And I knew how much he struggled with his family. He was always drained whenever he spent time with them, and he became clingy with Cat and me afterward.
A faint voice called my name, but I was so absorbed in thoughts of Dom that it wasn’t until she was five feet from me that I realised it was Molly.
Mismatched clothes and a cardigan hung from her shoulders. Her brown hair was haywire as usual, and a huge smile split her face.
“Harry!” she cried out again. Her cheeks pink and her eyes sparkling as her excited laugh echoed in my ears like a siren. As soon as she was close enough, she dropped her suitcase and threw her arms around me. The straps of her rucksack dug into my shoulders, but it faded away as I inhaled her familiar scent and let out a breath.
Wrapping my arms around her, I notched them through the straps to hug her properly, sinking into her and her familiarity.
“It’s so good to see you again,” she murmured in my ear. I numbly nodded, guilt blooming inside me at those simple words.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t meet her eyes after everything that had happened with Dom. I could barely stand up. I didn’t know how I was meant to pretend everything was okay when it obviously wasn’t. But I didn’t have the energy to try.
“I’m so happy! I thought I was going to burst when I got off the plane! I’ve missed you so much!”
Molly pulled back, her gaze softening as she lifted her hands. She cupped my cheeks, leaning forwards to scatter kisses across my face.
I wish I could have felt something, positive or negative. I wished there was some spark to show me what was happening to me, but everything was numb.
My head sagged as I let her hold the weight of me. She nuzzled my nose, and forced my head up to meet my eyes. But it was so different from the way Dom did it after he told me he loved me.
“I’m so sorry, Harry,” she said, releasing my face to pull me into another hug. “I’m sorry I was so inconsiderate. I shouldn’t have left you like that; it was cruel. I wasn’t even thinking about you. Just me, and what I wanted, and how I felt. And that’s all I was doing… just thinking about me.”
Reeling back from her, I scanned her face. She was really hitting me with her speeches as soon as we saw each other again.
I couldn’t deal with it. My body was telling me I needed to sleep while my mind caught up to what she was saying. She was right, but she was saying it to a stranger.
What was I supposed to do when it felt like an icicle was stabbed through my heart?
“I’ve missed you, you know?” she said, meeting my gaze straight on, but failing to see what lay there. “I was awake every night thinking how much I wanted to talk and apologise. But you made it so clear you didn’t want to speak to me. So I respected your feelings.”
No, Dom made it clear. Dom told her not to get in contact. Fucking Dom made sure he had me all to himself, so he could completely fuck with me and ruin everything.
And she could have at least tried to contact me…
Then I would have stopped Dom before we went too far. But she didn’t, not even once.
Or not even that. Even if Dom was removed from the equation, from her point of view, she hadn’t eventextedme about the vote. She’d had five weeks, and nothing.
Molly sighed, her smile still easy and free. I knew I looked awful, but I couldn’t tell if she noticed. Or cared.
She kept going. “I’ve just been thinking about how good we are together, and how important this relationship is to me. I’ve really taken time to consider what it means to be part of your life, and to share everything with you.”
I wanted to sit down, to just drop all my weight and have something else carry me instead of having to hold myself up all the time.
“Let’s go,” I said as I released her, picking up her suitcase and taking her hand to lead her through the crowds.
“Harry?” She kept up beside me as she walked, matching my stride as I aimed for the main exit. The enormous glass doors that lit the departures lounge parted as people filed in and out. “What’s wrong?” she said, finally paying proper attention to me.
Her confusion was genuine, and I didn’t blame her.
“I’m just tired.” I sighed. It was a poor excuse, but better than nothing.
“Of course, yeah, let’s go home and we can relax. I guess you’ve got to be up for work tomorrow as well?”
“No. I took the day off.”
“You did?” Her face brightened. I hadn’t skipped a day of work for her since I started at The Foundation, so she knew what it meant.