Saudade

Chapter 4

                When I woke the next day, the sun was shining brightly through the blinds in my room. I was confused for a moment as to where I was, but with a few blinks I remembered my previous evening and all of the United Kingdom stretching around me. I flipped to my side to find a boxy, white alarm clock telling me it was about one thirty in the afternoon.

                I rubbed my eyes a couple times more before going to the bathroom, inspecting my face and hair. I looked decent for having drank the night before, my eyes weren’t blood shot and my curls had loosened to an decent-looking wave. I had purple moons under my eyes, but I figured whoever I ran into once I left my room would just as rough, if not worse. So I went back to my room, picking up a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top off the floor. I slipped them on and then went straight outside my door, surprised to find most of the doors in my hallway open.

                A few rooms housed tousled, abandoned beds and others included heaps of human form occupying them, the only sound to be heard being a few light snores. I padded down the steps, trying to keep quiet. The entire house was eerily still, leaving me to believe I was the only person awake. I struggled to not scream, however, when a half-naked figure was lying on the couch in the living room.

                He had brown curls splayed across his forehead and the couch cushion underneath him, and his face looked at least ten years younger than he actually was. His chest was bare, exposing me to his tattoo-littered skin. He slept on his side with his arms wrapped around himself, and I wondered for a moment if he was cold. I debated putting a blanket on him before deciding it would probably wake him, and that was a conversation I didn’t want to have. So instead I wandered into the lux kitchen, starting a pot of coffee. I was admiring photographs in the dining room (most of Ed and Spencer with varying celebrities) to the sound of gurgling water hitting the coffee pot when a voice interrupted my thoughts, causing me to make an embarrassing jump.

                “Good morning,” the accent said, thick and raspy with sleep. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”  I looked him over quickly, still as half-naked as I’d left him.

                “It’s fine,” I said softly. “Morning.” The coffee machine made a noise that I presumed meant it was ready, so I made way to the kitchen. I was surprised when the brunette followed me. He sat on a chair behind the center island, watching me take creamer from the refrigerator and prepare my cup of coffee. “Do you want some?” I offered, trying to fill the silence between us. He just shook his head, so I busied myself with drinking the coffee.

                “Don’t like coffee much, I prefer tea.” I nodded, not sure what to say. “You’re Spencer’s sister, right? I’m surprised we didn’t meet last night.”

                “Step sister, but yeah.” I finally took the opportunity to really look at him. He looked tired; his eyelids ten times more purple than mine and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. His lips were a bit cracked, and his hair was messy. Plus he was shirtless. Still.

                “I’m Harry,” he said with a smile.

                “I know.” I realized after I said it that I could have been a bit smoother. “I’m Ryann.”

                “I know,” he said with a surprising amount of teasing in his voice. “You know, your cheeks are pretty red right now. Am I making you uncomfortable?” I felt myself go even redder, and I looked down at my coffee cup.

                “No,” I insisted, forcing myself to look back up into his eyes. “I was just admiring all of your stupid tattoos.” I decided to tease back. His eyes got surprisingly wide.