Heartbreaker [h.s.]

Chapter Nineteen

Sorry this one is so short!

I peeled my eyes open to the sliver of light seeping through the curtains, bathing the room in a soft golden glow. My entire body aches and my throat is raw and dry like sandpaper. I struggle to peel my eyes fully open, the heaviness of the hangover hitting me.

I know I'll have a thread of texts from my mum apologizing and begging for me to call her, but I won't be subjecting myself to her games. I should have known when she showed up unannounced it was only for money, and why I keep giving it to her I'll never understand.

The weight of Charlie's back pressed against me took me a minute to comprehend, the feeling of her so close was foreign but also welcoming; mostly because I'm still half asleep. She was tucked into my chest, the soothing rhythm of her breathing synced with my own. I pull her closer to me without thinking too much about it and inhale her scent; the faint trace of lilac and jasmine shampoo comforts me more than I'd like to admit out loud, so I won't.

She begins to stir underneath me and I freeze. I watch to see if she wakes, holding my breath waiting for the fallout, but instead Charlie turns fully into me, nuzzling her face into my chest, her perfect nose nuzzling into me. My heart leaps at the contact and I fear she can feel it hammering against her face. I gasp slightly, deeply confused as to why I haven't untangled myself from her yet. She mumbles something incoherent and I'm tempted to wake her but feeling of her hand sliding around my waist made my body go rigid. Something so small and insignificant any other time has me so fucking flustered right now.

I don't cuddle. I don't allow girls to spend the night. I also don't cry in front of people, until last night apparently. Why oh why did I open my big mouth... Her savior complex will most likely be inflated now.

Her fingers danced along my back making my stomach twist in insecurity. I don't know how to feel about this. I wasn't sure I wanted it but I'm almost not rolling over either. The memory of unloading about my mum hung in the air between us when panic sets in.

I needed to get up.

I needed to get her outta my bed.

I don't deserve this.

I slowly roll onto my back, lifting her hand off my body, and rub my hands over my face. I take a deep breath to steady myself when Charlie's arms slowly stretch over her head. She groans out a stretch and looks at me with eyes still heavy with sleep, but there was realization behind them. "Uhm... what time is it?" She croaks.

I picked up my phone and see the clock says 8:43. "Almost 9."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." She says, "I'll go." Her words were rushed, and a little panicked as she sits up quickly and slides off the bed. I sit up on my elbow and watch her rush to the door, "I'll see you at breakfast."

"Wait, Char-" I start, but she whips around and stops me with a raised hand. "I'm sorry, don't worry I won't think anything of it. I'll...." She looks around searching for her stuff. "Hey, your stuff's right here." I reach over the side of the bed and retrieve her phone and key card. She rushes over to me and grabs them and my hand wraps around her wrist gently before she gets out of my reach.

Her sleep filled eyes cast downward at my touch, and then to my face. "What?"

"Just wait a second, okay?" I'm still too drunk for this.

She hesitates, but stays where's she's at. Those oasis  eyes of hers stare at me wide eyed and conflicted. I don't blame her. I dunno what I'm doing, but something inside of me says to go with it. "Relax, Charlie. You're making it weird."

Her brows pinch together in irritation. "It is weird, Harry. My staying made it weird."

I shake my head at her, not letting go of her wrist. "Listen, it's fine. I uh-" I release my grip on her and run my hands through my sleep tousled hair. "I wanted to tell you thank you."

That catches her attention. She slowly sits down on the edge of the bed giving me the sweetest smile. "You don't need to thank me. That's what friends are for."

Friends. There's that word again.

"Friends, huh?" I ask. Her expression softened, the tension once visible now easing in her shoulders. "Yeah, friends."

"Friends with benefits though, right?"

She exhales and laughs, slapping her hands atop her thighs. "Oh my god! Is that all you ever think about?" Her eyes dance with playfulness even though she's scolding me, so I use it to my advantage. I couldn't help but find myself leaning closer to her, basking in her lilac scent that still lingered. "I dunno, kinda hard not to when you're around."

Her hand flies up to my face and pushes me back. A deep laugh that erupts inside of me and couldn't be contained. "C'mon! Just a quickie?" I begged.

"And on that note, I'm going back to my room." Charlie stands and heads towards the bedroom door. I wave goodbye as she slips out, leaving me to dissect and overthink the last 24 hours. I make my way towards the mini fridge to fish out a bottle of water when I see something folded up and tucked underneath a glass. There was a small note next to it: "Don't give me a hard time about it. Take care of yourself."

Charlie left me 50 bucks. She must have seen me give the last of my money to my mom yesterday...

Maybe she really is different.

************

Ohhhh he's softening up guys!

Thank you again for reading. I know Iz and I haven't updated recently, so I hope you enjoyed this little three part update.

Happy Thursday everyone ❤️

lovelyy_honeyyy