029. PROPERTY OF RORY

Rory wasn't expecting to see Harry again after her confession in the car.

The look on his face was something she was still trying to decipher. Anger mixed with... sadness? Could Harry even feel such a thing? She thought pigs would have to fly for that to happen. The way he looked replayed constantly in her head, just as the kiss lingered on her lips. Knowing she couldn't get him out of her head was making her task of cleaning even worse.

Rinsing out the mop, she glanced over her work. The floors had never looked so spotless.

Even when given a task she hated from someone she thought about killing daily, she was still going to do it to the best of her abilities. It was the best and worst quality about her.

Assuming she was the last to leave, Rory flicked the light switch off and headed towards the back door. Sounds of groaning and moaning coming from the manager's office stopped her right in her tracks. She shuddered and hurried outside. That was the last thing she needed to hear.

Rummaging through her purse and pulling out her carton of cigarettes, at least she had a smoke to reward herself. That was until she opened the box and realized it was empty.

Stomping her foot on the ground, her head turned to the sky as she yelled, "What the fuck did I ever do to you?"

She wasn't religious by any means - but that didn't stop her from screaming at whatever force above had decided she deserved to suffer through one of the worst days.

"Rough night?"

She jumped at the sound of the voice. "Shit," she whispered, pressing her hand against her chest to calm her rapid heartbeat. "You scared me."

Harry emerged from the shadows with a grin spreading across his pink lips. "Sorry, Bambi. Do you need a ride?"

"Are you asking because you're offering? Or are you asking because you want to be a dick and have no intention of driving me home?"

"Offering. Plus," Harry held up a bag of fast food, "I brought you some dinner."

Rory watched him with a wary eye and followed him from a few feet behind - a precautionary measure.

The last thing she expected was for him to show up. Let alone show up with food. Something was weird. What that was exactly, she didn't know. But her internal alarm bells were ringing.

Settling into the car, he placed the bag on the centre console. "I got you the same thing you ordered last night," he said, rummaging through the items and handing her a wrapped burger. "I hope you're okay with that."

Mouth watering at the food in front of her, she licked her lips. "Wait. You didn't poison this, right?" Noticing his confused glance, she quickly added, "After the day I've had, I wouldn't be surprised. I just wanted to check."

Harry started up the car and pulled out onto the main road. "Want to talk about it?"

"What?" she asked, taking a large bite of her burger.

"Do you want to talk about your day?"

Swallowing the food in her mouth with a large gulp, she looked at him with a furrowed brow. "Why would I do that?"

"Because when most people have a rough day, they talk about it."

"Why? Hoping you'll get some juicy information that you can use against me?"

Rory was baiting him with the snippy reply. And to her surprise, he didn't bite. Instead, he reached his hand over and wiped away the smudge of ketchup from the corner of her mouth.

"I'm asking because I care about you, Rory," he said in a soft tone of voice. "And clearly, there's something that's bothering you."

Rory's mouth was watering. And this time, it had nothing to do with the food - it was all because she watched him raise his thumb to his mouth and lick the ketchup off his skin.

Get it fucking together, Rory!

"I don't want to talk," she said quickly, looking down at the food in her lap.

"Well, I'm here for you if you ever want to."

To avoid responding, Rory shoved the burger into her mouth and took another large bite. She didn't care how it looked - if it disgusted him, that would only help things in her book. Besides, she was hungry. It wasn't like she was trying to put on some delicate show in front of him.

Crumpling up the wrapper, she tossed it into the bag and started on her fries. "Want one?" she offered.

"Thanks, Bambi."

At least the silence wasn't as uncomfortable when they were both eating. Rory was even allowed to turn on the radio and listen to music - she couldn't say the same when they were together. Maybe not being involved with each other had some perks after all.

"Are you going to get yourself some groceries soon?"

"I have groceries," she said unconvincingly. Catching his glare, she rolled her eyes and let out a huff of frustration. "Fine, I'll get some soon."

"Promise?"

"What are you? My parent?"

Harry slowed the car to a stop outside her apartment and shifted the gear into park. "I only care about your wellbeing, Rory."

"Well, knock it off, then!" she snapped. A heavy silence filled the air. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Sorry. But I'm still really fucking mad at you."

"I know."

"Why did you drive me home?"

"I had the time."

Rory chewed nervously on her bottom lip.

"I understand that you're seeing someone, Rory," he said as if reading her mind. "I am not trying to get in the way of that."

"You're not?"

"Of course not. Does Andrew make you happy?"

"Yes."

"Then that's all that matters to me." Harry gave her a small smile. "I already told you, Bambi. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Whether we are together or not, friends, or turn back into strangers, I'll keep going until I've earned your forgiveness."

"Why?"

"Because I care about you."

Rory reached for the door handle. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Rory." He watched as she got out of the car and teased her by asking, "So, you're really not going to invite me up?"

