Graphite || h.s

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Come on, I want to introduce the two of you."

Harry was whining; his lips were pouted.

He desperately wanted to take me to the beach, spend a day there and have me meet a friend of his. The only thing was that I despised the beach with a passion. The occasions I had visited the beach, the sky had been a dark grey shade, and the tide had been too strong. The feel of the sand between my toes made me squirm and I wasn't too keen on the sight of the insects in the sand.

That was a long time ago on a family vacation to Cornwall. However, the trip could never be pushed away from my mind and had deterred me from ever setting foot on one again.

I nibbled anxiously on the sleeve of my knit sweater. The material of the sleeve became damp and soft between my teeth.

"Please." Harry begged, crouched on his knees. His hands were reaching up to the sofa, resting against the leather material on either side of my thighs.

"Harry, I don't know-" I started to say, but Harry shook his head, cutting me off without really having to say anything.

I continued to chew on the textile of my jumper.

"Look, it'll be fun. I promise. After all, what have you got to lose?" He was trying to persuade me. The thing was, I didn't give in so easily to persuasion and I refused to budge on the matter. No matter what, I would not be tempted.

Harry though, had this idea that if he pleaded enough, that I would somehow buckle under with the pressure he was loading on to me. Harry thought wrong.

"Listen to me, I have no intention of going to the beach. Why would I want to spend a day on a dull plot of sand and sea, with seagulls flying overhead and waterlogged sand beneath my feet? Why would anybody want to spend a day like that?" I removed the sleeve from my mouth and voiced my opinions on the matter. The minute I finished speaking, the sleeve returned to it's place between my teeth.

"I'm not asking for you to slice an arm off, I'm asking for a day at the beach. Is that so hard?" He sighed, moving his hand so that it was resting underneath his chin.

"I just don't see why this is such a big deal to you." I mumbled, shrugging in apprehension.

"It's a big deal, because I want to take you somewhere nice, and just chill. I want to free you from all the stress you've been under."

"What stress?"

"Sadie, you know exactly what stress I mean. I've seen you become so much more anxious lately."

"I haven't." I tried to defend myself, but my defence may as well have been a clear sheet of glass that anybody could see through.

"You're a horrible liar." His face came closer, and was inches away from mine.

"And you'd make a horrible detective, because I'm not lying," I bit back. He frowned slightly, creating broad lines across his forehead.

"Whatever you say," His hands withdrew themselves from the leather of the couch, and he retracted away from me.

He paused for a second, before speaking out again, "Sadie, please just think about it for me?"

"I'll think about it, but I'm not guaranteeing anything." I sunk into the sofa, my whole body weight collapsing into the cushion that lay behind me.

"That's all I ask for." He smiled.

~.~

Why was I even here?