| When We Were in Love | |H.S|

| 15 | If We Have Each Other |

"They'd say,
The world's not perfect but it's not that bad,
If we got each other and that's all we have,
I will be your lover and I'll hold your hand,
You should know I'll be there for you."

- If We Have Each Other, Alec Benjamin. 2018.

| Lily |

After spending the day with Jared, we finally made our way back to my house around six to wait for Lucy to come back for dinner. It was a bit of a bittersweet moment. He had shown me around his beautiful home, told me his childhood stories, the banks he owned. He also told me about his current life problems which was only trying to figure out which color he wanted his new car to be. He was living the life, literally.

"God, your place just made my place look like a dump," I said as Jared and I walked into my house. He let out a laugh as he slipped off his shoes near the door.

"Oh stop it, your place is beautiful," he argued. I rolled my eyes, sat my keys down, and shook my head while I also slipped off my shoes.

"No need to lie to me," I said now walking over to my couch. As I took a seat, Jared wasn't far behind me. He then plopped down right beside me, while never looking away.

"Why would I need to lie?" he asked, while leaning in towards my face. I shrugged as I continued to look straight ahead. Making eye contact was never my strong suit and God it intimidated me. Before I could respond to his question, our door quickly opened up, and Lucy quickly bursted through.

"Lily, hun! You're here!" she chirped while walking in quickly. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jared's eyebrows raise, his lips parted a bit, and he sat up.

"Oh, hi Jared!" she quickly said right after. "Have you been here for awhile?" she questioned.

"Uh, no we actually just walked in the door," I answered. Lucy scattered around the living room grabbing little things, such as her notebooks, little pencil bags, and other small items I couldn't really make out because she was moving too fast.

"Oh, that's fun. What'd you guys do today?" she asked, while she was still searching for items.

"Uh, we actually just hung out at my house, then came back here," Jared answered.

"Oh that's fun, love those relaxing days," she said looking through a book now.

"Where are you going Luc? I thought we had dinner tonight?" I asked, changing the subject. Lucy then looked up at me and made eye contact before answering.

"We do! I'm heading down to school. I totally forgot about a test I had at the end of the week and I'm going down there to get a few extra books before they close, to study later on tonight after we go to dinner tonight. I'll only be like half an hour," she answered. Jared and I both nodded.

"So, did your car get fixed?" Jared asked. Lucy quickly shook her head.

"Oh no, I was supposed to do it after work, but I totally forgot about this test and now I'm headed down there now. I'm going to fix my car tomorrow, after my shift at the cafe is done," she explained.

"How are you getting to school now?" I questioned.

"Oh," she now said softly, as she slowed down and looked up at me very calm now.

"Harry's taking me... I hope that isn't an issue," she said with a bit of pity and anxiousness in her voice. As we looked at each other, I felt Jared's eyes hit me. I then looked back and forth between Jared and Lucy quickly, a bit taken back and confused, if I'm being completely honest.

"Uh, yeah. No, yeah, that's fine. I don't mind at all," I quietly said with a small nod. "Have fun," I said giving her a small smile. She gave me that same smile back with a single nod.

"I'll uh, text you. I'll see you at dinner," she explained with a small smile. She then walked towards the doors and said her goodbyes to us while we did the same. She shut the door and silence filled the room as soon as she left. We could hear the sound of her footsteps going down the porch and a car door, opening and shutting very quickly. I then broke the silence and let out a deep breath I didn't know I had to let out. I then felt the tension fill the room.

"So, should I ask now or later about this, 'Harry' guy?" Jared then spoke up, now leaning more towards me again. My lips parted a bit as I was taken back by his sudden words but I quickly pressed my lips together and shook my head in response.

"Harry? He's no one," I replied with a sort of 'duh' tone. Jared then rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You don't need to lie," he said.

"Why do I need to lie?" I asked.

"Well, lots of reasons," he quickly answered. I was very taken back by his choice of blunt words. And even so, he was so kind and sweet and it was all too familiar. It was getting scary.

"He's just an ex," I shrugged now looking down. Jared then moved the hair out of my face that was covering my face from his view.

"I figured that much," he slightly chuckled. He tucked the hair behind my ear and then moved his body over so there was no room for anything to come in between us.

"You don't have to tell me, but I do genuinely just want to help you... or at least be there for you," he explained while now rubbing my hand with his thumb. I knew Jared was different but it felt so much like the same. The same kindness, sweetness, caring personality I once knew. And right now, I'm getting worried I missed that type of person, all too much. I shifted my body towards him so one leg was practically on his lap while his arm was on the back of the couch and the other was still holding my hand.

"It's a long story," I said.

"Aren't they all?" he innocently said. I looked up at him once again and saw the genuineness in his eyes. He was here for a minute and God that excites and frightens me all at the same time.