Artwork [h.s]

forty-one

I looked up when I heard a sudden knocking sound coming from downstairs. I glanced at the alarm clock on my nightstand, frowning when I realised it was past one in the morning.

I carefully slid out of my bed, leaving my book open on the floor to pick up later, and tiptoed out of my room, a shiver running down my spine at the contact with the cold floor. I carefully made my way down the stairs in the darkness using my phone's flashlight not to fall, not wanting to wake my parents up. They would've been pissed if they'd found out I'd stayed up reading until one on a school night.

Another shiver ran down my back when my nude feet touched the marble floor, but I ignored, slowly walking towards the front door, from which another knock resonated. I reached it and put my hand on the handle, standing motionless for a couple of seconds as I decided what to do, glaring at the wooden door when I heard another knock. Considering it was night, opening it didn't seem like the best idea, but I also was sure they wouldn't have stopped unless somebody had opened, and I knew it was just a matter of time before my parents woke up as well.

A new knock resonated, and I knew I didn't have many options. I turned on the hallway light and grabbed my dad's black umbrella from where it was leaning under the coat hanger just in case. I took a deep breath before opening the door, just enough for me to see who was outside.

My heart dropped all of sudden when I discovered Harry was leaning against the wall next to my door, looking down. I widened my eyes as I took in his profile, that was dimly enlightened by the streetlights. I glanced at myself, realising that I was nowhere close to being dressed appropriately, and I blushed slightly, knowing that there was no way to escape the situation.

I opened the door more, finally catching Harry's attention, and he looked up, a somewhat confused look on his face.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered to him, putting down the umbrella since there was no need for it, wrapping my arms around my middle to keep a minimal warmth as I was basically standing outside.

"Hi" he said in a higher pitch than usual, completely disregarding my question, detaching his back from the wall and moving to stand in front of the door, stumbling slightly before putting his hand on the side of the door, catching himself before he could fall.

I stared at him for a couple of seconds, furrowing my eyebrows. "Are you..." I stopped, trying to analyse his face, but found it impossible in the mild darkness surrounding us. "Are you drunk?" I asked him in a faint whisper, finding my answer in the breathy laugh that followed my words.

"Sorry" he managed to let out, our closeness allowing me to smell the alcohol and smoke in his breath.

I shook my head, taking a decision even before I knew it. "Come in" I whispered as I moved to the side, sending a worried glance in the direction of that stairs, knowing that I would've been in big trouble if my parents had come down in that moment.

He moved a hesitant step inside, and another. I put my arm in front of his chest just in time to keep him from losing his balance and stumbling to the floor. He let out a sigh, trying to brush his hair out of his eyes, but just ending up messing it up more.

"Be quiet" I murmured to him, glancing outside and discovering his car was nowhere to be seen. I slowly closed the door, trying to be as silent as possible, not daring to remove my hard from his chest in case he would've tripped over his own feet. "Kitchen" I whispered as I hesitantly neared him, trying my best to make him walk into the other room in a straight line to avoid crashing onto anything.

"I smoked" he mumbled into my ear as we walked, a hint of distress into his voice. "I've never been good at keeping promises" he slurred, his hand scrambling to get a hold of the counter to stabilise himself, "sorry."