Allure (Harry Styles)

Chapter 2

I reached my house at some time around eleven o'clock. The living room light was still on and I knew my mum would expect me to go and talk to her. I unlocked the front door and stepped inside, shutting the latch after me. The mirror inside the door informed me of the newfound bruise on my lower lip, pain still shooting through it. I wasn't sure what my mum was going to say, but I had to find out sooner or later.

"I'm home." I shouted into the living room.

"Okay, love." She replied. I walked in and sat next to her on the sofa. "How was the party?" She asked.

"It was... Something." I said, struggling to find a word to describe it.

"Have a good night?" She questioned.

"It was alright." I sighed.

She turned slightly so that she was facing me. "You don't sound so sure about that." She said.

"It was fine." I muttered. I looked up to find her eyes travelling to the sore spot on my lip.

"Who did that?" She asked, a mixture of shock and worry in her light blue eyes.

"Nobody, I fell off my chair." I lied.

"You are telling me the truth, aren't you?" She asked.

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm really tired. I'm going to bed." I said, jumping up and running upstairs.

As soon as I reached my room, I quickly stripped out of the dress I'd been wearing and into my pyjamas. Once changed, I climbed into bed, hoping for a good night of sleep. I knew that was an empty wish, as I couldn't sleep for thinking about what had happened.

I woke up early the next morning, not quite sure how I'd managed to fall asleep in the first place. I tried convincing myself that last night was just a bad dream, that none of it actually happened, but when I looked in the mirror it showed evidence of just how real it had all been. I hopped in the shower, hoping that it would relieve me of some of the pain. The hot water pelting down on me made the bruise hurt even more, so I washed my hair quickly before climbing out into the cold air.

After I'd dried my hair, I perched on the edge of my bed, phone in hand. I sent a text to Maisie, Amy and my other friend Jayde, asking if they wanted to meet up today. I moved over and sat at my mirror, applying my makeup whilst I waited for a reply from the girls. My phone buzzed, and I rushed over to pick it up. I checked the screen and found that I had four texts. I read the first one from Amy.

'Sure, see you there x'

The second one was from Jayde.

'Can't wait x'

The third one was from Maisie, saying she'd be there as well. The last text was a surprise to me. I checked the message, and my stomach flipped.

From Harry:

'Open your curtains, I want to see your perfect face x'

I threw my phone on the bed and walked over to the window. I peeked through a gap in the curtains to see no sign of Harry. The street was empty apart from a few cars belonging to my neighbours.

'Leave me alone.' I sent back.

He didn't reply. I walked downstairs into my kitchen to greet my mum.

"Alright?" She asked as I came into view.

"Yeah." I said.

"That bruise looks pretty bad." She pointed out.

"Yeah, it's really sore." I told her.

"Too clumsy, you are." She laughed.

"Tell me about it." I sighed.