that's totally not Paul Wesley lmao. when all nina dobrev gifs are of her with Paul Wesley and Ian Simerhalder.

this a v important chapter and the words in italics are quite important. I'll mention them later in the a/n.

Movie 🎥 Assassination (2015)

Happy Reading xx

~T

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S C A R L E T T 💣

"Harry seems pretty rough with other people," Spencer commented; watching Harry himself, yell incredibly loudly at a teen who had done a left uppercut completely wrong. "But he's not like that with you."

   "Yeah, weird isn't it?" I chuckled lightly, grimacing when he raised his hand to strike the child, but only did it to scare him. I knew the 'old' Harry would've actually smacked the kid, but he was improving.

   "It's cute to watch. The way he is with you," Spencer smirked at me, causing me to shrug lightly, nevertheless smiling.

  We were currently seated on the tables near the boxing ring in the corner of the training room, watching Harry train this new Italian teenager who apparently had a match tonight at Dragon's Cave. Oh Dragon's Cave. I remembered how I had gotten beaten up into a pulp by that Asian woman, Alexis. That was a painful night.

   "So, how's work going, with Liam?" I asked Spencer in interest, watching him immediately smile brightly when I mentioned the word 'work'.

   "It's amazing, Scarlett! Honestly, I feel like I belong here, even though most of the people here are practically murderers, I just feel like I'm actually doing something, y'know what I mean? Ugh I don't know how describe this-"

   "It's okay Spence, I get you," I assured him, smiling widely as I watched him chuckle.

   "Yeah like, I feel accepted by everyone here, 'cause you know how people used to judge me for being a college drop out and being a meth head. I hated that so much! But over here, people don't care as much about that, all they think is 'yeah he's smart so he's not useless, he's pretty cool!'" I listened to Spencer rant with this bright smile on his face that stretched widely across his cheeks, his light blue eyes glinting happily as he used his usual hand gestures with his words.

   "Oh and hey I need to apologize for being so harsh at Target. I didn't think about how you were grieving over your father and how I wasn't there to support you for that either. Oh yeah and how you were practically abducted and forced to work here," Spencer apologized sincerely, making me shake my head slightly.

   "It's okay Spence, we're both at fault here," I told him with a sad smile, making him nod.

   "Are you okay though?" he asked me gently, his azure eyes full of concern.

   "I'm feeling good now," I reassured him.

  We continued to talk and catch up on everything I had missed when I was stuck here and he was in California. I knew he was trying not to tell me the stories where he actually did run into a few angry clients and had conversations that didn't end well at all. He knew I'd feel guilty if he told me those, and I did even though he didn't. But he kept on reassuring me that it was fine and he didn't care as much because he'd rather it would've happened to him than to me, which was incredibly sweet and caring of him. Spencer was just such an amazing human being whom I was grateful to have back in my life.

  After Harry had finished his training with the teen, I left Spencer to start his basic combat lessons with one of the trainers here, as it was now a rule that everyone who was part of The Organization; had to know at least basic combat and how to use a gun. This was mainly aimed at the scientists, doctors, and basically anyone who wasn't an assassin or a trainer in any case.

  Harry had another mission to attend to today, and he told me it would take the whole afternoon and evening to complete. He said he'd be back by around midnight, which had me slightly more worried than usual. Now that I have already fallen for him, my care and protectiveness over him had grown even more significantly. So, even though he was a big-ass assassin with tons of experience and probably has a 2% chance of getting killed, there was still that chance, and the possibility of him getting seriously injured.

   "Can't I come with you?" I asked him with a pout, wrapping my arms around his waist as I had come to say goodbye to him.

   "No of course not, don't be silly," he chuckled, as if what I said was the most ridiculous thing to suggest. It wasn't, at least in my opinion, I was fully capable of taking down a building full of trained people, and I didn't even have to kill them.

   "I'm serious!"

