The Slightest Hope

Chapter 8

HARRY'S POV

"Ouch, Rose. I wouldn't have agreed to this if I knew you were going to pull my hair out one by one." I said in a flat monotone. I stood in the kitchen. Rose was on top of the counter, her legs on either side of me as she attempted to cut my hair. It was going pretty well until she tried to comb through the ends.

"Bloody hell!" I cried after a particularly painful stroke. Rose quietly apologized and I heard Drew chuckle somewhere behind me.

"Don't encourage your sister." I warned, grinning none the less. I heard Drew's uneven footsteps as he walked into my view. He sassily placed his hands on his hips.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Drew laughed. He knew I was confined to this chair until Rose was done.

"Ugh, Drew. You're acting like Rose right now." I chuckled. Drew giggled as Rose 'accidentally' roughly combed a section of my hair.

"Hey! That hurts!" I cried. I heard musical giggle behind me, and it took my breath away. This girl was getting to me.

"Don't be such a baby, Styles, or I just might shave off all of your luscious curls." Rose teased as she ran her fingers through my hair. I held back a moan. It felt so good. I loved when people played with my hair. Especially Rose.

"Ta-DAH!" Rose shouted, placing a mirror in front of my face. It actually looked good, my curls still covered my forehead, but were swept to the side. It made look as if I weren't the homeless guy I actually was.

"Thanks, Rose. It looks reall-" I was cut off by her phone ringing. She gave me a sympathetic look as if to say sorry. She swiftly hopped off the counter, her body rubbing against mine. I shuddered. She left the room, leaving me with Drew.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" Drew spoke in a quiet voice as if he were afraid to question me. I nodded, hoping it wasn't about my feelings towards Rose.

"Last night, you said that your brother taught you how to play guitar. Well, I've always really wanted to learn, but we've never had the money and some people don't have the patience to teach me. Do you think you could consi-...consid-...consider teaching me?" Drew's cheeks turned red after he struggled to say consider, but I rubbed his back.

"Of course,buddy. When do you wanna start?" I asked. Drew's eyes sparkled when I said buddy and it tugged at my heartstrings. It hurt my deeply to think that he had almost killed himself. That kids were inconsiderate enough to bully a special education boy. I grew angry, balling my fists. I was about to share my thoughts about those brats, but got sidetracked when Rose trudged in. Pain was the only emotion she wore.

"Drew, could you give us a second?" Rose asked. Drew looked hurt but left anyway, leaving an unsaid tension in the air.

I rushed over to Rose, wrapping her in a hug. She snuggled into the crook of my neck and in that moment, it didn't matter what was wrong. All that mattered was what I could do to make it better. I soothingly stroked her hair as her warm tears dropped onto my neck.

"I just got fired." Rose croaked. I felt her chest heave with a stifled sob. I ran my hands through her soft hair again.

"I didn't show up for work yesterday and I guess my boss had finally had enough. He said tomorrow I could go get my things and never come back." She cried, balling her fists in my t shirt. I said nothing, just hummed a soft tune as I soothingly stroked her hair.

"How am I supposed to support Drew? That was the only source of money I had going and I just threw it away for nothing." Rose cried, pounding her fists on my chests. The 'for nothing' echoed in my mind. Meeting me was nothing. Yesterday was nothing to her. I stopped humming and slightly pushed away, so I could stare into her bright blue eyes.

"Did yesterday really mean nothing to you?" I asked. My heart yearned for the answer, pleading for a no. Realization of what she had said crossed her beautiful features.

"Harry. That's not what I meant. Meeting you was one of the best things that's happened to me. I just meant now I have no idea what to do." Rose reassuringly rubbed my arm.

"Well, lets make a deal." I suggested. She cocked her head to the side in the most adorable way, pressing me to go on.

"If you let me stay here with you and Drew, I'll help you find a job and try to get one myself. And don't even think about saying no because Drew and I are family now. And so are you and me." I smiled graciously at her. Rose gazed at me with her gorgeous eyes and smiled at me with her pretty lips. When she nodded, my heart almost leapt out of my chest. I had a family.