Chapter 17

Harry did end up getting called out for his almonds, but like a true gentleman, Edward took the blame. He was a good sport too, even throwing one of them in his mouth and trying to hide his grimace. Harry might be in love.

"So can you eat real food then? It just isn't good?" Harry had asked him later when they were walking to the parking lot together.

"Essentially," Edward agreed as he opened Harry's side door for him. "We're really not supposed to eat it, but it won't kill us if we do. It's not the most pleasant thing though, so we do try to avoid it."

Harry settled down into his seat and pulled his seatbelt on, knowing how much Edward was a stickler for that. "Where are we going now, partner?"

Edward smoothly slid into the drivers seat and gave Harry a glance out of the side of his eye.

"Right then," Harry said dryly, heaving out a sigh. "Do you mind stopping by my house for a few seconds first?"

"Depends," Edward said slowly with an eyebrow raised doubtfully. "If I let you go inside your house, will you actually come back out? Or will I have to lay siege to get you back in the car?"

Harry snickered at that. "I'll come back out," he promised. "I just need to get something before."

The "something" sounded suspiciously vague to Edward, but he didn't question it any further.

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully as Edward turned down the road that would take him to his house instead. He settled back into his seat and stared quietly out the window, watching the vegetation pass by quickly. He loved this part of the town.

Edward watched Harry out of the corner of his eye and smiled at the pure innocence and wonder in Harry's expression. He continued to glance every so often, only half paying attention to the road. Harry's eyes hardly left the tree line, and while he wasn't quite sure how the human could still be amazed by the view after seeing it every day, he never wanted that wonder to fade. The next time he glanced over, however, Harry's eyes seemed to have darkened and his hands fidgeted nervously at his side.

"Everything alright?" Edward asked concernedly, taking his eyes fully off the road to run a careful look over him.

"Yea," Harry breathed out, heart beating a little faster than it should have been. "Just tired of looking out the window. Watching the trees pass by so quickly made me a bit sick."

It was a blatant lie, but one Edward seemed to have accepted judging from the way he relaxed his position again. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and scolded his heart, trying to make it calm back down. 'You didn't see anything' he told himself sternly. There's absolutely now way he could've seen what he thought. Not only would it be odd for someone to be in the woods on a side road to a neighborhood, but it would be even more crazy for the person to be outside of London and in Forks, Washington. He knew it was just his mind playing tricks because he was nervous about today and telling Edward. Still though, the memory of his abusers face made him internally panic.

"We're almost to your house," Edward offered, "that should help." He was still concerned over the tortured expression on Harry's face, but he had no reason to doubt Harry's sincerity. Perhaps he was just worried about this upcoming conversation. Despite wishing Harry was more comfortably confiding in him, he could understand the reluctance in revealing something he didn't want anyone to know.

Harry looked over and gave Edward what he hoped was a comforting smile. "I think I'll be fine. It was probably just the caffeine and empty stomach. I'll grab something quick to eat while I'm inside."

"I'll come in with you," Edward said firmly, leaving no room for discussion. "I'll make you something soothing for your stomach like toast while you get what you need."

Harry laughed at that, releasing some of the tension in his shoulders, "Really? Do you even know how to make toast?"

"I may not eat, but I think I understand the basics," Edward said dryly. "Though if I get confused, I'll be sure to ask you for help."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the obvious sass but ignored it. Toast might actually be good, if the anxious burning and churning in his stomach was anything to go by. He just hoped he could actually manage to eat it; he didn't need Edward to be even more concerned, and he was pretty positive the vampire would see through his excuse of the flu.

Edward pulled all the way into Harry's driveway and put the car into park before turning it off. This time he let Harry open his own door, grinning to himself when he saw Harry's hand dart out quickly try to beat him anyways. He sent a teasing smirk to the human then laughed out loud when all it got him was a testy glare.

"Careful, or I won't let you inside," Harry warned but it seemed to be ineffective judging from the superior smirk and lack of remorse on Edward's face.

He strolled to the door and stood on his tiptoes in order to grab the extra key from the gap in the top of the door, falling back on his heels just as Edward stepped up behind him, close enough that Harry could feel the chill of his body when he straightened.

"When I told you to hide the key in a better place, that was not what I had in mind," Edward pointed out dryly.