   "Scar, I don't need you to watch over me. I'm a grown man, I can protect myself," he rolled his eyes at me, causing me to scoff in annoyance.

   "Don't blame me for feeling a little bit worried," I grumbled, lowering my gaze, only for him to push my chin up to meet his eyes once again.

   "I'm not blaming you for anything, my love. I would totally feel the same way if I was in your place, I'd probably feel even more worried. But I can't do my job just because you're a little worried, and I can't have you come and help me either," he tried to explain to me, making me nod slightly, understanding his point now.

   "I know, I understand," I sighed, bringing my hand up to brush a curl off his forehead, pushing it back and tucking it under his bandana.

   "Good girl," he murmured, ducking down to press a firm kiss to my lips, the warmth of them causing my own to tingle unnaturally.

  My hands squeezed his waist as he parted my lips gently to slide his tongue in, waves of heat washing over my body at the feeling of his tongue against mine. My hands landed on his chest, as his arms moved to wound themselves around my torso, pulling me further into his body. He pulled away gently for a breath of air, kissing my lips continuously and sweetly. But my face still held a somber expression. So he moved his warm lips all along my face, leaving short sweet pecks on my cheeks, nose, eyes and forehead. A giggle escaped my lips when he kissed the tip of my nose, before biting it playfully, causing me to laugh even more.

   "I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised as pulled back with his tongue poking out to wet his plump lips. I nodded, giving him a smile that made him smile back at me.

  He hugged me, his arms wound tightly around my midriff as he pressed our bodies together. With my face buried into his neck, I hugged him back with my limbs roped around his shoulders, inhaling his musky scent and enjoying the warmth of his body against mine. He pulled away with a brush of his lips against my cheek, shooting me a small light-hearted smile before walking away towards his car that was waiting out for him.

  I didn't know why I was worried to a point where my smile was faltering as I watched him near the car. Maybe it was because this mission seemed a little more dangerous than the others. He was going to take down a small building full of trained men to steal something that this great mafia leader from Russia was requesting for. He claims he has done this sort of thing before, only bigger and more dangerous, which should reassure me and it did, but not as much.

  Something clicked in my mind as I watched him walk towards the back of the car. His name escaped my lips in a shout, noticing him snap his head upwards from where it was bent down looking down into the boot. His dark brows furrowed when he saw me sprinting towards him in top speed, catching him off-guard when I jumped into his arms, immediately joining our lips. I kissed him firmly, wrapping my legs around his waist as he held me up with his hands glued to my thighs.

   "What was that for?" he chuckled breathlessly, once he had pulled away.

   "Good luck kiss," I simply responded, a tiny shy grin stretching across my lips, causing him to smirk knowingly. "Baby," I called softly to gain his attention, his eyes glinting at the nickname. "Come home, okay?"

   "I will," he reassured me, setting me down.

  Tugging my long black coat tighter around my midriff, I watched him as he sped off into the distance, feeling like a wife whose husband has just gone off for war. At that moment, I realized what had happened to me. I hadn't just fallen for Harry. I had fallen in love with Harry. He had made me the happiest I could be, and he had also made me feel the worst things someone could've ever felt.

  He lit a fire inside of me that only he could put out. I knew I loved him, because if it were up to me, I would defend him with my life even if the odds were insurmountable. I would comfort him in the difficult and painful times of his life. I would never betray him and never give up on him. I was his for eternity; I would never abandon him. My love for him made me want to be there for him through thick and thin, to protect him and to care for him.

  Harry had invaded every single thought of mine and seized my heart, and I was unmistakably and unconditionally in love with him.

~-~

   "Scarlett! Open up!" A loud muffled voice awoke me from my light slumber, making me shoot up from the bed instantly when I heard banging as well.

  I hastily pulled on a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top to cover up as I clumsily rushed through the apartment. Almost slipping and skidding across the floor, I moved hurriedly to the front there where behind it was what seemed like Dexter yelling frantically. My fingers closed around the door handle, my other hand coming up to unlock the door before I pushed the handle down and swung the door open. I was met with a very worried looking Dexter that made my heart fall a little.

