Muse [h.s.]

6. whiskey neat, again

"Lydia, where are you?" I ask once my best friend picks up. I drum my fingers against the liquor shelves as I wait for Lydia to speak.

"The Uber is about to pull up to the club, we're right outside! I'm so sorry we're late, Jax took so long in the shower—"

"Hey! Don't lie!" I hear Jax shout in the background and a giggle comes from Lydia before she speaks again.

"What's up, is Kyle already there? I'll see you in a minute—"

This time I cut her off. "Did you tell him?" I ask quickly. I feel bad for cutting her off midsentence, but I have to know.

"Uh, what? Tell who what?" Lydia asks. "You know Jax knows about Kyle..."

I shake my head before remembering that she can't see me. "No, not Kyle or Jax. Harry. He's here, Lydia. He's sitting right now at my bar and he asked for me. How does he know I live in Miami? Why is here?"

His name feels foreign coming off my lips, like a language I've long forgotten.

Suddenly, I hear the loud pumping house music over the phone, a signal that Lydia and Jax are inside of the club. "Where are you, in the back? I'm coming, give me a sec."

Lydia hangs up and I sigh in frustration, pacing between the shelves of alcohol when the door suddenly swings open, the loud music crashing through my ears with it.

Lydia walks in and even though I'm frustrated, I can't help the immediate large grin that appears on my face, despite how flustered I feel.

I haven't seen my best friend in almost three months; it feels like my sanity is seeping back into me with the mere sight of her big, blue eyes and contagious smile.

Her hair grew, now falling almost to her waist in loose waves. She squeals, rushing over to envelope me in a big hug and I can't help the laugh that escapes my mouth as we hug one another.

"I fucking missed you," she breathes before pulling away. She holds me at arm's length, looking me up and down. "Okay...did you get hotter or something?"

I roll my eyes but I shrug playfully. "You know, I might have, you haven't seen me in a while!"

We laugh before my expression turns serious and I jut my chin out towards the door separating us from the rest of the nightclub. "Did you see him?"

Lydia's eyes immediately widen as she begins to speak quickly. "Oh my god, yes, he spotted Jax and I, he struck up a conversation with Jax when we came in, he's still at the bar. I swear, Ella, I had no idea he was going to be here! The last we heard from him was two weeks ago, he was in California!"

Lydia speaks fast, the words pouring out of her and I know she's telling the truth just by how frantic she seems. He was telling the truth, I guess — that he had heard about it from the media. I mean, the paparazzi were here when Brad came last weekend for the club's opening — it adds up.

It doesn't entirely make sense to me, though. That still doesn't explain why he's here. I'm not sure I'm buying him wanting to congratulate me.

It just frustrates me, despite my body reacting otherwise, my mind is clouded with frustration. The last that we ever spoke was when I called him the night before my move, and I hadn't heard from him since.

Granted, he hasn't heard from me either, but I just took it as both of us healing and moving on. Seeing him seated at my bar was definitely unexpected and it feels as though all those memories seem to flood back into my brain.

I feel guilty — I shouldn't have been rude. I'm just upset that out of nowhere, he once again pops up and appears as though we're old friends. We may have ended things on good terms, but there's a reason I haven't reached out. I needed to heal and move on. Still, I shouldn't have been as rude as I was earlier.