Times - h.s.

The Blank Memory

     I'm awakened by the loud banging I hear on the door, but I choose to ignore it and resume my sleep. Not even ten minutes goes by and Brin taps lightly on my door, then lets herself in.

"Alex, wake up." She tells me.

I let out a loud groan and roll over without opening my eyes. My head is pounding and I try to remember how much I must've drank last night, but I can't seem to think about the memory. I'm hungover. "Get out."

She pads over to the bed and brings herself close enough for me to hear her steady breathing, then yells right in my damn ear. "Wake up!"

I roll back and open my eyes to shove her off my bed but when I face her I suddenly see where the banging must have been coming from. Harry stands outside of my door, hoodie and sweats and running shoes on, his forehead drenched in sweat.

"You have a visitor." Brin says in a sing-song voice, waggling her eyebrows at me. "I'll leave you to it." She walks out the room but when she gets behind his back, she makes a gesture of pretending to hump him from behind then walks away.

"H-hi." I stammer. It's too freaking early to process what is going on right now, and my head feels like it's being hit with a sledge hammer every half minute.

"You stood me up." Harry states. He doesn't move from his spot at the door, he just stands there with his hands lifeless at his sides.

"Was I not with you?" It was supposed to come out more genuine than that, but now I've sounded like a complete jerk, I'm sure.

Harry huffs and shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling then to me. "You pretending," he says, "doesn't help anything. I came here and waited for you, for almost 45 minutes, and you were no where to be found. Why's that?" His voice is laced with so much anger, but it's controlled.

I don't know what he is accusing me of. "I don't understand, was I not with you?" I question him.

He laughs mockingly at me and then turns around, and when he looks back his entire demeanor has changed. "At first I thought it was pretty ridiculous and far fetched for you to not have known me, Alexa, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt."

What the fuck is going on?

"But this," Harry continues, "is absolutely, bloody fucking mental. Is this a joke? Well ha ha, Alexa, but nobody's laughing." His words come out loud and they dig into my ears, which doesn't help the throbbing I already feel.

I take a slow breath. "Harry, I don't know what you're talking about." It's not said as a joke but he laughs anyways.

"You know why you were no where to be found here, Alexa? Because you were with that damn prat." He spits. Harry's breathing is ragged and he's taken a few steps closer to me.

It's only now that I realize he is in my apartment, in my room, while I am wrapped up in my covers in nothing but a shirt. I don't remember getting here or getting undressed. Who is Harry even talking about?

"Huh?" Is all I manage.

He's cracking his knuckles with the same hand as he speaks. "Mark."

"I was not with Mark, I haven't seen him since we went to dinner!" I yell.

"The dinner you had with him last night? Don't lie to me Alexa!" He hits the wall with his hand and I see Brin peer into the room, but I nod for her to go away.

How do I diffuse the situation when I have no idea what's going on? "I need you to listen to me." I tell Harry, making sure I don't raise my voice or sound sarcastic to set him off even more. "I don't know what happened last night."