The Perfect Machine: Kingdom Of Glass (GxG

15. Go away!

A day later and I can still picture Harlow push the arrow into that man's skull. I see it every time I close my eyes, and it's not pleasant at all. I know what she is, and I know she has killed before, but what I saw was unnecessary. She could just have knocked him out; there was no need to do what she did.

My feelings for Harlow are in conflict at the moment. What she did was wrong and disgusting, but the way she held me after I broke down in tears just felt so right and comforting. She makes me feel safe, but at the same time, not.

Harlow stops in her tracks. We have been walking for hours, and I have kept my distance. I don't want to talk to her or be close to her. I need time to gather my thoughts.

"What is it?" I ask as I come closer.

"I think we need a break," She says and her black eyes search my face as if my answer was there, but I nod in agreement.

She grabs my hand, but I take it out of her grip. Harlow watches me for a short moment but seems to understand as she keeps moving forward. I follow after as I have always done; eventually, we stop in front of a huge building, meaning only one thing. People with a lot of money in their pockets live here. I don't like them because most of them radiate arrogance and greed. They are the flowers that adore the sun and don't know that they will go dry in the long run when there is no one to lend them a river. Then there are the flowers that haven't blossomed entirely yet and they are quickly forgotten.

I gaze at Harlow, who stares into the glass door of the building.

"What are you doing?" I ask impatiently as I rest my hands on my hips.

"Waiting," She says and continues to glance through the entryway. Then she comes to me in a rush and pulls me after her to cover up around the corner.

"Come," She says, and I follow after her. Harlow runs towards the door before it closes again. A woman left the structure, which allows Harlow and me to sneak in.

"What are we doing?" I ask as we walk through the hallway and stop in front of a massive door. Harlow pushes a button, and a few minutes later, the door opens to a small elevator.

"Get in," Harlow says, and I frown at her command.

"Sorry," She tells me. However, I do as she asks, no matter how much her order annoyed me.

"We can't be here, Harlow," I state as I feel the lift move.

"It's alright," She says calmly. It's a part of her I envy. The serenity she has brings me a small comfort.

"No, it's not," I contend as I fold my arms over my chest to maintain a strategic distance from her no matter what. The door slides open again and I groan as I am aware that I need to pursue her. We step down the white passage and pass many entrances. I nearly walked into Harlow as she halts abruptly.

"This one," She turns to the door to the left, and I watch her hit the door open with her shoulder.

"Harlow!" I murmur brutally, irritated at why she would do something like this. I glance around to check whether anybody heard it, but no one appears.

"Harlow, we can't go in," I sigh as she did the opposite of what I just said. I step in the door as well and lock it quickly.

"We can't be here," I say but shut my mouth after seeing how amazing this apartment looks like. A big screen is placed on the grey wall, a sofa twice the size of the one I have at home at the center of the room. The kitchen in the right corner is so modern as if someone took it right out of a magazine.

This place is terrific, but I would never be able to have a home like this. Not that I want one anyway. I prefer my house, even though I wish we had the money to fix it up.

Harlow plunks down on the sofa and pulls off her shoes. She then reclines into the delicateness and exhales. I gaze toward the ceiling as I rest my body as well.

"Do you still not want to be here?" Harlow asks me, but I ignore her as I close my eyes. I might disagree with being here, but that doesn't mean it's nice for a change.

"I am going to take a shower," She sighs and finds her way to the door on the left. She closes it behind her and leaves me alone. I stretch out on the sofa as I kick off my shoes and socks. Then I close my eyes to get some rest. It feels like a lifetime since I was able to do so.

I raise my upper body in a rush as I struggle to breathe and hold onto my throat, but I realize it was all just a dream. My breathing starts to calm down as I look around the room, but there is no Harlow.

In my dream, she attacked me, holding onto my throat just like she did with that man. But her eyes were darker, and there was so much hatred on her face.

I believe I have been sleeping for almost an hour. It's quite a while for her to still be in the shower. Maybe something is wrong? Or perhaps she needs some time for herself? I keep gambling back and forward whether I should go to check or not.

A few more moments have passed and no sight of her. I am beginning to feel on edge. I discover my way over to the door and try to listen, but there is only the quietness. She didn't leave, did she?

I thump on the door carefully, but nothing. I choose to open it, and I jump as I observe Harlow remaining there. She watches me with blank eyes and moves her arm at the side of her to hide it. She still had the black mark on her hand. I would have thought it went away in the shower.

"Is there something wrong?" She asks, and my eyes widen as I realize that she is standing there just in her pants. I turn around quickly with warm cheeks.

"I'm sorry," I say, a bit louder than I expected.

"I'll leave," I close the door behind me and hit myself in the forehead out of embarrassment.

"I shouldn't have done that," I sigh to myself, but my cheeks keep flushing at the image of her. How toned her body is and the muscles show through her skin on her arms and shoulders.

"Stop," I whisper to myself as I hit my head in frustration, but I can't stop. Her body is perfect.

"Are you okay?" Harlow makes me jump in my place.

"You scared me," I say while holding my hand over my heart as I reach for air.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I smile as I still feel the heat in my face. She is dressed now in her creamy hoodie and pants. The flush in my cheeks raise as I realize she has a great sense of hearing. She must have listened to me as I spoke to myself.

"Did you get something on your hand?" I ask as I try to avoid what happened. I reach for her hand, which is hidden by the sleeve. She moves her hand away from me.

"No," She says harshly, but I can tell she is lying.

"I might have a trick that can make it go away," I managed this time to grab her hand, but she pushes me off.

"I'm okay, River,"

"No, don't you dare! I point my finger at her.

"You can't keep hiding things from me, Harlow!" I shout almost in her face, and it makes her frown.

"I don't care, you can be as mad as you want, but you have to start talking to me," I say, upset, but realize she is shaking, and I take a step back and her free hand turns into a fist.

"Stop shouting!" She yells at me, and her eyes narrow as she comes closer towards me. I swallow hard as I keep my distance by moving backwards until I hit the sofa with my legs.

"Harlow," She won't stop looking at me with that fearful look on her face. She holds the sides of her head while closing her eyes as if she has a horrible headache.

"Harlow?" I repeat her name, but this time in worry. She falls to her knees as if she is surrendering to her pain. I bend down and hold onto her face to search her eyes as if the answer were lying there.

"What is wrong?" I ask as I feel my heart pound.

"Go away!" She shouts at me, and I fall backwards onto my butt. I crawl away from Harlow until I reach the bedroom door. I open it and close it in a hurry behind me. I sit down on the floor and lean my back against the door.