Serenity

ten

Song for this chapter

Scarecrow by Alex & Sierra

—

I sit patiently at the foot of Harry's bed as he continues to snore softly in his sleep. His clothes are still on me and I can't bring myself to take it off, only because I don't want to wear my uncomfortable dress again. I don't want to wake him either, especially since I am assuming that he must be exhausted from last night. The frown on his lips makes me mimic his expression, wondering as to what state of mind he is in.

Thoughts from the night before are still swarming in my mind, almost as if it can never escape. I wish they could just drown but there is nothing stopping them from floating around in my head. I wonder how Harry would feel when he wakes up. Will he be just as upset as before, or will his sadness ease a little only to have it replaced with worrisome? Whatever it is, I will be here for him and I will take the time to make him feel better.

Harry stirs in his sleep and then his eyes flutter open, "Cora," He reaches his arms forward out to me and out of instinct, I stand to my feet and kneel down beside him. He suddenly brings me to his chest to pull me into a hug and I can sense the faint smell of his cologne that he was wearing last night.

"How are you feeling?" My voice sounds muffled with my head buried in his neck. I turn to look at him and I take notice of the same frown setting on his lips.

"I'm still upset, but I think I'll be okay," He closes his eyes for a moment and shrugs, "I still feel like it's my fault though."

I grab his shoulders and softly shake him, "You cannot keep blaming yourself for this," I move beside him after he sits up, "It won't make you feel any better. Now, you should text Janine to see how she's doing."

Harry obeys my suggestion, leaning forward to retrieve his cellphone from the coffee table in front of him and proceeds to type away on it. Seconds later, his cellphone dings and a frown appears on his lips once again.

"She said that she wants to spend the day alone," He sets the phone back in it's previous place and places his head in his hands.

"I think we should respect that," I rub his back and he sighs loudly. I suddenly jump onto my feet and clap my hands together, "Okay, I am not going to let you sit here and spend the last day of spring break moping."

Harry lifts his head and stares at me with an expressionless face, "Cora, I don't think —"

"Look, I understand that something terrible has happened but doing nothing about the way you feel will only make things worse. Come on, Harry, what is something that you always do whenever you're upset?"

"I usually —"

"Don't tell me," I bring my hands forward in a joking manner to silence his words. I move my forefingers up to my temple and squeeze my eyes shut, as if I were trying my hardest to guess Harry's answer. "You like to go to the campus stadium to play soccer."

He manages to give me a small smile, "That's right."

"I knew it! Almost every sports player I know does that whenever they are feeling down." The corner of my lips turn up into a smirk, "Here's the catch, though. You are going to teach me how to play."

"Would you even be up for that?" Harry untangles himself from the sheets he was using and stands to his full height, "Soccer isn't as easy as you think it is."

I lightly scoff and scrunch my nose, "How hard can it be? If anything, I'll be as good as you." I joke, making him let out a laugh for the first time today.