   "What's wrong?" I breathed heavily; wondering why on earth was he banging at my door at three in the morning. Harry still hadn't returned from his mission, which had me worried sick because apparently we had no communication with him whatsoever. Apparently our line with him got cut off somehow so we just had to 'hope for the best' that he would return, like Vlad said.

   "Harry," he simply uttered, making my eyes widen a little, my face paling already at his words.

  Saying no more, we instantly rushed towards the elevator, impatiently waiting for the lift to arrive. I was itching to take the stairs but I knew better that with my antsy brain and jittery steps I'd probably break a leg or something. Dexter explained to me on the way to the hospital wing that Harry had returned with a few cuts and bruises, plus a broken rib. That made me breathe out in relief, I had a feeling he was injured so I was happy to find out it wasn't as major as I thought it would be, like a bullet wound or something.

   "Where is Harry?" I asked the first nurse I came face to face with as soon as I entered the hospital wing. Noticing how she took a quick glance at my careless outfit before cocking her head to the emergency unit of the infirmary.

  The place was quite vacant, obviously because it was around three in the morning. A loud grunt caused me to snap my head in the direction of it, noticing how it sounded very much like Harry. I sprinted towards the end of the room, swiftly turning to the right, my gaze locking on Harry on the bed with Sullivan standing by his side.

   "Harry," I breathed in relief, walking towards him where he was frowning hard with his dark brows pulled tightly over his gleaming eyes. "What happened?" I asked gently, touching his cheek.

   "Nothing, I'm perfectly fine," he emphasized on the last word, mostly locking his gaze on Sullivan, who scowled deeply.

  My hand accidentally landed on his torso, causing him to groan deeply, me flinching when I felt something wet through the material of his dark t-shirt. My face paled when I tilted my hand, staring at the faint blood that had seeped through his shirt and onto the palm of my hand.

   "Harry, you're bleeding," I whispered worriedly, my fingers gripping the bottom of his shirt to lift it up, but he pushed my hand away before I could do so.

   "It's just a small cut," he reassured me, although I frowned when I could easily detect the lie he told me.

  I frowned hard at him, trying not to feel anxious when I slowly lifted the bottom of his t-shirt, my breath hitching in my throat and eyes widening when they landed on what was damaging the skin of his left ribs. There was a huge dark gash running along the left side of his body, starting from the top of his ribcage to the tips of the leaves of his olive branches tattoos. It wasn't exactly a deep cut, but the size of it made up for that. My eyes trailed around the cut to where the skin was bruising, indicating that there was something much more serious causing him pain.

   "Small cut eh?" Sullivan murmured, his deep fern eyes studying the wound just like I was. Harry scoffed, before grimacing when he moved his body ever so slightly.

   "The cut doesn't hurt, it's the broken rib," Harry told Sullivan, who nodded curtly.

   "I'm just going to feel around okay, tell me where it hurts the most," Sullivan told him, making Harry nod.

  I watched carefully as Sullivan's hand moved gently over his ribcage, feeling for any pieces of bone jutting out under his skin. Starting from the top, Sullivan carefully worked his way down Harry's ribcage, sliding from the front to the back before moving to the next bone. He kept on repeating this process. My eyes flickered to Harry's ever so often, noticing how he had his gaze locked onto me in a way to distract himself from the pain, which he was so experienced at not showing.

  When Sullivan's hand came around to the fourth rib, adding a little pressure, Harry sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes screwing shut all of a sudden. His hand immediately darted out to grab mine at that minute as he exhaled heavily, opening his eyes and nodding slightly at Sullivan.

   "It's there," Harry muttered, his fingers curling around my own. 

   "Okay, tell me if you feel the pain again," Sullivan said, continuing his previous movements further down until he came to the end of Harry's ribcage. Luckily, Harry didn't feel any more intense pain like that, so that meant he had only broken one of his ribs.