Harry slid the key into the lock and turned it pointedly. "Pick a better place and I'll consider it."

"How about you just keep it on you?" Edward suggested as he shadowed Harry into the house, only half a step behind as Harry set his bag on the couch and made his way into the kitchen. "I'll remind you that there's a dangerous person roaming town and you've made it remarkably easy to enter your home."

"No one breaks into the sheriff's house," Harry insisted. He wandered around the kitchen, pulling bread out of one cupboard and the toaster out of another, trying to ignore how close Edward was following behind him.

When he moved to plug the toaster in, Edward's hand intercepted his and gently tugged the cord out of his hard. He turned to give a threatening look but Edward simply smiled and lead him gently out of the way. "I believe we had a deal that I would make the toast, and you would get what you needed?"

Harry stubbornly pursed his lips but allowed Edward to playfully push him away from the counter. "Alright, alright," he finally conceded and he strolled back to the living room where he took his thermos of coffee out of his backpack and set it down on the table so it wouldn't spill.

He sent one more look into the kitchen to make sure Edward was fine then he grabbed his bag and jogged up the stairs. His backpack went besides his bed then he walked over to his drawers and pulled off his shirt, throwing it in the laundry hamper in the corner of his room. He was rummaging through his drawer, looking for a pullover that would keep him warm, when he heard a cough behind him.

He whipped around quickly, heart rate jumping madly in shock. All the talk about murderers and house keys and breaking in had him so paranoid that he was impressed he didn't let out a noise too.

"You need a bell," He accused in a breathless voice that gave away how much fear he had felt in that brief moment.

Edward swallowed the venom pooling up in his mouth as he traced his eyes over Harry's bare chest, taking note of the heart beating rapidly against his chest, finding it utterly fascinating. "My apologies," he murmured, finally tearing his eyes away. He felt embarrassment at his reaction flow through him, sheepish at having stared for so long. He knew it had only been microseconds to Harry's human perception, but had any of his family witnessed it, he would have never heard the end of it.

Harry blushed brightly at the stare and turned back around to grab the first long sleeve he saw, tugging it over his head and soothing out the seams. His heart was still refusing to slow down, this time for an entirely different reason. He turned around, fully dressed this time, and noticed that Edward was still staring at him with noticeably darker eyes.

"Toast?" He squeaked.

The question broke Edward's concentration and he tore his eyes away, face relaxing into a small smile at the cute tone. "Toast," he agreed. "Did you get what you need?"

"Mostly," Harry nodded then added wryly, "though I think I might need either an Advil or a valium after that scare." Not to mention the upcoming conversation, but Harry kept that thought to himself.

"Advil we can do, valium might be a bit more difficult to get," Edward chuckled as he waited for Harry to pass by him before following him down the stairs.

"You might be correct," Harry chirped playfully. He made a beeline to the kitchen, skipping by the toast for a quick second so he could grab the container of Advil in one of the cabinets.

"Thank you," he acknowledged as Edward set an uncapped bottle of water down by his side. He grimaced, took a big breath, and threw his head back as he swallowed the pill and chased it with a large gulp of water. "I hate taking pills," he informed, face still twisted into an expression of disgust. "That's why I only took a few of those pain ones before stopping."

"Hmm," Edward couldn't help but be amused by the face Harry was making. He darted over and grabbed the plate of toast and offered it to the black-haired boy.

"Thanks," Harry said again and he grabbed a piece and took a large bite. He took the plate with one hand and set it back down on the counter, the other hand holding one of the pieces of toast and munching away. He only managed to finish one before walking over to the sink and washing his hands off. "You ready?"

"I am," Edward nodded. "Are you?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the honest response. He deliberated for a few moments, taking account of the reduced stomach stirring and relatively calm heartbeat, then eventually shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Sensing that Edward wasn't going to make the first move, Harry offered him the most genuine smile he could at that point in time. He stepped forward and wrapped his fingers around Edward's, feeling the vampire immediately respond in kind and pull their intertwined hands up so he could kiss them. Harry blushed at the romantic gesture, still not quite used to that much affection, and began to tug them towards the door.

After closing and locking it, he gave Edward a playful wink and slipped the spare key inside his pocket. As expected, the move made Edward's face relax and his lips tilt up in a smile. Harry was thankful for it. Edward being anxious made him more anxious, and he was nervous enough all by himself, especially when Edward pulled out and began the drive to his house, taking the route that took them by the same trees as before.

