038. MIRRORS // LEATHER

Rory had never felt so nervous being alone in a room with Harry before.

Not even when killing her was his number one priority.

Harry closed the door behind him and placed the bags on the ground. "So, where did you want these?"

"Right there."

"Well, that takes care of that." He stepped forward. "You know, I think we were in the middle of something before getting rudely interrupted."

Rory cocked her head to the side. "Were we?"

"We definitely were."

"Weird. I don't recall. I think you need to jog my memory."

"Well, I think it started by you stepping forward and looking at me with those adorable doe-eyes of yours."

She took a step and looked up. "Like this?" she asked.

"Exactly like that - very good," he praised. He smirked, noticing her brief frustrated expression over not being called a good girl. "Then I stepped forward and raised my hand to your cheek."

"I think it's coming back to me now," she whispered as he dipped his head towards her.

"Harry!" Colson yelled.

"Ignore him," he mumbled, inching closer.

A loud bang on the door startled them both. "Harry! Let's fucking go." The door swung open, and the two pulled apart before Colson saw anything. "How long does it take to put bags in a room?"

With a clenched jaw, Harry narrowed his eyes at his friend and said, "We were having a conversation. What the fuck do you want?"

"We have work to do before our meeting."

"Can you give me a minute?"

Colson rolled his eyes, calling, "I'm timing you!" before disappearing down the hall.

"I'm going to kill him."

A smirk tugged on her lips. "When you do, can I watch?"

"God," he groaned, cupping her face again, "I want to kiss you so bad."

"Why don't you?"

"THIRTY SECONDS!"

"That's why." Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he leaned closer and said, "You don't deserve a rushed moment. But when I'm back," his thumb grazed her bottom lip, "You're all mine. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir. Understood," she purred. "Wait, Harry. I don't mean to ruin the moment, but could you do something for me?"

"Anything. What is it?"

"At some point, would you mind checking in on my foster mom and making sure she's okay?"

"Of course." Noting the look of concern she wore, he asked, "Any particular reason?"

"Gio knows about her. And I'm worried he might do something to her."

Harry's entire body tensed hearing her words. "Why do you think that?"

"Because," she pointed to her face. "Tanner found out what I was doing, and it ruined Gio's plan."

"Has he threatened you with something like that before?"

Rory looked down before quietly admitting, "Just because Gio hasn't threatened to hurt me doesn't mean he won't hurt those around me."

Brushing the hair from her face, Harry kept his touch on her cheek. It was a comforting feeling to Rory, especially when paired with him saying,

"I'll make sure she's safe. What about Benny and Mia?"

Maybe it wasn't a question Rory should have thought too deeply on, but the fact that he was thinking about the other people in her life and their safety caused her heart to flutter.

"They're customers - he always says he treats his customers the best."

"Aren't you one as well?"

"Yes. But I don't count."

Customer service, my ass, the voice in her head sneered.

As Harry parted his lips to speak, Colson interrupted him by yelling that time was up.

"Is he always this impatient?"

"Only when he's stressed. Or in a bad mood."

Rory giggled. "Isn't he always in a bad mood?"

"Yes." Tucking two fingers under her chin, he said, "I'll make sure everyone in your life is safe, Rory. You don't need to worry anymore."

"Thank you." As his touch fell from her face and Harry headed towards the door, Rory felt a slight sense of emptiness. She liked having him close. "Don't forget," she called out after him, "When you come back, I'm all yours."

Harry turned his head, and a cheeky smile appeared. "I could never forget that, Bambi."

After another round of Colson yelling from down the hall, Harry exited the room in an annoyed huff, leaving Rory to stand alone with just her thoughts to keep her company. When she heard the front door slam shut and the bickering end, Rory quickly realized her thoughts were dangerous to be left alone with.

So, she decided her best bet was to keep herself occupied. Unfortunately for her, snooping around Harry's house wouldn't be an option considering she knew Dallas and Kip were downstairs to keep an eye on her. Plus, she knew security measures had increased, knowing she would be in the house. The only thing left for her to do was unpack the items Harry had brought upstairs.

