George's POV
As the words fell out of my mouth, I instantly regretted them, now that I turned to her and saw the expression on her face. Although I was still furious over the fact that I caught her with Pucey, and then seeing her do what she had done in front of Fred, her look of shock followed by the saddened one, sent the largest wave of guilt through me.
Before I could reach out an arm for her, she had quickly turned away, and began heading for the bedroom door, while quietly muttering about going to take a shower. As she had now quickly left the room before I could take back what I had just said, my fist met the wall as I let out a deep sigh of frustration. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings, but I just couldn't get past the things she had done up until this point.
Why would she go back to Pucey only to act out of jealousy like she had just done?
Her actions only confused me further, but I knew I had gone too far with my words so I made my way out of the bedroom and down the hall, the sound of the water running from the shower now apparent as I approached the bathroom. Before I could go to open the door, I heard a small cry escape from inside, my heart aching as it only became louder.
With my forehead now rested against the door and my hand gripping the doorknob, I thought back to this past week and how terribly I treated her. Despite her encounter with Pucey, it was my fault for not letting her know how I felt about her. If anything, I was now more upset over the fact that she thought he even came close to deserving her.
"Cali...I'm sorry," I let out, while gently knocking at the door.
Her cries only continued as I stood there, waiting for her to say or do something—but nothing.
"Cali, I'm sorry...I didn't mean any of that…" My voice now began to tremble as I attempted to contain the overwhelming emotions I was feeling right now. "Please, can I come in?"
As her cries were only made worse with every second, I couldn't bear hearing her like this, so I slowly began to open the door, making her aware I was coming in. Keeping my gaze on the floor, I didn't need to shift it much, as she was sitting on the cold ground; her small body curled up so that she was hugging her legs into her chest, her face nuzzled into her knees as she continued to shed tears.
I looked up to see the water from the shower head running, quickly shutting it and looking down at her with a sad expression on my face.
Now looking up at me with her red face and puffy eyes, she wiped it with the back of her hand, tears still uncontrollably streaming down her face. It pained me to see her like this, and knowing I was the cause of it made it all the worse.
Shutting the door behind me, I kneeled down to her level to reach for her hand, but she quickly jerked it away, all while avoiding my gaze.
"Cali, I—I shouldn't have said that. I was just upset...and I know that doesn't excuse it, but please, say something...I hate seeing you like this," I said reaching for her face with one of my hands, my thumb wiping away one of her many stray tears.
"If you didn't mean it, why say it George?" she asked through sniffles, still not looking at me. As my hand still remained cupping the side of her face, I removed it to sit down facing her, my arms now resting on my bent knees as I looked down at the floor in guilt.
"Because I thought it would upset you…" I spoke, as it was now me who couldn't look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, I know it's petty…"
"I...wasn't lying..." she began to say while attempting to wipe away her tears. "When I said...that you were my firs—". Her head fell once more to her knees, clutching onto her sides and letting out an uncontrollable sob.
"No, no, no...please Cali," I said, reaching to grasp her face in both my hands, as we both now looked each other in the eyes. "I wanted to take back every bit of it immediately...It's never been meaningless...not with you Cali—I just...I'm so confused with what you want."
"How can you say you're the confused one George," she said between tears, gently pushing my hands away from her face. "After saying what you did last week and then ignoring me for the rest of it...I—"
"—I saw you with him Cali…" I began to speak. "...with Pucey," I managed to let out. As if I hadn't managed to make her cry enough, she now looked at me with tears streaming down her delicate face.
"Y—you saw that?" She stumbled, now looking at me with pleading eyes. "George...you don't understand...he threatened me," she said choking on her tears, her breathing rapidly increasing.
"Hey," I calmly said, now sliding her towards me so that she sat between my legs facing me, a worried expression showing on my face. "Cali, what do you mean he threatened you?" I asked as I attempted to calm her down by rubbing circles on her back, her breathing now slowing down to that of a normal rhythm. She looked into my eyes now, but didn't speak, as if she was ashamed.
"Whatever it is...I'm here now," I said, placing my other hand through her hair, brushing my fingers through it gently. She let out a deep sigh as she seemed to calm down a bit.
"George...he threatened to have your father sacked," she spoke while playing with the hem of her shirt, as I continued to glide my fingers through her hair; however, I suddenly stopped as her words caught me off guard. "His father's Head of Supervising at the Ministry...he said after what you did to him at The Three Broomsticks he...he wouldn't hesitate to do it."
As she began to stumble on her words again, a sudden unhinged feeling creeped through my body, now realizing what this truly was all about.
"I…I didn't have a choice George...he talked about...continuing where we left off over the Holiday. T-that's why I came here, despite how you were acting." With tears continuing to stream down her face, I felt an immense amount of guilt rush through me as her cries pained me. "I didn't know how far he would take it George...I was scared."
