SUFFOCATING SKIES

EXHAUSTION

“let’s get you cleaned up, mia.”

harry took both of her hands and hoisted her up on her feet. her legs hurt from the same sitting position and her knees were wobbly; she barely could walk. her lips still haven’t stopped shaking and she was clinging to harry as much as possible to get his loving warmth.

abruptly, her feet left the cold soaked ground. mia was taken into harry’s strong arms and now was being carried by him. she had a feeling if harry didn’t do that, she wouldn’t be able to make it to the front door. 

harry’s boots croaked against the old parquet floor as he stepped inside mia’s uncle’s cottage. mia was almost falling asleep on his shoulder, her eyelids too heavy for her to keep them open. she was grasping harry’s flannel shirt like a toddler.

he set her down in front of the bathroom in mia’s room, making sure she didn’t fall as he did so. harry waited few seconds for her to get a balance, his hands on her waist, before he let go.

“do you think you can make it to the bathroom now and take off your clothes?” harry asked her in a gentle murmur. she nodded, although she had no idea herself. 

mia managed to walk inside and she was in the middle of taking off her t-shirt, when harry stepped inside, too, closed the door behind him and placed a pile of clean clothes on the sink. she didn’t know he would be with her while she was taking a bath.

she was blushing now and she wasn’t really eager to strip off. 

harry pulled the wrinkled material over her head, leaving her only in her lace cream bra and blanched shorts. 

“turn around,” harry whispered. he undid the hook of her bra for her. “there’s no need to be shy. now i’m going to run the bath, you can stand behind me and fully strip off.”

mia swallowed, nodded, stepped behind him and slid the straps of her bra off her shoulders. she watched the water rise in the bathtub as she took off her shorts and panties along with them. her breath was shaky now and she didn’t want him to see her, because she wasn’t skinny; she was curvy and she hated that.

“okay, step in,” harry straightened up and held out his hand. “don’t worry, mia, i’m not looking.”

she took his hand and lifted her leg up, then the other and sat down. mia pulled her knees to her chest, in a hurry to cover herself up. 

“see? that went quickly and i didn’t even see anything.”

harry began washing her hair. they smelled of rain earlier, now they had a scent of fresh apples, the flavor swirling in the air. mia put her chin on the top of her knees, fluttering her eyes shut. she thought about her bed and how she looked forward to finally sleep in it, and then she thought of harry and how thankful she was to have him in her life.

mia was soon wrapped in a towel. harry helped her to dress up, promising her still he wasn’t looking. he brushed her hair and took her to her bed. once mia’s cheek touched her pillow, she was falling asleep. 

and before she heard harry say something, he kissed her cheek.

“i’ll take care of you, love.”