Carrying the supplies into the bathroom, she filled the shelves with his purchases. She smiled to herself. What he had done for her was a kind and thoughtful gesture that filled her chest with warmth. And what made it even more special was knowing he didn't do it to get something out of her; he only wanted her to feel more comfortable in his house.

Rory walked back into the bedroom and opened up the duffel bag. It took her longer than usual to hang up and fold her clothes, considering she was still trying to be careful with her bandaged arm. Watching a shirt slip off the hanger and fall to the ground, Rory sighed. Kneeling, she quickly found the crumpled material, but her eyes became distracted.

Carved into the closet wall, she spotted those words again - the ones she had seen in his bedroom weeks ago, the morning after they slept together.

Rory ran her finger over the marks.

Based on the strokes into the wood, it was apparent someone had been in pain or angered when carving the words. Her finger traced each letter, every line and curve as if she was writing them herself.

The more she stared, the more intrigued she became.

And the more she realized how little she knew about Harry.

His entire life was a secret to her. Knowing what she did about the man felt like an accomplishment or a prize. But as her eyes remained fixated on the words sketched into the wall, she realized some answers might be in this room.

The little Bambi abandoned the task of keeping her thoughts at bay by distracting herself with cleaning and organizing her room and instead went on a hunt for answers.

She searched every inch of the exposed wall inside the closet, running her hands against the surface. Unable to find anything else, she moved on to the rest of the bedroom. Her hands touched any and everything she could reach in the hopes of finding something else. But as time went on and her hands did not run over any more carved words, she desperately hoped for a scratch mark - even if it was one created by accident.

Sitting down on the bed, she released a disappointed sigh. At least she knew where two carvings were; one was in the closet in her room, and the other was behind a dresser in his. Although, she wished there was something else she could have found.

With a man like Harry, someone wrapped in secrets and mystery, it was nearly impossible not to crave even the slightest hint of information about him. Feeling a headache pressing through her skull, Rory decided it was best to stop her scavenger hunt and rest.

Adjusting her pillows so she could lie down, Rory noticed something about the arrangement of the room. While everything in Harry's room was centred and placed precisely where one would expect it to be, the same couldn't be said for this space.

Everything was slightly off.

She first noticed the placement of the television on the opposite wall. It was mounted perfectly to be dead center in the room. But the dresser underneath was pushed just a tad too far to the right.

Maybe it was just a mistake, she thought to herself. It is a guest bedroom, after all. Harry might not come in here enough to notice something like that.

Her attention moved to the wall behind the bed. A window on either side suggested that the bed would be in the middle. But now she realized the bed was moved further to the left, blocking half of the window.

Maybe he didn't like that part of the window.

While the bedside table was pushed next to the bed on the left, it remained perfectly centred under the right window.

If Rory weren't looking for something to be off, she wouldn't have noticed. But her mind was too far gone; she wanted there to be a reason behind the slightly off placement of the furniture.

And as if that wasn't enough, her eyes sparkled over noticing one more thing.

The headboard was made of wood.

Her first plan of action was to check behind each side table. However, she quickly learned that finding something there would be too easy. And nothing about getting information on Harry would ever be easy.

Tapping her foot, she stared at the bed, thinking of a plan. Kip was downstairs playing video games - evident by the random curse words she heard him yell in the distance. But even with him being distracted by killing animated zombies, there was a possibility he would still hear her moving the bed. She knew he would be on high alert, considering the last time they were left alone, she managed to steal from the house, right from under him.

Think, Rory. Come on - this should be fucking easy for you. Think! Think! Think!

A plan came to mind. It wasn't an overly complex plan - but it would get the job done. At least, she hoped it would.

Exiting the bedroom and heading down the stairs, she let out a fake yawn as she walked through the living room and passed by Kip.