This time Harry made sure his eyes were firmly planted in front of him so he could only see the road. He didn't need to chance any more mind tricks, especially not when his stomach was already in his throat at the thought of this upcoming conversation. He still wasn't quite sure what he was going to say or how, he just hoped that Edward gave him a good opening and didn't just stare at him demandingly until he offered something up.

"You family isn't home?"

Edward glanced over and offered a reassuring smile. "They aren't."

Harry nodded and returned the smile, trying not to let his leg bounce or his fingers fidget, something that he only did when he was nervous or impatient. The silence in the car was suffocating…and probably not the best for his blood pressure… "So about the weather…"

Edward broke his concentration of the road and started laughing. He reached over with his right hand, left still on the wheel, and grabbed Harry's hand again. "I love you," he murmured warmly, and this time, Harry was 99% sure his heart was actually going to stop.

"Oh my god, Edward," Harry practically shouted. "Timing!"

Edward took his eyes off the road so he could stare down his mate, confident in his ability to stay on the road without looking. "I love you."

Harry tried swallowing past the lump in his throat, unsure of what to say and shocked that Edward had thought now was a good time to confess that. Of all the things he had expected to come out of Edward's mouth, that had not been it.

"No you don't," he tried to argue.

"I do. I love you," Edward said again, face remaining painfully patient as Harry tried to process this.

"I love you," Harry argued again, "I think you're mistaken."

Edward's eyes crinkled in the corner in a mix of confusion, amusement, and affection. "You love me," he echoed with a clear smile.

Harry made an odd whimpering noise and covered his face with the hand that wasn't currently trapped in Edward's firm grasp. He wasn't even afraid that Edward wasn't looking at the road, because at this point, a car crash truly wouldn't be the worst thing. "I love you," he agreed, confident at least in his feelings. He loved Edward and had for awhile, even before he'd been able to admit it to himself. "I still think you're mistaken though."

Edward made a frustrated noise and slowed his car down, giving them a few more minutes to talk about this before Harry managed to distract again with a new conversation topic. He had truly never met a human so capable of wiggling around and escaping conversations so deftly. "I am not mistaken. Would you like me to tell you all the things I love about you? I can easily express the ways in which you've captured my heart."

"Even if you love me now, you won't love me after today," Harry warned, though his tone had lost its frustration and all that remained now was vulnerability.

For the first time in he didn't know how many decades, Edward was speechless. "You are…absolutely infuriating," he finally said in the following silence.

Harry turned to face him with an affronted expression. "I am not - "

" - you are an infuriatingly frustrating, beautiful, wonderful creature," Edward cut him off. "But you're my infuriating creature. Nothing you could possibly say today will change that."

Harry wanted to believe Edward, but he just couldn't. He didn't want to hurt Edwards feelings any more than he already had to though, so he swallowed back his refute and offered the vampire a half smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Okay," he agreed, then a bit quieter. "I do love you."

Edward smile softly at that and Harry noticed that his body was remarkably less tense. They turned left onto the side road that took them to Edward's house and Edward noted the slight uptick of Harry's heart as they approached. A small part of him felt guilty for forcing the matter and making Harry feel this way, but a bigger part of him needed to know. Regardless, Harry's fear of his reaction was unfounded; nothing the smaller man could say would make him feel differently about him.

Harry was trying to reassure himself of the same thing, though he wasn't quite as confident. Despite his mental reassurances, he couldn't help but silently groan as Edward led him up to the front door of his home and gestured him inside.

"You look as if you're entering a death chamber," Edward chuckled when he caught sight of Harry's admittedly adorable grimace. "I can assure you that, despite being vampires, our house does not typically elicit the feeling of dread."

"I think I might prefer the death chamber," Harry sighed then looked up at Edward with his best attempt at a small, reassuring smile. Judging by the raised eyebrows, Harry didn't think it was successful.

"My room?" Edward simply asked instead of responding to Harry's pitiful attempts to smile at him.

At that, Harry waggled his eyebrows playfully. "You know, I could think of a few things we could do in there instead of talking."

