The Degradation

Chapter 17

"I trusted her. I fucking trusted her. How could she do this to me? She had no right. She just had no right." – Harry

***

Song: Lene Marlin - Sitting Down Here

Mom? Mom??!! Mom? A real mom? Wow. He hugs her tightly, and she smiles broadly and looks over his shoulder at me. And I'm clutching the duvet, not because I'm almost naked under it, but... like, yes, I'm almost naked under it. So, I just blink my eyes and try to look innocent. This is not how I imagined our first meeting. Harry loves her so much that I would like to meet her properly. In a suit, with flowers. But naked in the boxers is also not bad. In a family way.

"I'm Julia, Harry's mom."

She says it like I haven't figured it out yet. Hey, I'm not an idiot. Although, judging by my appearance, I must look very much like him. She holds out her hand, and as I shake it, I try not to think about what I recently did to her son.

"I'm..."

Naked. Surprised. Sleepy. Choose what you like the most. Harry comes to the rescue. He pulls away from his mother and looks at me. Oh my God... I've never seen him smile like that before.

"Mom, this is Louis, my boyfriend."

"I know."

She smiles, and somehow, I relax.

"You talk about him more often than you breathe."

He laughs, blushing. He's also very beautiful in the morning. Especially in the morning, when his mother suddenly appears out of nowhere.

"Get dressed, and I'll take you to lunch. Louis, it's really nice to finally meet you."

Before I can say anything, she leaves the room. I turn to Harry, who's looking a little (very) confused. His dimples had never been so deep.

"It's my mom."

He says, and there's so much joy and excitement in his voice that he can't sit still. He leans forward and gives me a quick kiss on the lips five, maybe ten times before getting out of bed.

"It's my mom. She came back."

He jumps to his feet, and damn, he looks like a kid on Christmas Eve.

"The bathroom's still in the same place."

I point to the door, laughing.

He runs in there and then runs out.

"I forgot my clothes."

I laugh even harder when he stumbles over the threshold and I wait for him to come out so I can shower myself.

***

His mom is driving, and Harry is sitting next to her, and I'm in the backseat, and they're talking all the time. I mean, Harry talks. Yes, exactly. Harry the chatterbox, can you imagine? So, when is it going to snow in California? He asks her a hundred questions and doesn't even give her time to answer. She starts laughing.

"Calm down, or you'll have an asthma attack."

I frown.

"Do you have asthma?"

"I had when I was little."

"And now, when he forgets to breathe properly."

I'm about to say something, but Harry turns and looks at me.

"Don't worry, it's very rare, and I always have my inhaler with me."

I smile back, leaning back in my seat and looking out the window as he continues to chatter again. I love learning new things about him. I don't like it when these things turn out to diseases. Well, traditions do not change.