Ignition [h.s]

12

ELISE ROSEWOOD

My body jumps back in reflex as I open my eyes to Harry sleeping soundly right beside me. Our kneecaps are interlocked and his palm is squished under his cheek as his lips part periodically to release a soft snore. His curls are in his face, and I find it weird that he's still sleeping, he usually always wakes up before me when we share a room. 

I take a few moments to watch him in this tranquil state. Harry is typically stressed or angry and almost always has a small indent between his eyebrows because something or someone is frustrating him. Usually it's me.

It's nice to watch him look calm, I wish I could take a picture because of how photogenic he is, but then I realise that's kind of weird and get out of the bed.

I brush my teeth, wash my face and take a quick shower using the hotel's lavender body scrub before exiting the bathroom again. Harry still isn't awake, even though I thought we didn't really go to sleep that late for a bunch of adults. Maybe it's just a sign that he's getting old.

I find some of the new clothes Harry bought me on our shopping trip to wear and then go to the lobby with my phone clutched in my hand. I'm glad he bought me all of those clothes, because I would have had nothing to wear by this point. 

Nobody else seems to be awake right now so I take the liberty of an empty room to make an important phone call, one that should have been made a long time ago and one that has been pressing down on my chest.

Jess.

I miss my best friend more than anything; reminders of my old life flood my mind and I fall down onto the red couch hopelessly. Jess was a constant beam of support when my mum died, but also throughout my train wreck of a relationship with Tyler. She always let me sleep over at her apartment and she'd braid my hair or make us do weird yoga poses for stress relief and distraction. She's been one of the only permanents in my life and a guilty taste forms on my tongue at how easily I had dismissed her and forgotten to contact her in the midst of this chaos.

When I turn my phone on, it's flooded with messages and calls from her contact. They all seemed to mysteriously stop coming a few days ago though, and I wonder if she just got tired of my radio silence. I feel a bit sick as I watch the dial tone immediately fail over and over again, trying a few more times but ultimately giving up. I'm pretty sure this means I'm blocked when the calls won't even go through to voicemail, which twists my gut with guilt. I know I've been an awful friend by not telling her where I am or why I disappeared but I haven't exactly had the time or space to think recently.

Tears brim my waterline as I switch my phone off and stomp a few times around the lobby to stop myself from bursting into tears. There's a very real chance I've just lost my best friend for good, with no way of contacting her to tell her that I'm safe and I'm sorry. I fan my eyes then wander to the suite's kitchen for some breakfast.

When my feet meet the cold tiles, Zayn is sat on one of the stools shovelling cereal into his mouth and scrolling through his phone. I immediately freeze in the doorway; I know he doesn't like me that much so I decide to swivel on my foot and come back later.

"Elise—wait!" He says loudly, the spoon clanking in his bowl as he half stands up. I turn back around in the doorway, watching as he sits down again and swipes his fingers through his spiky black hair. "Look, I—I'm sorry. For the way I've been treating you, I know I've been, uh, a bit rude. I'm not very good at making new... friends." He scrambles. I'd almost believe he was being sincere if not for the fact he kept glancing down at his phone half uninterested.

All in all, I don't buy his apology for a minute and I don't really care about Zayn all that much either, but he is dating my best friend Jess and could potentially be the only way to reconnect with her.