Reality

June 10th

Aubrey

"So what exactly are you planning to do?"

I ask Harry as the two of us sit in a beach cafe together. It's a Saturday morning, bright and early, and we were the only ones up in the house. We probably should have saved money by eating at home, or somehow convincing Liam to cook some bacon, but the house has been extra weird lately, and today I just don't feel like dealing with it.

All I want to do today is hang out and relax. It's the one day of the year that I feel as if I can actually do what I want, so I'm going to stick to it. And maybe the best way to do that is to be out of the house all day, which I don't really mind.

"I'm thinking that I need to just cut off that relationship," Harry speaks up as he grabs his coffee cup from the table and gazes out at the ocean.

The two of us have been sitting here for a while now, discussing the subject that has been the main ongoing issue in the house: Brooke. None of us can tell what is going through her head, and frankly we aren't good enough friends for me to just ask what's going on. I think I can speak on behalf of the entire house when I say that the drama with Brooke is so damn annoying. Just when we think things are starting to get better, something else happens to turn it all around.

I'm tired of dealing with it. I'm tired of Harry having to deal with it. And I'm tired of Liam getting worked up about it. I've personally distanced myself from Brooke and that whole situation because I just don't want to get sucked into the drama anymore than I already have been.

"Here's the thing," Harry begins as he sets down his coffee cup and stares at me like he's getting ready to go in depth about his thoughts. "I've been thinking a lot about the whole thing, and I believe it is best if I just don't have a relationship with Brooke. We didn't make it out in the romantic sense, and we obviously can't be civil friends. We have yet to get along without some sort of issue arising. I don't like that she doesn't respect me enough to not continue the digs at Scarlett, at least to my face. I don't want to continue to be around someone that constantly brings down my energy and mood."

"Okay, I understand where you're coming from-"

"Is there going to be a 'but' to this?" Harry interrupts me as he raises a brow. "Because I just want to inform you that I've already made the decision to go through with this. I'm tried of the petty drama and immature behavior. I just want to cut it off, okay? I don't like the way I act when she's around, so I'm going to distance myself from her."

I inhale a breath and nod my head. I'm not really sure what I was going to say to him anyway. There's a lot of tension in the house, some of which I am sure I'm a part of, and I don't know if Harry cutting off a relationship with Brooke will add to the tension or relieve some of it since the two of them won't be in conflicts together. Maybe it's best to just see what happens and go from there. And I respect Harry for noticing a change in his behavior and wanting to do something about it.

He glances out at the ocean for a moment or two before he shakes his head and turns his attention back on me.

"So how've you been? What's going on with you and Liam? I feel as if we haven't been able to talk for a while."

"I'm good. Liam and I are good. We're actually going to Missouri next week," I smile thinking about the trip.

Knowing that the trip to Missouri is so soon makes me feel both excited and nervous. I'm looking forward to seeing where Liam is from and seeing him in his home and having him show me around the town. On the other hand, I'm very nervous of the large possibility of meeting his family and friends. What if I really fuck it up? What if I give off a horrible impression that makes the situation between Liam and his dad even worse? I don't want to be responsible for that.