He immediately paused his game upon seeing her. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm okay," she said softly, stopping in the doorway to the kitchen. "I'm just going to make some tea."

As Rory stood by the stove, waiting for the kettle to boil, she quickly realized one fault in her plan. She would have to wait for the stupid kettle to boil water. With her patience growing thin, Rory tapped her fingers against the counter.

As Rory went to chuck the stupid thing out the window for taking so long, steam blew from the spout.

Eyes narrowing at the inanimate object, she muttered, "You're lucky this time."

With a cup of tea successfully poured, Rory returned to the living room and let out another yawn, once again for effect.

"Where's Dallas?"

"He'll be back soon."

"Oh, do you have my pills then? Harry said one of you had them."

Kip checked his watch. "Shit. Yeah." Pulling the container from his pocket, he handed her a tiny white pill and said, "Don't tell him I forgot."

"Your secret is safe with me," Rory said with a smile, popping the pill into her mouth and pretending to take a sip of tea. "I'm going to lie down and take a nap," she reached for the thick blanket at the end of the couch. "Is it okay if I take this?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Kip reached for his headphones. "I'll plug these in so it's not so loud."

"You don't have to."

"Harry said you need to rest, so I don't want to risk disturbing you."

"Thanks, Kip," she told him sweetly before heading back up the stairs.

Once alone in her room, Rory carefully put down the cup of burning liquid and tossed the blanket onto the ground. She brought her hand to her mouth and spat out the pill, placing it beside her mug. The last thing she needed was to take her medication and pass out while in the middle of maneuvering the bed.

Aligning the edge of the blanket to the bed, Rory kneeled beside one bedpost and attempted to lift with just using her good hand. Immediately met with no success, she took a deep breath and used both. However, she quickly learned that was a terrible idea. Her elbow felt like it was splitting in two, and a scream of pain almost escaped her lips.

Now that would have definitely alerted Kip.

Rory fought back the tears as she crawled over to the duffel bag and pulled out a leather belt. Returning to her spot, she put the material in her mouth and bit down before resuming her task. If there was one thing Rory loved about reading, it was learning about the random facts she now had permanently stored in her brain. Like how biting down on something can help deflect pain due to the sensors in one's body providing an alternative stimulus.

With sweat pooling at the back of her neck and pain shooting through her arm, Rory took the leather out of her mouth and laid back on the floor, releasing heavy breaths. If only she could unleash a scream of agony right now. It felt like cutting off her arm would be less painful than whatever the wound inflicted on her, and the urge to do such a thing was becoming more desirable.

But instead of taking such drastic (reasonable) measures, she crawled towards the bed and began pushing it off the wall.

Although it made her want to lose a limb, the blanket spread below the bed and placed under each post allowed the heavy piece of furniture to slide without causing a scratch on the floor - or altering her watchdog downstairs. With her entire body aching and tired from the setup, Rory only managed to push the bed a few inches. But that's all she needed to see what was behind.

Carved into the back of the headboard was more than anything she had seen on the walls.

Every inch of the wood was covered, and her brow furrowed at the confusing sight.

In perfect rows, the word RTC was carved on one half, while COMPLY was on the other.

"RTC... Comply..." she whispered, running a finger over every letter and curve.

Rory didn't know what to think about the sight she saw - let alone what it meant - but she knew she couldn't stare at it for long. The words were carved into her mind, just as they were into the headboard. Knowing how she worked, Rory would become so consumed by analyzing every carve and strike of the knife into the wood that she would be here for hours.

Pushing the bed back against the wall, she reached for her leather belt and placed it in her mouth.

As she went to move the first bedpost, a figure - a furious one at that - appeared in the doorway.

Getting caught wasn't part of her plan. And getting caught in this position definitely wasn't one of her proudest moments.

On her hands and knees, Rory spat the leather out of her mouth and sheepishly asked, "So... how's the weather today?" 

look like lil roro found something she shouldn't have!