Edward's lips twitched upwards at the playful response, "Tempting, though I'm afraid I shan't be swayed from my mission so easily."

Harry narrowed his eyes but his lips still showed a sly smirk, "Why don't we find out? I'm sure I could convince you."

"I'm sure you could," Edward admitted with a chuckle. He took a small step back from Harry's intoxicating space and inhaled deeply though his nose to try and regain some mental clarity. "I'm also sure that I have a few tricks up my sleeve too. In particular, one fascinating story of a stuffed animal that I saw in your fathers mind…"

Harry gaped at that, horrified that Edward knew of his care bear story and hadn't told him. "I can't believe you would use that against me! No one likes a dirty fighter, you know."

"I fight dirty?" Edward smirked. "I do believe that title belongs to you, little minx. Besides, I think that story is cute."

Harry flushed brightly at that. "It is not cute," he threatened, "and if I find out you told anyone…"

Edward raised his hands up defensively, "Your secrets are safe with me."

Harry caught the meaningful shift of tone and knew that they had come full circle again. So much for his distraction…

There was another half-second pause before Harry murmured a soft, "You promise?"

"I promise."

Harry bit his lip, "You don't even know what you're promising to keep secret," he cautioned.

Edward titled his head in consideration, watching the small human for a few seconds before turning to walk up the stairs, confident that his mate would follow him. He climbed slowly, allowing ample time for Harry to catch up to the same step so he could walk besides him. "We both have secrets to be kept," he finally said in the silence, "and yours is not mine to tell. I have faith that you'll keep mine, and all I'm asking is for you to give me the same opportunity to show you I can be trusted."

"I thought I proved my trust in you when I let you climb up that tree outside your window," Harry said wryly as Edward opened the door to his room and ushered them inside, shutting it solidly behind him. "I don't think I've ever been more afraid for my life, and that's saying something."

Still facing the door, Edward took a few anatomically unnecessary deep breaths to center himself before he reacted to that last statement. "That's what concerns me," he said as he finally turned around to find Harry standing near the couch, arms moving restlessly near his side as curious fingers nervously traced the seams on his couch. "I've been sensing a bit of a pattern in your words."

"Oh?" Harry swallowed past his suddenly dry throat and took a seat on the edge of the couch, watching out of the corner of his eye as Edward did the same.

"Hmm," Edward hummed in agreement, eyes not leaving Harry's despite the human's best attempts at avoiding his gaze.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean," Harry tried to counter, genuinely curious about the patterns that supposedly existed. He had figured that his nightmare sparked some concern, but he hadn't thought that Edward had noticed anything else.

"When you were on the phone with Neville, back in the hospital, you mentioned that you were used to worse injuries," Edward tried to make sure his tone wasn't accusing, noticing how defensive Harry became when asked about his past.

Harry hadn't figured that Edward would have remembered that. "Most people have had injuries worse than just a bruised head."

"You wont talk about your past in London, and the few times you have mentioned it have been in response to my worry. I believe last time you stated, 'I'm no strange to violence.'"

"Okay, you have a really good memory," Harry admitted with a sigh. "Can't you just accept that I don't want to talk about it?"

Edward silently shook his head. While some of his reasons for wanting to know were selfish, he was predominantly concerned. "You said someone hurt you."

"I said I dreamed of someone hurting me," Harry corrected quickly.

Edward fired back just as fast. "Are you afraid of me?"

At that, Harry spluttered and shook his head. "No!" He argued somewhat heatedly. "I've never been afraid of you, I've told you that before."

"You've also told me that nothing happened in London, and that was a lie too."

Harry flinched back at the accusation and looked down at his hands. Edward was right, the vampire really didn't have much reason to believe his words. That, if anything, made him want to admit everything to the man. He couldn't stand the idea of hurting Edward or making him think he was afraid of him. He felt a cold hand gently touch his cheek and he forced himself to not flinch away from the unexpected touch. Instead he let it softly guide him until he was looking into Edwards remorseful golden eyes.

"I'm sorry," Edward said regretfully, feeling phantom pain in his chest at the sight of the hurt of words had caused. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm not mad at you, I just want to understand," he continued softly.

Fuck, Harry thought. Just…fuck. He took a deep breath and pressed a hand to his chest in a futile attempt to force his heart to stop banging furiously against his ribcage. "No, I'm sorry. You're right," he admitted with a deep sigh. "It's just…I don't know what to say."

