The Mechanic

TWENTY SEVEN

Leslie parted the curtains, peeping through the windows. "Wow, Jay. You can literally watch Harry sleep from here!" she gushed, checking my neighbor's house. "It's been ages since I last went here inside your room, I forgot how close you really are from the next house!"

I didn't answer. Instead, I pulled a pair of shorts from my closet.

"Is he home already?" Leslie asked.

"Who?"

"Harry. Haven't seen him around for almost a week now."

"I don't know," I denied. I knew very well that he returned from New York last night. Not because he told me, I just saw his car.

Harry and I haven't talked nor saw each other again after our last encounter. That night when he asked me to try his cupcakes.

My chest tightened after remembering it. I cleared my throat quietly to get rid of the warm ball that was starting to form in it.

Leslie stared at Harry's window. "I hope he finished Liam's cake," she mumbled.

Tonight was Liam's surprise birthday party. They decided to do it at the house that Marty and Alex were sharing, because according to Zayn, Liam could easily smell when a surprise was being cooked for him. Besides, Liam's and Zayn's apartment was a bit small for a party.

Leslie suddenly gasped. When I looked at her, she was waving her hands excitedly to someone from my windows. "Hey, Harry!" she yelled. "Are those the cupcakes?!"

I fought the urge to run towards the window to have a glimpse of Harry's face. I wanted to see him. Was he okay? Better? Stressed? Maybe he was feeling tired because of baking a huge cake and lots of cupcakes?

I shut my eyes and bit my lip. God, Jade. Stop caring, you're just dragging yourself to a deeper mess.

I heard Harry's chuckles and my heart leaped.

"Yeah!" I heard him say. I could tell that he was smiling, and I could picture his dimples getting deeper inside my head. "I just finished them, I'm gonna bring these to Marty's house now!"

Leslie squealed in excitement. "Awesome! We'll be there soon, Jade is already getting ready."

Did Harry smile when he heard my name?

"See you guys later!" he yelled.

"Bye!" Leslie waved. I heard an engine starting, and in a few minutes it was gone.

I breathed deeply, trying to ease my hammering pulse. God. Harry would be in the party and I wasn't sure if I was ready to see him. I wasn't angry at him or anything, but staying away from him was the wisest thing to do.

It would be hard, but it was the best thing to do.

Leslie walked away from the windows and jumped on my bed. "Have you heard about what happened between Harry and Sam?"

"Sam? Ray's daughter?" I asked as I removed my bathrobe to put my shorts on.

Leslie frowned at me, her eyes fixed on my waist. "What happened to that? Is that a bruise?" she asked, sending panic through my veins. Shit. I forgot that the mark Harry left on my right waist was still there. It was the deepest one because the other marks were completely healed now except from it.

I glanced at it. Thank God it didn't look like a hickey, but more like a bruise because of its color. "Yeah," I managed to croak, maintaining my cool. "I fell on the stairs last week, remember?"

"Goodness, Jay," she gasped. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you also got a wounded lip from that fall but you didn't tell us about the bruises! That seems pretty big for me, did you see a doctor? What if you broke a bone or something?" she uttered fast, worry flashing in her eyes.