Rory rolled her eyes, hiding her amusement over his question. "I'm really not. But I'm sure if you head one street over, you can find someone to pay for one minute of fun on that thing," she said, pointing to his crotch.

"Come on, Bambi. You know it was a lot longer than a minute."

"Was it? Dang. Guess you weren't very memorable then."

The corner of his mouth tugged into a smirk. "God, I wish we were on better terms right now so I could teach you a lesson by bending you over my knee for using that smart mouth of yours."

Rory leaned forward. "And I wish we were on better terms so I could enjoy it."

A small part of her wished she could forget it all and forgive him. She tried denying the feelings were still there, but it was hard to make permanent considering her heart fluttered whenever he came by to pick her up and bring her food.

At some point, she knew it would have to end.

Whether it would be her telling him to stop or Harry getting bored of playing the game any longer, there was always an inevitable end.

Stepping outside after another shift, Rory looked down the alley and saw no familiar car waiting at the end. Her heart sank. She felt like an idiot for feeling sad he wasn't there - he would give up soon enough. Rory just wished it wasn't this soon.

Dragging her feet, Rory walked to the end of the alley with an invisible rain cloud over her head. Her feet ached - she could have used a drive home to avoid walking to the bus.

Rory halted her steps meeting the eyes of a familiar face - one she was far from expecting to see.

"What are you doing here, Cheese?"

Colson rolled his eyes at the nickname. "Harry couldn't pick you up, so he asked me to."

"I'm perfectly capable of walking home alone. You guys know that, right?"

"Well, I'm under direct orders to drive you. So either you get in voluntarily, or I make you."

"You're going to make me?" she asked with a scoff. "What are you going to do? Hogtie me and toss me in the back?"

Colson raised a brow. "That is a great idea, Rory. Thanks for the suggestion." He opened the passenger side door and motioned for her to get in. "Come on. Let's go."

Rory did want a drive home, but she couldn't help herself and give Cheese a hard time over it. Where would the fun in that be?

"Can't we just go our separate ways and pretend you drove me home?"

"No," he replied shortly.

"Will something happen to you if I refuse?"

"You won't refuse."

"What if I run away?"

"You won't."

Rory folded her arms over her chest. "But what if I do?"

Unamused by their back and forth, Colson stepped forward and roughly gripped her arm. "Rory, get in the car now. I'm not fucking around."

Rolling her eyes, she pulled away from his grasp and moved to the car door. "Sorry if I'm hesitant to get in the car with someone who called me a whore a few weeks ago and thought I was some evil super villain."

After she climbed into the car and settled into the seat, Colson slammed the door shut before making his way to the driver's side. "I am sorry, by the way," he said, fastening his seat belt. "About calling you a whore, I mean. Not about the other shit. I still don't trust you."

"I don't trust you either. I have a feeling you're going to drive me off to the middle of nowhere and kill me."

"Unfortunately, if I did that, I'm sure Harry would kill me and bury my body next to yours."

Rory reached forward and turned on the radio. "Wow. What a lucky break I got then," she sarcastically said. "Why did he send you?"

"Why wouldn't he? I'm a way better driver than Dallas."

"Because you hate me," she said, changing the station.

Colson raised a brow. "I don't hate you. I'd have to care about you to hate you."

"Did you do something wrong to get stuck with this?"

"He asked me to get you. So I did." Colson shot the annoying girl beside him a glare. "Besides, he thought if he sent Dallas, you would flirt with him for your own personal enjoyment, and he would crash the car. For some reason, one I cannot understand for the life of me, Dallas finds you overly charming."

Rory rummaged through her purse. "Yeah, I don't get it either," she said, cursing under her breath when her search came up empty. "Dammit. I forgot to get more cigs."

"That reminds me." Colson reached into the backseat and grabbed a bag. "Here."

"What's this?" she asked.

"Don't know. Don't care. I was just told to bring it. There's more in the trunk, by the way."

Looking into the bag, she saw it was a gift of healthy snacks and a package of cherry lollipops. There was a small note attached to one of the items.

You can't survive on burgers and fries forever, Bambi.

Rory smiled to herself, reading the corny note. However, she quickly became distracted by a lighter and carton at the bottom with another message.

Don't kill Colson/Cheese. Play nice. x Harry

Even her new lighter was branded with a few handwritten words. PROPERTY OF RORY was written in permanent marker on one side, followed by FUCK OFF on the other. She giggled, catching Colson's attention.

"The two of you are fucking weird."

She opened the carton and asked, "Want one?"

"After hearing that weird noise come out of you, definitely."

Rory was too smitten with her gifts to snap back a remark. Instead, she silently used her new lighter to light up their cigarettes, and the two smoked in peace.

"Do I intimidate you sexually?"