"Stop that," Edward scolded and Harry briefly thought it was in response to his words until he felt Edward's hand shift so he could carefully pull Harry's lip from his teeth. Harry hadn't even noticed himself engaging in the bad habit, but judging by the slight tang of iron in his mouth, he must have been doing it for awhile. "Why are you so reluctant? What reaction are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Harry confessed, feeling the familiar churn of anxiety start to build in his stomach. "And maybe a bit angry."

Edward could see and smell the faint trace of blood on Harry's lips, but the pain of the venom in his throat just emboldened him. "In your dream you were asking someone not to hurt you. If it wasn't me….was it someone in your family?"

Harry visibly recoiled from that, "No!" he immediately defended. "Of course not, my family would never hurt me."

Harry vehement defense of his family feel way into silence, but this time Edward felt no need to break it. He had more than enough patience to wait for Harry to continue by himself. It only took a few more seconds of waiting before Harry poked his head up from the spot on the floor that he had been studying. "His name was Oliver."

Edward let himself consider the implications for a few seconds. "Oliver was you boyfriend," he connected, and at Harry's trepidatious nod, "Did this Oliver hurt you?"

Unwittingly, Harry's mouth opened up and he flinched away to huddle deeper into the couch. Edward moved with him, sitting close enough that Harry could feel the chill radiating into his skin, especially when the vampire rested a comforting palm on his thigh.

"Sometimes…" Harry began quietly. "Sometimes he, uh," Harry nervously picked at his sleeves and looked away. It seemed so odd now, to voice it; he'd never said it out loud before. "He'd get violent." He finished the last part quietly, but it wasn't nearly silent enough. Harry could physically feel the stiffening of Edward's body and the tightening of his hand.

"He got violent?" Edward hissed out furiously. Harry swallowed and stayed silent and looking away until a smooth hand gently gripped his jaw. He turned with it and almost immediately flinched back when he was met with Edward's furious and horrified face.

Harry's throat hitched and he desperately tried to hold back his tears. He knew Edward would be horrified, who wouldn't be? He'd acted like a man's punching bag for weeks and weeks and never fought back. How weak could you get?

Edward was angry beyond what anyone could imagine, just not for the reason Harry thought. His mate had been abused. The word was so vile and dirty that it made him recoil inside. He never wanted that word associated with Harry, ever. He looked over at the fragile human, prepared to cover him up and never let go, when he was met with the sight of Harry's bright green eyes rapidly filling with tears.

"Harry?" he murmured softly as he slowly slipped closer to Harry's huddled form. "I won't hurt you…"

"I know you wont!" Harry snapped back quickly, angry at the familiar assertion that he was afraid of the vampire. "I've never thought that you would. This is why I didn't want to tell you, it doesn't matter!"

"Yes, it does. It does matter," Edward growled firmly. "It matters because you are my mate. It matters because someone hurt you, and it matters because now I know exactly who to kill," he threatened.

At Harry's noise of protest, Edward growled again. "I will not discuss this," He couldn't, not with the venom filling his mouth so quickly it was all he could do to tolerate the burn. He had never been so filled with rage before.

Harry watched Edward closely, startled by the raw anger in his voice and the pure power of it. "You're not mad at me?" It was a half question, half fear, and Edward immediately melted at the question and scooted forwards the rest of the was so that he could pull Harry in his arms. "No." he stressed gently. "I'm not angry with you, love, not one bit. I don't understand how anyone could be."

"I didn't stop him," Harry voiced form inside his embrace. "I didn't. I just let him do it, all the time. I should've-"

"You have nothing to feel guilty for," Edward murmured back. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was," Harry argued stubbornly even though he just wanted to take Edward's word for it. "I should have at least told someone when it was happening."

Edward tightened his arms around his mate and bent forward to nuzzle his neck. "How often?"

"How often what?" Harry asked, confused by the question. How often could he have stopped him?

"How often did he hit you?"

Harry flinched at the bluntness of the statement. Hit him… it sounded odd when it was put that way.

"Harry?"

"Edward," he sighed. "Why do you want to know? It's only going to make you angry, and it doesn't even matter. It's done and over and I have no intention of ever seeing his face again." Except for on the side of the road, but once again, Edward didn't really need to know about that break from reality.

