Work had been busy today, but in the most peaceful manner. Customers had come in, employees had done the work, and they'd left without much disruption at all. Harvey was so on schedule that he was even certain he'd get to leave a little earlier than usual too. That meant he could get down to the promenade and meet his friends for a few drinks much earlier than he’d originally planned.
It didn't seem like anything could really ruin what seemed like the perfect day, but that was until Grace arrived...
She had slammed her car door with so much anger and came storming onto the garage forecourt with her eyes fixated on him. This felt a little like deja vu yet this time, Harvey had no idea what it was about.
"I need to talk to you." Grace bit as she grabbed Harvey's arm and began pulling him out of sight.
Harvey followed her lead because he wasn't really given much choice, but he was incredibly confused what had fueled this anger in her.
"I would ask if you're alright but I'm getting the hint that you're not."
"Fucking clever, you are, aren't you?!"
"Well..." Harvey began with a grin on his face but when Grace didn't even express a smile, he stopped himself. "...what have I done?"
"What have you done?" Grace repeated his question, speaking as though he was completely stupid for not knowing. "Hm, let me think..."
"Go on then because I'm so fucking confused right now."
Although Harvey was genuinely clueless about where Grace was going to take this, he could sense that his attempt at lightening the situation wasn't helping anything.
He'd seen Grace angry before. Her fiery personality had a way of coming out at even the smallest incidents however, he'd never seen her this fuming with him before.
"You're screwing me over, Harvey! You've been making me look like a complete idiot but are now standing here making some kind of joke out of it! I really didn't think you were this disrespectful!" Grace exasperated, throwing her hands out to her sides in her frustration.
"I'm not trying to be disrespectful, Grace. I just genuinely have no clue what you're talking about." Harvey stressed, getting just as frustrated by this whole situation. "Can you at least fill me in a bit here."
"Lottie. If I mention your ex's name, will that trigger your memory a bit?"
"No, what about her?"
"Oh for fuck sake. Stop trying to play innocent." Grace sighed, unbelieving that he saw this as okay.
She was fed up with the drama yet she couldn't seem to get away from it. Everyone knew her business well before she did and there was absolutely no fairness in that.
"I'm not playing innocent! I just don't know what you're talking about. I'm not a mind reader!" Harvey was trying to compose his tone, but was already exhausted by this whole conversation and it had barely even got anywhere yet.
"You and her, hanging out. You've been seen and caught, and I've also been told that you two are trying again. However, for some reason I had to find that out from everyone else, rather from your own stupid mouth!"
"Wait, hold up... who the hell told you that?"
"Francesca, who was told by JJ, and she also saw stuff for herself too. There's not a whole lot you can keep a secret around here Harvey. I thought you would have learned that by now."
Running his hands over his face in aggravation, Harvey didn't even know how to respond to begin with. He was angry but he was also exhausted. He hated listening to gossip and he hated being in the middle of it too yet lately that seemed to be happening a lot.
"Lottie and I are over, Grace, completely over."
"It doesn't seem that way."
"Why? I really don't get it."
Grace didn't want to come across like she was acting crazy however, she also believed her reaction was completely valid. She didn't want to be messed around and if Harvey had decided to give it ago with his ex, she at least expected some sort of heads up.
"You hanging out with her is a good hint that something is going on. Why can't you just be upfront with me instead of trying to string me along?"
"Nothing is going on." Harvey began, before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I've seen her around more than usual, yeah, she just happened to bump into Ellie and I when we were out once too, but that doesn't mean we're getting back together. We're over, completely over. I'm dating you. I wouldn't screw you over like that Grace. That's not me."
Even though Harvey was trying desperately hard to get his point across, Grace was still reluctant to believe it. Rumors didn't start for no reason, something had to fuel them. She just felt like Harvey's was covering up his confusion of what he wanted by not being completely honest.
"The rumors must have come from somewhere, Harvey."
