Ever Since New York // H.S. - ON HOLD

CHAPTER 35 - SURPRISE, SURPRISE

This is the longest chapter I think I have written for this book...so enjoy! (it's unedited so forgive me)

. . . 

~Harry's POV~

"So you'll bring her over around 3?" Emma clarifies for what feels like the fifteenth time in the past 24 hours.

"Yes!" I laugh into my phone, shaking my head at how frantic she's been this week. "Emma, do me a favor and take some deep breaths. Everything is going to go as planned, I promise."

"I know, I know. She just hates surprises, so it makes me nervous she might freak out." Emma sighs, and I can tell she really just wants this to go well. As do I, but Ev hasn't suspected a thing, so there's no way she's going to catch on in the next few hours.

Besides, with what we have planned, Ev is definitely going to freak out—but in the best way possible.

"Everything's going to be fine. I'll see you in a bit." With that, I hang up the phone and exit my car. Stretching my back to relieve the built up tension from sitting for so long, I lock the car before heading up to Ev's door.

Using the key she had made for me, I let myself in. This week has been so much easier now that I have a key. Although, she only really gave me one because she was tired of me showing up unannounced and hounding her up to come answer the door.

As I receive a text from Ev saying she's here, I am already making my way to the door. Pulling it open swiftly, a smile beams on my face at her presence, but quickly drops in confusion as she waves a small object in front of my face.

Pushing her hand back so I can get a better look at what she is holding, I am surprised to see a simple gold key dangling between her maroon painted fingertips.

"A key?" I question as my face still contorts in suspicion.

"So you can stop waking me up at ungodly hours of the night." Taking my hand, she drops it into my palm before closing my fingers around it.

Laughing under my breath, I am truly stunned that she did this without me having to ask. I am proud of how far she's come with me.

Standing up on the very tips of her toes, she wraps her hand around the back of my neck to pull my head down to meet her lips in a chaste kiss. My arms instinctively wrap around her lower back, crossing over one another and holding her flush against me.

"Thank you, my love."

Walking through the door's threshold, I close it gently behind me before placing my wallet and keys on the small table in the foyer. Flicking on the lights in the living room, my brows raise at the disaster before me. It's like a tornado whisked through—most likely caused by a certain curly headed toddler friend—and terrorized the place. Ginny's toys are scattered about alongside a slew of blankets and pillows, as well as a pile of unfolded laundry wrinkling away on the sofa.

Sighing to myself, I make my way into the kitchen only to notice a week's worth of dishes piled in the sink even though the dishwasher lays wide open and completely empty. I make the decision to check the status of the bedrooms upstairs before I start any cleaning. Much to my surprise, Ginny's room is fairly clean with only a few stuffed animals and dirty clothes on the floor.

Putting the items in their rightful places, I make my way to Ev's room and brace myself for what I am about to witness. Her bed remains unmade, with the contents of her purse strewn across the top of the comforter. Clothes lay disarray on the floor, almost making a clear path to her closet. In her bathroom, the countertop that is almost always clean is covered in various medications, beauty, and hygiene products from both her and Ginny.