The Alliance [H.S]

7

Eden Crawford

I laid in bed last night for a while staring at my ceiling after the encounter I had with Harry in the hallway. I let my distressed mind run rampant thinking of all the horrible things that could come from this arranged marriage. There were no words to describe how I was feeling about all of this except for one. Despair.

'the complete loss or absence of hope'

I had no hope. Just faced with the fact that this is how my life is going to be from now on. I have no control and that scares me.

Getting out of bed this morning was a struggle. I just wanted to sink into the sheets and disappear at this point. I have no idea what the plan is for today so I just put on some comfortable clothes and light makeup. I check the time on my phone before putting it in my pocket and heading for the bedroom door. 7:30 am, great, I got a total of 5 hours of sleep. I only hoped that by being up this early I would get some time by myself.

I make my way down the stairs trying to keep quiet until I reach the kitchen which was empty, thank god. I knew Dave and James would be sleeping still, they always sleep in and I prayed Harry was the same. Trying to find things in this godamn kitchen was absolute hell, this place is huge, but I luckily found where they keep their coffee. I turn on the kettle from the gas stove and look at my phone while I wait for the water to boil.

I see a text from my best friend Blake and I realize she has no idea what was going on with all of this. Shit. That's going to be an interesting phone call, one that I don't want to deal with right now.

'hey Eden we haven't talked in a while, was wondering if you wanted to hang out?'

How do I even respond? Sorry can't right now I'm halfway around the world maybe another time?  That would just freak her out and bring on a whole load of questions that I don't even know if I'm allowed to answer. I contemplate on a response and just decide to text her that I can't today but I'll call her tonight. I leave it at that as the kettle starts to whistle so I turn off the stove and pour the water into my coffee cup. The smell of coffee always comforted me and it was just what I needed in a time like this.

I make my way to the back porch with my coffee in hand making sure not to spill it as I open the sliding glass door. The faint pink color of the sky paints the horizon line, creating a beautiful sunrise that brings a small smile to my face. I lean on the wooden railing placing my mug down in front of me, holding it between both my hands as I stare out at the view in front of me. Taking a deep breath through my nose, closing my eyes, just enjoying the simplicity of a sunrise.

Harry Styles

I get up at my usual time, heading downstairs hoping to get in an early morning workout before anyone wakes up. Maybe do some boxing, god knows I definitely need to get some anger out.

I make my way towards the kitchen, grabbing some water as I scan the area making sure no one else is up. But just my luck, she is standing on the balcony facing away from me. I contemplate if I should go fuck with her a bit, she gets so nervous when I talk to her, as it should be, I'm glad she's intimidated. The way her eyebrows raise, shoulders tense, hands shake, and breath hitches really do bring a smile to my face.

I analyze her as she stands leaning against the railing, hands cupping the coffee mug in front of her, gazing out at the sunrise with a peaceful look in her eyes. Oh no this just won't do, I think to myself with an evil smirk spreading across my lips. As soon as I'm about to head for the door so I could disrupt her relaxing morning, my father makes his way into the kitchen catching my attention.

"Harry," he says motioning for me to come to sit on the stool behind the island countertop. I walk over taking a seat slightly annoyed, hoping this won't take long.