Capture

Opening Old Wounds

Monday morning, I got into work early. The quiet helped, even if the buzzing in my head hadn't stopped since yesterday. I needed routine. I needed to feel normal again.

I was halfway through my first sip of coffee when Perrie popped her head into my office, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "Morning," she said, leaning casually on the doorframe. "Did you make it home alright Saturday night?"

"I did," I replied, setting the mug down. "Sorry I vanished like that. Liam and I... don't get along very well."

She stepped inside, slow and easy, then settled into the chair across from me. "Yeah, I picked up on that. You looked pretty rattled. I was going to come after you, but Zayn said maybe you just needed space."

"He was right," I said quietly, then added, "I didn't mean to ruin your night."

"You didn't," she said, waving me off. "Zayn and I still had a good time, but I was thinking about you after you left."

She stepped fully into the room and sank into the chair across from my desk. I spun slightly in my chair to face her, and as I did, her eyes widened just a little.

"Whoa—your cheek," she said, soft but surprised. "Is that... from Saturday?"

I instinctively reached up, brushing the spot. I'd done my best to cover it, but clearly not well enough. "Yeah. It's fine."

"What happened?"

I hesitated. Normally, I'd brush it off with something easy and vague. But Perrie had this way of asking that didn't feel invasive. She didn't press. She just waited.

"A whiskey bottle shattered," I finally said. "I caught some of the glass."

Her brows drew together. "You drink whiskey?"

I shook my head. "It was Liam's. I made sure he got home okay after the fight... he offered me a drink. It wasn't a whole thing or anything."

Perrie leaned in, grinning like she'd just unwrapped a present. "Oh, do tell. You can't just leave me with Liam's whiskey and shattered glass and it wasn't a whole thing. That's not fair."

I laughed, cheeks warming. "It really wasn't a big deal. We had a drink, the bottle slipped. That's it."

She arched a brow. "It slipped?"

"Something like that," I said, not meeting her eyes. She knew it wasn't the whole truth, but thankfully she didn't call me out.

She just let out a little sigh, sitting back in the chair. I shifted, uncomfortable with the truth hanging too close. "Anyway," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "how are you and Zayn? Because you two are disgustingly cute."

She laughed. "Okay, deflection queen. I'll move on." She held up her hands in surrender. "Thank you. Yeah, it's new, but... it feels good. He's actually kind of funny when he's not being all mysterious and broody." Perrie smiled, just like I hoped she would. "We're good. Really good, actually. I'm... falling for him. Fast."

"I can tell," I grinned. "You light up when you talk about him."

She ducked her head, embarrassed in the sweetest way.

I leaned back. "I'm happy for you, Perrie. You deserve good things."

"Thanks, Emma. So do you."

I hesitated again, then said, "There's someone else. My other neighbor, actually. Harry. He's... different. Easy. Calming."

"That's a good thing."

"It is," I said. "It really is."

"Why do you sound like it's a bad thing then?" she prompted softly.