Spotlight |h.s|

Ninety

A/N: Don't play the song until you see the "*" ;)

Aubrey Hart

Harry and I are leaving for Washington today.

We've been with my moms for a week, and I'm in need of a change after doing nothing but wallowing around in a room decorated to be identical to the one I grew up in for far too long. I've been miserable, and Harry has picked up on that and tried to help in any way possible, so leaving is the solution we came up with.

I can't look at or touch my stomach, let others look at or touch my stomach, talk about what caused the scarring of the surface area of my torso, or even think about anything in relation to the kidnapping without breaking down. I don't know why, but I'm under the impression that moving will fix that. Give me a distraction from it all.

Elora isn't ready to leave yet, though, so she's flying down with Ruby a bit later. They'll bring Charlie as well, leaving Harry and I with some time to make sure everything is okay security-wise between both ours and Jade, Louis, and Zayn's house. They also have a pool house that we have to make sure is completely safe in case anyone would ever want to stay there, making us a bit busy while we're alone for at least a few days.

Harry has decided that we aren't going to fly there, though. His car is being shipped to the address along with anything from the loft or my house that we find valuable or sentimental enough to bring along. We visited Louis at the hospital yesterday to give him an in-person version of the daily check-in phone calls he's been receiving from me, and Lani came along to drive my car up this way so we could use it as our road trip vehicle.

We'll have guards waiting for us at each planned-out stop of the trip, of course, but Harry is hellbent on making this feel as normal as possible after a lack of normalcy for far too long. He even has every gas station stop and bathroom break planned, there being some form of protection waiting for us at each place.

We're currently loading everything into the trunk after saying goodbye to everyone, the early April sun warming my skin in my grey cotton shorts and white t-shirt of Harry's. I have a pair of sunglasses perched on my nose, Harry also having his colorblind glasses on as he lifts the final suitcase into the trunk for me.

I shut the trunk once he's done, both excited and confused about his urge to drive for seventeen hours instead of flying for three. I doubt he's ever even been on a road trip, so this doesn't have anything to do with nostalgia. I didn't think he'd enjoy such a long time in the car.

Despite that, we climb into the started vehicle, sending my moms a final wave as they watch us from the living room window before driving off.

"So, is there a reason we're going on a road trip instead of just flying there?" I ask as his free right hand finds my thigh, our fingers interlocking on the exposed skin out of habit.

"You need a break. A three-hour flight won't give you enough of one. The car and the music and conversation for a longer time will give you more of a breather." He reasons.

"So trapping me in a car with you for seventeen hours straight is your idea of a break for me?" I joke.

"We're not making a straight shot to Washington in one car ride. We're stopping at a hotel halfway through. It's private. You can eat your weight in room service and be treated like a princess for the night, whatever you want."

"Ooh, that does sound nice." I nod.

"Mhm," he turns out of the neighborhood while my thumb rubs his hand a bit, "Go on, pick a song."

I grab onto his phone connected to the aux, searching through his multitude of playlist options like always and finding one I've never seen before. I squint when I first read the title, thinking I'm seeing things as I view the incredibly long playlist that must be new to his Spotify.