Harry behind. My heart was beating quickly and I was afraid it was going to pump right out of my chest. I felt hot and I wondered if I was sweating. I unlocked the doors to my car and got inside. Through my mirror, I saw Harry standing by the entrance of the coffee shop with his arms folded across his chest. I wondered how he felt. Did he feel like I did when he was rude to me? I had a reason to be rude, though. He, on the other hand, did not.

I turned my key in the ignition and sighed. As much as I did not want to, I felt guilty for screaming at him. The guy was only mad at me because he liked working alone. I got the job and he was not used to having other people around. I tugged at my hair and shook my head. Of course he was used to having other people around. Jillian was there occasionally and Clare was there everyday. I needed to stop making excuses for him. He deserved every word I threw at him. I was the type of person who cared about everyone else's feelings. Even if they treated me terribly, I still cared about how they felt.

Stop it. That is how you got here in the first place.

A large, pale hand hit the window beside me and I jumped on my seat. I looked to see who it was and immediately frowned. Harry stood there and his hand was still on the window. I looked back at him and raised my eyebrows. What did he want now? He removed his hand from the window and pointed downward. I shook my head, not letting down my window. He reached for the door handle and I locked the doors. He rolled his eyes and I rolled mine right back at him. I wanted to get away from him and he was getting in my way. Once again, he pointed downward but I refused. I did not want to hear what he had to say. His lips were moving but I was unable to hear what he was saying. It looked like he was telling me to let down the window.

I shook my head.

His face twisted with anger and he was yelling to where I could hear him, "Jesus, Sydney! I'm trying to do the right thing here and you're being a stubborn brat! Just let down the window!"

A stubborn brat? First, my existence bothered him. And now I was a stubborn brat? I could not help but to roll down my window. I leaned toward Harry to make sure he heard every word that was about to come out of my mouth, "You're trying to do the right thing but you're being an ass at the same time. Don't apologize to me unless you mean it and let's be honest here, you don't give a shit about me. In fact, you don't even know me. So, how about you just leave me alone and I leave you alone?"

"I know you well enough to know something was bothering you earlier," he said.

"I was crying," I snarled. "Anyone could have looked at me and they would have noticed something was wrong. You don't get a sticker for stating the obvious."

"Take the key out."

"Excuse me?"

"Our lunch break isn't over."

"So? I'm going back."

"Take the key out, Sydney."

"Why?" I asked him. "If you think I'm going back in there with you, you've officially lost your mind. I'm not going anywhere with you."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and before I knew it, he was reaching inside of my car. I hit his hand multiple times before he was able to pull it back out. He looked at me with a shocked facial expression but I was not the slightest bit concerned about his hand. He did not care about my feelings back at the table. He knew I was hurting but that did not stop him. This man was nefarious and did not give a damn about anyone else's feelings. I saw how he treated Clare. He was just downright evil.

"We don't have to go back inside. Just come with me," he said.

"Did you not hear what I just said? I'm not going anywhere with you."

"We only had coffee," he looked down at his hands. "Neither one of us had lunch. We can go somewhere else for something to eat."

"What makes you think I want to go have lunch with you?" I made sure my words were full of disgust and hatred. "You're only going to make me feel worse! Harry, you're testing my patience and the ice you're standing on is very thin. Very thin."

"We don't have to talk. We can just eat."

"Do you have a mental disorder?" I could not help but ask. "I'm sorry if I'm coming off as harsh but you're nice one minute and rude the next. I don't understand you."

"Probably," he shrugged like he had been asked this more than once.

We stared at each other for the longest. I watched as his neat hair moved with the wind. I watched his fingers move to his neck and I listened to the sound of him scratching at his own skin. I noticed the small strands of hair on his chin and above his lips. I noticed how dry his lips looked and wondered if he had any chapstick with him. If he did, he sure as hell did not want to use it in front of me. One of his eyebrows rose and the corner of his parched lips curled upward. He was smiling again and for the millionth time, he was confusing the heck out of me.