   "Well?" Harry questioned, after Sullivan has finished his examination.

   "Well, I can tell it's a clean break and not one with fragmented bones-"

   "Don't you need to take an X-ray?" I questioned immediately.

   "If Harry wants to we could-" Sullivan started to say before Harry cut him off.

   "Scar, I've broken my ribs before and I've never used an X-ray for it, I usually take Sullivan's word for it," Harry explained, making me nod a little, now fully trusting Sullivan.

   "Right, so like I said before, it's a clean break. I've already moved it back in place, so it'll just have to heal naturally. Also, you seemed to be breathing perfectly fine, which is good because that means your lungs aren't collapsing. Are you experiencing pain anywhere else?" he asked Harry, making him shake his head.

   "Okay good, that means the broken rib hasn't punctured anything. So yes, it will take about six weeks for it to heal, you know the drill Harry. No training, no exercising, lost of rest, eat well and take supplements and I will give you pain meds, that you have to take. Scarlett, please see to it that he takes his pills, even if you have to force it down his throat," Sullivan told me with pleading eyes, making me chuckle lightly, glancing down at Harry who laid there with a hard frown on his face.

   "Do you think he needs a corticosteroid injection?" I asked Sullivan, making Harry furrow his brows at me, instantly asking me what that meant.

   "I don't think he'd want one," Sullivan chuckled deeply.

   "What is it?" Harry asked curiously.

   "It's just something you inject near the injury that can quickly reduce inflammation and pain, and it'll also allow easier breathing and increase upper body mobility," I explained quickly, making Harry immediately scowl.

   "I'm fine with the pain killers," He instantly said, holding his hands up before his eyes widened when he saw Sullivan preparing the equipment needed to treat Harry's wound.

   "What's wrong?" I asked him quietly, watching him swallow thickly when Sullivan dropped a needle onto the metal tray before bringing it over to us.

   "Mr. Styles here is not very fond of needles," he told me with a smile as Harry scowled deeply before hissing when Sullivan sprayed disinfectant over his wound.

  Sullivan cleaned Harry's wound out before preparing the needles for the stiches. I insisted for Harry to take some sort of anesthetic to numb the pain, but he kept snapping and saying he could handle the pain. I believed him at that but I just hated seeing him in pain, even though he could handle it. He already had a broken rib that hurt him every time he breathed, why couldn't he just ease some of the pain he was feeling else where for now?

  He gripped my hand tightly, his gaze locking with mine as the needle ripped through his flesh to sew the skin back together. He was unbelievably good at masking his pain, only wincing pretty much once throughout the whole procedure. His forest green eyes burned into mine as Sullivan stitched him up carefully. Once Sullivan was done, he cut the suture with a pair of scissors and placed a light bandage over the wound.

   "Ew get that thing away from me," Harry grimaced when he saw the bloody needle Sullivan was holding in his hand. He chuckled and tossed it away into the bin before rolling his gloves off and discarding them as well.

  He then gave Harry instructions on how to clean the wound and bandage it, which only I listened to because Harry was busy fiddling with our joined hands. I still had to clean up the cuts on his face so we left quickly, thanking Sullivan graciously for his help after collecting the pain meds.

   "Let's go home now Scarlett," Harry giggled uncharacteristically, making me mirror him, kissing his bruised jaw gently before pulling back to say something.

   "Let's."

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-the a/n about the sequel will go up soon after this chapter. I'll try not to give shit away ☺️😉

-so the words "Baby" and "Come home" are significant because they're part of the song Jet Pack Blues by Fall Out Boy. This song will be used to describe a lot of things in the sequel as to how Harry is feeling and also an actual event that will occur.

-So like, if ya really wanna get an idea of what gonna happen later on, listen to the playlist I put up and this song and get an idea and pm me😏

Love you all, and thanks for the support babes💖

Until we meet again...

~T