Candles

51 | R E A L I T Y

NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES soap and water went on my face, I still looked a little bit yellow and I eventually gave up. The paint barely came out of Harry's hair but he never complained. We had fun and last night was one of the best ones we ever had. After our little war, we finished painting the room and left it to dry. Taking showers was next on our list and we were both in there for hours trying to wash the paint off. Harry wanted us to watch a few movies but it was clear we were both exhausted. So, instead, we fell asleep on the sofa with the TV still on.

I woke up to a pillow hitting my shoulder and I groaned, rolling over and falling off of the sofa with a loud thud.

"Oh, shit, I didn't think you would do that. Are you okay? Did you break anything?" Harry panicked and I heard him toss the pillow to the side.

"Only my dignity," I whined against the carpet. "What time is it?"

"A little after five," he told me.

"Just leave me here to die." I muttered, burying my face further into the carpet. "It's too early in the morning for this crap."

"Sydney—"

"We barely got two hours of sleep. Back away from me before I slice your fingers off with my own nails."

He laughed, "Everyone is going to be here soon and we're going out for breakfast, remember? We need to start getting ready." I kept my eyes closed and remained perfectly still. Maybe if I stayed this way, he would leave me alone and allow me to go back to sleep? "Don't make me drag you upstairs."

"Five more minutes."

"Translates into another couple hours. Get up."

I lifted my head up from the carpet and sighed, "If I start getting ready, will you leave me alone?"

"Sure."

"Fine."

I pushed myself off the floor and stretched my arms and legs before going upstairs to brush my teeth and wash my face. Did it really matter if I stayed in my pajamas? I decided to keep them on and I rubbed my eyes as I walked into the bathroom.

Turning on the light was unnecessary because the light from the hall was enough to bright up the small room. My toothbrush sat on the counter and I picked it up, applying toothpaste and starting to brush my teeth. I leaned against the counter in an attempt to keep me from falling asleep on the floor. It was tempting...the rug under my feet was indeed very comfortable against my toes.

Harry joined me, the two of us sharing the little counter space and often nudging the other out of the way so we could finish brushing our teeth. After realizing I was going to hog the sink, he moved over to the toilet and spit in it, receiving a soft chuckle from me before I rinsed my toothbrush off to put back in my bag.

Socks covered my feet and I decided shoes were not a necessity for the time being. No one was here yet but it would not take them much longer. Running my tongue along my freshly brushed teeth, I laid back down on the sofa and closed my eyes, a relaxed sigh pushing its way through my lips.

That was, of course, before King Kong himself sat on me.

"Umph!" I grunted. "Oh, ow! You're sitting on my ankles!"

Harry tucked some of his hair behind his ears and looked up at the ceiling, "Is that what I'm sitting on?"

"Off!" I shrieked. "Off! Off! Off!"

"Hmm," he stretched his arms and yawned. "I think I'm getting a little tired." He looked at me for a brief moment before holding back his laughter. "Good thing this couch is here."