"Yeah, they did, from people who have nothing better to do with their lives. I'm pissed that JJ thinks he can just spread shit."
"I don't know Harvey. This is so exhausting." Grace sighed, now not knowing what to believe.
She knew that things spread quickly around here. Everyone was friends with someone who knew someone else, that it was impossible to keep a secret. However, she also knew that people liked drama and would create stories from anything if it caused some hysterics to gossip about.
"It is exhausting..." Harvey reached out to take Grace's chin in his hand and angling her face to look at him. "... I swear, since we started seeing each other it's been so up and down. But, you need to trust me and block out all the shit that everyone tells you. I don't think we'll ever avoid some kind of drama regarding my past because it was a long 9 years but it doesn't mean we have to let it fuck things up for us."
Grace wanted to stay angry at Harvey and believe all the rumors she kept hearing. However, at the same time she knew that deep down she believed him, it was just difficult when others were constantly trying to sway your opinion.
Grace knew that if she really wanted to be with Harvey, she'd have to learn to ignore them. She was so used to being the center of attention and lapping it all up however, when in the situation of a relationship, that attention wasn't always good attention. She was learning this for the first time and it was hitting her hard.
"Okay..." Grace finally muttered, watching as some hope filled Harvey's eyes. "I believe you. But Harvey, I swear, if I find out you're lying to me I will fucking kill you."
"Yeah, I know..." Harvey grinned, instantly trying to lighten the mood however, Grace wasn't quite ready for that yet.
"No, I'm serious. I have a daughter to consider in all of this. I'm not getting screwed over. I don't have time for that."
"I got it, don't worry. I don't intend on screwing you over. Just stop listening to the rumors, alright?"
Nodding her head, Grace just wanted this all to be over. She was exhausted. She had a 3 month year old baby keeping her up at night, she was living in a house that was currently full of tension due to her stepdad's job, and she had the drama from her situation with Harvey.
She didn't know how much more she could handle.
"Come here." Harvey urged. His voice was so soft yet concerned.
Holding his arm out towards her, Grace finally caved in and let her body be enveloped into his arms. She hadn't realised how much she needed this until now.
Although her and Harvey came with a lot of drama, he also provided her with so much calmness too. That was something she was definitely appreciating right now.
"I honestly think you're incredible, Grace." Harvey muttered as his chin rested on her head. "It's insane because I never saw this happening between us but now that it is, I couldn't be happier... and I genuinely mean that. I’m serious about this, about us.”
Grace pulled out of Harvey's arms just enough so that she could look up at him. She could see the seriousness in his eyes and that was all the confirmation she needed to believe every single word.
"Although you annoy the shit out of me, you make me so happy too, Harvey Lawrence." Grace replied while leaning up to scruff his hair, just as Taj was walking past and had to make a comment.
"You two are so fucked up." He began causing both Harvey and Grace to look over at him. "One minute you're yelling like you can't stand each other and the next you're soppy as shit. I can't keep up."
"Neither can I, man." Harvey chuckled because he knew that his friend was right.
He'd hit the nail on the head and described them perfectly. They were fucked up but they always would be. They were both loud and sometimes a little uncontrollable but they were also passionate beyond belief. When put together, it was only ever going to be messy. However, for them, it was perfect, in the strangest way.
“Are you busy right now?” Harvey asked, turning his attention back to Grace who instantly began shaking her head.
“No, but aren’t you working?”
“I’m done for the day. So do you wanna come have a few drinks down on the promenade? I’m meeting the guys.”
“I mean, I don’t want to intrude on a lads thing...” Grace began, doing her best to act as though she meant it, even though it sounded like a perfect idea.
“Now we’re dating you’re part of the deal. You instantly get an invite, lads thing or not.” Harvey replied before he began backing up towards the reception area. “I just gotta get my stuff then we can go.”
Watching as Harvey rushed off, Grace couldn’t hold back her smile. This boy was making her feel on top of the world, and although it was so different to the life she was used to, she wasn’t complaining at all.
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