Chapter 15
I sat lifeless on my bed as I watched the day go by. It had been about a week since I came home from the hospital, and I hadn’t left the house since. All I wanted to do was sleep and cry, and as if that weren’t enough, my mom was planning on sending me back to school in a couple days. I looked at the clock which read that it was just past seven in the evening which meant that dinner would be ready soon. My stomach was growling but my mind was telling me not to eat. The bedroom door opened and my mom stood there with a steaming cup of coffee. She took a sip and then sat down next to me on the bed.
“Honey, you need to get out of the house,” She said placing her hand on my knee, “I’m worried about you.”
I focused my attention on the ground because I knew that if I looked up at her the tears would start to fall again. I had been crying for days and it made me feel weaker than I already was.
“Mom, I don’t want to go anywhere, don’t you understand?” I got up from the bed and pressed my head against the windowsill, “My brother is dead. The only person I want to talk to right now is Harry.”
I thought about Harry and remembered the last time I spoke to him. He was only watching out for my health when he insisted that I go to the hospital, but just like I do with everyone, I pushed him away.
“Paris, I really wish he could be here for you, but he’s on tour right now.”
“No, I’m not.” I heard a voice say.
I turned around and saw Harry leaning against the doorframe. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming before running over and giving him the tightest hug I’ve ever given anyone.
“How did you get in here?” I asked, as my mom excused herself from the room.
He pulled away from me and smiled.
“Your dad let me in.”
I grinned slightly and then my face fell once I remembered why he was here.
“Look, Harry, I don’t want you treating me like I’m crazy or anything. My brother may be dead but I’m not psychotic.”
As many times as I used the word dead and my brother in the same sentence, I still didn’t believe it. I remembered the way Timothy smiled at me at my welcome home party, and imagined him looking the same way in heaven.
“I didn’t come here to give you sympathy. I came here to help.” Harry said.
He brought me in for another hug and then we both lied down on the bed. I stared at the slow moving ceiling fan waiting for him to say something. He placed one arm behind his head before looking me directly in the eyes.
“Paris, I want to ask you something.”
I propped myself up on my elbow.
“Go ahead.”
He took a breath and then began to play with a strand of my hair.
“If you weren’t in school, would you come with me and the boys?”
“On tour?” I asked in disbelief.
He nodded.
I thought about it for a second and as much as I would love to go on tour with one direction, I knew that I couldn’t. Senior year was coming to an end and my mom expected me to be away at college by the fall. My life was going by at an alarming rate and it seemed like every piece of my future had already been planned out for me. I couldn’t imagine what my mom would do if she found out I had thrown it all away for a relationship that would most likely never work.
I sat up in bed and ran my fingers through my hair.
“I want to say yes but I’m not sure if I could make it on the road with you and your childish boy band.”
Harry pouted as If he were hurt by what I said, but he was also holding back laughter.
“And besides, after I finish this school year I’m going off to college.”
I got up from the bed and closed the blinds. When I turned around Harry was so close I could smell the mint on his breath.
“You’re going back to school?” He asked in a surprised tone.
“Yes, I’m going back Monday.”
“Don’t let those kids use you.”
He eyed me carefully and I immediately knew what he meant.
“I won’t.”
