Plant New Seeds | H.S.| AU

Chapter Thirty-Five - Road Trip

N I A

The brassy knocks against my door to the unmistakable rhythm of The Chain by Fleetwood Mac snapped me out of the intentional daydream I was having. It distracted me just enough from packing the last of my suitcase to avoid starting my first vacation in fifteen years.

There was only one dork in my life that would knock like a fucking maniac instead of a decent human being. He was the same dork that had a starring role in the daydream he had so rudely interrupted. The details were hazy but it involved me, him, and a bottle of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.

And he was the same dork that I'd be trapped in a small-ass Mercedes Benz with for at least two hours; just as soon as I twisted the knob to a World of Hell.

The knocks grew stronger before I heard him clear his throat dramatically, gearing up for whatever other bullshit he had prepared.

"Nia, we gotta goooooo!" Harry sung-spoke to the melody of the song, "We got a long dri-i-iiive!"

I fought giving him the satisfaction of a smile he couldn't see but by nature, I gave in, smiling like Mrs. Dork as I listened to his muffled singing. I was tempted to allow the fuckery to continue, mostly because I loved hearing his gorgeous singing voice—even when he pretended to have a bad one.

But he was right: Poconos Mountains awaited our arrival and the day damn sure wasn't getting any younger.

Just darker, colder, and a not-so-surprising influx in the rush hour traffic we should've beaten.

"And if you don't open the door—"

I flung the door open right on cue, just as Jackass reached the chorus of his obnoxious parody. His fists were frozen in the space the steel barrier occupied seconds earlier, as if they were gearing up for another round of terrorizing my neighbors from the sound.

"I guess we'll never find out, huh?" The little smirk on his face as he asked the question almost made me want to vomit.

There was a particular sort-of calmness that the sight of Harry's gorgeous face induced. As anything when it came to him, it was beyond explaining. The anxiety-filled, nightmarish week I had was an instant thing of the past as I smiled back at my little slice of heaven, dressed in a baby pink cashmere sweater with nails to match.

I almost called off the entire trip like a fool, even though I had been the one begging to go in the first fucking place.

Forgive me, but the thought of running off to live out my rich-girl fantasies with my Book Club vice president while leaving behind an entire city of needy children and families— it fucked me up the more it came into fruition.

Leaving work early and missing an entire day in one week?

Death seemed like a better option.

Luckily, after a good cussing-out from Lauren—who threatened to kidnap my non-existent child and hold them for ransom money if I didn't leave—and quadruple check-ups on each of my cases, I felt satisfied enough to give in. If there was any time in my life where I appreciated her pushiness, it was then.

Homie called me everyday during my lunch break, never skipping a single day or hour in-between. One half was dedicated to making sure I was actually eating; and the other half was to countdown the remaining days before we embarked on our first adventure together.

No, literally, mans used that exact wording in his usual outdated word choices.

I pretended to be annoyed but as we both knew, seeing as how I could never hide anything from him, I secretly loved it. I loved hearing his voice right before I had to return to a gigantic pile of work; it lessened the anxiety. I loved hearing him talk me out of canceling the trip, all four times I almost did.