FLICKER (h.s. au)

8.

Eight

Emery Rivera

The sound of a door closing pulled me from my deep sleep. I glanced over at Luna who was still passed out next to me on the bed, the pillow barrier still intact around her. I reached for my phone on the bedside table.

3:49 AM

I quietly slipped out of the bed, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to adjust to the dim lighting. As I moved through the room as silently as possible, I softly patted the bed to ensure Luna remained undisturbed. Closing the door behind me, I made my way towards Harry's room.

The door was open, and the bed was empty, it looked like he had just gotten out. The covers were carelessly thrown to the side, and the pillows were scattered across the bed. I continued rubbing my eyes as I walked through the house, heading for the back door.

There, on the patio, sat Harry, his back turned towards the door as he gazed at the waves crashing against the shore. I slid the glass door open, causing Harry to turn his head at the sound.

"Hey..." I mumbled, stepping onto the wooden deck. "Mind if I join you?" I asked, gesturing to the empty spot next to him.

Harry shook his head, shifting over slightly to make room. "Sorry, did I wake you?" he mumbled.

"It's alright, just wanted to make sure you were okay." I settled onto the cushion, and Harry nodded. The house was practically on the beach, it being just a quick 3 minute walk, and our feet would be in the water.

"Jet lag is kicking my ass," he stated, his voice laden with exhaustion. I nodded, understanding the struggle all too well.

I was fighting to keep my eyes open by the end of dinner, and we fell asleep as soon as we hit the bed at 7:30 PM. I was more worried about Luna, the poor girl was struggling to stay awake the whole day. Her times were flipped, but thankfully she slept quite a bit on the plane which helped her body adjust a little bit better I think.

"How's Luna?"

"Sleeping like a rock," I chuckled. "Hasn't moved an inch."

Silence enveloped us, but it felt comfortable, familiar even. If anything, I had grown accustomed to sharing moments of quiet with Harry, where words weren't always necessary.

"I'm surprised you haven't checked up on everyone at work." I looked up at him. Harry shook his head, unlocking his phone and showing me his call log and recent emails. My eyes widened when I saw how frequently he has been checking up.

"Called in as soon as I could. Been emailing Brad non-stop..." he admitted. "I don't like not being at the office."

Harry is undeniably a workaholic. I couldn't entirely blame him, though. He had worked tirelessly to reach the position he held today, and it was understandable that he wanted to ensure everything was running smoothly. Sure, he had a tendency to micromanage everyone, but deep down, he simply wanted everything to be perfect.

"You're not giving him a hard time are you?" I raised an eyebrow.

Harry frowned. "Not more than I usually do."

"Really?"

"Maybe a little more... I'm just stressed. I haven't been out of the office for longer than a couple days. What if we get back, and the building is literally burned to the ground?" His face wrinkled up slightly as his frown deepened.

"Harry, maybe you should have a little more faith in your employees. You're on vacation! I mean, when was the last time you were in a place like this? At a beach? With your family?" I reminded him, knowing that Harry hadn't taken a proper vacation in ages.