"And I only made it worse...I'm so sorry," I said, holding her face in mine as I wiped away her tears with my thumbs. "I'm sorry you had to go through with that because of me...it never would have happened if I just kept to myself—fuck...this is my fault." Letting go of her face, she quickly reached back for my hand and placed it in hers.
"No, it's not," she said shaking her head. "I know I was mad about what you did to...to Adrian...but no one's ever defended me like that before. You...you make me feel safe George," she spoke shyly, now playing with the ring on my finger.
"I haven't done quite a good job at that recently, have I…" I said looking at her guilitly, but she only gave a sweet smile in return—her eyes still red and puffy.
"You can't always be the one to save the day George," she spoke gently, as she ran the back of her hand down my cheek. "I have to learn how to do that on my own too."
As we momentarily sat there in silence, she continued to trace the patterns of the veins on my hand with her fingers. I sat there looking at her, transfixed by her delicate features, her eyelashes fluttering as she followed her movements along my hand.
"Cali," I suddenly spoke, her focus shifting to look up at me now. "I'm done with hiding my feelings for you...I don't want to do that anymore," I said, tucking her hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek with my thumb. She looked at me with watery eyes as I continued to speak.
"You're just...amazing...and I...I never seem to manage to get you out of my mind all day. Quite honestly, you're the only thing on my mind—" Before I could continue to ramble, she slightly rose from her knees, now resting her hands on my chest as she placed a deep kiss on my lips.
"You're the amazing one George," she said after pulling away from the kiss, tugging at my bottom lip as she did. "You somehow manage to make me feel special...and I know I'm not, but...you just do."
As she still sat perched on her knees in between my legs, my hand reached for the small of her back, inching her closer to me so that our faces were inches apart.
"But you are," I said before going in and placing a soft, yet passionate kiss on her lips. "You don't give yourself enough credit, you know...I don't know how someone could ever treat you the way he's done."
Although she tried to smile through it, I could tell that the mere mention of him really upset her.
"I'm sorry...I don't mean to constantly bring him up but...but everything he's done to you...it makes me so upset," I said, placing my hands at her waist, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I hate that he has that effect on you Cali...but I promise that he won't get to lay a finger on you anymore...now that you have me," I spoke gently, giving her a reassuring smile.
As she began to sit back down on her bum, she now leaned her head down to rest on my chest, both of my arms beginning to wrap around her small frame as she lay in between my legs.
"As for my father's job, you don't have to worry about that. He's worked in the Ministry far too long to get sacked that easily, I promise," I said rubbing her back as she now wrapped her arms around my waist while still laying on me.
"What if he tries getting you expelled George?" She said looking up at me with wide eyes, as she maintained her grip around my waist. "Then what? What...what am I supposed to do George if you have to leave...I don't...I don't want to—"
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere...I promise," I said as both our grips on each other tightened. "Besides...a concussion and a broken nose don't amount to the things he's done. He won't get very far if he tries reporting me," I said reassuring her, garnering a small nod from her as her head remained on my rising chest.
As we lay there for several minutes, just listening to the sound of each other's breathing while holding a deep embrace, I soon began to feel her slightly shiver—seeing as her legs were bare.
"Hey it's getting cold…" I said rubbing her legs to warm them up. "Do you want me to run you a hot shower?" I asked, looking down at her and receiving a small nod.
"Join me?" she asked shyly, peering up at me with her big, brown eyes.
"Of course," I said while grabbing her by the chin and giving her a small peck on the lips.
As she pushed herself off me, quickly standing up, she stumbled forwards, nearly falling before I steadied her by her ankles.
"Woah, Cali...are you alright?" I asked, looking up at her as she now appeared to be rubbing her temple. I let go of her to stand up, now reaching down for her face with a worried expression.
"Just stood up too fast I think...got a bit of a head rush," she said rather drowsily, now holding onto my forearms for stability.
"I think you're a bit dehydrated darling," I spoke, keeping her steady by holding onto her arms as well. I slowly let go of one of them and reached for the cup sitting by the sink, and turned on the faucet to fill it up.
"Here," I said, placing the cup in her hand. "Drink this." She quickly complied by taking the cup in her hand and drinking it all in one go. I took the cup from her and placed it back onto the counter, now turning to her once more. Looking at the exhaustive state she was in, I couldn't help but feel at fault.
"I know you said you were okay with it...but um...the things I said while we were...and how rough I was going...was it all too much?" I asked, looking down at her nervously. "Because you know I didn't actually mean any of those things, they were just—"
"I know George," she now spoke up as she gripped onto my forearm. "I was much more than okay with it...I promise," she said, now giving me a small, but tired smile.
"Okay, I just wanted to make sure," I said, placing a gentle hand along her face.
I now turned to face the shower, turning it on while adjusting the temperature so it was just right. I soon began to undress as I faced back towards her, her gaze lingering on my bare chest, but soon changing to elsewhere as I removed my trousers and boxers.
