"My head hurts!"
Hearing Polly's squeaky voice, I turned to look at her. The sunlight beamed against her messy crimson hair as she ran her fingers through it.
"Good morning, Polly." I smiled at her.
"Helena? What am I doing in your room?" Her dark eyes looked bewildered as they darted around the room. "My head hurts."
I closed my laptop and turned my chair around. "You were really drunk last night and I couldn't leave you alone there."
Her forehead crinkled in confusion. "Why would you do that?"
"What do you mean?"
"You hate me, don't you?"
"I don't hate you. I thought you were the one who hated me." I shrugged. "What happened to us, Polly?"
She rubbed her forehead and sighed. "I don't know." She said firmly. "I want to go home now." She stood up and stumbled into the bathroom.
I'd brought Polly home the night before because she was heavily intoxicated and looked like she could end up sleeping with anyone. I also didn't want her to go mouthing off about Harry and I to everyone at the party.
But she wasn't the only one with an agonizing headache. The events from last night kept me awake until four in the morning. My mind grew tired after overthinking and eventually resulted in me suffering from an excruciating migraine.
I wasn't really surprised to find out that Josh was the one who sent those messages to my parents. He was a jerk, he'd always been one. I just felt stupid for letting him slip out of my mind.
But it wasn't just the thoughts that gave me the headache. My emotions played a part in it too.
Harry asked me to think carefully about how I felt about Daniel. He stands by the belief that I don't actually love Daniel. In reality, I really didn't know how I felt about him anymore. I decided to go on one last date with him before he leaves for college again and figure out my feelings for him.
"Helena? Hello?" My mother waved a hand infront of me and I zoned back in.
"Wh- yeah? What is it?" I blinked.
"Why aren't you eating your eggs?" She looked at me sympathetically. "Helena, I've noticed that you've been zoning out a lot these past few days. Want to talk?"
Talk? With my mother? I cannot share anything that goes on in my life with that woman. I know she cares for me but she can never get me. Ever.
"No, I'm fine." I faked a smile and poked at the scrambled egg with a fork.
"If you say so." She planted a kiss on my forehead before looking over to Polly who was staggering down the stairs with her handbag.
"Good morning, dear!" My mother greeted. "Join us for breakfast!"
I told my mother that I saw Polly at a house party down the street and brought her home because she looked reckless. She couldn't know that we were actually at Daniel's birthday party.
"Oh thanks, Aunt Joanne but I have to get somewhere." Polly replied, fastening the straps on her shoes.
"Polly, wait!" I rushed to the entrance door. "I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
I led her outside and shut the door. "About Josh."
"Oh my god." She slapped herself on the forehead. "You got it out of me last night."
"I can't believe that you knew and didn't tell me." I crossed my arms.
She let out a sigh. "I know. I'm... sorry about that. I guess I just wanted to get back at you for taking Harry from me."
"I did not take Harry from you. We're not together. I'm with Daniel." I explained. "Stop saying that."
"Whatever. Harry broke up with me and I know you played a part in it." Her eyebrows narrowed as she spoke.
"You can choose to believe whatever you want." I told her. "Were you with Josh when he did that?"
"Yeah. Our parents made us go to the college together to check out the scholarships but we ended up going to the frat party. That's where we saw Daniel." She paused. "I told Josh that it was a bad idea but he did it anyway. Please don't tell him I told you."
I bit my lip and nodded. "I appreciate you telling me, Polly."
_______________________________
The tyres screeched against the concrete as I rolled up my car in the driveway of Daniel's house. He'd been calling me non-stop since last night. My phone kept vibrating almost every minute. I knew he felt dirty and guilty after the incident but it wasn't his fault. I told him that I'd give myself to him... but I realized I wasn't ready at the last minute.
As I got out of the car and closed the door shut, I heard a loud bang. It was followed by quieter thumpings. I followed the noises and I was led to the backyard garden.
Harry was wreaking havoc. He was throwing open cans of paint at his mother's potted plants and kicking garden gnomes.
"Woah, woah. What's going on here?" I quickly interfered.
He turned to me and threw a can of empty paint down. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm destroying this place."
"Harry, stop. Your mother will be devastated." I walked over to him.
"Exactly." He grinned at me and kicked the empty can.
I grabbed hold of his arm. "Tell me what happened, Harry. Why are you doing this?"
Harry ruffled his loopy chestnut hair and swept it to the side before letting out a sigh accompanied by a faint groan. He chewed his lower lip.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Was I the one who threw the party last night?" He pointed towards the house. I shook my head. "My mum took away my instruments because she thought both Daniel and I threw a wild party with alcohol." His voice was feisty and deep.
"Didn't you explain it to her?"
"She wouldn't listen! She never listens to what I've got to say!" Harry raised his voice. "Daniel has a fucking drinking problem and she can't accept that!"
"Calm down. I'll talk to Daniel." I placed my hand on his shoulder. "And I'm sure your mum will understand soon enough."
Harry's compelling emerald eyes were met by mine. "Helena, what are you even doing with him?" He spoke in a lower tone and slowly carried his fingers to the back of my neck.
Our closeness sent mixed signals to my brain. His adjacent warmth made me feel flustered but left me glowing inside. His soft touch on my bare skin captivated me. With Harry, I was vulnerable. I was weak.
With his hand on my waist, he pulled me into his embrace. He hugged me tight as my hair caressed his cheek.
Harry had never hugged me before. Sure, he's kissed me, grazed at my neck but he'd never properly hugged me. Unusually, his embrace wasn't lustful. This time, he was vulnerable too. He rested his chin on my shoulder and we stayed like that for what felt like minutes.
The charm he had over me was growing, I could tell. It became stronger every time we touched. He didn't even have to try anymore. With just his warm prescence, I felt all sorts of fireworks. What the hell was I getting myself into?
"I'll be down in a second!" I heard Daniel's shaky voice.