Colson choked on a puff of smoke. "What the fuck, Rory?"

"I'm just trying to figure you out." She rolled her eyes. "Sue me. Or, kill me is probably more your style, but I feel like I can't joke about that with you because you will take it literally."

"Actually, Dallas is the killer."

Her eyes widened. "Really?" Inhaling her cigarette, she pondered the revelation and added, "I can see that. He had this weird look of satisfaction that night you guys... you know," she mimicked the action of shooting a gun, "to that guy."

"Dallas bet ten bucks you were going to throw up."

"Asshole," she muttered under her breath. She almost did, but that wasn't an important detail to enlighten Cheese with. "So, Harry couldn't pick me up?"

"That's what I said."

"What's he doing?" she asked with an innocent tone.

"I don't know. I'm not his assistant." Colson flicked the butt of his cigarette out the window. "He's not with anyone if that's what you're worried about."

She smiled at his comment. "We are not together. He can do whatever he wants. Besides, I'm with someone else."

"Oh, right. I heard about you getting with finance douche. Interesting play, Rory. So you wouldn't care if he was fucking someone else right now, leaving you stuck with me?"

"Not at all," she said. "I would think it's funny."

"You have an odd sense of humour."

"I prefer calling it unique." Her eyes looked forward with disappointment as Colson turned down her street. She enjoyed their interaction - even if it was only out of pure hatred for one another. "At what point can I start asking you for a discount on drugs?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, if I'm going to have to keep interacting with you people as my chauffeurs, I'd like to know when I can get something out of it. I'm only trying to be considerate over here."

Colson slammed on the break. "Out."

Pushing open the passenger door, she was grateful he had at least stopped the car outside her apartment and not blocks away. Rory walked around to the back of the vehicle, where Colson was busy unloading bags from the trunk.

"That's where he is, right?" She flicked her dying cigarette onto the pavement and rubbed it out with the bottom of her shoe. "Making moves for drugs. What's he getting? Coke? Molly? Weed?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Rory."

"Damn, Cheese. You're almost as bad of a liar as you are a stalker. Did Harry ask you to keep watching me from your car outside my apartment all day, or are you doing that all on your own for a little extra credit?"

Slamming the trunk shut, Colson turned to the girl. "What are you on about?"

"Don't play stupid. I've seen your car outside my apartment." Rory crossed her arms over her chest. "Is this your little side mission to determine whether or not you can trust me? I hate to break it to you, Cheese, but I think it will take more than spying on me while I change to learn how to trust." She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Or, is that what gets you off? Spying on me while I change? You know, I could make it easier for you and give you a free show upstairs."

Colson picked the grocery bags off the ground and headed into her apartment building without a word. Rory hurried behind, wanting to ensure he didn't magically make it to the top of the staircase before she got herself through the door.

"I'd lead the way, but I'm sure you've been here plenty of times already," she muttered.

With a close eye, Rory tried to pick up any signs of unusual behaviour from him as they walked up the stairs. He was acting odd, but not in the way she expected. He appeared nervous and worried, checking every corner and looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you going to open the door?"

"Uh, no fat chance in hell, Cheese. I'm not letting you inside. You'll probably set up some new pervert cameras so you can watch me from your car."

"That's not me, Rory."

"Yeah, sure it's not," she said, rolling her eyes. "Like I'm going to believe-"

"Rory. That's not me." His tone was stern as each word left his lips slowly, ensuring she heard him. "I didn't want to sit outside your apartment before, and I sure as hell wouldn't want to do it now by choice. So whoever that is, it's not me."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she asked, "What does that mean, then? Someone else is watching me?"

"I don't know. Give me your phone." He was surprised to see that she followed instructions without arguing. Pressing the keys on the device to input his number, Colson said, "Next time you see that car, call me. Okay?"

Rory nodded. "O-okay. I will."

"Don't worry. I'll be damned if someone kills you before I get the chance to."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

He shrugged. "Does it matter?"

After it was clear he wouldn't be allowed to take the groceries inside her apartment, Colson said his goodbyes and went down the stairs.

With haste, Rory brought the bags inside, leaving them in the entryway. As if she believed anything Colson had just said. There was no way it wasn't his car. She would remember a license plate, for fuck sake. Did he think she was that stupid?

Rory went straight to her balcony and cracked the door open. The living room lights were off - not because she didn't have enough money to pay her electrical bill... this time - providing the perfect cover of darkness to shield her frame.

"Hey, it's me," Colson said as he walked towards his car with a cellphone pressed to his ear.

That's weird... he didn't say Boss, Rory thought.

"Yeah, I just dropped her off. Listen, it looks like we may have a problem," he said, turning his head and looking directly at her apartment, "I think she's catching on."

dun dun dunnn!!! who do you think Colson called? :O

don't forget to leave a vote if you enjoyed! xo