Petal [h.s.]

Chapter 73

TW: mentions of self-harm (non-graphic)

Violet.

"And this is my room." Harry opened the door in a long hallway, gesturing for me to go inside.

My jaw was on the floor when I saw the pure luxury in front of me. "Your room? Your room is bigger than my bloody apartment ever was!" I exclaimed, walking around the carpeted floors. 

It was more of a studio, a large king-size bed against one wall while there was a large tv opposite it. In one corner was a small kitchen with a dining table and a few bookcases, while there was a couch in the other corner and then there was a door that lead to the bathroom.

"This is so nice." I commented, letting my hand run over the extremely soft comforter of the bed. Harry nodded while dropping his key card on the little side table. "It is. It's nice to be out here for a while."

I opened the large glass door that lead to a small balcony overlooking the garden. It had a table and two chairs on it, and I imagined it was nice sitting here on beautiful nights like this one. Harry mimicked my pose, leaning his elbows on the railing as we watched the outstretched greenery in front of us. If I squinted my eyes really well I could see a pond in the distance.

"So how long will you be staying here?"

"Not sure." Harry shrugged. "Definitely another couple of weeks. They want to make sure I have a stable home to get back to. And I'll obviously be doing regular therapy sessions here still, probably a few times a week."

"Right. Therapy sessions."

Harry seemed nervous as he fumbled with his fingers for a moment. "I take it you talked to Nicolas?"

"Yes, he pulled me aside when I first got here." I nodded. "He told me about... your idea."

"Would you stay for dinner? And then we can talk?" Harry suggested with a pleading look in his eyes. I frowned for a moment. "I'm allowed to stay as long as I want? There's no visiting hours?"

"Yeah, they scan you when you walk in to see if you have anything on you but that's it, security wise. They just log in the visitors when you enter to see who we have contact with. Nobody here really has anything to say about that, everything is really chill. You're allowed to stay the night even."

I shifted on my feet for a moment letting out a sigh. "I... I don't think that's a good idea."

"No, no, that's fine." Harry mumbled, curling his lips inside his mouth as he looked back out over the garden. "I had someone pick up groceries, I could cook you dinner here and then afterwards you could go home? Please, I really want to talk."

My heart warmed at the effort Harry was so clearly making for this to work. I found myself nodding at his question and he beamed, looking down to his feet with a smile on his face.

"So what are you cooking for me?" I asked while walking to the kitchen nook of the studio. Harry opened the fridge and scanned it with puckered lips. "You like mushrooms and pasta?"

"Love mushrooms and pasta." I nodded, leaning against the counter while Harry took out some ingredients. "Wow, you're allowed knives and scissors in here?" I frowned, opening the kitchen drawer for a cutting board and cutlery. I held up the sharp kitchen knife and Harry nodded. "Yes, I'm not a high risk resident."

"Hmm." I hummed, grabbing the mushrooms from him to get started on cooking. Harry put on some music and poured me some soda in a fancy glass since we weren't allowed alcohol in here. I heard him setting the table and humming to the music while I cut up some onion and then started on the mushrooms.