"Enjoying the view, sweetheart?" I asked, grinning at her as she now quickly returned a shy grin. "Come here," I spoke, grabbing her by her arm and bringing her close to me. As I gently placed my hand under her oversized shirt, I slowly lifted it up and over her arms, now letting the fabric hit the floor.
I placed a gentle hand on her face, softly placing a kiss on her lips. Moving my hand down toward her hip, she gave me a look of approval as I slid my finger through the side of her panties where it hit her hips, gliding them off of her as she now stepped out of them.
Trying not to stare at her now bare body for too long, I began to step into the shower, the warm pellets of water hitting my body, my hair already soaked. I reached out my hand for her to come in, quickly following suit as she placed her small one in mine and stepped into the shower.
As her eye level was at my chest, she traced her finger along it, looking up at me now and wrapping her arms around my neck. I bent my neck down to reach her face, my hands sliding to her waist, gently squeezing her soft skin as our lips met. Holding onto each other as if neither of us would ever let go, I looked down at her as I spoke.
"C'mon...let's get washed up before we wind up staying like this for the rest of the night," I said chuckling, garnering a similar response from her.
For the next twenty minutes, she seemed to be much more relaxed compared to the state she was in not long ago, as I helped her wash up. As her back now faced me, I ran my finger through her silky, wet hair, making sure all the suds were rinsed out of it. Sweeping it to the side, I placed a small kiss on the back of her shoulder before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower.
As I grabbed a towel to place around my hips, I reached for another, now wrapping it around Calista's shoulders—who stood shivering slightly, now that the warm water was no longer running down her body. Shortly after helping her step out of the shower, I began to rub my hands against the sides of her arms to warm her up.
"Wait right here darling," I said, placing a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll get us a change of clothes," I said, before she gave me a small nod.
Walking down the hall, into my bedroom, I entered quietly as I now heard Fred snoring from the other side of the room. Quickly picking out a change of clothes for the two of us, I headed straight back for the washroom where Calista now attempted to prop herself onto the counter with her towel still wrapped around her shoulders, but failing miserably as she was much too short to manage.
"Here...let me help with that," I grinned, placing aside the clothes, before hoisting her up by her bum onto the counter. She let out a quiet, but audible whimper as I gently placed her down, instantly making me react as I looked at her with a worried expression. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked worriedly, before she gave me a quick nod and spoke up.
"Yeah, I'm fine...just a bit...sore," she said looking up at me shyly.
"Sore? You mean—oh...I see," I said, now looking down at her with a guilty expression on my face. "Shit Cali, I'm sorry...I didn't realize how rough I was being," I said, beginning to rub the tops of her thighs.
"George, stop apologizing...don't worry, it's really not that bad, I promise," she spoke, attempting to reassure me. I gave her a guilty nod before grabbing one of the shirts I brought with me.
"Here," I said now unravelling the towel from her body. "This should do it," I spoke, as I rolled up the shirt to its neckline and placed it over her head, now putting her arms through the sleeves—my shirt fitting on her like a dress.
"I love seeing you in my clothes...it drives me crazy," I said breathlessly, looking down at her before giving her a deep kiss on her lips.
I now unraveled my towel, placing both hers and mine in the hamper before putting on my boxers and flannel pajama pants.
"Tired?" I asked her, as I threw my T-shirt on over my head. Looking at her, I already knew my answer as her eyes began to shut every so often.
"Very," she spoke, giving me a small nod and a smile.
Before we headed off, I quickly gathered all our clothing off the bathroom floor, not forgetting her red panties from earlier.
"Don't want to forget these," I spoke to her with a grin on my face as I collected them with the rest of the clothes. "Don't think my mum will appreciate seeing these." Despite her exhaustion, she managed to let out a laugh.
As I held the clothes in one hand, I stood between her legs where she sat at the counter, scooting her closer to my torso. Guiding her to wrap her thighs around my waist, I grabbed her up off the counter, her hands now around my neck as I held her beneath her bum and began to carry her out the bathroom. Walking down the hallway, we approached my bedroom door before she abruptly spoke up.
"Isn't Fred in there?" She asked, as continued to hold her up with ease.
"Don't worry, he's fast asleep," I said reassuringly, garnering a nod from her.
Entering the room in almost complete darkness, I threw the clothing onto the floor, and managed to make my way to the bed without stumbling on something. As I approached my bed, I popped my knee up against the mattress, now releasing my hold on her bum, as she let go from my neck.
"Alright?" I asked as she began to scoot back onto my bed, giving me a nod.
As I lifted up the comforter for her to go under, I got in with her, now pulling it up over the both of us. While I adjusted my head to my pillow, she moved close into me, our bodies now pressed close together as she lay her head on my chest comfortably—my arms now wrapped around her.
Within seconds, I began to hear her quiet wheezes escaping her nose, as she had already fallen asleep. I peered down at her, smiling softly as I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead while I embraced her even tighter.
Before drifting off to sleep, I couldn't help but feel the happiest I'd ever been—the two of us now finally having admitted to each other what we had both been holding onto for the longest time.