crescent [h.s]

42

Aurora Styles

With a pounding headache and a sudden increase of temperature rushing through me, I place my palette and paintbrush down, remove my hoodie, left in just a bralette and my painting leggings.

I walk slowly down the stairs, and into the empty kitchen, waving a quiet hello to Marshy who's laying sprawled out on the sofa.

I place my bottle under the lever on the fridge, watching Marshy as my bottle fills up. I add some ice before screwing the cap back on, not moving from my place in the kitchen as I drink the majority of the ice cold water.

I sigh and check myself for wet paint, and once clear I sit back on the sofa, exhaling and drinking more water as I feel especially dehydrated. Marshy stands up and takes this opportunity to walk over to me, placing himself on my lap and swirling round from my lower tummy to middle thigh.

Despite only feeling hotter with him on my lap, I keep him there as I drink the rest of my water. I tilt my head back on the sofa, trying to relax and keep my temperature down, feeling more and more sweaty as time passes.

I'm broken out of my peace bubble by my phone ringing, effectively making me jump and Marshy scramble off my lap. I sigh and reach for the device, a smile only taking over my face when I see Harry's contact name flash over my screen.

"Hey baby, is everything okay?"

He hums, seemingly forgetting what he was originally gonna say when he asks, "Are you okay? You sound exhausted."

I sigh again, putting my head on the armrest of the couch, "I feel a bit shit. Really hot and tired."

I hear him exhale, and I can almost see his eyebrows crease, "How far into your painting are you?"

"I've reached today's goal already, it's probably like 85% done."

He smiles, I can hear it in the way he talks, "That's incredible, I'm proud of you." I hum a 'thank you' before he talks again, "I want you to go take a nap though, beautiful. If you're too hot, put the aircon in our room on blast, and sleep. Drink plenty of fluids for me right now, and take some painkillers. I'm gonna go see Delilah and then come home early, alright? I love you."

The more he talks the further comforted I feel, so I nod into the empty house and do exactly what he says. "I love you so much, come cuddle me if I'm still asleep when you get back please."

"Of course, beautiful. Always will."

As soon as we hang up, I do exactly what he told me to. I head up to our room and put the aircon on blast, walking into the bathroom and searching for some pills. I find what I'm looking for and take two, and as bad as I need a bath or shower to get rid of the dried paint on my skin, I can't imagine doing that right now.

So I strip down till I'm fully naked, shut the blinds to make the room dark and get back in bed. I pull the covers over my hips, and hug Harry's pillow to my chest, falling asleep to the scent of him.

***

I wake up to the feeling of fingers running through my hair and kisses on my skin, and after fighting the severe lack of energy, I open my eyes to see Harry in sweats and a hoodie, cuddled up against my front, smiling down at me as he watches me regain consciousness.

As I make the move to sit up, I'm supported by Harry's arms which wrap around my waist and cuddle me into his side, my head falling limp on his shoulder. He continues running his fingers through my hair, giving me a gentle head massage as he quietly speaks to me, "How are you feeling beautiful? You've been completely out of it like old times for the last 2 hours since I've been home."