"That I can promise you," Edward reassured. "I'd still like an answer to my question though. Are you afraid to tell me?"

"I'm not afraid, not anymore," Harry promised, truthful in his admission, "I just don't know what to say."

"As much as you can."

Harry sighed again and shifted so his knees were pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped tight around himself. "You have to understand that he didn't start off that way," he finally began and Edward didn't know if this was better or worse.

"I met him in school, and he had seemed so kind then; he was never rude or mean to me or anyone else. We'd been dating for a few month and...I thought I was falling in love with him," Harry admitted in a shamed tone. Edward resisted the temptation to pull him into his lap and cuddle him, knowing that such an action was more likely to make him close up than let him in.

"It was a few weeks after that that it happened for the first time. He hit me, just once, and he immediately apologized and told me that he was sorry and he didn't know what happened but that he wouldn't ever do it again. I was shocked, but everyone makes mistakes so I forgave him and we both kinda pretended like it hadn't happened." Repeating all this made Harry feel embarrassed that he had ignored so many warning signs. Only the knowledge that Edward wasn't angry or judging him gave him the courage to continue.

And while he might have been giving off the impression of calmness, Edward was trying his hardest to see past the red blurring his vision. He took another steadying breath through his nose and grounded himself in the rhythmic sound of Harry's still-too-fast heartbeat.

Harry looked at Edward curiously, noting the drawn out breath the vampire took and the darkened eyes. He waited another second just to assure himself that Edward was still okay, feeling somewhat relieved when the vampire offered him a glimpse of a smile in response to his lingering look.

"After that everything was normal for about another week, until it happened again. We were talking about school, and he kept trying to get me to ditch with him so we could go somewhere else but I didn't want to, so he hit me again. This time he didn't apologize and I didn't say anything and we just kinda...left it. Pretended it was normal," Harry shrugged, trying to play it off, and this time Edward couldn't help but reach out and hold tightly to one of Harry's hands. The look he received in response to such a simple gesture took his breath away and made him want to kill that man even more.

"Then it started getting worse. He would hit me more often and for more reasons. I knew I should've told someone, but I didn't want to be known as the stupid kid who let his boyfriend beat him up every day. Then, by the time I did want to tell somebody, it was too far. He told me if I ever did tell anybody, that he'd kill me and at this point I believed he would. Then he'd say that it was my fault, that if I was better he wouldn't hit me, and I started to believe that too."

"It wasn't your fault," Edward said firmly.

Harry gave a small smile and kissed the side of Edward's mouth, "I know that now."

Edward wasn't too convinced, but he had all the time in the world to persuade Harry later so he let it drop. "What happened that changed it? Why did you leave when you did?"

This time it took a few seconds before Harry answered and that keyed Edward into how bad this was really going to be. "I ended up in the hospital," he finally admitted in a reluctant tone, and before Edward could comment, Harry quickly continued the narrative. "I don't remember much, but I guess someone found us and took me to the hospital. I'm not sure what happened to him after that since I never saw him again. The police did come to talk to me for a bit but I was too afraid so I just told them it was a mugging and that was that."

"What treatments did you need in the hospital?" Edward asked curiously, both from a medical standpoint and so he knew how much damage to inflict when he tracked the offender down. Before he could give Harry a chance to respond though, he began to connect the dots in his head. "Every time you mentioned visiting the ER or other injuries…"

"Some days were worse than others," Harry shrugged and it took every ounce of Edward's willpower to not get up and hunt.

"What did you need done in the hospital?" he pressed again, voice raspy from the sharp burning of venom pooling in his throat. He would need to hunt after this, but he didn't know if he'd be able to bear leaving Harry alone just yet. There was also the slight concern that he shouldn't be left unchaperoned, less he wanted to take an unplanned trip to London in the middle of the night. He shook off the distracting thoughts and refocused on Harry, who for his part, was studiously ignoring his gaze.

It wasn't that Harry didn't want to tell Edward; now that he had gotten over the main hurdle he was thankful that he had pressed for information. It was reliving not having to hide something so big from what was he was 99% positive was the love of his life. This though, this was a whole different matter.

"Harry?"

Harry groaned and put his head down. "Give me a second."

