Fireproof (Book 4 in the No Control Series)

Sara feels her heart do a flip as she opens the door. “Harry, thank you so much for coming over.”
Harry offers a polite, “Of course, Sara.”
She gestures for him to take a seat on the sofa. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Just water, please.” Harry replies.

In the kitchen, Sara takes a deep breath. It’s not lost on her that Harry seems distant.
After handing him the water with trembling hands, Sara sits in a chair across from the sofa. “Harry, I know you received the letter, but I would like to apologize in person too. I am truly sorry for hurting you.”
Looking in her eyes, Harry can see that she is being genuine. “I believe that you are sorry and I forgive you, Sara.”
She smiles. “That means so much to me, Harry. I just want to make this up to you, prove to you how much you mean to me.”
Harry looks down at his hands, folded in his lap, then up to meet her eyes. “Sara, I forgive you and I hope that we can be friends...however, I don’t think we should be anything more than that.”
Sara’s face falls.
Harry feels extremely bad. “I’m sorry, Sara. I don’t mean to hurt you.”
“So you don’t have any feelings for me?” She asks quietly.
“I care about you, but you have to work on yourself right now. And I’m still working on getting over Lizzie.”
The tears spill over as Sara buries her face in her hands.
“Damn it.” Harry says under his breath. Getting up, he stands beside Sara, rubbing her back. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you, Sara. I just wanted to be honest with you.”
Sara looks up at him with red rimmed eyes. “Is it because of everything I did?”
“No, I forgive you for all of that. Honestly, Sara, I care about you but I’m not in love with you.”
Sara stands, wiping away her tears, trying to be strong. “I can’t lie, I’m hurt that you don’t feel the same way about me that I feel about you. But you are a good person and I appreciate you being honest with me.”
Harry looks down. “I don’t feel much like a good person right now.”
Sara touches his arm. “You did the right thing, Harry. I’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You should probably go.”
At the door Harry pauses. “I want you to know that I believe in you, Sara. I know you can become the person you want to be.”
Sara smiles. “Thank you, Harry. That means a lot to me.”


Harry knocks on the familiar door. He didn’t even think about it, he just knew he needed to see her. He smiles as the door opens.
“Harry, is everything alright?”
“Yes, Alice, I just needed to talk.
Of course, H. Come on in.”

They sit on the sofa facing each other. “So how did Sara take it?” Alice asks.
“She was upset. I feel horrible for hurting her when she’s already going through so much.”
“Sara brought all of it on herself, H. If she’s hurting, it’s her own fault, not yours.”
“I know, but she’s really working on being a better person.” Harry replies.
“Then it’s better not to let her hope for something you aren’t feeling.” Alice says as she touches his knee.
Harry lays his hand gently on top of hers. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life, Alice.
We’ve been friends for so long, you know me better than anyone.”
Alice smiles, under her breath saying, “Yeah...friends.”
“What?” Harry asks.
“A movie...how about we watch a movie?” She replies.
“Sounds great.” Harry leans across, kissing her forehead. “Thanks again for always being here for me, Darling.”
Alice meets Harry’s eyes, thinking that this time she sees something different in them. Harry begins to say something but Alice cuts him off. “I’ll make some popcorn.”
Harry blows out a breath as he watches her walk to the kitchen.

Notes