I soon realized everything was up to me. I was still sitting in my car and the key was still in the ignition. I could easily leave and go back to my idea of ignoring Harry. I looked away from him and stared at my dangling keys. It would be so easy for me to leave right now. Harry had his truck here with him. He did not need me for anything. I frowned. All of this was too easy. I hated easy. The word disgusted me in general. Easy was for the weak. I needed some challenges in my life and as of right now, I wanted to know where Harry had planned on going.

My hand grabbed my keys and I pulled the car key out of the ignition. I opened the door and nearly hit Harry while doing so. He backed out of the way just in time and I was slightly disappointed. A part of me wanted to hit him with the door. I slammed the door back and made sure all of the doors were locked. Harry and I stood there for a while and neither one of us shared a word. I was not sure if we even knew what to say. I looked down at my feet and sighed. Maybe this was a bad idea?

Harry sighed as well and spoke, "Are you riding with me or are we walking?"

I glanced across the parking lot at his red truck and frowned. Was he even a good driver? I shook my head, "We can walk."

"Do you even know where we're going?"

"You didn't tell me that part."

"Come on," he reached for my hand but I pulled back. "I'm driving."

"I'll drive my own car, then."

"Seriously?" he groaned. "You just went through all of that trouble to get out of your car. I'll drive. I won't kill us in the process."

"You're not very convincing."

He ignored my comment completely and turned around to go to his vehicle. I pushed my judgement to the side and followed. I did not know exactly how I felt about getting into his truck but it was too late to turn back. I was already standing beside the passenger's door and my hand was on the handle. I yanked the door open and frowned when I noticed how high up everything was. I pulled myself into the vehicle and sat my purse comfortably on my lap. I buckled my seat belt before pulling the door shut.

Harry put his key in the ignition and turned it, bringing his car to life. I looked out of the window and my car suddenly seemed lonely. It was very rare I found myself in someone else's car. How did I know I could even trust this man? He hated me; yet, he was taking me out to lunch. God, why was he so confusing?

"If you try anything and I mean anything, I'm out." I said.

"Too bad I'm not attracted to dolls," he chuckled, backing out of the parking spot.

"I didn't mean it like that but I'm sure you knew that."

"I'm a genius, what can I say?"

"Not when it comes to your mouth," I muttered. "You say the stupidest stuff."

"Really?" he asked. "Like what?"

"Do you even have to ask? You judge someone before you know them and the stuff you assume about them is idiotic. You're so full of yourself when it comes to the herb shop. You want to be the only one to work there but you're rude to Clare. She keeps threatening to fire you but she won't do it. If I were her, I would have fired you a long time ago."

"She can't fire me."

"Yeah, yeah, because you're the best worker there. I've heard it all."

"And she raised me so if she fired me, she knows I probably won't talk to her again."

I choked, "She raised you?"

"I bet she didn't tell you that. What? Did she tell you all the bad things about the creepy boy with freakishly good looking hair?"

"You should really cut it."

"No."

"Okay," I nodded my head, dropping the subject completely. "You're taking me out for lunch...why?"

"I'm hungry and need the company."

"But why me?" I asked. "Why didn't you invite Jillian out for lunch?"

"When she's not helping out, she's taking care of—" he quickly stopped himself and cleared his throat. "You know what? That's none of your business. Stop being nosy."

His tone was suddenly harsh and I felt ten times smaller. I looked downward at my lap and nibbled at the inside of my cheek. We were actually having a civil conversation and I just had to go and ruin it. Did he really have to respond to me like that, though? He could have found a nicer way to tell me to back off. I laid my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. If I had to be cautious about what I said around him, I should not be going to lunch with him. I was practically showing him how much of a fool I actually was.

I was overthinking everything. Perhaps lunch was going to go very well and Harry and I would not be at each other's throats? I was tired of arguing and I was sure he was, too. I came to Seattle for a fresh start and I was with a man who was rude and self-centered. He was secretive, too, but I had to be careful.

How could I question his life when I was trying to keep mine in the dark?