"This isn't going to be one of those times where I give you a second and you somehow manage to come up with an extremely detailed distraction plan, is it?"

Harry couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter at the wry response. For all that Edward's dictator-like personality annoyed him, he could appreciate the fact that only he would be able to make him laugh at a time like this. "No distraction plans, I promise. I just need to get my thoughts in order."

Harry made no promises for full disclosure though. He wasn't quite sure how much to tell him. What if Edward didn't want him anymore, or thought he was disgusting? The vampire had assured him that whatever he said wouldn't change anything, but surely he hadn't had this in mind when making that promise.

"I don't know if I can remember everything," Harry hedged after half a minute.

"You can tell me," Edward coaxed gently, having a feeling that lack of clear memory wasn't really what was causing Harry's reluctance.

"It was just some things, Edward, not a lot," he deflected but Edward kept staring at him with his unyielding gaze. "Also, would it kill you to blink every once in awhile?" he grumbled. "You might not be able to read my mind, but it sure feels like it when you do that."

"Sorry," Edward quirked up a small grin and make a conscious effort to remember to blink every few seconds. "Hospital?"

"He'd broken a few bones and they gave me some stuff for all of my bruising."

Edward considered his mate in front of him, blinked again for good measure, then shook his head. "There's something more," he murmured.

Harry's face crumpled, "You're not gonna want me after you hear it," he whispered ashamedly.

Edward had been stricken speechless more times tonight that he had all the last year. "Look at me," he finally commanded, knowing that Harry wasn't going to turn and face him until he asked. Even still, it took Harry a few measured seconds to turn his head.

When he did finally meet his eyes, Edward surged forward and captured Harry's lips in a kiss, making sure to only loosely cradle his neck to ensure he didn't feel trapped. "Stop trying to scare me away because it's not going to work," he scolded with his lips still resting gently against Harry's. "I do believe you've said something similar to me in the past."

"I can be pretty scary," Harry pouted into the kiss. The kiss had it's intended purpose though, and when Edward pulled away, Harry felt some of the anxiety in his stomach dissipate. It was Edward's patient eyes though that finally gave Harry enough courage to blurt it out, "I don't remember much because I was unconscious. He…he had been too rough and I guess was bleeding too much to stay awake."

"Been too rough…" It took Edward a few seconds too long to realize what Harry was talking about. "How many times did he rape you?" Edward asked, deceptively calm. Only his pitch black eyes gave way to the depth of anger he felt. His mate had been raped, maybe numerous times, and he had been afraid to tell him because he believed it would make him leave.

"He didn't!" Harry protested, "he didn't do that."

"Did you tell him 'no' or try to fight?"

Harry hesitated a that, not quite sure how to take that question. "Yes, but it doesn't matter. I was his boyfriend, he said he didn't have to ask."

"That is not how it works," Edward said emphatically. "No one has the right to your body but you. It doesn't matter if you're married or strangers, if you say no then they have no right and anything else is rape."

"Sometimes I didn't say no," Harry challenged.

"Did you want it?"

Harry shook his head, but judging from the slight frown, he still wasn't convinced. Edward tried a new tactic.

"You and I are in bed. You want to have sex, and I don't but because you're my boyfriend it doesn't matter and we do it anyways."

Harry gaped at that and immediately recoiled, horrified at the thought. "No!"

Edward leaned closer to meet Harry's eyes, staring seriously into them. "If you do not want it, it is rape."

Harry swallowed at that, feeling uncomfortably exposed at the conversation. Edward also seemed to sense that he was close to tears, because he abruptly backed up and sat back on the couch. "I love you," he reassured.

Hearing those words make him look up in surprise, just in time to catch the fond smile Edward threw his way. The dark eyes softened into something more familiar and Edward learned forward to press another kiss to Harry's forehead "I love you, and If I have to say it every thirty seconds until you believe me, I'll do it gladly."

Harry found himself smiling at that, unable to doubt the affectionate words and touches. "I love you more," he teased, knowing it would elicit a reaction.

"You are incorrigible," Edward groaned, rubbing a hand over his face to conceal his smile. He knew there was still so much to say to convince Harry that his past wasn't his fault, but he couldn't bring himself to worry about it now. They would have time for it later, when the sound of Harry's playful laughter wasn't echoing in his ear.