grandeur [hs au]

chapter 7

Sunlight shines warmly against my face, coaxing me out of my deep slumber. It doesn't calm the dull ache in my head. The silky sheets wrapped around my torso aren't my own, that much I can tell with my eyes still closed. The events of the previous night come back to me in slow drips. Almost kissing Harry, dancing with Harry, finding Harry crying in his apartment.

Harry's apartment. I'm in Harry's apartment.

My eyes flutter open reluctantly and I roll away from the streaming sunlight coming through the tall windows. I rub at my eyes a bit before I finally come to, taking in the guest bedroom around me. I lie comfortably on the queen size bed with its spotless, padded white frame. Either side hosts a mirrored end table, a sphere light hanging over each in lieu of a regular lamp. A blush chaise lounge rests catty cornered across from me. Some black and white photographs hang on the wall, mostly photos of crowded city streets. I recognize a street from the heart of Boston, as well as a capture of Times Square and a wide shot somewhere in London with Big Ben in the back. I'm particularly drawn to one of a crowd gathered around the Louvre Pyramid.

Reluctantly I swing my legs out from under the plush comforter. My feet make contact with the cold black marble floor and an involuntary hiss escapes me. I pause with bated breath, waiting to hear any sign of life coming from throughout the apartment. As if I needed to keep quiet like I was an intruder rather than someone who half-carried Harry's wasted ass home last night.

I'm not sure why Harry had been hit so hard by the alcohol and drugs last night. Maybe he really just didn't have the same high tolerance my friends and I had been grooming for years.

We barely got him into the elevator and across his threshold before he made a dash to the kitchen trash can to empty his stomach again. I recall getting him a glass of water in spite of his insisting he was fine. With my arm wrapped around him, I was able to help his stumbling steps guide him to where he said his bedroom was. The doorway made me hesitate, nervous about going into such a personal space while he's not fully aware of himself. However, without my help, I didn't think he could make it to his bed on his own, so I braved my way in.

With the exception of the wall of floor to ceiling windows that continued into the bedroom, every other wall was painted a stark black. The usual black marble of the floor was traded for beautiful, sparkling white marble. His king sized bed set nestled into a black padded frame, fully surrounding the bed. I was afraid to look around and observe for too long, mostly focused on getting him to land on the bed. I mostly remember a large mirror sat against the wall next to the clear door leading to his master bathroom - where I retrieved a trash can to sit next to his bed in case he'd need it. My appearance in that reflection was nothing short of rough.

The loud grumble of my stomach snaps me out of my thoughts, realizing I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday. I walk with quiet steps out of the bedroom and down the hall towards where I remember the kitchen to be. The sleek white of the cabinets and countertops feels sterile, but not necessarily in an uncomfortable way. I peer around the corner into the living room, half expecting Harry to be laying on the piano bench again or perhaps napping on the couch. As I step quietly towards the front door to make my exit, I hear a familiar but groggy voice call out.

"Olivia?" Harry asks loudly and blindly. The voicing of an incorrect name stabs a tiny knife into my chest before I gain awareness of myself again. It's not like I was some hookup whose name he doesn't remember.

"Ah, no, it's Caroline," I yell back. A quiet pause from us both. I knew I shouldn't have stayed. I was just so exhausted, I had been afraid I physically couldn't make it back to my apartment.

He exits his room with sleepy eyes that lazily meet my own. Harry's curls hang messily against his forehead and in odd waves against his head. It's kind of cute, actually.