Heartbreak Hotel {h.s.}

{f o u r}

Claire watches the pain grow in Harry's eyes, his eyebrows furrowing as he contemplates how to tell his story.

Placing her right hand on his shoulder, she rubs her thumb against the cotton material of the grey t-shirt that covers his torso. "If it's too painful to talk about, you don't have to."

"No, no, it's ok. I want to tell you, it's just hard digging up all the memories," his lips press firmly together. "Savannah, my ex, and I started dating when we were 18. We met the first week of university at a big campus party and ended up talking all night. Her bright blue eyes, strawberry blonde hair, and witty sense of humour had me captivated from the start. She was studying journalism and I was studying photography, so we had a lot of common interest and quickly became inseparable...."

"Wait you studied photography in school?" Claire interrupts.

"Yeah, why?"

"So did I! I'd love to see some of your work sometime." The smile she wears fades when she realizes she's changing the subject . "Sorry, please continue your story. I promise I won't interrupt again."

"I doubt that" he chuckles, before continuing to tell Claire his story.
"I fell hard for her, but I never expected her to reciprocate my feelings. She was flirtatious, but never showed any signs of interest. Everything changed , after a long night of a Lord of the Rings marathon. We were procrastinating with the large pile of homework we both had and watching our favourite movie series seemed like the best way to do so. She seemed different that night, nervous almost. Savannah never got nervous. She was confident, but not cocky. She knew what she deserved and wouldn't settle for any less. When she kissed me, it threw me off guard. She was more unpredictable than I thought. Which was good, she kept me on my toes." Pain swells in Harry's eyes. The memories digging deeper into his open wounds.

"Our relationship progressed smoothly, we were infatuated with each other, confessing our love after a short three months together. We had a few hiccups along the way, but our love for each other kept us together. Savannah always seemed faithful, she never gave me any reason not to trust her. But on the night of my 22nd birthday earlier this year, something seemed weird. We were out at a pub with a few friends to celebrate, and we all had had a few drinks. We were all close, but my best mate Alex and Savannah seemed to be getting along a little too well. Savannah was always flirtatious, it was a strong component in her personality, but she seemed a little too friendly with him. I never questioned it however, the sex we had afterwards took away any doubts I had..."

"I really didn't need to know that." Claire scrunches her nose, and furrows her eyebrows, trying to stop the image that he painted from appearing in her mind.

His laugh echoes through the forest. "Sorry, I guess it's not that important of a detail in the story."

"It's not, but it's fine, you may continue."

"It happened a few other times afterwards, when our friend group had gotten together, but when I had finally approached her about it, she denied it all. And being the idiot that I am, I believed her. I fell right into her little trap. When we finished school in late May, I surprised her with a trip to LA. She always talked about going to there, leaving everything in England behind and starting fresh. I knew she couldn't afford to move there, so I thought a two-week vacation to celebrate graduating university would be the next best thing."

"Our graduation ceremony was held on July 3rd and we were on a plane to LA the morning of the 4th. I had everything planned out, focusing on everything that we loved, but once we got there she seemed off. She wanted to spend most of the time in the hotel. I thought she was having a bad case of home sickness, but I knew it had to be more than that. After a week of being there, I finally convinced her to go out to dinner with me. I had a million doubts in my head, but that didn't stop me from proposing."

"What did she say?"

Another chuckle rumbles through Harry's chest. "I wouldn't be here if she said yes, now would I?"

Claire's cheeks turn red from embarrassment. Pressing her lips firmly together, she rocks on her heels, waiting for Harry to continue.

"Turns out my suspicious about Alex and Savannah were true. They had been seeing each other behind my back since my birthday. I still don't know what caused her to cheat on me. I don't understand where I went wrong. I gave that girl every piece of me, and she crushed every last piece in the palm of her hand. It felt like she sucked all the air from my lungs and I thought they were going to collapse. The pain in my chest felt as if someone had lit a fire inside me and left me to burn. She looked like an angel but turned out to be the devil." Harry sniffles, wiping the tears away from his eyes..

"Harry.. I'm.. I'm so sorry," Claire stutters, feeling his pain that she relates all too well with. "I know you loved her, but she seems like a total bitch."

"The worst thing is, part of me still loves her, even after what she did." He forces a laugh through the tears. "I'm such an idiot." He shakes his head in regret, walking away from Claire.

"Hey," Claire grabs his arm, holding him back from proceeding to the ladder of the treehouse. "Still loving her doesn't make you an idiot, it makes you human. You were with this girl for four years, that's a long time to devote yourself to someone. It takes more than a month to get over a relationship like that."

Harry wraps his arms around Claire, embracing her in a hug. "Thanks. I needed that."

"You're welcome." She smiles, resting her head against his chest. "If anyone is an idiot, it's me."

"Why's that?" Harry raises an eyebrow as he pulls back to look at her.

"It's a long story."

"There's more to your story than you told me isn't there?"

A breathy laugh escapes her lips. "I could write three books with the stuff I didn't tell you."

"Would you consider telling me?"

Focusing her gaze on the wooden floor boards beneath her feet, she mumbles. "I don't know," her arms folding over her chest.

A sympathetic smile paints itself across his face. "You don't have to tell me right now, but when you're ready to talk about it, I'm here to listen."

Wiping the tears that she unintentionally let fall, she shoots Harry a small smile. "Thank you."

"Anytime," his lips lift around the edges. "We should probably head back, it's gonna be dark soon." Harry makes his way back over to the ladder, Claire following closely behind.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to vote for the chapter and let me know what you think! I hope you're all having a lovely morning/day/evening:)