Graphite || h.s

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Another wave of emptiness. Another pang of guilt.

The room around me looked bare now. All the drawings that had been clumsily tacked to my wall no longer looked down at me. Clothes no longer adorned the hangers in my wardrobe. Everything had been packed away into boxes or suitcases.

I felt sick. It was too much.

To think that in five days, memories would be all I had left of this place. It would be a distant reminder of home and nothing more. Another lost moment to add to my collection of many.

The sound of footsteps broke my thoughts. Each one sounded closer and closer. With each thud, my heart pounded against my chest.

"What's all this?"

I looked up into Harry's eyes. They were filled with confusion, bewilderment and hurt.

"Nothing." I answered, feeling my heart shatter into a million tiny shards.

"It's obviously something." He mumbled, walking over to one of the boxes and opening it.

"No, Harry, it's nothing. I promise."

He glanced up at me, his eyes piercing through me as if they were scanning me for the truth that I had held from him. They came to no conclusion. His head shook and he sat down on the floor, his body opposite from mine.

"Just tell me. I can handle it." He said softly, pulling my hand into his own and rubbing soft circles against the surface of my skin. I didn't know what to say; I was at a loss for words. For some reason, I couldn't even muster a simple sentence. The nauseating feeling that came over me was eating away at my insides.

"If it was anything important, I would have told you." I replied, trying to keep my eyes level with his. Taking my bottom lip between my teeth, I chewed anxiously. He let my hand drop and rested his own in the lap of his folded legs.

"Sadie, I wasn't born yesterday. I can tell that it's important." He sounded tired. Only then did I notice the dark circles that enclosed his eyes, and the small knots that had embedded themselves deep into his curls. By the looks of it, he hadn't slept in days.

I realised that if I told him, then I'd make it worse. His sleepless nights would turn into sleepless weeks. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I did the worst thing I could think of. I lied.

"If you really want to know, I'm redecorating. That's all there is to it." I hoped that he was too fatigued to notice my feeble attempt at deceiving him.

"If that's it, then why didn't you tell me?" He smiled sleepily, pulling me into a hug.

"I don't know. I do stupid things sometimes." I closed my eyes, allowing myself to sink into Harry's arms.

"Don't we all."

(A/N) So, I've decided to keep they chapters short for Graphite because it's just glimpses of the story. It's like a collection of memories. For Ink (the sequel to Graphite) the chapters may be longer. I'm not too sure yet.